Meeting Ethiopia

Today and yesterday, we have had the opportunity to experience the capital city of Ethiopia.  It is so incredibly busy with literally millions of people going all directions.  There are 5-6million people in the capital city alone and there are 24,000 taxis.  Therefore, lots of people are constantly walking everywhere.  Being from west river, I found it the Ethiopian 'sale barns' interesting too.  Goats, donkeys and cows are easily and very frequently seen roaming through a main roadway which is 6-7 lanes wide.  The driving is as crazy as people say however, everyone is incredibly patient and very accomodating.  With a quick beep of the horn, people will move out of the way but, just enough.  The taxis easily go zooming past each other within inches of each other.  I heard someone say 'just imagine New York City- but, with only 4 traffic lights'.  That's a good analogy in my opinion : )   Today, we went up to mountain where we visited the palace, museum and church.  It was a lot of fun to hear more about the country's history and their story from our guide.  The mountain area is beatiful!   It is where the world famous Ethiopian runners train in the mornings.  With the high elevation of 10,000+ feet, the lack of oxygen helps them perform even better when they race in lower lying areas.  We then drove up the road aways to look out across the countryside.  When we stopped, a bunch of adorable children came up to us chattering away.  Fortunately, I had packed some suckers and smarties candies and we handed some out.  They completely mobbed us yet were very respectful for the most part once they got their candy.  At the end when we went to leave, a few more children had ran down the road to us as well.  Our guide agreed to hand out a little more candy and was totally mobbed!!!  They were jumping and begging for the last few pieces of candy.  I'll add pictures when we get home- it really was fun to share the candy with the children.  They were adorable and were so appreciative.  This afternoon, we had our training by Bethany and tonight we're going out for a traditional Ethiopian dinner.  It should be a great time!  Thanks for the prayers everyone- please keep us in mind tomorrow morning when we're at court- or about the time when you're heading to bed Wednesday night. 

God's Plan.... Lessons in Lost Luggage

After our amazing visit to the orphanage to meet our little guy and play with the babies, we had lunch at the Golf Club then went to the airport to retrieve our luggage.  Our guide had learned our luggage had arrived however we needed to pick it up.  So, in we went.  We quickly found all four items and headed for customs.  We (and many others- THANK YOU) have been praying for our donation of shoes and our ability to get through customs without a tax or major hassles.  So, Wes loaded the two 50lb. tubs of shoes into the x-ray machine which I was praying and praying to God that this would work out. We got to the other side to pick them up and the man there said- what are they?  To which I replied- 'Donations- we are adoptiong".  He asked if we had a letter.  Thankfully, last week I had our social worker write a letter stating we were donating shoes to local orphanages.  So, I showed the letter to them.  The one gentleman generally skimmed the letter then passed it to the other worker.  The second man read it and read it and read it.  He appeared very serious.  I kept saying things like for the children and donations.  They asked if our agency would be selling them.  I said no- donating directly to the children.  It seemed as though, we needed both gentleman's 'ok'.  Since we didn't yet have a yes vote, they sent me to visit the man in the office.  Wes stayed with the luggage and I went to plead our case.  I attempted to speak with a tall older gentleman who didn't seem too concerned about our case.  He told me 'the system is closed for the day- come back tomorrow'.  To which I kindly yet firmly replied 'no- we can not.  Our luggage was already delayed a day.  We can not come tomorrow."  By now, we are all huddled back at the luggage where the Ethiopian officials begin discussion.  They open the containers and begin digging through the shoes.  I kept grabbing pairs of the littlest shoes saying- children, little, for children, donations.....  At this point, Wes and were starting to feel like our hopes of simplicity were diminishing by the second.  The one gentleman seemed slightly more compassionate so I told him - we went to the orphanage today.  We visited them today.  We will take the shoes to the children tomorrow.  Tomorrow we will deliver them.  Then, I said 'Do you want to see the orphanage we visited today?"  He said no but I was starting showing him anyways.  I showed him the building and Kaleb.  After about five pictures he said, 'Go, you go'.  We thanked him very much and got out of there quick!
You see.... it was God's plan.  We firmly believe that had our luggage arrived on time, we would not have gotten the shoes in without a tax.  It was God delaying the luggage, our social workers' letter and the tipping point- pictures from the orphanage which got the shoes in.  Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord!!!!!  God heard the prayers of so many of you and blessed those shoes in return.  Thank YOU!

And, there he was...

