We are officially official..

Today we had our FBI "biometrics" done. Just another term for fingerprinting, but all high-tech. One more step closer. Now we wait for our I71-H form, the I71-H is officially called the, “Notice of Favorable Determination Concerning Application for Advance Procession of an Orphan Petition”. While waiting for any bit of news about how our adoption is moving forward, there are few things better than the I71-H. In a process that at times can seem as though it is grinding to a hault, the I71-H will be welcome news! We hope this part moves quickly and without any glitches.

I also got my passport today in the mail! Yippee! I was SO excited about this little book. Chris should get his next week, since he applied about a week behind me.

Just a quick update! Things are moving along!

What's in a name?

These past few days, my mind has been full of the idea of naming. Yesterday we received some new pics of our girls! They were listed with different names. Similar to what we know but a little different. This has my mind running. What are their true names? Why is a name so important? Does a name define us? Our biological kids have names that we feel really "fit" them. We named them before they were born, and both of their names have a special connection to our family. In America we pour over books and websites looking for the latest trendy name. I doubt that in Ethiopia they start "Googling" the hottest names in 2007 as soon as they find our they are pregnant.

To me, naming is special. It ties a person to their family and heritage. In Ethiopia, a child uses their father's first name as their last name. For instance, my father's name is Robert. So my name would be Rebecca Robert. Ethiopian/Amharic names have such depth and meaning. The Amharic male name Mignote means "he is desired" and the Amharic female name Alemnesh means "You are the whole world". Whoa! The mothers and fathers that choose these names for their children want them to be defined by their name. They picture a future for their child just in their name.

I wonder about M and Gl's mom and dad. A sadness comes over me when I think about them selecting a special name for their daughters and then having to leave them behind. One of our daughters names means "Lady" and the other means "God shall redeem" and "Peaceful one". I can't help but think that by keeping their Ethiopian names we would be honoring their parents. M and Gl will leave the orphanage with literally nothing but the clothes on their back. I am sure that isn't the future that their parents pictured for these precious girls. Our girls might want American names. To signify a new beginning, a fresh start in their American lives. I guess we will cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, we will rest in the fact that our Lord is with our girls, protecting, guiding and comforting no matter what their name.

We're having twins! (kind of)

From the beginning of this journey, Chris and I have felt led to adopt two children from Ethiopia. When we received the DVD of children from AWOP, we knew that God had chosen M for us. We asked if she had a cousin or friend in the orphanage with her, and we would consider adopting that child too. Weeks passed and it was looking like we would just be bringing home M. All the other children had been placed or there were just sibling groups left. I had been struggling with the idea of just "one". Would she feel like an outsider? Would she get lonely for her friends from the orphanage? I am sure that this would, at times, be the case. But nothing that we couldn't help her through. Friday we got an email from our caseworker at AWOP and they wanted to let us know that another little girl was available for adoption, and they thought of our family. She was originally placed with another family, but circumstances took over and they were not able to move forward with their adoption plans. We are sad for this other family, as they have had to put their dreams on hold as they work through some family issues. But we are SO excited and grateful to God for placing another precious little girl in our path! Her name is Gl and she is 6 years old. Both M and Gl are very similar in size, just a few pounds and a few inches shy of each other. Our caseworker said it's like we are adopting twins! Who would have thought!? Please continue to pray for our TWO little girls. We are praying that the Lord would begin to prepare their hearts for all the changes that are to come in their lives.

Let's talk about race...

I haven't touched on this subject yet and truthfully don't really know where to start. I am not naive to the fact that our daughters will look very different from us, and may at times, feel like outsiders in our white family. Our prayer though, is that they would see Jesus in us and always feel loved. We have a strong desire to make sure our girls stay in touch with their Ethiopian roots. We are not adopting these children to pluck them out of their culture and expect them to forget about it. Ethiopia has such a rich and deeply rooted Christian culture and I believe that we would truly be missing out if we were to do that. So, in thinking about all this, my mind races with how our girls will fit in to our society, town, church, etc. How will they see themselves? How will they relate to others? Will they have different thought processes than American black children? Probably. I am so curious to see how all this plays out once they are home with us. I came across this documentary by a 17 year old highschool girl from NYC. If you have a few minutes (8 to be exact), I suggest you watch the following video. It is VERY interesting to see that we really haven't come that far. I pray that our daughters will be proud of their color, their heritage, their culture and their families, Ethiopian and American. But most of all I pray that they never have to base their self worth on the color of their skin, the style of their hair or where they come from. That ultimately they can look to Christ and know that it is only HIM that makes them whole.

How will YOU help?

James 1:27

The Gardner family started Kingdom Kids and then African Widows and Orphans Project. We are working with their ministries to raise money, complete our dossier and bring home our daughter! When I was struggling with whether or not to switch agencies the Lord gave me my answer through His word. James 1:27 says Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. Kingdom Kids and AWOP's philosophies all line up with the Word of God. They too are acting in obedience to the Lord and living it out. We knew then that it didn't matter what agency or ministry helped to facilitate this adoption, as long as it lined up with His word, we couldn't go wrong. The Gardners have a passion for seeing the body of Christ serve in obedience to the Lord in the way of adoption. They also have a desire to help make these adoptions successful, by offering training to adoptive parents. Our goal is to attend their May training in Spokane, Washington on Ethiopian older child adoptions. We will learn things like, how to deal with grief and loss, multi-racial family issues, attachment issues and Ethiopian cultural awareness. We are so excited to get the chance to learn all these things as we prepare for our daughter. They offer a wealth of knowledge through this experience. Their family is an inspiration to us. (this video is from another ministry that is similar to the one they started, also a great resource, Life International.)

I-600 A DONE!

It's been a whole month since I last posted and boy have we been busy. We announced today at church that we know who we are adopting! We are moving foward to adopt a 7 year old girl. So far all we know is that she is a "true" orphan (she doesn't have living parents), and that she is 48 inches tall and weighs 50 pounds. A little thing! Oh- and she likes to draw and play soccer, a perfect fit for our family! God sure does know what He is doing.... :)

We also filed our I-600 A paper work with the US Citizenship and Immigration Services. This is a big step in the process and costs a chunk of change. We will wait for an appointment to get fingerprinted by the FBI - and will then wait for official approval to adopt our daughter. We are SO excited and want it to happen YESTERDAY!

More updates to come as we continue the paper chase this week. Please be in prayer for our daughter.