The traveling part of this fast is wearing on me, especially since I'm back in my "homeland." There are so many restaurants that I would love to sit in and enjoy their food for the first time in months, but the beans and rice and potatoes are limiting, at best.
Yesterday was a great example. There's a burger joint up here named Culver's that is a favorite of the Drakes. The problem for my Compassion diet is that burger joints typically don't have much variety in the beans/rice/potatoes realm. So while my family got after some butterburgers, I was relegated to mashed potatoes and French fries. Not exactly the stuff that you write home about.
And then for dinner, we met some good friends and were at a loss for where to go. We finally decided on Logan's Roadhouse, where I settled into a plate of rice pilaf (what exactly is "pilaf" again?) and a baked potato (and all of the Logan's bread that I could eat). We had a great conversation about life and ministry and family. We laughed and re-connected and it was (again) a sacred moment.
After dinner we retreated to the Craig house for some more conversation while our kiddos ran around the house like crazy people. Their little boy, Kaden, is about as cute as they come. Joel and Kristy went through quite the ordeal to adopt him from Congo and he is worth every hour that they spent waiting for him. They told us about some of the changes that are about to happen in their family. It seems that the whole experience in Kenya has opened up new worlds to them. They are in the process of adopting two more kids, sisters ages 3-1/2 & almost 2. They will go from a family of two and a dog (named Wrigley!!) to a family of five with three kids between ages 2 & 4.
I have known Joel since my first day at Lincoln Christian College. We made a connection that first day when we found out that his dad had sung in my parents' wedding. Dan Craig and Mike Drake went way back, and Joel & I (and his brother, Jason) will go way back, too. Joel and I played basketball and baseball together in college, lived on the same floor, did lots of ministry together. He's one of those guys that I could call tomorrow and he would drop everything to do what I needed done. He is truly a brother.
I was so proud of the changes that he has brought about in the world. He's done ministry at a megachurch in Bloomington/Normal for over 13 years, loving on junior highers and their families. And I know that lives have been greatly affected by his life and ministry. But I couldn't help but think that the influence that he and Kristy will have by their willingness to take in these three kids (and possibly more) will greatly outweigh all that they have done in paid ministry. Listening to his heart and Kristy's heart about this adoption agency in Congo inspired me in so many ways. I was in the midst of kingdom breaking out in a way that amazed me. Kaden and Karis and Karolina will have amazing lives because of the willingness of these two Christ-followers to be used. Awesome!
Will you take a moment to pray for my friends? Kristy leaves in three weeks for Congo and will be there alone dealing with all of the red tape that goes along with these adoptions. Joel will be in Illinois, worrying about his wife and daughters. And the girls have some health issues to go along with the inevitable emotional issues that come with the changes that they're about to experience. So utter a quick prayer, if you would, for my friends Joel & Kristy and their sweet family as they do their small part to live out the prayer of the kingdom coming on earth as it is in the heavens.
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