Few things excite me more in this adoption process than seeing God work through our lives to impact the hearts of others. He continues to give us opportunities to share our journey and has even moved some to think about making adoption part of their life. Others are joining us in praying for our adoption and their prayers are having a huge impact on us as we wait and wonder when we will see our child. I can't imagine doing this without the love, support, and encouragement that those prayers give Sharon and me. Then there are some who God has given the opportunity to participate in our journey through financial gifts. I just never expected Him to use an entire youth group in Alabama in that part of our journey.
Brent Colee is a dear friend of mine. He is without a doubt a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Some of you may remember him from Fallout 2009. He is the youth pastor at West Point Baptist Church in Culman, AL. A couple of months ago, about the same time we were studying it at Fallout @ Farrington, he began walking his students through the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30. You should stop and read that before you continue here. To help them grasp Jesus' teaching, he gave each of his students $10 and instructed them that they were to use this money to do ministry projects of some kind and try to multiply what they had been given. At the end of four weeks they would turn in the $10 they had been given along with whatever profit they had made. The money they raised would be given to help God's work somewhere around the world.
I remember talking to him while his students were in the midst of this project. He told me how some had taken the money and purchased baking supplies so that they could hold a bake sale. Others bought buckets, sponges, and soap to hold a car wash. Some made crafts to sell. Another group spent their money buying supplies to do maintenance work which they were paid for. When the time came to turn the money in there were some that only gave back the $10, but many had worked hard and multiplied what they had been given, just as the parable talked about.
When it was all over and the money was counted, Brent called me up. He told me that he thought they had learned a lot from the lesson and he was excited about the outcome. When it was all counted and the $10 per student was given back to the church, they were able to send a few hundred dollars to help His Voice Global (an organization that ministers to widows and orphans run by our friend and 2008 Fallout speaker Vernon Burger) build a boys home in India. I thought that was wonderful and I was excited for that group and what God had done through them. Then, Brent told me there was something else. They had also raised enough to send a few hundred dollars to help us with our adoption journey so we could be one step closer to bringing our child home from Ethiopia.
The effort that these teens put into that project has allowed them to impact hundreds of lives in India, to change the life of an orphan from Ethiopia, and to touch our hearts with God's love here in Houston, TX. What they did may not seem like much to some people in light of the grand total, but to the Wheeless family this is a huge gift. You have helped us to see God working in this process and that gives us hope which helps us continue on in our journey. We are so grateful and we cannot express our gratitude enough for what you all have done. Thank you for coming alongside us and sharing in God's work. We will be sending you videos, pictures, and updates all along the way. You are an answer to our prayers for God to provide and for Him to use our story to teach others about his love for orphans and our adoption as His children.
There is a little more to this story before I close this post. What makes this an even more generous gift is that Brent and his wife, Marianne, are in the midst of an adoption journey of their own. They are waiting to be matched with a sibling group from Peru which may take years and they have financial needs of their own that need to be met. Yet, they understand that God is bigger than all of our needs. While waiting on God to provide for their adoption, they selflessly found a way to serve and provide for orphans. You can read about their adoption journey and connect with them over on their blog, Scrambled Eggs, or contact Brent through the church office at WPBC. I want to ask you to join me in praying for them and ask God to bless them for their sacrifice and to continue to use their adoption journey to impact more lives for Christ.
As for the Wheeless clan, continue to pray for our journey as well. We are getting closer every day and God continues to bring others alongside us. If you would like to get our monthly update and see how you can pray with us for our adoption and be part of our journey as well, send me an email and I will put you on our newsletter mailing list: twheeless@nehbc.com
