Heading to China-New Blog address

While in China, we are not allowed to mention the name of the province we are in, for safety reasons. So, I have created another blog to post on while there. Here's the link. www.visitingorphansinchina.blogspot.com. I'm in Chicago now, with the whole team, boarding the plane for Beijing in about 30 minutes! Oh my goodness. Gearing up for a 14 hour flight! We will arrive in China "tomorrow" at 3:30 in the afternoon (which is like 3:30 in the morning here). Hopefully, we will all get some sleep on the flight. I'm hoping to be able to figure out the whole VPN thing, so I can post while in China. Stay tuned for updates!

Putting on the Armor of God

Ephesians 6:10-17(NIV) The Armor of God Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Our team leader shared these verses with our team a couple of weeks ago and recommended that we “put on our armor”, that we may find ourselves under attack from the Devil, as we prepare to do God’s work—more stress at work or home, illness, etc. At the time, life was dandy. I wasn't feeling the pressure. I had it all under control (Ha! “I” had it under control? Really?). Well as we approach our departure date, I find myself, indeed, under attack! The pressure of wrapping up loose ends at work, making sure schedules are in order, with one of my SLPs having a baby any day now and a new SLP taking over for her, Finishing up reports that need to be written, billing for November, payroll, and oh my goodness the PILES of papers in my “to be filed” stack!! Gathering items that I will need for my trip, making sure I have enough essentials (shampoo, makeup, meds, etc.) to get me through 10 days in a foreign country where I won’t be able to buy it if I run out, figuring out what I’m going to do about Natalie’s hair while I’m gone—will I get it professionally done or ask her teacher at school to do it or will Todd just have to manage??? Definitely not the last one…oh my goodness, I have to make an appointment for her! I only have one week to go! And how in the world am I going to pack for ten days with enough clothes for me, food, and toys for the kids in ONE suitcase with a 44 pound weight limit and ONE carry-on with a potential weight limit (in-China flight restrictions)?? And the food! Oh my goodness, the food! I am not an adventurous eater, not even close! We’re talking octopus, squid and fish ball soup (what IS that even?) and a dish served with a chicken beak? What!? I might die if I am served something with a chicken beak on it. (This is why I’m packing food!) This is all very stressful. Then layer on all of this jazz about Ebola and riots in Hong Kong. Gosh, I just want to stay in my little bubble in Franklin, TN. Then, I remember these verses and I remember why I’m going in the first place. I’m going to do God’s work. He called me to this. He will protect me and the team through this. It’s time to get dressed! I am in full on attack from the enemy, but I will NOT be defeated with God on my side and I will not back out. I will increase my prayer time, keep chipping away at the long to-do list and when the time comes to board that plane, I will leave my family and my business in God’s hands and he will take care of them while I’m gone. So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10) And if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. (Isaiah 58:10-11) Trust in the Lord with all your heart, do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you what path to take. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Fundraising Goal Met--PTL! China, here I come!

Our final payments were due yesterday. The final cost came out to be less than originally predicted. Praise the Lord!! After deducting the cost of all the supplies and shipping I spent on my fundraising, I raised just enough money. Its interesting to look back a few weeks ago when my sewing machine went kaput. I was at least $800 short of the goal (or so I thought). The machine was in the shop for two weeks, but while it was being fixed the generous donations kept pouring in! It was as if God was saying, "You can stop killing yourself now. You've done enough. I'll take it from here." Once I got my machine back, I posted on Facebook that I was "back in action" and would be taking more orders. I mean I had lost precious time and needed to get back to work. No sooner than I posted that did my machine start making the horrible noise it was making before I sent it to the shop. My initial thought was "What?! I just paid good money for this to be fixed! You've got to be kidding me!" But then I realized, maybe God was saying "Be Still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10). I had read this Bible verse numerous times over the past few weeks in various places. Maybe I was supposed to be done with the appliqueing. So I posted on FB again that my machine was, in fact, NOT fixed. Amazing, but the next day when I got my machine out so that the sewing repair guy could try to trouble shoot over the phone (since it was a 45 minute drive to his shop for me), it worked fine. I did a quick applique on a scrap item. It worked fine. Then I finished the order I was working on the previous night when the machine began acting up again. It worked fine. I then decided to just skip my other orders and work on some burp cloths I had volunteered to donate to a church baby shower for expecting moms who don't have a support system. It worked fine--through 6 burp cloths! This happened just last night. I decided to cancel the orders that were outstanding because I didn't need the money. I had already made my payment and my goal has been met. Its funny when we try to take things into our own hands, even with good intentions, how God works things out for our own good! I have witnessed this time and time again. "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." (Proverbs 19:21) God knew, from the beginning that he wanted me to go on this trip. He had a plan for how I would raise the money-just enough money! "For I know the plans I have for you", declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11). At first, I listened. Then I decided to take things into my own hands, get creative, and to make new holiday designs and market to other groups of people because I was going to need more orders (so I thought). God knew better. He knew I needed rest. He knew that he would provide the money in other ways. And he did. Almost to the penny! God is amazing and does amazing things when you put your faith in Him and rely on him 100%. Through all of this, I have already learned valuable lessons in humility and faith. And I haven't even gone to China, yet! I can only imagine what is in store over the next few weeks as I prepare for this trip and even more, what's in store once we get to China!