This may sound like an unusual thing to be thankful for but, today I am reminded of the ways in which God has all things planned out according to His great design.  When we arrived here in Ethiopia on Sunday morning about 1am, our luggage was not here.  We had packed wisely and really weren't hurting much in light of our lack of luggage.  This morning, we cleaned up as best we could then went to meet our son.  Oh, what a marvelous, wonderful day it has been.  He is just precious and simply adorable.  When we arrived at the orphanage, we entered the courtyard filled with 'older kids', meaning everyone out of diapers up to about age 10.  We gave them hugs, shook their hands and loved on them a little.  The social worker who was escorting us asked if we recognized our son and I replied "No, he is little".  She replied, oh- we got upstairs to infant room.  Inside, we entered a nice, newly finished building which was very bright and sunny.  We were asked to put on booties over our shoes to keep dirt from getting into the baby room.  Although not stylish, we appreciated their attention to cleanliness.  We could hear the room before we got there- I remember looking up and seeing the cutest little girl peering over the baby gate.  As we went up the last flight of stairs we could see and hear the baby room.  After stepping into the room, we said hello to a few babies before I saw his bed.  I recognized it from the pictures we had been sent.  And then, we saw him!  A nanny was holding him so I waited a minute (or maybe less!) for him to check me out and then she slowly handed him to me.  It was a meeting like every adoptive parent dreams of- calm and quiet and peaceful.  Next, he cuddled with Wes which was simply incredible to witness.  We spent the next hour or so taking turns holding him, making silly faces and loving on him.  We took turns, one of us holding Kaleb and the other playing with the other little babies.  All were very chubby and very healthy. A few runny noses but, what kid doesn't have a runny nose half the time?  There were about four nannies and about ten babies in the room.  Its very clean, warm and they seem very attentive. We stayed for about an hour before the social worker came to get us.  Today, it was sad to leave him but we know we're going back tomorrow.  We can't wait to go play with the babies again tomorrow!!  We are so blessed and are thrilled to have met our little guy :)  Once we're back, we'll have some amazing pictures to share if you run into us in person.  We still can't post pics online until he's home to America but trust us.... he's a cutie!!  Thank you so much for all your prayers, we greatly appreciate it!

We're in Ethiopia!

We've made it to Ethiopia!  We're thrilled to be here and can't wait to experience the culture and country within the next few days.  Our trip and flights went well.  We drove across the state to Sioux Falls where we met up with my sister who gave us a ride to the airport.  Thanks Ashley :) It was extra fun because, it was her first day working on the floor of her nursing job!  We got checked in, snapped some pictures and off we went.  Props to Ashley for talking herself out of a parking ticket at the airport as well! 
And, we were off.  A quick flight to Chicago and then the 10 hour 45 minute flight to Istanbul.  We took Turkish air which took exceptional care of us- excellent food, little 'traveler packs' of handy things like warm socks, a mini toothbrush and headphones.  We slept quite a bit and the flight didn't feel nearly as long as I thought it would.  Overall, not bad at all.  Our connecting flight to Addis was good as well. 
We arrived in Ethiopia- Wes got in line to buy our visas and I went to exchange our money.  Customs took a long time until they opened up more windows of people working.  We made it to baggage to discover that- our luggage didn't make it.  We're hopeful it will be there tomorrow and we'll got pick it up.  So, please keep praying for our luggage and the shoes.  We are staying at Morning Coffee House they have been very welcoming and gracious.  Today, we're taking it easy.  Nice to have a quiet day before our exciting and intense week ahead. 

Let's Go!

Well- we're packed!  Hopefully, we have everything on the list.  We have very, very, very close to 100lbs of shoes in the plastic tubs.  We used the 22 gallon size and then used bungee ties to make sure the lids stay on yet still make it through the airport security.  One carry on has our extra change of clothes plus our outfits for court.  We figure as long as we have those, the camera and some cash.... we're set! (plus what feels like 100 other things)
This has been a busy week and it is hard to believe that tomorrow we take flight for Ethiopia.  Wow- I'm simply amazed that we finally actually really doing this.  Tomorrow we start living the reality that we're going to meet our son.  Thanks to everyone for their extra dose of love, support and enthusiasm this past week.  The phone calls, messages, and conversations have been greatly appreciated- we're so blessed! 
We're confidant and excited and (honestly) I think we're kinda clueless as to what this coming week will entail.  On Sunday, at church we sang the song 'Open my Eyes Lord' and kept thinking... I think that's our theme song for us until we're back to church again in a couple weeks.  We're excited to see what God has instore for us and what He reveals!  We're confidant all will go well however please be praying for us.  Here are some things to keep in prayer...
First, tonight (Thursday night in the US) our son's birth father will attend court.  Please pray for his birthfather who has lost so much.  Give him peace and comfort and grace on a day which I am sure will be very difficult.  Pray that all will go well.
Saturday- at about 4pm mountain time, we'll be landing in Ethiopia and will be heading to customs.  Please, please pray that our shoes make it through customs without hassle or a big tax. 
Along the way, we're just praying for good health, that many MOWA letters be written soon and for Kaleb's good health.  Tomorrow, our little guy turns just 4 months old! Tomorrow, we'll drive 6 hours across the state for our 22 hour-ish flight.
Wednesday night (while you're sleeping), we will attend court to officially accept Kaleb as our own. 

