Please pray for our adoption this week, as we are really hoping that our agency's country rep will be able to open a file for us in court this week so that we can be given a new courtdate. I'm trying to tell myself not to expect news this week, but hopefully next week. I figure that if I can convince myself that it won't be until next week, and it does end up being this week, I'll just be pleasantly surprised. My excitement level is rising by the day quite honestly, and I really really do hope it's this week. (Self- stop thinking this way! Accept next week!)
I had to fax a copy of our I600-A approval (a piece of paperwork from the US government that gives families permission to bring an adopted child into the US) to our agency today and in doing so I realized that our approval expires the last week of April. I had known this before, but I think I blocked it out! The US immigration office that handles that particular piece of paperwork in our state has been kind of slow in my experience, but this might not be the norm. One experience doesn't really signify a rule, now does it? I probably need to find out. Our homestudy agency told us that with an expiration date in late April that we need to renew this particular piece of paperwork right now. We're holding off on it though because it will cost another $545 to renew it. So, we're giving it until the end of next week. If we don't hear anything, I guess we'll just have to do it again. I have a feeling we'll be hearing very soon.
I really just have so much peace about all of it. I really feel like this time is for real. And even apart from that, I have had so many supportive friends remind me that my focus needs to be on God and not the difficulty of the current circumstances. And they are so right. When my focus is on God, all is well, even if the world around me is going crazy. I can still have peace inside of me. Pretty cool, isn't it?! :)
On a separate note, my injera over the weekend was a dismal failure, so there is no video. But, I made another batch today which turned out so perfect. But, I didn't video tape it. But I will be making some more soon and will video tape that batch. Kaitlyn and Lucas hated Ethiopian food when we first started cooking it, but I think they're developing a taste for it! We had Siga W'et (spicy ground beef stew), mesir aliche (mild lentil sauce), aiyb (like ricotta cheese, sort of), and gomen (cabbage- one of my absolute favorites) for supper tonight. We actually got through supper with relatively few complaints. Probably the fact that I'm no longer feeding them injera that tastes awful is helping them to develop a taste for Ethiopian cuisine. I know it's helped my palate!
Monday, February 05, 2007
What is (Red)??????
If you're observant, you've probably noticed "(red)" in a variety of places of late. So, what is (red) all about anyway?????? It's simple. When you're buying a product, you check to see if there is a (red) version of the same product available. If so, you choose to purchase (red). Then, a percentage of the profit from that sale will go directly to The Global Fund which distributes the money throughout Africa to be used in the fight against AIDS. The (red) manifesto says it pretty clearly, so check out their website.
So, why should we care about AIDS victims in Africa? It's simple. It's because we're all human. Most of my readers are from industrialized nations. That makes you one of the richest humans in the world, regardless of whether you happen to be a bit behind on your cable TV bill at the moment. And yet so many of our human brothers and sisters are dying of AIDS, which is not such a common occurrence anymore in the westernized world that we're privileged enough to live in. And this is thanks to ARV drugs that keep the amount of the HIV virus at not-s0-dangerous levels in the bodies of those who are HIV+.
The poor of Africa are just as much human as you and me. They are just as smart, or even smarter than you and me! They have hopes and dreams for their children. They want to see their children educated and successful, just like you and me. Again, they want to see this. They want to live long enough to witness it for themselves. They cry when they hurt, just like you and me. They bleed when they get cut. They laugh when their children take their first steps. And their children grieve when they watch their moms and dads die from AIDS, a very preventable death. Again. They are human. Just like us.
And furthermore, if you consider yourself to be a Christian, then you are undoubtedly responsible for the AIDS victims in Africa. Jesus said that whatever we do for the least of these (humans!), we do it for Him. It's not a choice to care for the poor. It's not something we are told to do someday when we have more time and money. It's a mandate. A mandate for now.
