Praise the Lord - We go to Ethiopia on Wed - Aug. 5th!

Yippppppeeeeeeeeeeeee! It is confirmed! There is an embassy appointment for us! We will be going to get Teshale this coming Wednesday! I am beside myself! We can now breathe! It felt a little bizarre getting tickets without confirmation that we really do have an appointment for the final step to get our new son! Our tickets arrived Fed Ex today and we still hadn't heard anything to be positive up to that point, but we just heard from our adoption agency that we have a Green Light to go this week! Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! We will be attempting to post while in country, but my computer is Vista and gives me a lot of trouble so don't know how well that will go! Well, I had better keep on packing!

Our July Update Arrived yesterday!

These pictures make us really smile! It is so good to see Teshale look so happy! Praying that it isn't too hard for him to be taken away from his friends now that he is starting to feel happy and having many of his needs met. Fortunately we have been connecting with a few of his friend's families so that we can possibly connect through webcam or by phone once we get him home!

Teshale's Birth Certificate!!!!!

We received Teshale's Birth Certificate today! Wow! Exciting to see it in writing with our names on there as his official parents. We did receive word today that we are very likely to travel Aug 5-15th. This will depend on whether an extra Embassy Appointment can be opened up for all of the families that will be needing to travel then. This is for the finalizing paperwork so we can bring him home! Please surround this in prayer!

Also, please pray for my Mom, Ellen! She has been going through excruciating pain right now as a result of impinged nerves in her back. She has had a lot of trouble with this over the past year, but is currently waiting for an appointment in August to get an epidural to help with the pain. Somehow, the pain meds she has been prescribed are making her very sick and on top of that, the pain seems to be ramping up. She can barely walk - has been needing the use of a wheel chair lately. If you know my mother, that is NOT her. She runs everywhere she goes with gusto! Please keep her in prayer. She is a long way from all of her children and we wish we could be there to be of some kind of comfort for her. Please pray for her wonderful husband Milt also as he is helping her with all of this. I know from my own experience, it is awfully hard on a husband to have to see their wife in so much pain! She might be able to get her epidural Aug 3rd, but I'm praying for sooner!

Thanks for your prayers!

No Travel info. yet! Keep Praying!

Sorry to say, No travel info. yet! I will post as soon as I know! Keep Praying! Lord Willing, we will have him with us one day!
Mary

Please Pray for our Travel News - Hoping to learn about it tomorrow!

Thank you to all who have been faithfully following our adoption process. Many are wondering, when is the travel date? We are too! If MOWA came back Friday raring to go, we should have some kind of word on when we will be traveling tomorrow. It almost feels like we are awaiting Court decisions all over again! Smile! Not really! We have been taking advantage of this time, trying to clean more...etc. It won't be long after we get back that school will be starting, so I hope to use this next week to finalize some packing and work on school planning. That was the hope for last week also. I'm guessing God knew I needed this much time to get a little better organized. We are planning to homeschool our newest little guy as well! I am truly looking forward to it and think Noah will be a big help! He is very excited! Did I say Very? He is way beyond that!!!!!!

Anyway, please pray that our travel isn't delayed by anything else. For some reason, there has been limited space available for travel, which may impact when we are able to travel. A family who went over last week have found themselves in a challenging position. Their paperwork didn't arrive for their children's visas in time for them to catch their flight. Ethiopian Air says they can accommodate them on Aug. 26th or something close to that. This is a family of 9. Please be in prayer for them. I guess there are flights going, but difficulty with outgoing flights being booked.

As I told Noah yesterday and I have to keep telling myself, "we will not get Teshale 1 day sooner or one day later than the Lord wills it." We will do all we can, but we are learning to rest in Him. He has been so very good to us! Stay tuned! We will let you know as soon as we do!

In Christ,
Mary

Updated Video

We updated the video to include some additional photos and improve the video layout. Enjoy!

