A Ministry of Presence
Almost 17 years ago, in the fall of 2008, our family started a new journey. After serving in the country of Eswatini (Swaziland at the time), for 2 years, we felt God calling us to enter into the world of adoption. This was scary at first. We had no idea how these new children would fit into our family. We had no idea how God would provide. What we did know is that God had made it abundantly clear that this was His calling on our family. So, we followed Him. He continued to open doors and clear the path, leading us to Isaiah and Laila and allowing us to complete an international adoption in record time. Even His timing has had so much purpose for our family and for the health and wellness of Isaiah and Laila. We brought them home in April 2009, almost 16 years ago. We cannot imagine our lives without them.
It's Time
We have always dreamed of a time when we would take Isaiah and Laila back to Eswatini. This year, July 4th to 16th, we believe it is time for us to go back to where it all began. We have been praying about this window of time for many years. In fact, we were all set to go in 2020, and well you know what happened then. Now, it's different.
Laila has expressed a desire to go back, but Isaiah does not feel ready. He isn't sure if he will ever want to return. We want to honor his journey and what he needs at this time, while also supporting Laila and her desire to return.
We always dreamed that when our kids were ready to visit where they came from that we would go as a family. We know that as our family grows and changes the opportunities for this will be limited. This year, everyone is able to go with us! We want to seize the opportunity while it is available.
We have no idea how this trip will go nor how it will affect us. However, we believe having the support and the presence of our family in this adventure is critical. So, this year is the year that the Clapp family has set their sights on experiencing Eswatini together to support Laila!
We met as a family over Christmas break and followed up with each other at the end of January to confirm everyone was in and could get the time off. This was a fleece for us to see if God was leading all of us to go. We all have God's peace that this is the timing.
Would you consider partnering with us?
We invite you into this next step through your prayers and support. This year, we opened this trip to anyone who wanted to go with us. There were many over the last few months that expressed interest. As the deadline to commit approached, we saw the numbers dwindling to only our family. We believe that God is even in this part of the process and has a specific plan and purpose for our family to go as a team of 9.
If He is stirring your heart to partner with us, we invite you to give towards this historic trip. Thanks so much for your friendship, prayers, and encouragement.