We love you all- God Bless :)

Get Ready, Get Set....(GrOw)

This week has been crazy busy!  But, we're thrilled to be in the craziness of preparations :)  I think, we're pretty much set- yikes, hope we remember everything we're supposed to! Here are the highlights of the past few days...Shoes- we spent a large portion of Saturday morning rubber banding pairs of shoes together.  This helped to keep the correct shoes together and to suck them together in an effort to pack as tightly as possible.  We believe we have about 150 pairs packed.  We have found that the 22 gallon tubs fit within airline regulations and fit a little over 50 pounds of shoes.  We are only allowed 50 pounds by Turkish Air so, we threw in a few fleece sleepers I had purchased at Walmart. 

Hills Alive- Our annual free Christian music concert was this past weekend.  We had a great time with the musical highlight being Third Day!!!  Sunday afternoon we helped on the garbage crew- it was a good time even though it was literally about 100 degrees I believe at that point.  I have to admit, I have it pretty good...I drive the four-wheeler and Wes does most the truly dirty work :) Rain Coat- Do you know how hard it is to find a rain coat in South Dakota at the end of July?  It will be in the 60's and very rainy while we're in Ethiopia.  Its their 'winter' so to speak- cooler and very wet.  So, I need a new rain coat...my old tree planting windbreaker wasn't going to cut it.  Each store, I asked the clerk "Do you have any rain coats in stock right now?" To which they answered- 'ah, you must be traveling very far away'.  Every single one.  And then they laughed.  You see, its like 105 here right now and miserable.  Finally, Cabalas delivered : ) For English press 2- I had to chuckle when talking to Turkish Air.  I dialed, heard jibberish, jibberish, jibberish.......'for English press 2'.....jibberish.... We are leaving our comfort zone starting Friday night- the shoe will be on the other foot.   And, we're excited about that!  Gardening- Wow!  This year for my birthday, Wes gifted me with a legit garden (fence and tiller rental included)-yay!  After the monsoon month of June, I'm amazed at how quickly things have turned around.  We did not water our yard until after July 15th this year which is bizarre for this part of the country!  I can't wait to come home and see what God has grown in our absence. 





As a family, we're kind of at the same stage as the garden.  Seeds were planted long ago, we've taken root and the fruit of our labor is within sight.  The time of harvest is just around the corner...

Leavin' on a jet plane...

 I have been in California for the past week.  It was a great trip and definitely kept me sufficiently distracted as we waited to hear of our court date.  The highlight of the trip however, had nothing to do with California.... you see, on Monday morning a little past 10am, Wes called me with the incredible news that we had a court date.  And, its July 28th!!!  A week from today- we'll be aboard a plane heading to meet our little man.  Oh, gosh- its so incredibly hard to believe that sentence.  Its been a long journey and we're not finished but, the bounty of God's blessing this week has been beyond comprehension.  Its a miracle that we (and so many others) had prayed for!  We were so shocked and filled with gratitude, it truly seems surreal.  We are just so very thankful!!  Like I said before, our God is BIG and our court date before the rainy season is nothing short of a miracle.   As I shared our travel news with my fellow FCCLA advisers, there was much jumping (literally) for joy and many tears of joy and lots of beaming smiley faces.  We are so blessed in so many ways- by God's provision, by God's grace and by a huge gathering of caring people throughout this process.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Like many things in life, God's blessings don't ensure simplicity.  Like we had said before, we had been preparing for a fall court date.  So, needless to say... we've got a lot of on 'to-do' list right now. 

- Plane tickets are bought and the e-tickets are in the inbox.  Another little miracle...we put tickets on hold Monday afternoon as seats were going fast.  Tuesday when I called to purchase the tickets, the lady re-checked fairs to see if there was anything cheaper.  Well, wouldn't you know it- God chopped the price by about $130 a piece.  Thank you Jesus!!!