Wanted: Prayer Warriors!

Calling all prayer warriors out there! We need your prayers as we prepare our hearts and minds for our trip. Our team leader has put together this prayer calendar to help us as we get closer to our departure (35 days, y'all, It's getting close!). Please commit to praying for us daily until we depart. More prayer requests for while we are in China will be posted later. Thanks for your support! XOXO

Prayer Request

Please keep me and my team members in your prayers over the several weeks, as we prepare for our trip to China. Here's a great little prayer guide that our team leader sent to us. We will also be recruiting prayer warriors to pray for us while we are in China. It's getting REAL! We were emailed our proposed itineraries yesterday and tickets will be officially bought on Monday!!

Fundraising Update

Many people have been asking me how fundraising is going, so I thought I'd post an update. Considering my goal was to write 2 days a week, I'm way behind anyway! Fundraising is going great! So far, I have raised $3200!! I am about 3/4 of the way to my goal. I feel so blessed by everyone's support and generosity!! I feel certain that I will meet the goal by October first. I have had a bit of a slow down, in that my sewing machine went kaput last night. It has been working HARD the past two months! I have to take it to get serviced and wouldn't you know but there is NO PLACE in Nashville that services Singer dewing machines...I mean, WHAT?!? If anyone out there has a knack for fixing sewing machines there is a market here in Nashville for Singers (sewing machines, that is)! you may want to jump on that! So, I have to drive to Murfreesboro, which is 45 minutes away to take my machine for servicing. The guy is way backed up (I mean, of course he is, he's only one of two people in TN that services Singer machines) so it's going to be 7-10 days to get it back. Ugh! I will still be taking orders, however, as I need to keep on trucking with this if my goal is to be met by October 1st (which is when the final payment is due!) So, prayers for QUICK servicing, please!! And prayers orders to keep on coming in! Also, Plane tickets are being purchased next week! Please pray for LOW airfare, as this will help keep the overall cost of the trip down! Thanks so much for your continued support and prayers!

Wanted- Additional Team Members for Team Shantou!

