"Tell my mommy to come soon..."

…M’s words to our friend Lisa who returned from Ethiopia last week. When hope seems to be waning and faith dying, the words of a little girl keep us going.

Over a month has passed since our case was deemed ‘open’. We are still waiting on information in regards to our actual case. Rumor has it that we might be receiving a new court date soon. History has shown us not to get our hopes up about these things. As frustrating as it is to not get any information on WHEN we did receive new pictures and general information about the girls and their lives at Bethel. Many precious images of the girls, jumping rope, hugging, reading letters, singing, climbing the small water tower at the orphanage, and silly smiling faces. They look happy and healthy. We pray for that and to see them so lively in the photos is an answer to prayer. Bethel really is a wonderful place for the children. We look forward to meeting their caregivers and the doctor who runs the orphanage. I often wonder how we can help Bethel once M and G are home with us. I would love to see my church become a life long sponsor or something of that nature. Praying about that one.

Summer has begun, our home school is winding down and I can hear the beach calling our names. Hopefully it won’t be long before M and G can join us down by the waters edge.

Trying to live Romans 12, rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation and constantly in prayer.

my life right now

sleepy morning hugs, soft sweet smelling breath and chubby hands wrapped around my arm. cleaning up after bowls of cheerios, peanut butter sandwiches and sticky juice seems to never end.

wash your hands! brush your teeth! wipe your mouth! I seem to say over and over. curious questions of why? and how? and is it time yet?

patience is a virtue I say, , almost always not having it myself. be kind and love one another seems to be our daily mantra, trying to plant seeds from our Father.

we pray, we read, we create and we learn together. watching your faces as you discover something new is the reward.

picnics in the backyard and caterpillars are the highlights of our day. dirty feet and sticky hands come in to a nice cool bath.

the sun is still up but eyes are heavy and we all share yawns on the couch. wet hair and soft clean skin snuggle up for prayers and bedtime stories.

two brown faces in a distant land are missing from our perfect messy life, but we don't forget them. empty beds waiting to be filled... we all sleep.

wondering if the next day our family will grow.

Update and details

Well, the wait continues.
We did not pass court on Tuesday. After a few phone conversations with our agency director this is the information we have so far:

This isn't the end of the road for us and the girls.

The courts need more accurate information about the girls history. They want to make sure that they have been relinquished/abandoned and that any living family members are aware of their situation. (If they do have living immediate family members i.e. mother, father, older brother, older sister, that can properly care for them, the court sees this as the best living situation for the child- we agree.)

We know that, unfortunately, the girls were brought to Bethel with NO paperwork. There is absolutely no paper trail on their lives.

Finding any living family members could be a long, difficult process.

Our cases have been left OPEN on the court dockets. This means that if our agency can find what the courts are asking for and it satisfies the judge- they will hear our case again and hopefully approve the adoption without have to re-assign us another court date.

If within the next few days our agency can't get the information needed to the courts it is likely that we will be assigned a new court date.

Our agency director seems confident that the girls will come home to us. He has asked us to be patient and know that they are doing everything they can to make this happen. He leaves for Ethiopia next week and says dealing with our cases is a priority.

We asked if this would happen before the next court closures/rainy season (end of summer)and he said that he hopes so. He is hoping and praying that this will all be resolved soon.

A side note to all this is that the kids at Bethel Orphanage, including ours should have never been referred (chosen by families to adopt), in the first place. This is not the fault of our agency - but a third party that was involved in the beginning and is no longer working with us or our agency. It is unfortunate that these children, us and other families are having to endure this long, drawn out waiting time. This is a rare circumstance and we are definitely discouraged that our situation has to unfold like this. BUT... we are believing that there is a reason behind it all. I am holding on the the fact that this is an opportunity for us to focus on God- our obedience to Him - and whatever the outcome, He deserves all the praise, honor and glory.

Although the girls lives seem to be at stake in all this, maybe they're not. All this time could be passing because M has a mother, who is healthy now and is crying out and wondering where her daughter is. And G, has a brother who has made a life for himself and wants to find his baby sister and care for her.
We would obviously be heartbroken if this were the case, but it would be the best case for the girls. They need a family, a home and unconditional love. Not a life in an orphanage.

No matter what- Chris and I know that without a doubt we are supposed to adopt from Ethiopia. Right now we are not giving up on the girls. We are going to continue to pray and believe that they belong in our family.
God has a plan in all this and we are open to whatever it is.

