Oldies but Goodies pt. 2... "Wendy with an 'i' "

If you aren't sure if God answers prayers, here is one story that God totally blew our minds with!
My heart was already humbled by what God could do with a "lame" like me in running. And then He went and humbled me with this...

"Saturday, September 23, 2006
Wendy with an "i".
I had my Lupus appointment a couple of weeks ago. The rash on my face (from Lupus) was very red. I had been concerned about it for weeks and knew my doctor would be, too.
At the appointment he was very concerned that my Lupus would be "flaring up", so he performed some blood work to see if anything was going on in my body. He told me to hold off going off of my last pill. I had been waiting 8 months to go off of my pills to try for another baby. I left the office wanting to cry but I still kept the faith. I told Jeremy to drive to my good friend Maria's house. God ordained, Maria lives 3 blocks from the clinic. I needed prayer. When I got to her house she was more than willing to pray and stand beside me during this life test.
Could this be it? I mean, we have come this far. This was my last pill (medicine for my kidneys). Eight months of preparing for another baby. We figured that if I got off of all of my medicine by September (this month) I could get pregnant in December, right before Jeremy has to leave (deploy with the military). Maddy would be 7 years old and a big helper.
After awesome godly words from Maria and other awesome friends of mine, I began seeking the Lord for His will in our lives concerning a child. Our hearts had been for Guatemala. My dad was born there and came to the States when he was 5 yrs old. He learned english from Sesame Street on television. My heart began to desire that of another country. Jeremy and I prayed. The childrens pastors from our church had adopted a little girl from Guatemala City, 1 1/2 yrs. ago. She is something. A lady from McConnell adopted one from there, too. He attends the child development center, where I work. He is something, as well. I am in awe looking at these "hand picked (from God) children" for these families. I told God when He is ready for us to move in this area I will. I will do it without a problem.
After I ran the Endurance50, I had no idea my husband and friends had planned a surprise birthday /congrats on my race dinner at a resturant. After we ate, we went to Starbucks. When we got there we noticed in big writing on their window...GUATEMALA. What was this? We walked in and noticed that if you buy a bag of coffee, your money goes to a school in Guatemala to help. We totally jumped on it. Wow, Lord was this why you had us desiring the better for Guatemala? Okay we will do it. Little did I know God desires bigger things.
So here it is, Friday night my husband and I are double dating to a Michael W. Smith (Christian artist) concert at a local church. We are worshipping the Lord and amazed at this man who has sung songs for Jesus for 20 years. Nineteen albums and the hand of the Lord is all over him. Such an intimate time.
He stopped singing in the middle for an intermission. Before he left the stage he introduced an organization he is in called, Compassion International in Jesus' Name. I had heard this on the radio many times but never felt pulled to do this. He showed a video on helping children in other countries. My heart began to beat fast. After the video they said to raise your hand if you want a child's packet to see who you would sponsor. I prayed that Jeremy would raise his hand for a packet if we are supposed to do this. I prayed that this child would be Spanish speaking preferrably from Guatemala. I said this prayer with doubt saying to myself "you cannot tell God to do these things". I learned that you cannot limit God. God is so big and wants bigger things for his people...especially children.
Jeremy raised his hand..."thank you Lord", I said. Out of thousands of children's profiles, only one was selected for us. It was by God's process that this volunteer selected this packet to give to us. Here came the profile, it passed through 7 pairs of hands to get to us. My heart was racing to see this child.
There she is...her name is Wendi. My heart melted. I was nervous, scared, overwhelmed, and excited to see where she was from. She is from Guatemala. Jeremy was in shock, our friends were speechless (that is how God does it), and I cannot stop crying. Thank you Jesus.
We committed ourselves last night to this child, trusting that the Lord will do great things for this girl and her family. Just knowing that she will know who Jesus is is more than enough. I am excited to see this relationship grow, excited to see how Maddy interacts with her, but most of all excited to tell her what her name means...Wendi means "walks with God".
"...and whoever welcomes a little child like this in My name welcomes Me." -Matthew 18:5"