Dear Friends,Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! It’s been a while, yes I know! I am sure your lives have been just as full and active as ours with the advent of the holiday season. As we celebrate the miracle of Christmas and look forward to a new year, we want to share with you the latest news from our journey to meet our father.
As you are well aware, we have been going full throttle since April, praying and putting a plan in motion to get to Nigeria to see our father and his extended family. You have supported us every step of the way with your prayers, words of encouragement, and financial gifts, and we are grateful. But despite all of this, we have not yet met our fundraising goal. The trip would cost between $8,000 and $10, 000 dollars and we have raised just under $2,000 since April. While our desire to meet our father face to face is unwavering, we've grown weary, to be honest.
This fall, Lola and I sensed the Holy Spirit leading us to refocus our hearts and to designate Sunday evenings as our set time of prayer for the trip. The Word teaches that things are accomplished not through might or power but by the move of God’s spirit (Zec 4:6). During our time of prayer, we lift every detail before the Lord, and we can tell you that it has been a blessed time of insight and renewed vision for us!
In that time, we have been lifting up to the Lord the possibility of having our father travel here instead of us traveling to Nigeria. In our eyes, it seems more feasible considering the resources we have. That said, we know there will be considerable logistical issues and barriers to getting him here, and we need God to address each one to show us that this plan is from him and not us. We want to be led by God concerning this and so we ask you, our friends, to join us in praying for God’s will to be made known to us.
The reentry of our father into our lives was nothing short of a miracle -- we are sure of that. We did not go looking for him, and every effort he made to find us led to a dead end. But the Lord planned the events of that day in 2006, when, through an early morning phone call and “chance” conversation, we were reunited with our father after 27 years! If God performed that miracle then surely he can provide the miracle of our meeting our dad face to face.
Isn’t that what this season is all about—miracles? God performed an even greater miracle some 2000 years ago with the virgin birth of the Savior of mankind—Jesus Christ. This truth provides us with great comfort, especially after many awkward calls with our father where we hear in his voice his desire to be reunited with us and are saddened by our inability to tell him when that will happen. We know that since God performed the miracle of the Christ child then, nothing is impossible for him now.
So if you were to ask us what we want for Christmas this year, it’s not what you might expect. We want your prayers; give us the gift of your prayers! For we know that the effectual prayers of the righteous avail much! Keep praying and believing that God still performs MIRACLES! That’s our Christmas wish list this year—prayer!
Merry Christmas and to all a year full of miracles.
Lola and Taiye Oladapo
