In June 2012, Kari and I started our mission-adventure. Dedicating the next twelve months in Ethiopia, Haiti, and Nicaragua to Simply Love on the mission field. I didn’t set any measurable objectives. I’m not building churches or homes or orphanages. I’m not setting up a sponsorship program or trying to get sponsors for an area. I’m not researching any programs. Kari and I just simply wanted to live Out Loud for Jesus! But, what does that look on the mission field? I imagine Mark 12:30-31 gives us a good snapshot … Love God, Love People!
Honestly, it’s not easy. I mess up a lot. Actually, it’s more like every day and many times throughout the day! Unfortunately, I don’t exactly fall into the Mother Theresa category in compassion. In fact, when Kari and I were first married we took a “marriage test” to find areas of compatibility and areas of potential conflict in our relationship. After we took the test, the counselor met with us and highlighted how extremely compatible we were according to the test. But, he went on by asking me a question, “Roger, when you see a cat in the middle of the road in front of you, do you slam on the brakes or push the pedal to the metal?” At first, I was like uh … uh … uh and then I heard Kari laughing. After she caught her breath, she blurted out to the counselor, “Well, he just ran over a bird on the way over here.” There were a bunch of birds in the middle of the road and I figured, as the car got closer they would fly away, but one didn’t make it. All I saw in my rear-view mirror was a poof of feathers. The counselor laughed and proceeded to say that Kari and I were as opposite as a couple could be in our levels of compassion. Kari scored in the “Mother Teresa” range. Me … “The Grinch.”
After that, I kind of just accepted that was the way God designed me. Yet, I’m called to be a follower of Jesus (Eph. 5:1) and in His ministry here on earth He demonstrated compassion daily. His first miracle, he demonstrated compassion by refilling the wine jars. He didn’t want the wedding party to be embarrassed, so He filled the jars back up with the best wine any lips had ever tasted and He saved the day for the bridegroom from shame (Not to mention that would be a horrible way to start off your honeymoon first night.) Christ demonstrated compassion everywhere He went: weddings, in the city, out in the countryside, and even at His own death. He took the burden of our sins even though He was without sin and paid the ultimate price. He knew the path that was before Him – PAIN! But, He cared enough to take those punches to the face, being spat upon by many, lashes from a whip, a crown of thorns pressed deep into his scalp, and a gruesome death on a cross. Why? Just because He loves you and I.
It wasn’t until I experience the brokenness in my heart, that I grew in compassion for others. My first experience in Ethiopia was for our adoption of Zoie. Immediately, when I came off the plane in Addis Ababa and smelled the air, I was ready to go get Zoie and get out, but God had different plans. Shortly after we had our “gotcha moment” with Zoie, I learned that we would have to stay longer in Ethiopia because I passed court as “Robert Gibson”, not Roger Gibson. We were told, “If the courts cooperated and all went well, we would be on a plane quickly.” I asked, “How long is quickly?” Three weeks.” If not, we would be there long enough to become fluent in Amharic. (Read our adoption Gotcha Day experience here and here.)
During those three weeks on the ground in Ethiopia, God peeled back the layers of my heart. He uncovered a lot of embarrassing things in my heart: selfishness, pride, comfort level, etc. It was one of the most humbling experiences I’ve ever had. To have my heart fully exposed; to have all my “junk” rare its ugly head, at a time I should have been compassionate, loving, and protecting the fatherless. You can read the full story here. To love BIG, God will often bring us to a place of brokenness. James 1:2-4 is a popular passage for us to grab onto when we are going through tough times. But, for me the beauty is in verse 4 “ … that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” The Greek word for “perfect” is teleios, which translates to being “fully equipped.” I didn’t know it at the time, but God was getting me ready for missions. I needed compassion. I needed to raise my score from the Grinch range to at least Father Murphy range. I may never attain Mother Theresa level, but I know God is always at work in me to grow in maturity for who He wants me to be. Not in knowledge, but in my heart. Just like the Grinch.
Today, as I look back on that “repulsive” moment in my life, I’m grateful because that was the catalyst for Man Up & Go. God uses people just like you and I, but we need our heart to be ready. If not, here is the formula to get your “heart” ready: brokenness + humbleness + loving God + loving people = compassion. Without compassion, it’s really hard to just Simply Love.
Brokenness is the beginning.
How has God re-shaped your heart?
This is YOUR personal shout out for your adoption and missions fundraisers!! My Crazy Adoption Blog brings the craziness straight to you- sending readers to check out your links!
Except this time my baby is across the globe.
