How we came to adopt.

We were pretty happy with our lives, content with watching others do the Lords work and sending a check to support this or that! But i always admired the faith of others that seemed to be just a little more in Love with Jesus than I. I remember many times praying that Jesus would give me "That kind of Faith"! What i really imagined was Jesus kind of snapping his fingers and Shane would awaken with a deeper Love and faith in Him. Silly me! I look back and realize that if Jesus were to do that there would have been no point in our creation in the first place. But the prayer was made and Jesus answered in His way. He started showing me things that would tug at my heart, and we would send a check. Then he started showing me things that would absolutly break my heart, and we would send a check. Then he dropped the bomb on me, he showed me something that need to be addressed and that a check would have no effect on, he showed me the children that live life without Love. After all, isn't our entire purpose on earth to LOVE? It is our greatest Commandment!

I read this story by Katie Davis and it through me into tears:
Monday, December 15, 2008

I found this story in my journal last night... its fairly old but still has the same meaning. As you hold the ones you love this Christmas, please keep in mind those who have no one to hold them.

Yesterday a sweet little girl named Rita came to my house with two teeth that had been completely eaten through by a cavity and were almost completely rotted away. The holes looked like they were starting to get infected and the nerve was exposed; I cant imagine how much pain she was in. I took her to the dentist, and they said they were closed. The dentist was in a hurry to leave and wouldn't help me, but he said I could use his things and do it myself. Of course I was terrified, but I was more scared to think about the teeth not being removed immediately; they looked so painful. I gave her a shot to numb her mouth, waited about ten minutes, tried to sterilize these tweezer things with a match and dug out what was remaining of her poor little teeth. I don't think she could feel it, but my heart hurt for her.
I took her back home, made her a hot bath and some soup. Then she had ice cream and slept in my bed under a big blanket. As i tucked the covers in around her and kissed her head she looked up at me with these big, wondering eyes. Unbelievable as it is, she was SOOO happy. She told me that this was the best day of her life, even though her mouth hurt. She said that she would get her teeth pulled every day if she could stay with someone like me. And that made my heart hurt even more.
There are so many children out there that don't feel loved on a daily basis. So many children that don't have a person to hold their hand or rub their back when they are scared and in pain. So many children who don't have the simple pleasures of taking a warm bath or sleeping under a blanket. I would move all of them, ALL of them into my house if I could. I wish I could love them all. I wish more people cared enough that they also wanted to love them all. Sometimes I just can't even believe how blessed I am. I have always been loved, always been cared for, always been warm and well-fed. Its frustrating sometimes, but mostly its just motivating. Sometimes I feel so tired, and then something like this happens and I am reminded that I can give a child the best night of her life simply by making her soup and kissing her forehead. Simply by loving her.

Sometimes I feel so tired that I think if I give away any more of myself I may actually be empty. And then I remember, It is only in giving away the love given to me by the Father that I am ever actually full. And so I keep going because of Rita. Because kissing her forehead and saying 'I love you" actually did change the world for that little girl. Because maybe through my hands she can get just a glimpse of a fraction of the love her Maker has for her. There is nothing better.

It can be found at this link: http://kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com/2008/12/i-found-this-story-in-my-journal-last.html

After reading this story i realized that there are children in this world that will never know what Love is. They will never know the warmth of a hug or the security of knowing you have a family that you can fall back on when your hurt or lonely. I thought, what kind of world do we live in that a little girl says she would have her teeth pulled everyday for a bath, cup of soup and a kiss on the forehead? So that is why we dediced to adopt! Because if we didn't these children have no hope and will never feel LOVE!

The Bible says: "Once your eyes are open you cannot pretent you don't know what to do". With the new found deeper Love for Jesus I couldn't imagine how i would be able to explain to Him that I did nothing to show Love to the Unloved!

Now about "OUR GIRLS"! God sends you in the direction we're supposed to go. With our girls, it was Love as first sight, as He intended! He knew He had conditioned our hearts for this, that I had a good job and great insurance, so therefore we could handle this assignment. So he showed me a picture of Oksana. I must have stared at it for hours. To this day all we know about her is she is 6, has HIV, she doesn't smile in any of her pictures and we are incredibly in love with her! Along with her in another picture were 4 others girls that Oksana had grown up with in the orphanage. We talked about it and decided that if we were going to do this we will do it to it's fullest. We decided that if possible we would bring them all home as sisters. Later we were told that one of the girls, Irina was already spoken for by another family. We were happy for her and sad that she would be split form the girls she grow up with. But God is amazing and soon we found out that he had a plan to address our concerns! Irina was being adopted by a Christian family right here in the Chicago area. She looks exactly like her new Daddy! And she will know Love and the Love of Jesus! And!!!! She will get to see her "sisters" often!!!

