Psalm 127:3-5
3Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.
4Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth.
5Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.
One week ago God blessed us with our second child and our first daughter. Lindlee Jane Belcher is a sweet and happy baby. She is healthy and perfect in every way. We give thanks to the Lord for this precious gift who He has fearfully and wonderfully made (Ps 139:14). If children are a reward, I can assure you we have done nothing deserve such great gifts as we have with out children. It must be by God’s grace alone that He gives us such great gifts as Tripp and Lindlee. In all likelihood this will be our last child. Only God knows, but pregnancy and two c-sections have taken their toll on Leeza’s body. But we believe a large family is a blessing. We want a quiver full of arrows. Many of you know that Leeza and I did foster care before we moved to Bangkok. God has given us all a responsibility to take care of orphans and vulnerable children (James 1:27), but He has given us the specific call to do that through fostering and adoption. For now God has us serving Him in Bangkok and throughout Asia with SCP, but we know one day we will be serving Him by having a home full of children who were in need of love, care, and most importantly the gospel.
I am convinced that every sermon I preach, leader I train, disciple I make; none of these things will be my greatest investment in the Kingdom of God. My greatest investment will be my children. They are not only my physical heritage; they are my spiritual heritage as well. Leeza and I will be able to influence the lives and faith of Tripp, Lindlee and the adoptive children the Lord will bless us with in ways that will go beyond any other person we minister to. We are so thankful for the opportunity God has given us to raise up these little ones in the way of the Lord. We believe they will be world changers who will turn the world upside down (Acts 17:6). We believe God is going to glorify Himself in magnificent ways through them. We left Bangkok as a family of three, but now we go back as a family of four. How will this impact and grow our ministry? How will God use Lindlee and Tripp for His glory? We cannot wait to find out the answers to those questions.
We are less than a month away from our return to Bangkok and it is going to be a very busy time. Your prayers and encouragement the day Lindlee was born was such a joy and blessing to Leeza and I. Knowing that so many of you were praying for us was a real gift. Here is how you can continue to pray for us these next couple of weeks.
Pray for Leeza’s health and recovery. C-sections require a 10-week recovery, so it is already difficult, but after her c-section with Tripp she developed a kidney infection and spent 5 days in the hospital. We are being proactive this time, but unfortunately she seems to be developing another infection. Pray that the medicines would work or better yet, that God would heal her. I don’t want her to be in a hospital again away from both of her babies.
Pray for Tripp’s adjustment to being a big brother. He loves Lindlee as you can see from the picture above, but is definitely struggling with Leeza’s inability to pick him up and hold him.
We are beginning the process of acquiring a passport for Lindlee and renewing all of our Thailand visas. There is a lot of paperwork to process in a limited amount of time, so pray that all goes well and we are set to go well before September 12th.
Finally, we are still in need of and additional $400 in monthly support. It is critical that we be fully funded before we leave next month. Please pray for God to provide these resources. He has always provided for us and He surely will again. If God moves you to partner with us you can do so at www.reliant.org/cp.be
Thank you for being a part of our journey and ministry. We could not do it without you.
Grace and Peace,
Carl, Leeza, Tripp, and Lindlee