Our family's contract for our cell phone is set to expire in just a few weeks, and our phones are on the brink of death. So Avery began to shop around for a phone and discovered that purchasing a (red) phone would not cost us any more money than a non-(red) phone. In fact, often when you're selecting a cell phone contract, you can get a discount on a (red) phone that the cell phone company will more than make up for over the term of your service contract. This was the case for us. So the choice was really quite simple. We purchased new (red) cell phones and thereby have purchased the needed medication so that 200 HIV+ women can receive the drugs that prevent the HIV virus from being passed to their unborn babies. That's right. Also, we have paid for 2 months of ARV drugs that will keep one of these moms alive in order to care for her HIV- baby. That's right. By simply choosing to buy (red) on a product that we were already going to purchase anyway, we have made an impact in the fight against AIDS in Africa.
So I challenge you, beg you, plead with you, reason with you. Please choose to buy (red) products. Together, we can make a difference. Together we can keep more mommies in Africa alive to care for their children, which means that there will be fewer orphans like my Yosef and Mihret. That means more children get to stay in their native Africa with their biological parents. This is one "trend" that I am proud to be a part of, though with 5 million AIDS orphans in Ethiopia alone, I hardly would consider this a "trend" just yet. But won't you please join me and countless others in being a trendsetter for the sake of women and children in Africa?
Saturday, February 03, 2007
God Is So Cool...
I wanted to call this post "God Is An Awesome Secretary" but I didn't because I was afraid it would seem like I was being trite about a really cool thing that God has done for our family. But seriously, it was a matter of God arranging my schedule ever so precisely.
I have never had any inclination to ever call any radio station to win a contest before. Before yesterday that is. I was driving home with Lucas in the backseat and the radio was turned down because we were chit-chatting about 5-year-old "stuff." As we pulled into the driveway, we finished talking, and so I turned the radio back up just in time to hear the DJ say, "So, if your kid has an unusual name, be caller number three right now to win." They gave the phone number and I just automatically got out my cell-phone and started dialing. I had no idea why I was doing this, as I had never done it before. But I'm prone to random moments of, "Ahhh. I think I'll do this right now!" So, wouldn't you know it, I was caller number three. I had no idea what I was winning. I told the DJ all four of our kids' names and he wanted to know the story of how Yosef and Mihret got their names. I explained and he told me about my prize, a DVD.
So about ten minutes goes by and the phone rings. The radio station was calling me back because a woman had called and left her number and wanted me to call her. I called this woman and it turns out that a friend of hers had heard me on the radio. This woman lives only about 40 minutes from us and she just brought home her 4ish year old daughter from Ethiopia last September! I was so excited! And she was so excited too because up until yesterday she had absolutely no Ethiopian connections in our state. Our state has a really cool network of Ethiopian adoptive families and she didn't even know about it. So perfect!
Obviously God so sovereignly arranged my schedule yesterday as well as the schedule of this woman's friend so that we could get connected with each other. Oh, it's even better. The woman's parents live in the same town as us about 2 minutes down the road. She comes to our town all the time and she's going to come see us at our house today! So, I don't want to minimize the role of the Sovereign God of the universe, but He is indeed sovereign over the smallest details of our lives!
And, as though that isn't good enough, I have had such an incredible peace about our adoption. It's all so simple, and yet I'm so quick to forget. When I keep my focus on God and not my circumstances, God fills me with incredible peace and faith. When I choose to dwell on my circumstances, I feel tormented inside. So, the choice is obvious, isn't it?! And God is so faithful that He gives us opportunity after opportunity to make the choice to choose Him over our circumstances. Thank you for all of your prayers this week, this month, this year! One day at a time.
I am currently waiting for my injera starter to rise so that I can cook it. I have video taped each step in the process, so if the end result is successful, then I will be posting it next week. So, get a good strong starter going so you'll be ready!
I have never had any inclination to ever call any radio station to win a contest before. Before yesterday that is. I was driving home with Lucas in the backseat and the radio was turned down because we were chit-chatting about 5-year-old "stuff." As we pulled into the driveway, we finished talking, and so I turned the radio back up just in time to hear the DJ say, "So, if your kid has an unusual name, be caller number three right now to win." They gave the phone number and I just automatically got out my cell-phone and started dialing. I had no idea why I was doing this, as I had never done it before. But I'm prone to random moments of, "Ahhh. I think I'll do this right now!" So, wouldn't you know it, I was caller number three. I had no idea what I was winning. I told the DJ all four of our kids' names and he wanted to know the story of how Yosef and Mihret got their names. I explained and he told me about my prize, a DVD.
