i can't pretend to imagine what it was like for orphan-now queen Esther to go boldly before the king.

to beg for the lives of her people. to have only one chance.

i can't tell you that God owes me anything.

i can't tell you how this adoption story ends.

i can't begin to imagine all that is taking place in the heavenlies. my mind probably can't take it! if what i'm feeling in my heart and soul is a glimmer of the struggle, the waging, the battle - i know it's a big one!

but i can tell you this...

k is worth it all! any of our children are worth fighting for.

throughout the Scriptures, as ben reminded me...

Elizabeth and Zechariah praying for a son.

Hannah begging God for a son.

Abraham and Sarah crying out to God a time or two.

Mary and Joseph praying protection over the Son of God as Herod was killing children.

Moses and the Israelites staying awake all night as the death angel passes over the first-borns.

my heart has never been so heavy as it is now.

a year ago at the end of this month we knew that a meeting was happening in our daughter's country.

we invited some of you to fast and pray.

we weren't certain of the outcome, but in three days, we were matched with our daughter.

God gets the glory. He is the Famous One. He did this.

ben reads this to me from the Scriptures this morning:

"grant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked;

do not further their evil plot or they will be exalted!

i know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted;

and will execute justice for the needy,

surely the righteous shall give thanks to Your Name;" {Psalm 140.8, 12,13}

today, i’m asking hundreds, if not thousands of you, to consider calling out to God on behalf of K and the committee and orphans and inconsistent and corrupt powers.

to fast and pray from sunset on tuesday through sunrise on thursday.

i invite you to fast and pray and worship and wait with us.

it would be so much cozier to do it all together in the comfort of our living room, but rather we are scattered through the world, His people calling on His Name.

...for such a time as this.

the possibility is strongest in k’s country on wednesday and thursday that the committee will see and read our appeal. they will have an opportunity to respond to our plea. again, no guarantees. God doesn’t owe us this. but throughout Scripture, He invites His people to ask, to watch and be amazed.

as my friend suggests, we’re doing this the old-fashioned way. since beginning of time, God invites us into what He's doing and wants to accomplish. to break the chains of bondage. to change the hearts of man. to set the captives free. doing this the old-fashioned way proves that He's doing the fighting, giving Him all the glory. for we cannot change their minds. their minds have been determined. we have been denied. but God can. He can use our appeal letters. our prayers. our worship.

Lord, here our cry. hear our prayer...
God, favor their hearts to keeping us matched. we wait on You.

"and then the Adversary goes a step further. Not content with dealing directly with his captives, he rivets their chains by dealing with God's people about them. He works on our unbelief and our faintheartedness, and breathes a half-uttered word - 'impossible.' But oh! He overreaches himself when he gets to the world. He means it to sound like a knell, and instead of that it breaks into a ringing chime of hope: for

The things that are impossible with men are possible with God.

He is the God of the impossible….Oh! This is what we need! Only dim glimmerings come as yet of what it means to wield the power of the Name of Jesus against the world-rulers who lie behind the needs of those around us."

{Lilias Trotter, from her writings in the late 1800's-1900's, a woman who believed God for the impossible}