MICHELLE and FELICIA for the Cooper family — MD
UPDATE: The Coopers have decided to bring home Felicia, as well!
Neil and Stephanie have been married for six years. They both committed their lives to Christ eight years ago, and desire to serve Jesus with all their hearts. They have three beautiful, precious children: a son who is four, a son who is two, and a baby girl born in 2011. They love children and have together dreamed of having a large family, as God wills. They also have a son in heaven, whom they named Joshua, who died very early in a pregnancy after their first son was born. After their deeply felt loss, God firmly planted seeds of adoption in their hearts. The seeds were rekindled during Orphan Sunday 2011, which fell on the anniversary of the loss of Joshua. Stephanie began writing prayers for orphans on facebook and came across an ad for Reece’s Rainbow in a homeschooling magazine. She found Michelle’s profile and felt an immediate bond. She began writing prayers for Michelle and raising funds for her adoption on facebook. She asked God to work in Neil’s heart too, if it was meant to be. God responded, and very quickly, supernaturally, showed His will to Neil with the adoption. God showed both of them the needs of orphans in Eastern Europe, and gave them heaven sent promptings, that He is weaving together into a beautiful tapestry. One day when Stephanie was emotionally telling Neil about the conditions Michelle is living in, in the adult mental institution, at that moment their four year old son bit into a cookie and said, “look, Mommy, a rainbow.” On another occasion, while reading a children’s book to their kids by Max Lucado, called “The Crippled Lamb”, they were both moved by the meaning behind the story…God was speaking directly to their hearts. The story is about a little lamb named Joshua who cannot go out to the field with the other lambs because he has a crippled leg. He must stay behind in a stable where the baby Jesus is born that night. Joshua warms the baby Jesus with his wool coat and realizes God has a special plan for him. At Christmas, Neil and Stephanie’s children’s Godparents unknowingly gave their children the DVD, “The Crippled Lamb”. Finally, another significant piece of the tapestry was woven together on Stephanie’s birthday. She had been asking God if Michelle is their daughter. While driving, she was listening to a radio program about Sanctity of Life Sunday. The broadcast was about a story of a lady who came into a pregnancy center, was ministered to, prayed over, and at the last minute, decided to give her baby life. The story paralleled the story of a mother named Michelle who had come to a pregnancy center Stephanie was volunteering at one day. She was prayed over by many, and also decided to give her baby life. The moment Stephanie was thinking about Michelle and her child, she passed Michelle Road. Stephanie knew in her heart it was an answer to her prayer, and another piece of God’s truly beautiful tapestry. Neil and Stephanie know God has a beautiful plan and are relying on God to provide as His will unfolds. They know Michelle needs a home quickly as she has already been transferred, but know it will be in God’s perfect timing.
5/18/12—DOSSIER EN ROUTE
Follow the family’s adoption journey on their blog at http://www.lordisourshepherd.blogspot.com/
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