72 days until we leave for our mission trip! I'm getting pretty excited! We had our first phone conference as a team about a week and a half ago and I learned a little bit more about what to expect. Our team leader, Jennifer, seems pretty awesome! I can't wait to meet her and the other ladies who are going on this trip. So far, we have seven members (one who actually just joined us this week)! Jennifer's goal is for us to have a team of 10. The orphanage we will be visiting is in the city of Shantou, which is in the province of Guangdong. This orphanage is the home to about 200 kids! Can you imagine?!? Many of these children are older kids. There are three baby rooms with about eight babies in each room. One nanny is assigned to each baby room. So one nanny taking care of eight babies. Folks from AWAA have visited this orphanage before and these babies are well cared for, as far as their basic physical needs. They are clean, they are fed, and their diapers are changed regularly. But what they don't have is a lot of time for interaction, touch, holding and playing with the babies, talking to the babies, singing to the babies, doing all of those things that babies need to feel secure, safe, and loved and to form attachments. The younger babies will often lay in their cribs crying, just wanting to be held, but with no response. There are just not enough arms to provide this need. The older babies often don't cry anymore. They've learned that it doesn't work. They've given up in a sense. One of our main “jobs” at this orphanage will be to hold babies and love on them. Feed them, rock them, play with them, talk to them, pray over them, and just provide them with the touch that they don’t get on a daily basis. The more people that can go with us, the more babies that can be held. Could YOU be our next team member? Is God calling you to help with this mission? Now I know what you are thinking…a million reasons why you can’t go, right? I’m pretty sure all of those reasons popped into my head, as well. I will share with you my top four reasons “why I couldn’t go” and the reasons “why I could” that God showed me. 1.) WHY I CAN’T: “I don’t have the money. No way, no how can I come up with that kind of money before October!” WHY YOU CAN: “When God calls us to do something, HE PROVIDES! It might take a little (or a lot of) effort on your part. You will likely have to make some sacrifices. You will have to swallow some pride. But HE WILL provide if you are willing to follow Him! He will provide you with the wisdom of HOW to do it, the time and energy to follow through with His plan, and he will provide the funds in ways you never could have imagined. I am witnessing this first hand! There is no doubt in my mind that I will raise the rest of the money needed for my own trip and I know he will provide YOU with the funds, if you are willing to step out in faith and commit to following Him if he is calling you to this. “For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales and lay them at the apostles’ feet and they would be distributed to each as any had need.” Acts 4:34 2.) WHY I CAN’T: “It’s just not a good time” My main SLP who works for me is having her baby while I will be in China. I will have a new SLP taking over her caseload for her maternity leave. Not exactly the best time for me to be out of the country. But, I have put this in God’s hands and I know it will be fine. I will just seek His wisdom and trust that He’s got this! WHY YOU CAN: “If you wait for perfect conditions, you’ll never get anything done” (Ecclesiastes 11:4) Let’s face it, it’s never going to be a good time. There’s always going to be something. 3.) WHY I CAN’T: “It’s Halloween. I’m going to miss my baby dressed up in a cute little costume going trick-or-treating. She’s only going to trick-or-treat when she’s two once.” WHY YOU CAN: Well this one really wasn’t hard for me to overcome. It’s not like it is Christmas or her birthday. It’s Halloween. In the grand scheme of things, that’s not really all that important. Taking the time to love on some babies that don’t have mommies or daddies seems much more important that than trick-or-treating. “Keep me from paying attention to what is worthless.” Psalm 119:37 4.) WHY I CAN’T: “I don’t think I can do that- see those babies crying with no one to pick them up, children with special needs who are just lying on the floor all day long with nothing to do and no one to play with them. I mean, what would I do? What would I say to them? How would I do it without breaking down into tears? No way. I’m not strong enough.” WHY YOU CAN: Of course you’re not strong enough. That’s why God wants us to do this. So that we have to rely on him and lean on him. That’s the only way anyone can do this. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be my witness, both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and even the remotest part of the world.” Acts 1:8 One final word. If you feel that God is calling you to do this, and I believe that if you feel just a hint of desire to go, He is calling you. Pray about it. And really listen. If you hear him calling, say “yes” to this. We would love to have you join our team! “Stop quarreling with God! If you agree with Him, you will have peace at last, and things will go well for you.” Job 22:21

Pride...A tough pill to swallow

I've been meaning to write this post for a couple of weeks now, but, well, pride kept getting in the way! If you've ever had to raise money to do something like adopt or go on a mission trip or any other reason, you know how much pride swallowing is required. When it came down to sending out my "support letter" for this mission trip, I struggled with "asking people for money" and I find it hard even now, as people are so kind and generous, donating money to put toward my trip to accept it without pride sneaking in and making me want to say "No, this is too much." But then I have to remember that this money is not for ME. It's for God's children, so I can help them, show them love, help their caregivers and future families better understand their abilities. I feel better about working to earn the money, but I also know that there's no way I can make enough bibs and burb cloths in six more weeks to earn the rest of the money doing that alone. I'm just about half way to my goal, having raised about $2000 almost enough for my first payment which is due September 1st. but I have a long way to go before reaching my goal of $5000(maybe less depending on the cost of the airline tickets). I am so grateful and overwhelmed by the response and generosity that I've received thus far from friends and family! And I am amazed at how quickly I've been able to raise the amount I've raised so far. God is good! Whenever he calls us to do something, he enables us to do it, too! Sometimes these blessings require a tough lesson in humility. So, here I am swallowing my pride once again, and asking, "Won't you please consider making a donation to help me go to China?" $10? $20? $50? No donation is too small. Please prayerfully consider what you can give. Share this with others who may be able to donate, as well. Clink here to donate. Make sure you choose "ACT Missions" from the drop down box and put my name in the "Participant's Name" box. Also, in the notes box, make sure you put my name again and "Guangdong October 2014" to make sure it is credited to my trip. I will, of course, continue making bibs, burp cloths, and kitchen towels, so let me know if you want to order one of those. And spread the word, please! Thanks! "In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive." Acts 20:35