- We'll be staying at Morning Coffee Guesthouse, yay!

- Today we had our travel vaccinations (which we had previously scheduled anyways- Go God!!)  I got 8 shots and Wes got 6.  Arms are a little stiff but all is well.  Our prescriptions are waiting for us at Walmart- will pick those up this week.

- And, today was another rite of passage day so to speak.... 

We registred at Target! Yay- how fun :) 

We're onto the 'little things' like- packing up 187 pairs of shoes; putting together his little photo album book; and gathering everything on the packing list. 

Thank you everyone for your prayers and encouragement these past weeks and months.  We are incredibly grateful and blessed.  Please continue to pray for the speedy writing of MOWA letters (a required letter of approval by an Ethiopian agency); for Kaleb's continued good health and our upcoming travel.  Also, please pray for us as we work to get everything accomplished this coming week. 

Thanks again and God Bless!

We again, find ourselves in a time of waiting.  Waiting for the silly phone to ring with news of when our court date is.  After our referral, we had a nice month in which I knew the phone wouldn't be ringing with adoption news.  It was one of our best months simply because for the 9 months before that, we lived in anticipation of 'the call'.  We were thrilled to hear that our case was submitted to court so quickly.  And, now here we are nearing another piece of time in which the anticipation for the phone call is growing with each passing day.  With the upcoming rainy season and court closure, I have spent much of my week in prayer regarding our court date.  From the time we knew there was a possibility of sqeaking in before the court closure- I knew this was totally in His hands.  The struggle has been in finding the balance between favoring the hope of God's power or contentment in God's plan.  Hope and contentment don't really go together. 
I 'stumbled' across this verse from a book I've been reading lately...
"Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.  For you have need of endurance, so that when you are done the will of God, you may receive what is promised."  Hebrews 10:35-36. 
Reading this yesterday was one of those moments when you are reminded that there is nothing random about the way God chooses to reveal Himself in our lives.  Don't throw it away, we have to keep our confidence in Him who is the author of our story.  The verse doesn't say 'and, He will grant you the fast track as you please'.  We firmly believe we are doing the will of God.  However, we're not done.  We are still awaiting our reward. 
Instead of focusing on the hope of an unusually quick court date or contemplating God's definition of contentment... really the focus is on confidence.  Confidence in our BIG God, who knows best and loves us beyond measure.  We'll keep praying for the Ethiopian workers within the court system.  May their days be highly productive and may any challenges be removed before they even arise.  For us, we'll keep praying for confidence in God's plan. 
In the meantime, I really think I need a big time distraction so my email refresh function doesn't go on strike :)   So, I'm heading to Laguna Beach and Disneyland and Hollywood and.... a bunch of other fun places.  Seriously, I really am even if it is with students and considered a 'work' requirement.  It couldn't come at a better time...definitely a great distractionary activity, just when I'm kinda really needing one. 
We'll just keep uplifting our little guy in prayer in confidence that God has it all figured out.  God Bless

God Bless, America!

Happy Birthday America!  Throughout our nice, relaxing 4th of July weekend I've very much been struck with the feeling of gratitude.  We are so blessed in this country we can't even understand it all.  Last night we sat out on the porch and watched fireworks from across the neighborhoods.  It was warm, a gentle breeze and clear beautiful skies.  Kids ran with sparklers and the big 'kids' kabooms lit up the night skies.  We hear lots of grumbling these days about the goings on of America.  This is bad, and that's getting worse and those people are ruining everything.  You know, reality is.... we've got it really, really good.  
 Sitting there, I couldn't help but think about Ethiopia.  On a daily basis, we don't work very hard to retrieve water, we've got shoes to pick from and loads of creature comforts.   Every baby in America can be born in a hospital if the mother chooses; simply calling 911 will get you emergency services at your doorstep within minutes and the power of education is free and readily available in every neighborhood.  God really, really has blessed America.  I'm reminded today to always put gratitude before grumbling. 
Also last night, while sitting in my rocker on the porch, I said to Wes "next year is really going to be fun" to which he replied 'ah, ya- 2012 is going to be awesome'.  And, right then just down the street a huge set of fireworks burst into the sky.  Explosive layers of color bursting into the sky.  It was like God's  exclamation mark : )   We can't wait for next summer's fun of lighting up sparklers, tanks, worms and some chickens.  This year though, we're headed out for a super fun night of block parties with friends. 
God Bless, America!