The process of starting a foster home has been a bumpy, joyous, curvy, exciting ride! We've had our tough moments…moments of wondering "should we do this??" "What are we doing?"…moments of feeling deep need to continue moving forward.
The past few months we've been working on fixing up a 100 year old house to use as a temporary foster home. It was a large step of faith to decide to fix up the home: We had/have little money, we only started with a few hands to be able to help…but we knew God had opened the door for us to use the building! God blessed and provided…he provided work teams that were able to not only help fix the house, but bless us with funding the projects that we were going to be working on. Through the teams that have come down, God has blessed us with meeting new people to help us spread the word about the vision that God has given us here in Ecuador.
The house has gone through a complete transformation!! Just check out the current BEFORE and AFTER pictures
The past few months we've been working on fixing up a 100 year old house to use as a temporary foster home. It was a large step of faith to decide to fix up the home: We had/have little money, we only started with a few hands to be able to help…but we knew God had opened the door for us to use the building! God blessed and provided…he provided work teams that were able to not only help fix the house, but bless us with funding the projects that we were going to be working on. Through the teams that have come down, God has blessed us with meeting new people to help us spread the word about the vision that God has given us here in Ecuador.
The house has gone through a complete transformation!! Just check out the current BEFORE and AFTER pictures
The definition of transformation is the following...a marked change in form, nature, or appearance.
The house that we will use as a temporary foster home has gone through a marked change. It will never be able to go back to how it was before we started working on it. Parts of the house have been taken out, destroyed, painted, and in some areas new parts have been put up. No one questions as to why...because it is known...we are making these changes to better the house, to make it safer for children, to brighten it up and make it more inviting.
My heart and mind continue to think about how this relates to our spiritual life. For those of us who know Jesus and have accepted him as our Savior...our lives much like the house should have undergone and are probably still undergoing a transformation. The bible says, in 1 Corinthians5:17, that we are new creations in Christ, that the old has gone and the new has come. However, unlike the fixing up of a house…we often question…"Why is this happening to me?" "Why am I going through this hard time?" "When will things get easier?" We often don't stop and think that God uses difficult situations to transform us, to make us better, to make us brighter lights for him. However, God wants us to be like the house, unable to return to our original state. He wants us to be forever changed!
This poses many questions...is my (your) life transformed?...is there a marked changed (whether in appearance, form, or nature) in my (your) life? Has my (your) life undergone such a transformation that it will never be able to go back to how it was?
There is a quote by Joyce Meyer :
"I may not be where I want to be, but thank God I am not where I used to be"
This saying relates just as much to our personal lives as it does to the foster home we are working on. We do not have all things figured out in this life, and much like myself you may be saying...well my life surely is not where it used to be...but I am not perfect yet either. God continues to mold us into his image and through the santification of the Holy Spirit he transforms us.
How does that same saying relate to a 100 year old house?? The house is obviously not what it was a few months ago, however, it is not where it needs to be either! We still need to get beds made to put in the house and most of all the house lacks children! We are still working on raising funds to open the house! We are aiming to raise $10,000 dollars (which would be about 6 months worth of funding) to open the house when we return from our visit to the states in January. Please consider praying about helping us reach that goal!
Blessings,
Roberto and Jill
written by Jill
The house that we will use as a temporary foster home has gone through a marked change. It will never be able to go back to how it was before we started working on it. Parts of the house have been taken out, destroyed, painted, and in some areas new parts have been put up. No one questions as to why...because it is known...we are making these changes to better the house, to make it safer for children, to brighten it up and make it more inviting.
My heart and mind continue to think about how this relates to our spiritual life. For those of us who know Jesus and have accepted him as our Savior...our lives much like the house should have undergone and are probably still undergoing a transformation. The bible says, in 1 Corinthians5:17, that we are new creations in Christ, that the old has gone and the new has come. However, unlike the fixing up of a house…we often question…"Why is this happening to me?" "Why am I going through this hard time?" "When will things get easier?" We often don't stop and think that God uses difficult situations to transform us, to make us better, to make us brighter lights for him. However, God wants us to be like the house, unable to return to our original state. He wants us to be forever changed!
This poses many questions...is my (your) life transformed?...is there a marked changed (whether in appearance, form, or nature) in my (your) life? Has my (your) life undergone such a transformation that it will never be able to go back to how it was?
There is a quote by Joyce Meyer :
"I may not be where I want to be, but thank God I am not where I used to be"
This saying relates just as much to our personal lives as it does to the foster home we are working on. We do not have all things figured out in this life, and much like myself you may be saying...well my life surely is not where it used to be...but I am not perfect yet either. God continues to mold us into his image and through the santification of the Holy Spirit he transforms us.
How does that same saying relate to a 100 year old house?? The house is obviously not what it was a few months ago, however, it is not where it needs to be either! We still need to get beds made to put in the house and most of all the house lacks children! We are still working on raising funds to open the house! We are aiming to raise $10,000 dollars (which would be about 6 months worth of funding) to open the house when we return from our visit to the states in January. Please consider praying about helping us reach that goal!
Blessings,
Roberto and Jill
written by Jill