Well, God has pretty much told us to wait to adopt, because Ryan and I are expecting a bundle of joy in early August. I have been feeling fine and I am very thankful that I have not yet experienced morning sickness. I am very tired, but that pretty much comes with the territory. I will keep you updated with Baby Fillinger in this coming year.
School went well this semester. The last two weeks were really tough, especially because I was really tired and it was hard to focus. I ended up with really good grades, better than I expected. Thank you for praying for me and please continue to pray that school goes well next semester. I will have my own case load or foster family next semester, so I will definitely need pray next semester.
Thank you to everyone who has been following my blog and praying for me. Ryan and I will be in Arkansas for Christmas. I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!! Also, another update is available at Show Hope. http://blog.showhope.org/
Hello everyone! Ryan and I had a great time in Nashville! After our weekend in Nashville, I felt after all the information and prayer that my life would not be the same and that change is definitely coming soon. Also, as I write this I know of some other couples in my family that their lives will also change. I want to say congratulations to Adam and Hayden Norwood on their new baby, who will be born later today. In addition, I also want to congratulate Amanda and Brandon Hunt who will soon have their baby boy at the beginning of next year. In Nashville, Ryan and I attended a seminar on adoption and learned a lot. The most inspiring thing was meeting other families who have already adopted. The entire weekend I had to make sure I packed my waterproof mascara because at any given moment God would speak to me either through someone's presentation or through the eyes of a child. Nevertheless, after this weekend, I wanted to adopt a child even more, I just want to know when Ryan and I should adopt. This is going to be Ryan's and my prayer for the next several months. Please pray that God will give us wisdom in this area. Also, if we do decide to adopt soon, we need to chose country's program, we will also need prayer in this area. Some programs we are not eligible for because of our age and or amount of time we have been married. So, don't be surprised when Ryan and I adopt from China when we are thirty.
As for the church, we are reframing how we reach our community in how we use small groups. Please pray that God will bless our church and that this new structure to groups will bring new believers to Christ through relationships. Please keep me in your prayers with the children's ministry, it is hard being a full time student with an internship and running a children's ministry. In addition, school has been going really well. I have received very good grades this semester and I feel even closer in working in the adoption/foster care field with having almost half of the year over with. Pray that school keeps going well and that I keep my sanity.
This Thanksgiving break could not have come at a better time.
Thank you for taking your time to read this and pray for me.
This is Kevin, who is living at Maria's Big House of Hope. I love seeing these updates on children at MBHOH. It's amazing what a difference a month in a caring environment can make. I am so happy to be a part of this and would love to one day work for this organization. Seeing Kevin's progress gives me more incentive and motivation to finish my degree. School has been really challenging lately and I have 8 papers due in 6 weeks. Please pray that I can finish all my work and still be sane. I am excited about Nashville, because Ryan and I will visit Show Hope's office and get more information about adoption and how we can involve our church in caring for orphans. Also, coming up soon is a fall festival our church is having. Please pray that everything will come together and that people will come. Thank you to everyone who reads my blog and prays for me. If you want to read about other residents of MBHOH, go to http://blog.showhope.org/
This week is almost over and I have made it to the end of the quarter. Finals are next week, so I will be studying a lot and I am going to try and get the children's ministry stuff moved to the new church office this Friday. I have not been feeling too well lately and I am probably going to have to go to a doctor next week, please pray that I can feel better soon. Hopefully, Ryan and I can actually do something together this weekend that doesn't have to do with work or school. I might also finish painting some of the bedrooms in the house.
Ryan and I heard back from Show Hope and they couldn't tell us anymore about her surgery and you cannot predetermine a child for adoption. I knew this, but I thought maybe since she was special needs there would be a difference, but there is not. It doesn't hurt to ask, please pray that she will be well enough for adoption and she will become a part of a forever family. So at this time Ryan and I will not be starting the adoption process. We will be praying about what we should do next.'
Some of you know this, but I don't think everyone does. I went into social work, because I want to work in adoption or orphan care. So hopefully, by the time I graduate I will be able to find a job in these areas. I am not sure if I will want to work for the agency that I am doing my internship with since it deals mostly with foster care, but it is another area I am interested in working. Also, if anyone would like to come to my graduation it is May 1st, just let me know. Please keep praying for Ryan and I, about our financial situation, church, perseverance to finish school, and about adoption. Thank you everyone for taking time to read this and to pray for us!
Over the past few months, Ryan and I have been following an organization called Show Hope, that has recently opened an orphanage in China. The orphanage is called Maria's Big House of Hope which is named after the Christian singer Steven Curtis Chapman's daughter. Their cause is very close to Ryan's and my heart. The girl in the picture is one of the residents of Maria's Big House of Hope (MBHOH).