The months preparing for the trip were busy, fun, and detailed. I’m not a very detailed person, so I was thrilled I had a co-leader (Ashlie) who took the reins on that department. She did a fantastic job conducting the conference calls, creating online charts, and answering the emails from the team. I still don’t have the guts to tell her the 
zipped through security, but was instantly stopped by a very grumpy agent. He literally grabbed my carry-on, tossed it on the scale, and told me I would not be able to board with the overweight bag. I remembered reading in past emails from Visiting Orphans to stand firm if there were problems with the airlines, even if security was involved. I basically grabbed my suitcase and ordered him to let me on the flight with my team!! He grabbed my suitcase back and chewed me out for having such a heavy carry-on. I was the only one left standing and started to panic. I’m going to miss the flight and really mess things up for the team. I looked up and saw Randi and Vit standing in the doorway pleading with security to let them take some of the weight off. We scrambled and repacked my bag. It worked and I was able to roll on with my heart pounding and sweaty hands.
We stumbled into our hotel in the wee hours of the morning and crashed until lunch. We met Pastor Samuel and started our adventure to Return Ministries, a special orphanage in the heart of Kampala. I had no idea that my life would change radically in less than a few hours.
Nearly fifty years ago when we were expecting our second child it seemed our hearts were so full. “Could there be room for another?”
a book about a family from the US who felt like God had asked them to leave everything and move to China to help orphans. Their story was amazing and inspiring – one of those “Wow, I wish I had the courage to do that” stories. We signed up for their monthly emails and discussed sponsoring one of the children in their care. The sponsorship package came in the mail right in the middle of a week-long power outage in our community and needless to say, it was not my top priority at the time. It was placed on a shelf and forgotten about until a year later. Ugh – I hate admitting that! This past winter, as I noticed this large envelope looming in the corner of my dining room – I reached for it and little did I know how much our lives were about to change.
Because so much time had passed, I needed to go back to their orphanage’s website and choose a new child to sponsor. I scanned over the pictures of these adorable children and read their stories. The sponsorship requires a monthly donation to help meet the needs of these orphans – and they send you pictures and updates on the child you sponsor. I wanted to choose a child that “made a connection” to our family, so I chose Lori, a precious little girl who was abandoned in a cardboard box probably because she was hearing impaired. We have a dear family friend named Lori and other friends whose little girl had recently been diagnosed as hearing impaired. So, we printed off Lori’s picture and committed to being her Prayer Parents through the sponsorship program. We thought that was the end of it and we “had done our part” in helping orphans. Think again…. A week or so later, we received an email from the orphanage director telling us Lori was being placed for adoption (not all children living in orphanages have been legally cleared for adoption – some still have family members who have not relinquished their rights) and she very pointedly asked us if we wanted her. That was the moment our lives changed forever and our adoption story began. How could we say “no”? I don’t even remember really discussing it – we just read the email and automatically said “yes, we’ll take her”. Here is a little girl who needs a family, we already had a connection to her and had committed to praying for her, and now we were being asked to be that family she needed. We felt like the question had already been answered – Yes, we’ll take her! 
The journey since that day has been a beautiful example of God’s faithfulness and His call to take care of the fatherless. The process of adoption is difficult and there are many hurdles to overcome. However, each time we have run up against one of these obstacles – God has faithfully and miraculously seen us through. We stand amazed at His goodness and His provision. Lori isn’t “home” yet – but each day we get a little closer to completing the adoption – and we are blessed that our lives have been forever changed. We have often said that we hope our story inspires others to get involved in helping the helpless. Not every family can adopt – but every one can help with adoption. Pray about how God can use you to help – can you help a family in your church or community raise funds? Can you help babysit other children while the parents travel to pick up the newly adopted child? Can you offer your services as a Notary Public? Can you donate postage to help with the costs of mailing paperwork? Can you establish an adoption fund in your church to help families in your church afford adoption? There are so many ways to help with adoption and it all contributes to finding “forever families” for these sweet children who desperately need your help. I hope that our story leaves you “forever changed” and that as you read this last sentence – you begin looking for ways to get involved. There are 143 million orphans in the world today waiting for you….
To say that loving on the children at the orphanage was life changing would be an understatement. Never in all my life have I been so dependent on God. Never in all my life have I so clearly seen the Gospel lived out in front of me. Never in all my life have I so fully understood God’s redeeming love for me.
And the change we saw in 5 days with those children both broke and expanded our hearts. By the end of our trip they were crawling into our laps for post-nap snuggles. They looked us in the eye as we said over and over, “Wo ai ni.” They grabbed hands and gave hugs, they laughed and accepted affection. One little guy who began his week by hitting me to get my attention ended the week by crawling into my arms, placing his forehead against mine, lifting my hand to his cheek and motioning me to lovingly stroke and love on him. And so I did just that . . . as I gently rubbed his cheek I prayed for him, asking God to show this little guy His love, to grow this little guy into a man of God, to provide this little guy with a forever family and to use this little guy to reach people for Christ.
