A Call to Act...

Last Sunday, we were running late for Church, and not just a little late – very late.  We’ve been attending Ada Bible Church since before we were married, so each Sunday, we stumble out of bed around the same time we wake up during the week, have a couple cups of coffee, and hop in the car to make the trek from Byron Center to Ada. 

Since we couldn’t seem to get moving on this particular Sunday, we decided to attend the Kentwood campus of Ada Bible which is only about 5 minutes from our house.  If you’re not familiar with Ada Bible, the church has three campuses; in addition to the Ada and Kentwood Campuses, there is a North campus near Knapp and the East Beltline.  While the Ada Campus features a living, breathing Pastor at all three services (one on Saturday evening, two on Sunday morning), the other campuses feature a recording of a living, breathing Pastor on massive HD screens.  You see, the Saturday evening sermon in Ada is taped and played Sunday morning at the satellite campuses.

While the quality of the recording is stunning, we don’t feel as connected to the sermon or message as we do with the live version in Ada, thus the half hour ride to Church each Sunday morning.

As we walked into Church and found our seats, I felt out of place.  Disconnected.  As we began the worship portion of the service, my mind began to wander unlike it ever has on a Sunday morning in several years.  “What open issues do I have to tackle this week at work? Our house is a mess; I should really spend some time cleaning today…but when will I have time?  What’s for lunch?....”

Before I knew it, the A/V team hit “Play” and the sermon was rolling.  Pastor Jeff continued the series entitled “When God Moves.”  The series has focused on the Disciples’ interaction with the Post-Resurrection Jesus, the subsequent sending of the Holy Spirit, and the early Church.  This week’s sermon was about detours God often places in our lives, and how on the surface, the detours may seem burdensome; however, often times these detours lead to transformational spiritual growth.

Midway through the sermon, Pastor Jeff played a video clip of Dr. Wess Stafford, the President of Compassion International.  Before you continue reading, please take a couple minutes to watch the video here (we watched the first three minutes during the sermon).  As Dr. Stafford shared how his childhood friends died from diseases which he was immune to due to vaccinations, I looked over to see tears streaming down Steph’s face.  For those of you who know Steph and the Peuler family, this is not an uncommon occurrence since Steph and her family are so compassionate and empathetic and they wear these emotions on their sleeves.  But I knew that these were not Steph’s ordinary tears.

As we were walking out of Church, I asked a question I already knew the answer to, “Steph, what were you thinking about during that video clip?”

“Our baby in Africa,” she replied, her voice still brimming with emotion.

This wasn't a surprise.  We have talked about and prayed about adopting since before we were married.  Steph has been steadfast in her commitment to adopt, but I've always struggled with how we'd pay for the adoption, so I was resigned to the fact that we would have a biological child first and consider adoption after that.  We talked at length about adopting the rest of the day.

Sunday came to a close, and we woke up Monday morning to a new work week. Steph and I felt the Holy Spirit drawing us to adopt, but I was still struggling with how we could ever pay for the adoption and I was worrying about all of the details of the process.  I prayed much of the day and argued with God.

God, I know you want us to adopt, but no matter how I slice it, I can't make the finances work. Make your plans clear to us!

Monday afternoon rolled around, and as I sat at my desk listening to Pandora, "Word of God Speak" by MercyMe began playing. I opened my Bible to a random page and began reading.  I started in 1 Thessalonians 3:7 and read my way to verse 11 where God made his plans clear:


Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus clear the way for us to come to you.

Immediately, I was at peace.  I still had countless questions, but I didn’t need answers.  In that verse, God simply said, “Curt, I know you can’t make the finances work, but I can! I know you like to be in control, but trust Me!”

And so, here we are, taking a leap of faith and following a detour God has called us to take.  We have been approved for adoption through All God's Children International and we are partnering with AGCI to adopt our beautiful child or children from Ethiopia.

We're extremely excited and ready to work tirelessly to raise the funds necessary to adopt.  We don't have all of the answers, but God is Faithful and He is Good and we trust Him.

We’ll do our best to keep you updated on the process with this blog, so check back often!