...pursuing presence

Ethiopia Day 1

…we have seen very little in the 12 short hours we have been in Ethiopia; however, one this very present.

Beauty.

At some level, everything here seems to be broken or at least less than perfect, but as I begin to look intently into that brokenness I am seeing something greater there than I could have ever imagined.

From the dark & seemingly dangerous road we travelled to arrive at our guest house, to the stack tires used as a basin for washing the linen, to the broken stones that serve as our protecting fence there is a confident beauty to find if you will only pause to notice.

…as I open the window of our room, the slight smell of stove fires burning tells me that I am in a different place with a different people in seemingly a different time.

I already have a hundred stories and thoughts to explore…

I will not be here long enough to ever fully understand what they all mean…

1 month ago

…and away we go. Next stop Ethiopia!

Follow along on whrrl.com/mikerusch

Ethiopia (Preparing… part 1)

Ethiopia (Going… part 2)

1 month ago View Larger Image

I’m pretty much at a loss for words right now as 24 hours from now our plane will be lifting off to carry Corrie and I to bring Elle home

For so very long, I knew this moment would come, but I never really let it enter into my day to day life, thoughts or prayers. Why? Well, partly because emotionally I’m not sure I could, and partly because I knew God has been walking both in front and behind me and my family.

It’s been a conflicting week as we have great joy for what is ahead, but we also weep with the families who are adopting children from Haiti that will not know this moment for a very long time, if ever.

For us, like so many before us, life will change forever once that plane lifts off the ground, and for that I am excited beyond measure. However, there is still that small voice inside me say “you really think you’re ready for this?” and “you realize this is the easy part, right?”

Thoughts that cause me do one thing alone…

…turn and trust that the God who has brought us this far has already written the story that we are about to explore.

…turn and trust that the people surrounding us would do anything should we only let the words slip from our mouths.

…turn and trust that the purpose of my life is to be the foreshadowing of a coming kingdom where every right is made wrong, every heart is filled and peace reigns. A kingdom where Elle will someday be in the arms of her birth mother again.

…turn and trust that regardless of any difficultly that is ahead, my God will be there.

…turn and trust that there is healing for a child, my child, who needs the arms of her father and mother.

…and that’s pretty much all I can do.

…next stop, Ethiopia

1 month ago 1 note View Larger Image

There simply may not be a better advocate for Haiti’s children than Aaron & Jamie Ivey.

Despite the unspeakable tragedy currently taking place in Haiti, their son Amos is safe and hope is rising because of Aaron & Jamie.

Thank you to CNN for sharing Aaron & Jamie’s story of their family, their hope, their children & our God.

CNN video interview: Family’s Adopted Son in Haiti

We had the incredible opportunity to meet Aaron, Philip, Bush & Jimmie while they were in NW Arkansas for their house tour, and our hearts will be forever connected to their story, to Haiti and to Amos.

Aaron’s song “Amos Story” has been an inspiration to Corrie and I, and now the meaning of those words are truly the hope of so many parents waiting for their children to come home.

We pray Amos is home so very soon & are in awe of how God is using them.

1 month ago

Help End Local Poverty "Orphan Care & Human Trafficking"

1 month ago

lots of packing to do & Will is helping to make sure he knows where everything is

1 month ago View Larger Image

…169 hours and 13 mins from this moment, Corrie & I will be sitting at the airport gate, boarding passes in hard and mentally tired as we try to remember if the 15 bags we just checked in have all we need.

“do you think the big orange bag have enough formula & diapers?”

“do you remember if I packed the extra battery for the camera in case the power converter doesn’t work?”

“where’s the copy of your passport and shot record?”

“did we remember to give your parents the blue folder for Will’s homework?”

…169 hours and 13 mins doesn’t seem like that far way, but it is when your mind is full. And a full mind is what leads to the search for that the one thing we may have left out of those 15 bags.

169 hours from this moment I pray that I will have the presence to reach over and take Corrie’s hand to say, we are ready for the life ahead of us that is waiting.

I know we may not do everything right and there are greater challenges ahead that we may think. However, we can have peace because this journey is no longer about the doctors orders that another pregnancy is too high of a risk or the words that we read in the book of James or the overwhelming scale of the orphan crisis. This journey is simply about our family and our little girl who is coming home.

So, those 15 bags may have something missing, and that is okay. It is okay, because our children are all safe and their mom and dad are waiting at a gate waiting to board so that we can all be together.

“We had to pay extra for the orange bag because all the formula put us over the weight limit.”

“The two extra batteries are fully charged.”

“I have a digital image of my passport & shot record that I can access from anywhere in the world.”

and “Will’s blue folder was in his backpack that I put into my mom’s hands.”

so, 169 hours and 31 mins from now, I wonder what we will be thinking about next?

2 months ago

…just 8 more days & we will be with her

2 months ago View Larger Image

Epiphany…appearance, manifestation, Word made flesh

Jan 6th is celebrated as Epiphany which is the time that is traditionally used to mark the ending of Advent when Jesus was revealed to the three kings. So, today it is appropriate to pause for a moment and remember that Jesus was revealed to the world as King

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us”

However, my favorite translation of John 1:14 is from the Message

“The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.”

I think a lot of us understand the “becoming flesh & blood” part, but what about Jesus “moving into the neighborhood”?

The neighborhood that Jesus entered into was broken, hurting and in desperate need of a future and a hope.

However, I contrast that with the neighborhood I moved into. Honestly, my neighborhood looks…well, opposite of that.

My neighborhood has wide streets for the kids to play in, a community pool, a neighborhood watch and regulations to make sure I quickly fix the door on my mailbox so it doesn’t become an eyesore. I am not saying any of these things are bad or that people shouldn’t enjoy such things (we should all enjoy such things).

I am just reflecting my actions and those of this King because if I am to be the foreshadowing of a coming Kingdom maybe it is time that I also “moved into a neighborhood” that is in desperate need of a future and a hope.

A month ago I began asking people why they chose to live in the house they currently occupy. The answers were very interesting…

“it had three bedrooms”

“it was a great neighborhood”

“the property value was increasing”

“great school district”

…all of these things are great, but what I did notice was the lack of answers related to “because it was a neighborhood in need and I wanted to help.” This included my own response to the question I asked.

Epiphany…appearance, dwelling, presence, neighborhood.

maybe…just for a moment (in a very safe place) we could consider how our communities would change if we were the present foreshadowing of this coming Kingdom in the neighborhoods of our community that are in desperate need of a future and a hope.

E. Stanley Jones once wrote “The Word must become flesh or the Word is a vast question mark.”

Thankfully, the Word did become flesh and now there is hope.

The question is now to us today. How does the Word become flesh and blood in our small corner of the world?

Maybe it means we “move into the neighborhood”?

2 months ago 1 note