Statistically, there are 147 million orphans in this world. If Orphan were a country, it would be the 9th most populated country in the world! 99.6% of all orphans will never know the Love of a family through adoption or otherwise. There is an 85% failure rate for all orphans in the Ukraine that age out of an orphange. 15% commit suicide within two years. 70% of the girls are trafficked or turn voluntarily to prostitution to survive. Many of these girls are never heard from again because there is no one looking for them! But for our girls the story is even worse. Because they are considered older children (That baffles me that 5, 6 and 7 year olds are considered older) they will very likey never get adopted. Add to that they have HIV and thier chances go to zero! If that wasn't enough, they only have access to two ARV medication there. They take one until they build up a tolerance and then are switched to the other. When they build a tolerance to that one they are switched back. But possibly eventually they will build a tolerance to both and will die there in an orphanage without ever knowing Love and the Love of Jesus! But the good news is we are going to get them. With us they will know love and the love of Jesus and here in the USA we have access to 97 medications and eventually they will be undetectable!

We are not perfect! It seems like everyday i am reminded of how imperfect i am...Praise God! But there can be little doubt that these girls will be better off in an imperfect Christian home than the place they are at now!

Happy New Year Everyone!

Shane

Rollcoaster ride............

Hi all! We were reminded today that we haven't written in awhile to keep our friends and followers updated.

Fundraising is still in progress and we are setting up our next two fundraisers as of this writing. Homestudy is still in the works and is mostly completed.

It has been a very busy time as it is the Holidays and i'm working every available minute of overtime i can find. Sometimes i'm worried that we won't raise the money we need in time and other days i go with Michele Perry's saying "His will, His bill"!

It is a nervous time for us at the Lewis house. We love these girls so much and we are faced with the reality that until they are here with us nothing is for sure.

Please pray for us and our girls.

HAPPY NEW YEAR ALL!

Shane

JESUS HAS AIDS!

Jesus Has AIDS
Tuesday, December 1, 2009, 10:00 PM
Russell D. Moore

Jesus has AIDS.

Just reading that in the type in front of you probably has some of you angry. Let me help you see why that is, and, in so doing, why caring for those with AIDS is part of the gospel mandate given to us in the Great Commission.

The statement that Jesus has AIDS startles some of you because you know it not to be true. Jesus, after all, is the exalted son of the living God. He has defeated death in the garden tomb, and defeated it finally. Jesus isn’t weak or dying or infected; he’s triumphant and resurrected.

Yes.

Yes, but, what we’re often likely to miss is that Jesus has identified himself with the suffering of this world, an identification that continues on through his church. Yes, Jesus finishes his suffering at the cross, but he also speaks of himself as being “persecuted” by Saul of Tarsus, as Saul comes after his church in Damascus (Acts 9:4).

Through the Spirit of Christ, we “groan” with him at the suffering of a universe still under the curse (Rom. 8:23,26). This curse manifests itself, as in billions of other ways, in bodies turned against themselves by immune systems gone awry.

That’s why the church is to suffer, continually, with Christ as we take his presence into the darkness of a fallen creation. The Apostle Paul says, then, “I rejoice then in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church” (Col. 1:24).

Some of Jesus’ church has AIDS. Some of them are languishing in hospitals right down the street from you. Some of them are orphaned by the disease in Africa. All of them are suffering with an intensity few of us can imagine.

Some of you are angered by the statement I typed above because you think somehow it implicates Jesus. After all, AIDS is a shameful disease, one most often spread through sexual promiscuity or illicit drug use.

Yes.

Yes, but those are the very kinds of people Jesus consistently identified himself with as he walked the hillsides of Galilee and the streets of Jerusalem, announcing the kingdom of God. Can one be more sexually promiscuous than the prostitutes Jesus ate with? Can one be more marginalized from society than a woman dripping with blood, blood that would have made anyone who touched her unclean (Luke 8:40-48)? Jesus touched her, and took her uncleanness on himself.

