Elena's Adoption

Dear Friends and Readers,

We have friends in the Ukraine who are adopting an 11 year old girl named, Elena. In her FOREVER family she has one brother and one sister, and she will become their big sister.

Elena also has two cousins living in the orphanage with her. They desperately need a Christ-centered home. Their names are Natasha and Koyla and their ages are 12 and 14. They are siblings. If you have friends or relatives considering adoption please pass this information for their sake. Maybe you could be the family for them. I know that God works things out for His good and perfect will.

Please keep the children in your prayers and thoughts. I know it will be hard for Elena to say goodbye to her cousins and her friends. I also know that the family of Elena will appreciate all the prayers as well.

Congratulations, Elena, on your forever and loving parents and a God-centered family!

~ Annalise

Ministry at Abortion Clinics

My family has been going to an abortion mill for a while now and we will be going this coming Saturday. The abortionist that performs abortions there has been doing it for 10 years. Please join us in praying for him to repent and stop killing the babies. The women that go there either believe in lies or know that it's a baby, but just don't care or do not feel like raising another child. My family of 10 go there and try to hand out literature.

~ Annalise

Training to Be a Homemaker

Whenever a conversation about raising homemakers gets started, you can be sure to expect a few standard responses. The one I most enjoy answering is: “Well, that’s all fine and good if a girl gets married at eighteen or twenty, but that’s not really likely in this day and age. What is she supposed to do with her in-between time? And what if she never gets married at all? Wouldn’t those homemaking skills go to waste? And wouldn’t her other gifts go to waste as well?”

Read the rest of this great article HERE!

Chicken and Squash Casserole - Large Family Style

If any of you have a fresh garden and are growing squash and zuchinni and need more recipes for them, this is a recipe that my family of 10 enjoys:

Chicken and Squash Casserole

6 yellow squash
2 med. onion chopped
2 sticks of butter (melted)
1 extra large (26 oz) can of cream of chicken soup
8 oz. sour cream
2 packages stuffing mix
2 large cooked chicken breast
16 oz. of peas or carrots
2 tsp. garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

Saute onion in small amount of butter. Add soup, sour cream, squash, chicken, seasonings, and veggies. Melt butter in a mixing bowl then add stuffing mix and blend it. Layer stuffing and squash mixture reserving stuffing mixture to sprinkle on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Being a Servant to Your Siblings

Q. My siblings are annoying! They are so needy. I hate being the oldest in my family. How can you stand being the oldest and a teenager in such a large family?

A. I hear this question often, and even though it’s a common question, the attitude behind it needs to be discussed.

Without siblings, you would be lonely, life would be dull, you’d miss out on close relationships that last a lifetime and your heavenly reward would be lost!

Think for a moment what it would be like if it was just you in your family. No more Johnny or Suzie, but just you. No more socks to put on. No more shoelaces to tie. No more messes to clean up. No more sharing your food. No more cuddles. No more kisses. No more laughs or giggles. No more tiny fingers and toes. No more chances to show them who Jesus is through you!

Matthew 23:11-12 says, “The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

If you want to be the greatest (and who doesn’t?!) you must first be a servant. We are showing characteristics of servant hood when taking care of our siblings’ needs. Through our service to our brothers and sisters we are being humbled, and God will exalt us later on!

Jesus came to earth for us, making Himself nothing, “taking the very nature of a servant.” [Philippians 2:7] Jesus was a servant and a leader. He was a leader by showing His miraculous powers. And by serving others, He was exalting His Father God. Shouldn’t we, too, be like Jesus? Let us not forget that we are serving Jesus WHEN we are serving our brothers and sisters.

Are you “taking the very nature of a servant,” as Jesus did? Are you humbling yourself through serving your siblings?I thank God that He blessed me with seven wonderful siblings, so far. Even though there are tough times, I know that my siblings will always be there for me, and I for them, all through our lives. How great it is to know that we will always be best friends because I chose to humble myself and become a servant to them!

~ Annalise

Practice Hospitality

Q. Why is it important for me, as a teen or child, to practice hospitality? What is hospitality anyway?


A. [Annalise – age 18] It is important to know what hospitality is and what it means. Hospitality is a great way to show people about Jesus. Hospitality is when we extend our hands to the needy, and open our homes to the homeless, our family, friends, neighbors and unbelievers. We are showing them the love of Jesus Christ when we serve them in our home.

In Romans 12:13 it says, “Share with God’s people who are in need and practice hospitality.” What do we share with these people who are guests in our home? We share Jesus by showing them the love of Jesus in us through hospitality!

I love showing hospitality to my friends and family. My Mommy and I clean the house, make a dessert dish and some kind of drink. We also light the candles sometimes and welcome them warmly, with a smile!

Why don’t you ask your mother if you can invite someone who is lonely over for a home-cooked dinner, so that you can show them Jesus through you and your hospitality!

[Kaitlyn – age 10] “Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering Gods grace in its various forms.” 1 Peter 4:9-10

The children in my family just started sending letters, writing little messages and making drawings for our elderly relatives who we don’t see very often. They really enjoy getting those letters. Just think about your relatives opening the mailbox, not expecting to get much of anything interesting. Imagine their smile when they see a child’s handwriting and quickly open it to find a nice little note or drawing!

