Give This Christmas Away, Here at the Rebisz House

Well. Something is happening in my life that cannot be limited to facebook posts.
On October 20th, my friend Hanna posted a link to New Horizons for Children, a foreign orphan hosting program. I clicked on it, and saw Anastasija. And fell in love. She would not get out of my head. Every waking moment, (which are many, especially at night- thank you bladder, heart burn, and restless legs) I was praying for her. Wishing hoping she might be able to come for Christmas here. Joe was not as excited. He was more practical. How much is this going to cost? Will it really make a difference in her life? What are the dates she would be here? Etc.
So, I began to pray. I need to write this down because the way God shows His hand over and over is astonishing.
1. My husband needs to be 100% sure.
2. The dates need to fit GCC's break so Anastasija can stay in our guest room.
3. A scholarship would be a good sign that God wants us to do this.
4. I need a place to stay for a training in PA.
5. I need to get to JFK airport to pick he rup and take her back.

First one answered- GCC's break dates match the hosting dates almost to the day. Kelsey (our college student) will be leaving for home about 3 days before Anastasija arrives, and will come back about a week after Anastasija leaves. This answer to prayer started Joe to thinking God might have a hand in this crazy scheme.

Second one answered- After praying for a week straight, and after a Thursday morning quiet time spent on my knees (literally), God sends Anastasija a $500.00 scholarship. I truly got up from my prayer time and logged into my email to find out that she had received a scholarship.

Third one answered- After posting a prayer request about Anastasija on FB, I got a call from a prayer partner and gave the specifics of what would be needed to get Anastasija here for Christmas. That person got down on their knees right then and started praying. God nudged this person to go check the God-money envelope, and there is the exact amount I had just mentioned needing for the program. This person felt led to give it to us. WHOA WHOA WHOA. Joe took this as sign that it is GOD! So now he's 100%.

Fourth one in the works- I just happened to mention to Kara that I need to go specifically to Reading, PA, for a training. She just happened to talk to Deb about it. Deb just happens to have a cousin there who just happened to call her out of the blue yesterday. I'll keep you posted. :)

It has been so hard for me to wait to see God work in all of this. What a long week- I just wanted to jump in and get going. But God taught me to wait on Him, trust Him, and see Him do glorious things. Not in my strength, but in His strength, in His time.

Stay tuned for how God will help my family Give This Christmas Away this year.
XOXO

Oh! And pray! Here she is:

Anastasija- age 10- Latvia