Each week, my web hosting provider sends me a report of how the adoptionproject.org website is doing. The data comes in the form of
- Page Views
- Pages Per Visit
- Popular Pages
- Top 10 Referer Domains
It is impersonal and purely statistical feed back. It is good stuff to know if Search Engine Optimization is important to you. However, if you have higher things on your mind it is of limited value.
Here is a message of value I received today from a blog reader:
Prayers for you...and a question.
Hello! I happened upon your site tonight and just wanted to let you know your family and Yuri will be in our prayers! We are currently prayerfully considering holding a trip in our area (Maryland) for Russian Orphan Lighthouse Project. We are just in the beginning stages of planning and gathering information, but it sounds very exciting! Our church is starting an orphan ministry, and we have been looking for a program like this to get involved with. It was very exciting to read about your story - someone who has been through the very experience we are contemplating.
The cost of the adoption is probably the scariest thing of all...
however, I really appreciated your perspective on borrowing money to pay for the adoption. After all, it is not about us, but about giving Him the glory in all we do. Through Him, it is possible. Thanks for the encouragement for those of us out here ready to take a huge leap of faith!
God Bless & may Yuri be home with you soon!
Wow! Thank you very much for the letter. One of the many things that we pray for is to have an opportunity to be a blessing to someone else. This is great feedback and yet another confirmation that we are on the right track - the center of doing the Lord's will. I am glad our story is encouraging to others.
For more information about the cost of doing God's work, there is no better resource than the Bible itself. Specifically regarding adoption, go to BibleGateway and read James 1. Be sure to read all the commentaries too. Pay close attention to James 1:27.
You may also want to do a bible search on the words "orphan" and "fatherless" and see what scripture has to say regarding God's opinion of those who take advantage of orphans and widows.
Finally, check out Crown Financial Ministries and do a search for the word "borrow" and see what comes up. Here are some specific articles:
Borrowing and Lending
Borrowing to do the Lord's work