AIDS is scandalous, sure. But not nearly as scandalous as a cross.

At the crucifixion stake, Jesus identifies himself with a sinful world (including the scandal of my sin). He was seen to be cursed by God (Deut. 21:23; Gal. 3:13). This is why it seemed so reasonable to the shouting crowds to curse him as a false Messiah, because only those rejected by God would ever be hanged on a tree. And that’s why the apostle Paul had to repeatedly insist that he was not “ashamed” of the cross. At Golgotha, Jesus became sin (though he never knew it himself) by bearing the sins of the world (2 Cor 5:21). Now that’s scandalous.

Moreover, some of you are angry because you believe that the statement I typed above is an affront to the dignity of the ruler of the universe. He doesn’t have some immune deficiency disease; he’s ruling from the right hand of God.

Yes.

Yes, but we cannot see Jesus only in his Head but also in his Body, also in his identification with those he calls “the least of these, my brothers” (Matt. 25:40). Jesus isn’t right now hungry, is he? He isn’t naked, is he? He isn’t thirsty, is he? He isn’t in jail, is he? Well, yes, he is…in the nakedness, hunger, thirstiness, and imprisonment of his suffering brothers and sisters around the world.

When we stand in judgment, we’ll stand, Jesus tells us, accountable for how we recognized him in the trauma of those who don’t seem to bear the glory of Christ at all right now. We see Jesus now, by faith, in the sufferings of the crack baby, the meth addict, the AIDS orphan, the hospitalized prodigal who sees his ruin in the wires running from his veins.

I wonder how many of us will hear the words from our Galilean emperor, “I had AIDS and you weren’t afraid to come near me.”

And so, if we love Jesus, our churches should be more aware of the cries of the curse, including the curse of AIDS, than the culture around us. Our congregations should welcome the AIDS-infected, and we shouldn’t be afraid to hug them as we would hug our Christ. Our congregations should be on the forefront of missions to AIDS-ravaged regions of the world. Our families should be willing to welcome those orphaned by this global scourge.

Through it all, we should be insistent in gospel proclamation. To those whose blood has become their own enemy, we should announce blood they know not of, the blood of One who can cleanse them of all unrighteousness, just as it cleansed us (1 Jn. 1:7); the blood of One who is forever immune to sin and death and hell (Jn. 6:53-56).

Jesus loves the world, and the world has AIDS. Jesus identifies himself with the least of these, and many of them have AIDS. Jesus calls us to recognize him in the depths of suffering, and there’s AIDS there too.

Jesus has AIDS.

Mother Charged with Human Trafficking!

REST IN PEACE SWEET ANGEL!

Mother charged with Human Trafficking!

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=9087268

"God! Is it okay that i'm furious with my Church right now? I don't know! All i know is for nearly a year i've been trying to get them to just mearly mention how wide spread and hidious this crime of Human Trafficking is and haven't even received as much as a peep. I sent out hundreds of emails, personally visited and sent a hand written letter...No response! Nothing! Zip! I wasn't asking to take any of the precious money from the offering plate! I made that clear! All i asked for was for them to bring awareness to the cause and ask people (Christian people) to sign a petition telling our politicians we stand firm against this! We call ourselves Your children but we can't even do that! Lord, we are so pitiful! How is it that you still love us? How is it even possible? Why does your Love and patience Carry?"

To my Church! Make no mistake about it, we are responsible for what happened to this little girl and all little girls just like her! We did this to her! If collectively, as God's people, we sounded our Thunderous voice against this, it would not have happened! I am responsible! I could have done more! I could have been more vocal! They told me I was being judgemental so I backed off! I am responsible! She is 5 for God's sake! Last seen being taken into a Motel room with an adult male for God's sake!

"Once our eye's are opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do.. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our soul's, knows that we know, and holds us responsible to act."

The Brothel keepers and Pedophiles awaken everyday focused on what they're going to do that day! Why aren't we just as focused at stopping them? Are we as Christians in retreat? We used to stand firmly against injustice? Take a good look into her eyes! Can you imagine what these past 5 days have been like for her?

Am I judging? I'm not the Judge!

Shane
www.finishlast.org

Home Study Appointment.