In November, Ryan and I are going to Nashville, TN to Steven Curtis Chapman's home church for Orphan Sunday and we are going to visit Show Hope's office while we are there. Ryan and I have thought and prayed about building our family through adoption. We feel we have been called to adopt. The girl in the picture of the last post, we have expressed interest in adopting her, but we do not think she is well enough to be considered for adoption. To read more about her, go to http://blog.showhope.org/?p=424 If we cannot adopt now, we will someday soon. Here is another post from the show hope blog, The joy of laughter was a sweet gift to the Upton’s as they traveled to China to meet their daughter, Haddie. Her contagious giggle erupted even at the first tickles from Bob and Collette. While still in Guangzhou, they shot this video to share a portrait of hope with their children Noah and Hannah who were waiting in the United States. At home now, Haddie loves to sleep in the arms of her mom and dad and is bonding with her forever family! Thanks to all the sponsors and supporters who helped give this precious child such amazing joy.
Thank you to everyone who have been praying for us. In the recent months, people are being more positive about Vertical and we made it through the first month without my paycheck, and school hasn't been as bad but I have a tough week coming up with two papers due soon and then I have finals for this quarter. Please keep praying for our schedules, they are still crazy, and please pray for our church. Thank you for taking time to read this, and maybe to watch a few videos. To find out more about Show Hope, go to www.showhope.org . God bless.
I finally found some time to update my blog. I hope everyone hasn't given up on me. School has been very very harsh and I pretty much have no life, but writing papers. I believe it will get better though, I think September is going to be my busiest month. I love that the weather, it is getting cooler, Fall is my favorite season. I am trying to make sure I enjoy it more this year. Lately, I have been missing things about Arkansas, not the humidity of course, but camping trips with my family, fish frys, my cousins(all of them, not just Arkansasans) and just familiar faces and places. This is probably one of the hardest months I will go through, please pray for me as I go through this season of my life. Ryan also needs prayer, because he is just as busy as I am, he works 60 to 80 hours a week. Life is pretty crazy around our house. I tried to find a picture that I could put on here, but we haven't really taken any lately, so I will leave you with a picture of a little girl that has captured our hearts. I will tell everyone more about what she is all about in another post and why Ryan and I will be going to Nashville,TN in November. Please leave a comment or email me!
I want to say thank you again to everyone who said they would pray for me! The last few days have been pretty rough, but there have been a few things that have been really good. John and Courtney Mills have come back to Colorado and he has also found of job! They are definitely a blessing to everyone here in Colorado. Also, the church just bought a new, big trailer to haul everything. Our attendance Sunday was also great and many others that were gone for the summer came back.
This was great to see everyone back, but these last few days have been rough on me. I have just been thinking about how busy I am going to be this year and it gets to me. I'm trying not to worry about money at all, actually I would say it would be #4 on my worry list. #1 would have to be my position at the church. I need prayer that I stay positive about myself and my volunteers, and that people will volunteer. My biggest enemy right now is negativity and others having nothing nice to say. I don't think they realize that everytime something is said about Vertical it is negative, but it is all that has been happening. With this being said, pray that I handle the negativity better or more positive things will be said. God is working in me, in what He would want me to do. Pray that He gives me the direction that I need, so that it is revealed to me what I should do.
This year has practically flown by and I wasn't ready for it. Christmas is less than 5 months away. Hopefully, May 1st(Graduation Day) will come soon. Also, if anyone would like to come visit Ryan and I that would be great. I would love to see some family and friends. More to come this week!
Thank you to everyone that responded, it definitely was a blessing to hear from you! This last week, I have been getting ready for school to start back, I also start my internship for a company called Fostering Hope. This company supports and educates foster care parents, with the help of churches around Colorado Springs. My schedule is going to be rather crazy. I will go to class on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights, and on Tuesday and Thursday and Friday I will have internship. Not only will I have homework, term papers, and projects due, I also have many things to do for the children's ministry at Fusion church called Vertical. So if you could pray that I would not go crazy in the next month or really that I can use my time well, so I am not as stressed that would be great!
At church, we are praying that God would help us reach more people. We have set a goal of 80 to accept the love of Jesus Christ by next year. We want to see God change this community with his love. To meet the people of our community, we have had 5 block parties in many different areas of Fountain Valley. Boy, was it crazy! It was great to meet our neighbors, many of them are wives of deployed soldiers. These women are very brave, I do not know how well I could take Ryan being gone for a year. It is a critical time for our church, please pray that our church will grow and that I will receive new volunteers for Vertical. I really, really need more volunteers.
Also, since I am going to be going to school full time and heading up the children's ministry, Ryan and I with God's help, have decided that it would be best for my sanity and our marriage that I stop working for the university. Please pray that I put all my trust in God and that he will comfort me when things seem like they may fall apart.
This is just some of what I am thinking, dealing, and praying about right now, so more to come in the next week. Thank you for taking the time to read this blog. Love to you all or y'all. ha ha
Over the past week, many things have changed and I would like a way to connect with people who will help me through the next year. Also, during a coaching session last week we were challenged to find a prayer force, people who would pray for me. I thought since most of the people I know and love, have the Internet then, why not start a blog. This way everyone can know exactly what I need prayer for and what is going on in my life and what is going on with Fusion Church. I think I am going to be surprised, in what could happen. So if you have received a link to my blog, please send it to anyone that could pray for me and anyone who may enjoy getting to know me.
Thank you for taking the time to read this!
You can let me know that you are praying for me by commenting on this post and future posts.
