Our Beginning

"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him." 1Corinthians 2:9

January 2010...a new decade, we love our jobs, we love our house, we love our church, the twins (the 'all-boy' boy and the beautiful princess) turned 3 and are becoming funnier by the day. What more could we want? We were content, happy, and feeling like we were settling into a good place.

Then...Haiti, January 12, 2010.

With the devastation came pictures, like this one:


















These children had to sleep outside because their orphanage building was compromised. 3 year olds, just like Brody and Annabelle. Alone, cold, scared, no mom or dad to tuck them in, hold them, and whisper that everything would be just fine. We felt helpless, we have room, we have blankets, we have warm beds, we have food, we have love to give. God stirred our hearts for adoption.

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress." James 1:27

We spent the next year trying to save money and pray what our next step would be. Our prayer, from a Hillsong song became "break my heart for what breaks yours, everything I am for your kingdoms cause."  

"Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like you have loved me
Break my heart for what breaks yours
Everything I am for your kingdoms cause
As I go from earth in to
Eternity
Hosanna, Hosanna,
Hosanna in the highest."
Hillsong United, Hosanna

God quickly led us to Ethiopia. Ethiopia is a country with almost 5 million orphaned children primarily due to the AIDS epidemic, famine, and poverty of the country. 80% of the population lives on less than $2 a day.  10% of children will die before their 5th birthday.  Children are not likely to go to school or have access to clean drinking water. The situation is even more dire for young girls. The options for a young, uneducated girl are prostitution or a lifetime of sexual abuse. It is overwhelming and we began to feel helpless again. We can't help millions of children, but then we realized we could help one and that is one less orphan.

"From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." Luke 12:48

So on January 12, 2011 (1 year after the Haitian earthquake that moved the earth and our hearts) we submitted our application to adopt a child (or children) from Ethiopia. We believe God's picture of our family is not yet complete and we will begin a season of making our way to the rest of Team Sims.

"I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living." Psalm 27:13