Team Silas: 2010

Friday, August 20, 2010

Better Story

Me:

I am 28 years old. I m married to my best friend and I love that we live our story together. We have four kids. Jada is 4 1/2 years old with red hair and she always asks questions. Emery is almost 3 and she does not believe in wearing cloths. My boys are both 6 months old and I am convinced that they do not want us to sleep.

Honestly, I am coming to the seminar from Pittsburgh Pa as a personal retreat. The purpose of my time there will be to get clarity for my family and our story.

Dream:

My wife and I want awaken the church to Gods heart for orphans.

We adopted our sons and we plan to adopt more kids in the future, but thats another story.

Our next step is to start a nonprofit/coffee shop in an abandon feed mill. Since we were dating my wife and I have been dreaming of opening a coffee shop with a mission. My wife and I enjoy serving people, creating memorable environments and providing a place for community. We want the coffee and other goods we sell and services we provide to directly benefit strategic missions, like providing christian trauma counseling for Ugandan child solders.

We also want the nonprofit to share the untold stories of these fatherless children through video and other media (think invisible children style). Imagine what would happen if there were no orphans to supply the child sex trade market, or to wage war on behalf of cowards who hide in jungles. If Gods people dont scoop up the fatherless and love them, someone will grab them to use them. I want to take cameras to these precious children to capture their reality and bring it home to tell their story. I want to invite people to become a hero in a hurting childs story.

Conflict:

I currently work for a nonprofit that works with at risk kids out of Pittsburgh. So when do I walk away from one ministry to start another and still feed my family?

Becoming a non profit/ mission/ board/ branding/ fundraising/ and other fun stuff

Buying feed mill and starting coffee shop

Solidifying partnerships with the ministry we support

Acquiring storytelling tools. Cameras, video editing software, computers.

We want to be a family that fights for the orphan. It will be a lifetime of conflict.

Thanks for reading.

Matto

Friday, January 29, 2010

Days Away

By this time next week we could have two sons, thats right, two baby boys. We might go from two car seats to four in a week. I hope our worlds get rocked with that new reality. I will share more details and stories if things work out.

Pray for us.

Pray for those precious little boys.

Pray for the birthfamilies.

Hopefully we will be updating you all with good news soon. Thanks for being a part of this story.

Monday, January 11, 2010

I have become a bit lazy with the blog. It has been difficult to post updates when its been over a year of working and waiting to adopt. Many cases have come and gone. We have been matched with babies (officially and unofficially) over the past year, but they have all fallen through.

Honestly, we have been discouraged and tired of sharing bad news.

Sorry to the two or three of you that read this blog, sorry for being lazy in recent months with the updates. I am back in the lab and you are welcome to track with us on our adoption journey.

Thank you for your prayers and support, this has been an amazing journey, and it is only the beginning of an amazing story.

Team Silas

Team Silas is our response to Gods call on our family to adopt a baby in need of a loving home. All Children are an incredible and eternal gift from God and we are excited to welcome one of His precious little creations into our home and our family. Jen and I know that we are supposed to adopt, its not just about having a big family, we can do that for free, we want to adopt because we have been adopted into Gods family, we love because He first loved us. It will cost our family $19,000 to welcome this child into our lives. That is where Team Silas comes in. I have committed to running the Pittsburgh Marathon this May in order to raise the funds to adopt a baby. The goal is to raise $725 per mile and to have all 26.2 miles sponsored. It is our hope that upon completion of the race the financial burden of adoption will be lifted by the loving response of Gods family to care for the orphans. We are not all called to adopt but we are all called to care for the fatherless, will you prayerfully consider investing in the life and future of this child? Join Team Silas and may Gods love be seen and glorified through our actions. Amen.

The Name Silas

Silas Matthew is what we have decided to name the baby (if it's a boy). Jen and I have always liked the name Silas and we also have a prayer attached to the name. The Silas in the Bible worked with Paul to build the early church. Silas was a man who sang praise to his God after he was beaten and thrown into prison. Silas's love for God was so great that he sang, and God responded with an earthquake that broke his chains and the prison doors. There was no doubt that day that Silas served the one true God. I want our Silas to be a man who sings to God in the face of trials and pain. I want his love for God and people to be as undeniable and powerful as an earthquake, that is our prayer for our boy.