YOU guys truly are A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.

Last night we invited some friends to help….
and the assembly line begins…
Everyone seriously got into it!
 Everyone got into it!
Jubilee thought it was a complete hoot!
Slowly the van got emptied…. 
And everyone helped the entire time!!
I was so proud of them all…

 And we ladies piled them on the island

and on the stools…

 End to end and side to side….
Do YOU see your package in there??
The opening began…

And the sorting started….
some sent shirts,
some sent ties….
some sent both…
some sent shorts…
and some sent undies….
and it was absolutely amazing….
we ran out of shorts and all of a sudden Dw opened a box and there it was…
Only shorts….
and the letter said, “I could only get shorts…”  
Perfect Shirley G., Perfect!!
Only God. 
 Only Him.  
I regret that I didn’t get a posed picture of April, Emma and Misty…
everybody worked so hard….
 Matching shirts with ties….
and shorts with sets….
and making sure everyone got clean undies and a note!!

And then each set was packaged in gallon bags and marked…



Ohhhh how you love the orphan!!

Beautiful people from around the globe…

Loving and praying for kids that they will likely never meet
{this side of eternity}
 Friends praying already for the little ones that will wear these clothes….
And you know what was one of the very funnest parts for me?  
Actually seeing many of you…
I have to tell you….
the men unpacked the stuff and they would say, 
“Oh here’s one from Australia!”
 and I said, “Is it from Susan?”
{and yes it was -and Susan – by the way – beautiful picture of you, dear friend!!}

And then they would say, “Lisa” in A, CO and I would say, “Oh, she gave me the “Simplify” sign that hangs above our TV when she came to meet me in Denver at the mall last year.” 
{pictured below}
And there was Melissa!

And sometimes the men would mention a name like Jen and her family in California and I would say,
 “Oh she’s expecting a baby soon and she sooo wishes she could go with us for the wedding feast!”
{pictured below and by the way Jen – I know that background}
And this one below?  I said, “Dw, do you recognize them? It’s Jackie and Bruce and they were in China with us when we brought Isaiah home….remember?”  {And everyone here thought Bruce was Steven Curtis Chapman – he does look like it in the picture!}
 And then there was AnneMarie….
And my dear friend Kimmy and Bryan {Kim is the bloggy friend who has designed the site for the non-profit we are starting  – which is just about ready to launch ** squeals of joy**!}

And Justin at one point said, ‘Something from Amelia” and we said, “Oh! That’s where we pastored”….and it was you, Marci!  {But you didn’t send a picture! Send one now and I will pass it along!}
And then there was Victoria….

You all are soooo beautiful!!  
I am so blessed to call you my friends….

At one point Justin said, “There’s one from C…, NY”

And I said, “Lisa!”  She lives not far from where Dw grew up!
Beautiful family Lisa….

and later Justin and Dw showed me the picture {below} and I instantly recognized you and said, 
“OH! That’s Rachel – she and her husband are in ministry too!!”  
{And Rachel, by the way, when I read that you wrote to the street boys, “God knows your name…” I literally started to cry and started again as I typed this.  Beautiful.  Beautiful. Beautiful.  God does know their name and He cares so much.}
Serious, serious fun!!  
I was loving seeing you all….
and it really was crazy how many of you I knew and 
could tell my sweet friends helping pack the things bits about you…
Then, of course, there were the ‘lurkers’ who came out of hiding to send something.
  
So thankful something finally, finally, finally, drew you out. 
Now that you’ve delurked – say something once in a while, will ya?
And I was thinking, that 
if 
Lisa 
and 
Rachel 
and 
Susan A. 
and 
Kimmy
 and 
AnnMarie
 and 
Jen
 had stayed lurking 
I wouldn’t know them…
but they didn’t  
and I DO!!!!!  
And my life is soooooo abundantly blessed!
And check out this precious little guy…who wrote a letter and stuck in his picture…
How stinkin’ cute is he??
Thank you Zachary…
I am sure that the treasure who wears your outfit and gets your note
will never, ever, ever forget you…and will hold onto your picture forever.
Promise.

And some of you took such special care to wrap things so beautifully….

And Justin and Dw became our official tie-tiers.
Saving us lots of time getting the boys dressed.  

And before long one suitcase was filled to 70 lbs. 
and another and another and another and another….

Emma posing…she loved how whoever put the outfit together with pins and all,
she could totally picture it and kept saying, “That is sooo cool!”

And some gorgeous princess dresses arrived and were packed with new undies….
and labeled…

And these were sealed, so we don’t know who worked so hard on them….
but they were definitely done with love!!

And about 20 minutes before opening the bows below, Emma said, “We need to go buy some hair things for the girls….” and
Voila!  Look at what God did through you being HIS hands and feet!!
Yippee Jesus!!

Most left about 10pm.  
Emma stayed up with me continuing to work until about midnight
and then I started to head to bed, but couldn’t until I had read all the letters and cards 
many of you had sent.  
It just hadn’t even crossed my mind that so many of you would write me a personal note…they all meant so much….thank you!
And thank you to those who stuck a monetary gift in to help get the extra suitcases to Uganda…
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
YOU guys truly are A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.