Hospitality is also known as the act of generously providing care and kindness to whoever is in need. – Wikipedia

The gift that he’s talking about in 1 Peter could be drawing, writing or inviting someone to dinner. We show God’s grace when we do things like those. It might not sound like a lot of fun, but I really enjoy showing hospitality to my friends and family!

** Leave a comment to tell us how YOU have shown or plan to show hospitality to others. I’d love to hear your thoughts, ideas and suggestions! **

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Kaitlyn is 10 years old and is a budding young writer who wants to share her thoughts on what God has shown her through Scripture. She also likes to write on what it’s like being part of a large homeschooling family. She, like Annalise, who is 18 years old, is maturing in grace.

My Adoption Story

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

James 1:27

Hello. My name is Annalise Metzger. I am 18 years old and am the oldest of 8 children and the first of in my family to be adopted. This is my family’s story of how God added to our family through adoption.

In 2002 my Daddy and Mommy set off on the adventure of adoption. They wanted desperately to adopt a 10 year old girl from Kazakhstan – ME! They first discovered my photo on an internet site with photos of children from around the world who needed forever families.

God’s hands were already on the process, even before it began, because my Mommy had specifically searched for a child who was closer to their own biological children’s ages. They were thinking of a child that would have been maybe three years old or younger. I was 9 years old at the time, yet God had this “older child” come up in my Mother’s search for 2-3 year olds. After going to bed that night that she could not get me out of her mind, so the next day she requested a video from the adoption agency.

The video was eye opening and heart-wrenching for my parents to watch! The only things I said I wanted for Christmas was a bucket of raspberries and a mother who would love me.

My Daddy and Mommy married during my Father’s last semester of college. They found out they were pregnant with Kaitlyn when they had been married a little over a month. When Kaitlyn was 6 months old, they found out that we were expecting a son - Ethan. Daddy had started a new career right out of college, which requires years to build up a client base, so they learned to pinch many pennies. They had only been married for a little over 4 years, and had no savings, when God sent me into my family’s picture. My parents were unsure as to how they could afford the price tag of $27,000 for a Kazakhstan adoption. After praying, they felt the Lord’s gentle guidance and decided that it was the Lord’s Will to take a leap of faith. So, they started their home study.

Upon making this gigantic decision, my parents humbly shared their plans, as well as their needs, with their friends, family and Sunday school. They shared their hearts and their financial need, without being specific. During this time, they prayed fervently and asked others for prayer. Their specific prayer was for doors to be opened or shut according to God’s perfect Will. They sincerely desired God’s plans to come about for them and for me, who was thousands of miles away.

The Lord constantly proved His faithfulness by providing the money needed for each home study payment, agency payment, passport fee and INS fees. One day my Daddy and Mommy desperately needed $200 for a home study payment, which was due that afternoon. When they opened the front door, there was a check for $200 from their neighbors! Again, when it was time to travel, they had no money for airline tickets to fly over to Kazakhstan, to meet and pick me up. My grandparents were provided by God with extra tithe and offering money to be able to pay for those plane tickets. God worked again and again like this! It was amazing for them to see God working through others during this time!

The Saturday before my Daddy, Mommy, Kaitlyn and Ethan left for Kazakhstan, my parents’ Sunday school class gathered at a member’s house for a get-together. After laying hands on them and praying for their journey, they handed them an envelope for the trip with a lot of extra cash. At that time, my parents did not really see a need for this money since everything was already provided for financially for the entire trip. However, the Lord could see much farther down the road! Our family ended up with an unexpected stay in Kazakhstan of 36 days due to some problems with my visa. If it were not for this extra money that we received, they would have had no extra cash for food and lodging while in Kazakhstan. They would have been in a strange country, with no interpreter, knowing only a few words of Russian, unable to communicate with me, in below zero weather with no lodging and no food. God saw the need even before they did and met it before they even left to venture out into the unknown! He provided for all of us and saw us through!

God provided for my family through each step of my adoption. The money was not there a day later than when they needed it throughout the process! And when they did need it sooner, He provided then, too! His perfect Will was carried out through willing vessels that trusted in God, prayed and waited for God’s timing!

I asked Jesus to be my personal Savior shortly after learning English! I, now, want to go back to Kazakhstan someday as a missionary to the orphans. If my parents had not been willing vessels; if they had not asked for and obeyed God’s perfect Will and had not taken leaps of faith; if they had trusted in their own power, instead of His; if they had not waited on HIS timing; if they had not prayed and asked for prayer, I might not be who I am today!

God sometimes allows you to get into a place of testing where your own welfare would be the right and proper thing to consider if you were not living a life of faith; but if you are, you will JOYFULLY waive your right and leave God to choose for you.

~ Oswald Chambers ~

Since my adoption in 2002, our family has welcomed Julia, Ellie and Judah through birth, adopted two brothers from Missouri - Trey and Jake - in 2007! We are absolutely THRILLED in the Lord's working in this! What a plan He has for us all!

~ Annalise

"You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit - fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in My name."

John 15:16