August 201041 pictures

Yes, we are proceeding with the adoption, but that does not mean that everything stops on the home front…not with a kid who will be two in a couple of weeks! Enjoy the latest pictures.

What a relief it has been to finally share the news of the rescue mission God is leading us on. It’s been hard keeping that caged up while we took the first couple of major steps. So, now that you know we are pursuing an adoption, you may be asking, WHY? Why would we adopt a child when we can obviously have biological children of our own?

Well, first there is the biblical precedent and imperative to care for the orphan. God the Father has adopted us as orphans and made us sons and heirs despite our sinfulness. Moreover, as James 1:27 declares, “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.”

Last year, Steve wrote a couple of blog articles on orphans and adoption, connecting our spiritual adoption to the way we are called to care for orphans. Check out those posts…

• Our Adoption as Sons
• The Cry of the Orphan

Then there is our personal story of how the Lord has brought us to this journey of adoption…

Before we even got married, Steve and I talked about the possibility of bringing a child into our family by adoption.  Through most of the early years of our marriage, this was just a very far-off, obscure idea. We began to consider adoption more seriously during the heartache of waiting for Jeremiah.  Even after we were blessed with our beautiful son, we knew that adoption was definitely in our future.

In September of 2009, we were elated to find out that I was pregnant with our second child.  Just a few short weeks later, we mourned the loss of our baby, which may have been the greatest heartache either of us have ever experienced in our lives.  It was in our mourning for our baby that God made it very clear to us that we were not to wait any longer and we began the long process of researching international adoption.  Our God is sovereign and His plan has no mistakes.  While He holds our precious baby in His arms in heaven, God has created a place in our family for a hurting child without a family.

In a perfect world, every child would have a mom and a dad. In a perfect world, every child would have a family where he or she is loved, cared for and provided for. Unfortunately, we do not live in a perfect world. Disease, disaster, injury, abandonment and human sin have left kids – over 143 million worldwide – as orphans.

David Crowder sings a song, Rescue is Coming, that pictures the pursuing love of Christ that has not left us alone in the midst of despair. Kim and I love that picture – the picture that rescue is on the way.

So, let us introduce you to our Rescue Mission. We have been eagerly awaiting the time when we could publicly share this news. We can’t rescue every orphan. But we can rescue one. Kim and I are now in the process of adoption from Zambia! We are very excited. This is going to be a wild ride – full of thrills and challenges. And one we are ready (we think!) to ride.

Forthcoming, we’ll share more about what we are doing, from why adoption, to why Zambia, to where we are in the process and how you can help. But for today, can we ask for your prayers? We are going to need the strength and support of God’s people so together, we can rescue this child. For all the latest, stay tuned to www.JeantetFamily.com

July/August 201056 picturesAug 1, 2010

What a pleasure to welcome a new sister-in-law into the Jeantet family! Adam & Ruth were married in the DC area on Sunday, August 1st and are now on their way to a honeymoon in Europe. It was such a joy to be a part of their celebration. Check out the new pics from the last few weeks…starring J as ring bearer!

Well, we are officially Floridians…again:) Our beach trips (well, at least for J and I) are averaging about twice a week, so we’re having tons of fun. It is great to not be working and concentrate instead on raising J and building meaningful relationships with families in the area.

I just added some new pics to our Summer 2010 album, so be sure to check them out. Have a great day!

Summer 201071 picturesJun 11, 2010

So, hopefully this will be the beginning of some more regular updates…that’s the goal! Thanks to lots of help from both of our moms, we are now just about completely unpacked in our new home and enjoying life here in Sarasota. We love our new church…Covenant Life Church…and Steve is really enjoying serving the congregation here. I’m loving the summer women’s Bible study (60 women!) and getting connected to the moms here. J is a big fan of living near the beach and has woken up on several occasions immediately asking for the beach!

In other news, J (by the way, this is just how we are referring to him on the internet…it is not a nickname!) sat on the potty for the first time today! It was very exciting since he has shown absolutely no interest in it until now. We’re in no hurry to potty train, but it was encouraging that he has finally taken notice of it! We have a cool kid and it is fun to walk through these stages with him:)

Spring 201042 picturesMay 6, 2010

I finally took a break from packing to post some new pictures. We are sad to leave Delaware, but excited to begin ministering to the people of Sarasota. We hope you’ll come visit us in sunny Florida!

It’s official. The Jeantet Family is headed back to Florida. Sarasota to be precise. Steve has accepted a new call as the Executive Pastor of Covenant Life Church in Sarasota. He begins that new position on June 1. To read Steve’s thoughts, visit his blog.

While we are busy readying for the move, several people have expressed interest in visiting. Well, come on down! We would love to have you. Can’t promise a bed for everyone, but we’ll do what we can. To make it easy for you to know when the Jeantet Bed & Breakfast is available, we have created a web calendar. If you would like to visit us, check out the calendar. If the dates are clear, let us know you’re coming.