28 thoughts on “YOU guys truly are A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.

  1. Oh, I'm just so, so blessed reading of Christ's Body responding in such a big and loving way!! Thank you so much for updating us with these pictures and accounts of the fun (and work!) of compiling everything!

  2. Linny, My heart swelled with joy when I read your post today. I am so happy for the kids and how great and beautiful the wedding is going to be. I can't wait to see pictures…

    ps…My kids thought they were celebrities yesterday since they were on your blog…They came running to look…haha!

  3. OH, one of my favorite songs is playing as I type this! 🙂 Everlasting God- LOVE IT! This was such a fun post! There was something so special about this opportunity. I was able to share it with my children and shop with them and talk about where the clothes were going, and it just made it SO much more meaningful for all of us. So much more than writing a check (although that's meaningful too!). It was also a delight to see my friends' clothes (awesome princess dress, Jocelyn!!) and just to think about how so many of us are joined through this beautiful thing called adoption!

  4. This is just so exciting, Linny!! I am so glad that we were privileged to be a part! Thank you for opening this up to us! Thank you for allowing us to help be the hands and feet of Jesus!

  5. I am simply in tears at this post. Oh how beautiful the body of Christ is. I cannot wait to hear (and hopefully see) all about the wedding feast!!!

  6. How beautiful! I was giggling looking at the pictures. 🙂

    My nephew, Luke (10 years old) was here when I read your blog and I showed him the pictures (I took a picture of him wearing the wedding clothes before I sent them to you, and he was thrilled to see the tie in your blog 🙂 I have been sharing with him about the orphans in Uganda, and about the wedding feast. 🙂

  7. Oh, I love how the body of Christ comes together like this. Wish I could be a fly on the wall at the wedding feast to see all God's beautiful children dressed up. Thank you for spearheading this, Linny!

  8. OH that is amazing!! i wish i could see their sweet faces when they get their new clothes, especially the little girls in their dresses! oMGoodness can you just imagine their faces!!!!

    OH and btw, i dd send my dress to the other address you sent. Thanks!

  9. YOUR friendship is priceless!We can't wait to see pics of your trip, and the beautiful boys & girls you will be loving on, and sharing these wedding clothes with!! (Soooooo exciting!!) You are loved & prayed for – all of you! HUGS!

  10. Linny, I think of how little all of the kids have and this will truly feel like Christmas to them to get one wonderful outfit!!!!Wish Sarah and I were returning for this trip too!! Hugs and I wish I lived closer to be in on the opening and packing. So exciting !! love you all, Ellen Wylie of Illiois

  11. I have nothing to add that hasn't already been said but I think this is SIMPLY AMAZING! God's people have answered His call to love on the orphan and it is such a blessing to be a little part of this undertaking. Thank you Linny and Emma for being willing to be the hands and feet that will dress the orphans and get them to the wedding feast. What joy this will bring to them but you will receive the bigger blessing I am positive. My heart goes with you even if I can't. I love you for what you are doing and pray God's blessings on you and your trip. Love on these boys and girls for me and let them know that someone in America loves them bug there is Someone in heaven that loves them even more. Blessings! Martha

  12. I can't wait to show these photos to my three year old when he wakes up! We've been talking about the boys who will get our clothes every day and last night he initiated his own prayer for them. What a great opportunity this was to get the whole family involved. I can't wait to see the photos of the wedding!

  13. I am so beyond blessed to be a part of this, you have no idea. I know that it will mean a world to someone across teh world to receive these things, but I hope that they also know that it means a world to us back home, to conenct in this way , in this life. I cannot wait for this wedding. 😀

  14. I thought you'd appreciate that background, Linny! 🙂 Thank you for sharing all those pictures. I saw the post last night and this morning and it just puts a smile on my face. Can't wait to see those sweet boys in their new outfits. BTW, I sent you an email.

  15. Is it too late to send one to the other address you gave? I have one to put in the mail tomorrow morning – a sweet dress. Wanted to see if there is still time.

  16. It is so awesome to see all these pictures of everyone who sent things. I am one of those lurkers (mostly)who sent something, so I thought I would say hi! 🙂

  17. Oh how I needed to read this post…my eyes welled with tears…and God gave me perspective into my own abundantly blessed life today…

    Thank you for showing how to LOVE! And to GIVE…and to be grateful and thankful for all we have!

  18. What a wonderful blessing! So glad that the body of Christ rose up – my oldest (6) was so excited seeing the boxes – he has been so worried that some of the boys would not be able to get clothes for the wedding. Such a blessing to be able to share with him how others responded to the call! He learned that on his own, he can only play his part, but together, the mountain can be moved! He also got a kick seeing his picture on your blog!

    Blessings.

    Blessings.

  19. I was one of them with the sealed envelope, but I'm certainly not a lurker! lol…
    I'm so happy to be a part of this. It's so super cool. Thanks for posting the pictures and keeping us up to date with it all! XOXO

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