Links

For some reason the links didn't show up in the previous blog post. So... The Just Love Coffee link is www.justlovecoffee.com/Tararoofmissiontrip. The link to donate to my trip is https://www.awaa.org/give/general_donation.aspx

Fundraising like Crazy!

I have been busy, busy, making and selling appliqued items! I am so grateful and humbled by those who have supported me so far! I am almost a quarter of the way to meeting my goal! My first payment of $2200 is due September 1st. I am about half way there, but I have a LONG way to go! Final payment is due October 1st. I am making and selling appliqued bibs, burp cloths, and kitchen towels. I can do a cross or an initial in just about any color. Here are a few pictures of some I've made so far. They are $15 each plus shipping.

I will also be doing game day t-shirts with an appliqued initial or the design seen below in your team's colors for your little ones. Ruffle shirt for girls, plain tee for boys. Infant/Toddler sizes and children sizes available. I am taking "pre-orders" so that I can order the shirts in bulk. Deadline for ordering is August 10th, so place your order ASAP!

As if all this appliqueing won't keep me busy enough, I've decided to make and sell stationary, too. I mean, who doesn't need stationary, right? Right now I have some with these crosses in a variety of colors on white card stock. $10 for a pack of 8. I can take custom orders, too. Just email me and we can talk about what you'd like.

And, for all of those coffee lovers out there, I've just opened a "store front" with Just Love Coffee (no, I won't be making the coffee!). Just Love Coffee is an online coffee shop where you can order a variety of different types of coffees to be delivered to your door. If you shop using this link, Just Love Coffee with donate a portion of their sales to my trip! How cool is that!?!? Please share this link with others who love coffee, too! Click here to shop. Let's just be honest, I'm going to have to make A LOT of items in order to get to my goal, and I'm willing to do the work. Bu I'm going to need some just straight up donations to get there before September 1st/October 1st. If you don't need a bib, burp cloth, kitchen towel, stationary, or coffee, please consider making a contribution to my trip. You can send a check to me or you can pay online here. Make sure you choose "ACT Missions" in the "Designated Funds" dropdown box and put my name (Tara Roof) under "participants name". Thanks, y'all!