We have our initial appointment for the home study on Nov. 17th. The process begins!

The Twiet Crew!

What an incredibly awesome day yesterday! INCREDIBLY! AWESOME! DAY!

We finally got to meet the entire Twietmeyer crew (http://www.projecthopeful.org/) and what an incredible bunch they are. I had spent quite a bit of time with Kiel because he has been over remodeling our girl's room, but we have not yet had the pleasure of meeting the rest of them. Kiel was coming over to help me install the heater cover (wrong one again for the third time) and we decided to make an event out of it. The plan was he would load the family up and they would hang out while he helped me install the cover. Afterward we would all load up in the "Twiet mobile", meet Diana (wife) at work and head to China Town (Chicago) and feast together.

I can't describe the experience of seeing them ALL for the first time. Wow comes to mind! I met them at the front door and one by one they kept coming in as if there was no end to the line. Way at the end i could see this little powerhouse of a woman directing the pack. I continued welcoming them in one at a time and before you knew it there stood Carolyn. She was totally representing with her "HOPE+" shirt and "147 million orphans" purse. I use the word "purse" loosely because it is actually the size of an overnight bag but when your a mommie of a big crew, its a purse! I'm in absolute awe of her drive and determination and I think all of us will agree, "Thank God for Carolyn"!

Finally, Kiel was up and i was like "Dude", and he was like "Dude", And i was like "What up"! I so totally made that last part up but that it absolutely the level we are at. What was really said is "I have some good/bad news". The bad is while i was waiting for them to arrive i opened the box of the new part, the one he was coming to help install, again wrong one! Get back Satan! The good is we get to just sit around and enjoy each other. And that it exactly what we did! God always triumphs!

I was totally locked and loaded and ready for the Twiet crew. I had the Wii all fired up, coloring books and crayon's on the table, cement chalk on the front porch, a pot of fresh coffee brewed and the family dogs sitting at attention (yea right!). Let's see I'm forgetting something, oh yes, and a big bag of leftover Halloween candy! Ha Ha, you never pass up a chance to send that stuff down the road.

This family flows! They all just kind of found their place and started having fun. Carolyn, Kiel and myself were able to spend nearly the first 30 minutes talking about our adoption virtually uninterrupted. Where were the kids you ask? They were right there, all around us! This fascinates me but maybe because I'm not used to seeing the large family dynamic.

About 4pm we all loaded into the "Twiet mobile" and headed in the direction of Chinatown. We met Diana at work and the Twiet's followed us the rest of the way. We found parking without issue and nearly right in front of the restaurant. Another thing about the Twiet's that amazed me is how fast they get in and out of the Twiet mobile. It was like watching a magic trick. "Now you see them, now you don't"!

I was holding the door of the restaurant open and directing the flow when it appeared that one of them broke ranks and was about to get away. I reached out quickly to grab ahold of the little wrangler and nearly had a hand full of the coat when i realized it wasn't a wayward Twiet but somehow a little chinese lady had mixed herself in with the pack. Whew! That could have been awkward! Hey it wouldn't have been my fault, she totally blended in!

Again, to my amazement, everyone found a seat very quickly. Props to Kylie for being such an incredible big Sis! She totally is Carolyn's Lieutenant! We ordered the "family" meal and the food started coming out pretty quickly. I have to say Thank you to Kiel for letting me get a little practice in and pan after his children! The meal went very well and was full of laughter. Someone told Selah the sweet and sour chicken was actually rabbit, and she decided she wasn't eating rabbit. I told her that they are only cute when they have fur on them and that seemed to make it all better! ;)

Meal finished and the crew flowed back in the direction which we came. We gave them all a squeeze and watched the magic trick one more time. And off they went!

This experience left us considering that our 4 girls could only be the start of something! We'll be called the "The Lew Crew" and perfect a magic trick of our own! Our experience has left us wanting to get the word out that it can be done and it can be awesome! If your thinking of having a big family and have any questions, just invite the Twiet's to dinner!

The Lewis's

"The Lew Crew"

Preparing a place for them!

We have been remodeling this room for about a year and really hadn't given it any priority. But when we found our girls that all changed. Some crazy connections (Thanks Kiel) were made and the room is nearly completely finished. I have to go again today to try and find the right size cover for the heater and then the carpet guy is coming!

