Written by our friends at The Blessing of Verity....
Every morning, first thing in the morning, Joe and I pray together. For a long time, one of our earnest requests has been for a more suitable home for Brian and Stephanie Carpenter’s unique family and other ministries.
We KNOW Brian and Stephanie, we KNOW their passion for orphans, their trust in the Lord, the love and care they lavish on their girls. We also KNOW that they are living in a tiny multi-level home, they themselves sleeping on the floor, without sufficient space for all the equipment their girls need…the wheelchairs, walkers, standers.
Many of you followed and donated toward Brian and Stephanie’s record-breaking 6 1/2 week Race To China for Annie back in the spring. They officially adopted her one day shy of her fourteenth birthday and brought her home with full trust in the Lord that He could move them to a home that was more accessible and could accommodate all their girls’ equipment.
Their genuine need has been heavy on our hearts, maybe because we have lived in a very restricted space ourselves. We know what a dramatic difference the right logistics will make for their family every day! So I was thrilled to hear this week that there is something we may be able to do to help them in a practical way. [Yes, I am feeling compelled! You know it, or I would absolutely not be in this space fundraising again!]
Their oldest daughter Sasha, sitting beside her newest sister ANNIE at our kitchen table below, has started a YouCaring fund to surprise her daddy, A Home For Christmas. Please go read the eloquent tribute she has written about him there. What she writes about Brian is true; his entire life is given to the Lord in ministering to his family and beyond. We have the highest respect and admiration for both Brian and Stephanie. We hope that you will find it in your hearts to contribute something and that you will pray along with us for provision of just the right house for this dear family!
And now, a little treat for you…a glimpse of Annie! When I first met Annie, I told her we have a daughter from China living in our family, too, and her face lit up with a huge smile! We recently got the girls together for the first of what we hope will be many visits. I explained privately to Josie that it will seem to her like Annie is much more disabled than she really is, but that Annie is super smart and understands everything she says. Her body just does not cooperate with her efforts to move and to speak. Josie responded, “I get it.”
One of the first things Annie did when she got home was to install a favorite game on the iPad, change it from English to Chinese, and begin playing it before Brian and Stephanie realized what she had done! We see a communication device in this girl’s future!
Two beautiful young ladies, loved and cherished daughters, being a bit shy at their first meeting! Both of them are so sweet-natured and both of them love to laugh!
Some of the ice managed to be broken over drawing projects and homemade chocolate chip cookies, and they agreed to be pen pals!
We watched God provide the home we needed in order to accommodate Josie’s needs. We are eager to see him provide a home for Brian and Stephanie, Sasha, Ellianna, Avi, Lina, Rachele, Olyvia, and Annie!
We love you, girls, and we thank God for the treasures you are in our families!
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