AT HOME – December 16, 2008

Thank you for traveling with us on our adventure to Africa. Now we’re embarking on two more adventures – to see about healing and/or repair of Pewe Joseph’s esophagus (we have our first doctor’s visit today), and to become knit together as a family. We will try to continue the blog for a while longer to keep you updated on his medical status!

Already we’ve had many victories and joys. Pewe Joseph likes to “go in da ca’ [car],” so we ventured to Berean bookstore yesterday. At the checkout counter, there were lollipops and they were huge! I told him that they were too big, but I would give him a sucker when we got home. Immediately, he plopped down, immobile, and gave me that totally unresponsive look he has. When I finished paying, I told Kelly, “Get the keys ready to hightail it out of here; this is probably going to be pretty ugly.” But he allowed me to get his coat on and get him to the van, still basically immobile. He was silent all the way home and when we walked in the kitchen, he said, “candy.” I followed through and everyone was happy. This is a HUGE victory in his little life. A week ago, in the midst of 6-a-day tantrums, I certainly couldn’t foresee this day. Even better, later in the day after Kelly and Michele had taken Pewe Joseph to Meijer, when he came back home, he ran to me and gave me a big hug! It’s the first demonstrative thing he’s done, and to think that we’ve only known him a week. All the kids are enjoying getting to know Pewe Joseph, and so far, he seems to fit right into the Dyer crew. Of course, we’ll have more victories and trials, advances and setbacks, but we’re well on our way as a family of seven. God has been very good to us.

CHRISTMAS LETTER

Since these past two weeks have been the highlight of Dyer 2008, I think the blog will suffice as our Christmas letter this year.

Between the Old and New Testaments in the Bible, there was 400 years of silence. God’s chosen people could not hear His voice or see His hand. Yet, He was not absent, and although it could not yet be seen, God was at work orchestrating His plan to bring salvation to all people. When the time was right, He fulfilled His promise by sending His Son into the world as a baby born in a manger in Bethlehem. A dirty stall in a tiny town as the birthplace for a king? But God had planned the perfect time, the perfect place and the perfect circumstances for the Christ Child to come to us – and the angels rejoiced!

There were many times in our adoption journey when I felt God’s silence. From the time we first contacted Bethany Christian Services, until we brought Pewe Joseph home, it’s been almost 3 years, and we’ve known specifically about Joseph for 10 months. I have gone through times of hopefulness, and times of confusion, doubt and despair. Yet, again and again I made a conscious decision to put my trust in God. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38, 39)

And now that we can see the fulfillment of God’s plan, all the waiting – and even the silence – was worth it. God had planned the perfect time, the perfect place and the perfect circumstances for the child to come to us – and we are rejoicing. There is a song that says when you can’t see God’s hand, trust His heart. He is always at work for our good and for His glory.

The name Joseph means “God will add.” Through Pewe Joseph, God has added to our family, added to our faith, and added to our joy. Now through Jesus Christ, MAY GOD ADD to your life, your faith and your joy. Now to him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly more than we can ask or imagine, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. (Ephesians 3:20, 21)

Merry Christmas!
Steve, Jill, Kelly, Michele, Eric, Nathan and Pewe Joseph