FYI: Kiel Twietmeyer (http://www.projecthopeful.org/) has some freakish talent as a carpenter/painter! After the girls get here we are definately going to put him to do more remodeling for us.

God's Faithfulness!

Adoption from another country is very expensive and to bring our GiRlz home we need to raise about $35k. We were not sure how we were going to do this. What we did know is we live in a awesome community full of people with GIANT HEARTS!

There were two places that came to mind so yesterday i set out to visit them.I went to St. John Pub, which is a little place that Diana and I go to relax and eat "the best chicken wings in the world"! Over the years we have come to know the people there a admire thier hearts. I knew just who I had to talk to but when i arrived Sky wasn't there. I talked with a few people and a few minutes later Skye walked in the door. She wasn't there to work, it appeared she was just dropping off supplies. (No doubt a God thing that she showed up!) I told her about our girls and we shared some tears and a hug. She is going to work on a fundraiser and i can tell you already it is going to be awesome. I know these people and when they get motivated, they get it done!

I also visited the Lake Hills Fire Department. Why? I'm not sure other than i just had a feeling i needed to go there and ask them for help. Firemen save lives, Period! They have the biggest hearts and i believe that is why i was lead to them. I talked with several of the firemen there and all seemed very eager to help. They are going to talk it over with the rest of thier brothers and call me back. I'm very encouraged and will be praying!

Our GiRlz!

We want Sooo much to brag to all of you about our girls. The truth is we don't really know much about them except for they are the most beautiful creatures we have ever set our eyes on and they are HIV+. I will tell you what i can about them but our agency has advised us against posting their pictures and the country they are from. We don't really understand why but they seem to know what they are doing so we have to trust them.

Natasha: It was up in the air for awhile if we were going to be able to adopt her along with our other girls. There was another family that was interested in her. They were from the area so if they had adopted her it wouldn't have been so bad because the rest of our girls would have been able to visit with her. But the family decided to just adopt one child (which our girls grew up with and will get to see regularly). I didn't really know what a blessing that period on unknowing was. Through the process i discovered that we are "Head over Heals" in Love with our Natasha. My wife pointed out to me after we found out the other family passed on her that she looks just like me! I hadn't really noticed that before.

My heart was breaking yesterday and the tears where flowing freely (Thanks for the HUG Skye!) when i learned a little more about our (soon to be) daughter Natasha. Although not everything is clear about her life, what we do understand is she knew her Mommie before she passed and has family still alive that doesn't visit her. Possibly because she has HIV but we're not going to judge them. But the heart of a child is very different than ours and they can teach us so very much about forgiveness and Love! Natasha has some Dollies that she cares for. She sometimes makes clothes for them and loves to tell people about them. Because she knows the hurt of losing her Mommie and the loneliness of not having any visitors, she made her Dollies a promise "I will always take care of you and never leave you, so you will not ever feel lonely and forgotten"! I'm crying my eyes out right now. It doesn't matter how many times i read this story about her, the tears always flow!

Yana: This little girls in the cutest button in the tin! When you see her you just want to snatch her up and hug the heck out of her. They tell us she is a singer. That she has a great ear for music and a pleasure to hear sing. They say about her "When she sings, she forgets how hard it is to be an orphan".

Katya: Gorgeous! When you see her you will be stunned by her super pretty face and sparkling deep blue eyes. Her mommie passed but we don't know if she ever knew her. She does have older siblings but no one comes to visit her.

Oksana: The only thing we know about her is her birth month and year. But there is something very special about this little girl. She stole my heart at first sight!

A Proud Papa!
Shane

The all important "First Post"!

I've tried my hand at blogging a few times before and always seemed to lose interest. But this blog is different because it has a real drive behind it. It is created as an avenue for our friends and family to be connected to our journey through life and our adoption of four Precious and absolutely perfect little hiv+ girls from Eastern Europe.

HIV+ is a condition they have and not what they are. What they are is four little angelic beauties. They are perfect in every way and we totally get it that WE ARE THE MOST BLESSED PARENTS IN THE WORLD to be allowed to adopt these precious little flowers.

That last statement is absolutely how we feel. But then the reality sets in that until they are tucked warmly into their beds in our home we cannot safely call them ours. Please pray that God will bring our girls home to us! We are so in Love with these little bananas and we want them here with us where they belong!