New Attitude has a new name, new lineup of speakers, and a new location. A lot is changing for 2009.

At the 2006 New Attitude conference, I was an intern at a Sovereign Grace Ministries church in Charlotte, NC. I was excited to go to my first Na because I had heard lots of good things about the conference and looked forward to hearing all of the speakers and look forward to being around the college student from my church. During the conference, Josh Harris got on stage one time and felt like the Lord wanted all of us to pray for those in the room who were adopted. While praying for the adopted students, I felt an overwhelming sense that God was telling me that my wife and I would adopt our next child. I remember sitting down confused and yet overjoyed at the thought of God working that out. We already had two daughters, so the thought of a third child was exciting!

After a year and a half, when my wife and I began discussing plans to expand our family again, we started praying through whether or not the adoption idea was of the Lord. We felt that we should pursue it so we began the adoption process hoping to adopt from Panama. As we were walking through this process, it became clear that we and the agency were not in the best place to work with Panama (which was a country they had never used in previous adoptions).  We also found out we were pregnant about this time, so it seemed that our next baby would not be adopted.  We then miscarried this baby. A couple of months later we were pregnant again and again we miscarried. At this point we had a failed adoption and two miscarriages and were struggling with God’s desire for our future family. We were still confused about the thought God put on my heart at the NA in 2006, but figured if he wanted us to adopt, he would make it happen.

In May 2008, I got a call from a friend who works for a crisis pregnancy center. She told me of an 18 year old girl from Guatemala who was going to abort her child, but when my friend told the girl about our family, she was desirous of us adopting her baby. We were once again excited about the possibility of God allowing this to happen and save a child from being aborted.  In July 2008 we found out that the mother changed her mind and desired to keep the baby. In October 2008, the little baby was born. We are thrilled that the Lord used us in our willingness to adopt to allow a child to not be killed. It seems like we have seen what God desired from the impression I received at New Attitude in 2006. Like Abraham thinking he was going to sacrifice Isaac and simply sought to obey, we thought we were going to adopt a child and sought to obey. Both Isaac and this baby boy were spared…for God’s glory and our good.

Many lives have been affected by New Attitude, and I am just one of them. By the way, my wife and I are pregnant with our third daughter…due in Feb. 2009.