Pictures and Update about Teshale from July 14th

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Wow! What a blessing and HUGE gift the Logue family gave us this week! They picked up their sweet little guy last week and delivered a package for us to Teshale. They sent us almost 20 pictures that we are treasuring! It also looks like they spent a good little bit of time with him and helped make sure that our letter we sent was translated to him. Even though his first language is Sidamo and the transition home staff speaks Amharic, they say he is picking up the language quickly and they feel like he was able to understand the letter pretty well. This was really important to us as we really wanted him to understand that we are trying to get to him as soon as the Ethiopian government will let us. With the delays we have experienced, we don't want Teshale to think we aren't coming! It sounds like he was very happy to get the letter and small gifts. We are so thankful for all of the families who have been so willing to take packages for us. It means the world to us and hopefully communicates a little bit of our heart to our little buddy!

Noah made it to his camp this week and although the first day was lots of thunder and rain, he said it was better than he had expected. What a blessing for me to have the week to get some things done and know he is in good hands and having a blast with some of his dearest friends. His favorite parts were the "100 ft drop water slide and riding the bus (we don't get him out much - smile!)

Pace Travel Update and Prayer Request

Please pray for the Reed family. We were hoping to be traveling with this precious couple to pick up their darling 3 month old, Juliana Ashure. We just got word that their sweet little one just went to be with the Lord this morning. The couple have a 4 year old little boy who is also crushed by this blow. The family has been to the Ukraine and come back without a child in a previous adoption attempt and now this. They were so close. Please lift them up in prayer as they need a tremendous amount of it right now!

Also, I know everyone is wondering why they haven't heard about our travel date. Well, that is because we don't know it yet! We were hoping it was going to be next week, but as it turned out, Monday following our Wonderful "Court Passing Day July 3rd", MOWA (the Ministry of Women's Affairs) decided to close down for 2 weeks of restructuring. We know that with all of the problems we have had so far with them, that this is much needed. It would have been nice if they would have waited until the Courts close down August 1st, so it wouldn't be hindering those who are anxiously awaiting court dates, but that is not the way it worked out.

Anyway, we are doing fine and just so excited that we have Teshale as an official member of our family. We will be blessed to go get him whenever God sees fit. We are also praying that the MOWA closure is helpful for the families that come behind us. I am sure this is a daunting job to handle so I don't want to be too frustrated with them. God alone is helping me with that! Nothing Angelic on my part I assure you!

Fortunately, when we found out we wouldn't be traveling, we were able to mail a package off to a dear family in Ohio who will be picking up their child this weekend and hand delivering our 4th package to Teshale, probably Tuesday the 14th. It was helpful knowing he will be able to get something from us soon, since we hadn't sent anything since last month. We also enclosed a letter that we pray can be translated to him. We wanted him to know that we are wanting to come get him as soon as the Ethiopian Government will allow us to.

Anyway, we will know more on the 27th or 28th and will post anything new that we hear as soon as possible. We appreciate everyone's faithfulness at sticking with us through all of the details and ups and downs. Please keep praying! That is what has brought us this far!

Awesome links and songs!

Check this little guy out on the first link. I think he is 7 or 8. This inspired Noah. Both links are so powerful! "God, please help us make a difference in this world and especially in the lives of the children."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cco_IlYuqN0&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=si4-gOqqlB8

Post from our Adoption Agency blog

Please read this story.

Mary

A post from our Adoption Agency's blog

Now that I am home I will be blogging about my past days in Africa. On the last night of our Visiting Orphans trip, I asked every team member what was their most memorable moment. Here is mine:

We spent a day at one of the many Mother Theresa Orphanages in Ethiopia. This orphanage has about 400 kids with HIV. The number is staggering and a very small percentage of these children are ever adopted. It is one of the most hopeless places we visit as a mission team.

The guys played football, aka, soccer with the older boys while most of the women led the children in songs and arts and crafts. While I was working with one set of kids, a team member named Audrey cried out my name. When I turned to see what was the matter, she was trying to help a little 4 year old boy out of a ditch. He had been pushed by another child head first into this rock ditch and blood was running all down his face and onto his hand, while he cried in pain. Without thinking, I picked him up immediately and rushed him to the clinic that was on this large compound. I was with a volunteer who worked there and she asked me if I had any open wounds. I had not even thought about that. Not once did I hesitate to not pick him up because he had HIV. Thankfully it never crossed my mind!