How It All Began

So back in May I was finishing up a therapy session with a kiddo whose mother just returned from a mission trip to China with AAWA(I'm a speech-language pathologist (SLP), for those who don't know me). I asked her how her trip went and she shared with me stories from her visit, stories that tugged at my heart strings, stories that eventually led me to "get up and go". It was one story in particular that got me. The story went something like this...As the group was walking through the baby/toddler room, there was one little boy that the caregivers told them "doesn't have a mind". This little boy scooted across the floor toward my client, as she squatted to the floor with outstretched arms. When he came near to her he reached out and held her hands. They interacted for a short while, and when she walked away, he said "mama." His first word. The caregivers said that they didn't think he could even talk. Wow! Just Wow! I was pretty sure I heard God whisper "go" at that point. My client went on to tell me that they need "people like me" (i.e., medical professionals, SLPs, OTs, physical therapists, etc.) on these trips to help the caregivers understand how to work with the children who have special needs. Again, God whispered "Go." I heard it little louder at that time, but again, I thought, "Oh. no, not me." Then she made a comment about the Bible saying when you know about it, you are responsible to do something about it. Not her exact words, but something like that. Then I was certain He was talking to ME. But, of course, I'm not a very good listener, so I argued with God a little bit over the matter...for a good six week before deciding to say "yes". "I'll pray about it," I thought. Then, later that day, my client emailed me a link to her blog and a link to AWAA's website to read about their mission trips. "Ok, well, I'll just take a peak at the websites, and maybe one day I could do something like this," I thought. Then the next day (or a couple days later, I can't remember exactly), she forwards me an email response from one of the mission trip coordinators at AWAA (she had emailed her and told her about me) which talked about this trip, to Guangdong in October, and that she personally had been to this orphanage and there were many children with special needs-Down Syndrome, Autism, etc.-and that they could use "someone like me" on this trip. Well at that point, I said to God, "There is absolutely NO WAY I can go to China in less than five months. No way! for so many reasons--For one, I don't have $4300! Also, it's CHINA! It's so far away! I've never been that far away from home before. Also, TEN days?! That's such a long time to be away from Natalie. And I would miss Halloween and Natalie all dressed up trick-or-treating. And, my main SLP is having her baby during that time and will going on maternity leave and I will have a new SLP taking over for her at that time. AND, AND, AND...So, "I'll pray about it," I thought. And so I did and God kept bringing things up like "If you wait for perfect conditions you'll never get anything done" (Ecclesiastes 11:4) and on Facebook of all places, I read a quote on the Proverbs 31 Ministries page. It said "You know that thing God has been nudging you to do. Now's the time to begin" and it referenced Noah and how it had not started to rain when he said "yes" to God and began to build he arc. "Okay. Okay" I said to God. I'll email the coordinator and just get more information." So, I did and I was honest about being interested, but not having the money to go. She emailed me back an inspiring fundraising success story and a list of ideas for fundraising. "Ok. Well maybe I can do this. I'll have to work really hard to fundraise." BUT, Todd will NEVER agree to this. There's just no way. He'll think I've lost my mind. We absolutely don't have the money. "I'll just pray about it some more" I thought. I'm a little stubborn and I'm so grateful that God is so patient because it takes me a long time to comply sometimes. It's not that I don't trust God, I just don't trust myself and my ability to listen. I have a hard time discerning if whether the "voice" I hear is God or if its just my imagination or impulsivity. So anyway, God knows this and he usually eventually speaks VERY loud and VERY clear and he did. One Sunday in church, the priest's homily was VERY clear and Todd heard it, too. He was preaching on Matthew 8:21-22 "Another disciple said to him, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father. But Jesus told him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead." Basically, what I heard was that you don't tell Jesus to "Wait." You just go and follow him. That's what we are called to do as His disciples. And just a few days before, I read Acts 8: 26-27 "But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, "Get up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza." So he got up and went." He got up and went! And that is when I said. "Alright, God. I'll go!" So here I am, working my booty off to raise the money so I can go on this trip. Thanks for hanging in there with me through this long post and thanks for your prayers and support along this journey! If you want to read more about my client's trip, jump on over to her blog here

Going On a Mission Trip

So most of you know by now that I'm embarking on a new adventure...I'm going to China! China?!? That's SO far away! I'm going to "visit orphans", sweet little children, most of whom have special needs, children that need to be loved on with caregivers who need wisdom on how to best care for them, how to encourage their development, and hopefully provide some insight about their communication abilities that can be shared with potential adoptive families. I am starting this blog to keep those of you who are supporting me up-to-date on the happenings before, during, and after the trip. I have unfortunately not been blessed with the gift of entertaining, so my blog posts will likely just provide factual information about what's happening along this journey. My hope is that this blog will also serve the purpose of inspiring others to go out and do the same...to "visit orphans", as God calls us to do. "True and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world." James 1:27 I cannot do this alone! If I don't raise the money, I simply cannot go. I'll save those details for another blog post. But I know that when God calls us to do something, he enables us to complete it. So I know that with your support, I will be able to complete this journey, not just financial support, but prayers, prayers, and LOTS of prayers! My goal is to post 1-2 time per week with updates, prayer requests, or maybe just food for thought, so please stay tuned. Share this with others you know who have a heart for orphans or for children with special needs or anyone who would simply be interested in seeing how the Lord is working in an ordinary person's life. If you are interested in donating, you can do so online at https://www.awaa.org/give/general_donation.aspx. In the “Designated Funds” drop down box, select ACT Missions. And enter my name, Tara Roof, where it says “Participants Name” in order to ensure your donation is credited to my trip. Thank you for supporting me and for following my new blog!