Trusting, waiting, hoping-
Becky

shoes

I have held off on buying much clothing wise for the girls, after learning my lesson when our first court date was postponed. I thought for sure they would be here when it was still chilly out and purchased a few long sleeve/winter type items. Well here we are, end of April with an 80 degree weekend coming up! So much for sweaters!

A while back we received tracings of the girls feet from a family that was able to make it out to the girls orphanage. I have carried the tracings around in my purse just in case the right deal came along to get them some shoes. Today it did!
I found some cute mary jane style Crocs and decided to take a leap of faith. Grace helped me guesstimate the size-- we probably looked like goofs holding up all kinds of shoes to our two pieces of paper. It was fun picking out special shoes for her new sisters, and we actually bought three pairs hoping to get the size right! The thought that the girls have never had a new, pretty pair of shoes really puts the pressure on! Even though Crocs aren't he most glamorous of shoes- they seem to have lots of wiggle room in the sizing- so they will have to do until we get the girls home. I look forward to watching them pick out their very own new pair of shoes, and hopefully it will be soon and we won't be taking UGGS! :)

Don't forget 4/28 @ 4:28!! Keep on praying!

4/28 @ 4:28

Last Sunday our pastor petitioned our church family to pray for us! He thought up this formula for remembering our important day...genius! We had spoke after our April 6th postponement about how we tend to "pray really hard" the day before a big event; that we forget to be as fervent in our prayers ALL THE TIME. For us, the highs and lows get tiring and we tend to try and emotionally detach, forgetting to pray regularly and expectantly.

After this plea- it got me thinking. What do the 4:28's look like in God's word? I looked them up out of curiosity:

Jeremiah 4:28
For this the earth shall mourn and the heavens above be dark; for I have spoken; I have purposed; I have not relented, nor will I turn back.

WOW.

Acts 4:28
...to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.

DOUBLE WOW.

Although there is no magic in the special number, it helps to keep us in check and has added an excitement and anticipation to our next court date. The verses are also not only good word to meditate on, but an AWESOME reminder of God being in control. We can put our faith and trust in Him and know that whatever happens He's got our back. :)


Another help has been the recent note we received from M:

Hello Mom and Daddy
How are you?
I am very well
I can't wait to see
Your child-
M

"Your child"- this precious young girl who has survived the loss of so much offers herself as our child. We have been praying for the Lord to re-instill in us a passion for this process and for our daughters whom we have never met. This was an answer to prayer. We will not stop praying, petitioning and longing for them like never before. We will not give up.

With a week to go before April 28th- don't forget- 4/28 @ 4:28.

tired

Our april 6th court date never happened. It was rescheduled for april 28th. needless to say - we were very discouraged about the news- hence my lack of posting.

We are in wait mode again, but today we received new pictures of the girls. Getting this set of pictures was bittersweet. Sweet to see their beautiful faces, bitter because they have grown and time is slipping away.

A fellow Hope family just brought home their daughter from Ethiopia and she is from the same orphanage as M and G. We hear that the children are all doing well and are happy. We are glad to hear of this news but pictures show that the time is wearing on them. Many of the children are more disheveled than in past photos. They look tired and dirty.

Folks-- the time is NOW. The time to be in fervent prayer for the orphans of Ethiopia is NOW. The children of Bethel orphanage, along with so many Ethiopian orphans have been through so much pain and sacrifice. Why should they live another day going without the love and protection of a family? I am of course praying specifically for M and G. We want them home. But lets not forget the rest of them.

Looking back

Papa, Meme, Chris, Becky, Gracie and Jack at the Steven Curtis Chapman Concert/Shoahannah's Hope Change for Orphans. March 2008

It's been one year since THIS amazing opportunity.....(click on THIS)I can't believe it.

We're looking back and reminding ourselves today how far the Lord has brought us, the work that He has done in us and anticipating what He has for us in the future.

Only 17 more days until our court date!
We have some specific prayer requests that we would like to ask for...
There is a new TB testing issue that is now a part of the process after the girls pass court. This could potentially add a significant amount of time to our meeting them. It could also only be minor and not add any wait time. If either of them test positive for TB we will expect more waiting. If they test negative things should move along as planned. SO, we are praying that the TB tests are negative! Would you also pray that the timing of everything works out. My brother, Matt, is getting married May 30th, in Austin, TX. It would obviously not be good if we were getting back from Africa or leaving during that week!

We trust in a God who is sovereign above ALL things and holds us in the palm of His hands. Thank you for your prayers! Keep sending them up for our girls! :)