However, in that moment, the danger of this virus and the threat of it scared me. I quickly realized there was no concern as I did not have an open wound, and I laid my head against his bloody head and tried calming him and comforting him. It seemed to work. Pretty soon the nurse took him and laid him on the table. He was crying as she pressed on his head. She uttered something to him in amharic (the national language of Ethiopia) and he quickly stopped crying. I was amazed as she put disinfectant on his sore and he didn't let out a peep. I myself would have been crying and carrying on!

I asked her what she said and my heart broke with her answer. She told him, "If you keep crying, I will not help you and you will get an infection". So, no matter how hard she pressed, he did not let out a sound. You know this tiny boy wanted a Mama during this time. Someone to let him cry. Someone to kiss his wounds. Someone to reassure him he will be okay.

Most orphans NEVER have someone to pick them up when they fall, or to kiss them, or to comfort and hold them. They either go uncomforted or are hushed like this nurse did to him. I excused myself from the room as for me even, it was too painful to watch. Pretty soon, he found me in the multitude of children and grabbed my hand. He was such a quiet and shy boy that even the interpreters couldn't get him to talk, so I don't know what he thought. But he did manage to say that his head was still hurting. Then all the sudden he left with all the other children to go to lunch. He didn't look back..he just walked away. That was a sad moment for me too. I realized that they are used to visitors coming and going and never seeing them again. He didn't even bother to say good-bye. Why bother...he doesn't seem to have any hope.

Later that night I laid awake in tears as I realized he could have had a concussion and no one looked into that chance. I was so worried. So, my husband and I prayed for him until we couldn't stay awake any longer. I wish I could tell you his name. I am more than ashamed that I do not know it. He just wouldn't talk though.

This is one reason why I love my job as our Development Director. I get the chance to work for a fundraising campaign that does bring orphans some hope. Our Orphan's Ticket Home campaign works tirelessly to help bring more children home. I love knowing that even though I was unable to bring this particular child home and could only be there for that one moment in his life, I can still help other orphans find their way home through this campaign. If you are inspired in any way by this blog post, please pray about giving to this campaign. You can do so at www.orphanstickethome.org.

Until They All Have Tickets Home,

Amanda Lawrence

Director of Development

Where are we not with getting ready to go to Ethiopia?

Sorry it has taken a couple of days to post! We have been reeling from our awesome news of passing court and our home is a flurry of activity, almost as if we haven't had months to prepare for this. I don't know about everyone else, but nothing gets me motivated like someone lighting a motivational fire under my behind! Smile! It is amazing what you can accomplish on lots of adrenaline! I can hardly sleep and it's not caffeine! "I'm just too Excited to sleep"!

Thank you everyone for your prayers and well wishes! I know everyone wants to know when we go pick up our little wonder. Well, we do not know yet about our definite travel dates. We pray it will be next week! Please pray for packing. We were able to get some items from Gleaning for the world for the orphanages over there and are trying to figure out how to pack it. They gave us some school supplies, diapers, wipes, some medical supplies and many more items that I couldn't begin to tell. I am just starting to see how we might be able to pack.

Others have asked how they can contribute.

1) First and foremost, we can use all of the prayer you can send our way for the details. We wouldn't survive without it!

2) I am not sure where it is going to go, but I feel God is telling me to let you all know that if you would like to contribute little cars, rubber balls, hard candy, (yes, I am requesting hard candy for those of you who know me) and little items that I could give to the kids we encounter at the orphanage or in the streets. Everyone that goes over feels like they wish they had more to give to attempt to brighten these little kids days.

3) Also, we are not sure how much the shipping will be to take these items with us, so shipping financial contributions is another way that people are welcome to contribute.

Please don't feel obligated to contribute. I have just had many asking how they can help and I wasn't sure what would fit or what we would be able to take until now, so was a little afraid to put anything out there for fear of a mountain of items.

I just went out and bought a big bag of dum dum suckers, some rice crispy treats and some gummie snacks. I wanted to get more healthy items like granola bars, but was concerned for nut allergies.

Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers.

Praise God we passed court! Teshale is an Official Pace!!!!

Praise God we passed our 4th Court Date today! Thank you so much to all of you for your encouraging prayers of support! Enjoy our introduction to the newest member of our family! Happy 4th of July weekend!

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