So about ten minutes goes by and the phone rings. The radio station was calling me back because a woman had called and left her number and wanted me to call her. I called this woman and it turns out that a friend of hers had heard me on the radio. This woman lives only about 40 minutes from us and she just brought home her 4ish year old daughter from Ethiopia last September! I was so excited! And she was so excited too because up until yesterday she had absolutely no Ethiopian connections in our state. Our state has a really cool network of Ethiopian adoptive families and she didn't even know about it. So perfect!
Obviously God so sovereignly arranged my schedule yesterday as well as the schedule of this woman's friend so that we could get connected with each other. Oh, it's even better. The woman's parents live in the same town as us about 2 minutes down the road. She comes to our town all the time and she's going to come see us at our house today! So, I don't want to minimize the role of the Sovereign God of the universe, but He is indeed sovereign over the smallest details of our lives!
And, as though that isn't good enough, I have had such an incredible peace about our adoption. It's all so simple, and yet I'm so quick to forget. When I keep my focus on God and not my circumstances, God fills me with incredible peace and faith. When I choose to dwell on my circumstances, I feel tormented inside. So, the choice is obvious, isn't it?! And God is so faithful that He gives us opportunity after opportunity to make the choice to choose Him over our circumstances. Thank you for all of your prayers this week, this month, this year! One day at a time.
I am currently waiting for my injera starter to rise so that I can cook it. I have video taped each step in the process, so if the end result is successful, then I will be posting it next week. So, get a good strong starter going so you'll be ready!
Friday, February 02, 2007
More Progress...
I really wasn't expecting any adoption news today, but I guess I gave up hope too soon! Our agency's country rep has "the letter" in her hands now. Next she has to show it to the courts. She is expecting to re-open our courtfiles next week, which means she can request our courtdates. Soon...
To all who have prayed for me this week and sent me encouraging emails, thank you!!!! Sometimes I wonder what in the world is wrong with me that God can do so many miraculous things for us and speak so clearly to my heart. Then two days later I seem to completely forget about it and fall into an introspective discouragement! You know, kind of like when God saved the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, led them through the desert, took care of their every need, showed them the land He was giving them (which was a pretty incredible place!), then they STILL forgot all of God's faithfulness and complained! So, I guess I'm not the only one who has that tendency. Must be the human condition or something like that?! At any rate, the important thing is that when we find ourselves in that place that we can ALWAYS go running back to God. When we are faithless, He is still faithful. Good thing too! :)
I have this little problem right now though. We've been invited to a Super-Bowl party at the home of a gourmet chef. This chef is a friend of a friend. He really is a master at culinary arts. We've had the good pleasure of attending a reception that he prepared. So, this chef wants to sample Ethiopian food. The food is not a problem. However I'm completely out of teff! I ordered some from The Teff Company online, but it's still not here! I may have to break down and drive all the way to Raleigh where I'll have to spend a small fortune on a tiny little bag of the stuff! Abeba still hasn't found us a new dealer. Hmmm... that sounds kind of shady, doesn't i?! Anyway, my point is to let my readers know that as soon as my teff arrives in the mail I am going to make another batch of injera and I will videotape each step and post it on you-tube along with detailed instructions in writing. Soon there will be injera-making-ferenj all over the world! :)
To all who have prayed for me this week and sent me encouraging emails, thank you!!!! Sometimes I wonder what in the world is wrong with me that God can do so many miraculous things for us and speak so clearly to my heart. Then two days later I seem to completely forget about it and fall into an introspective discouragement! You know, kind of like when God saved the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, led them through the desert, took care of their every need, showed them the land He was giving them (which was a pretty incredible place!), then they STILL forgot all of God's faithfulness and complained! So, I guess I'm not the only one who has that tendency. Must be the human condition or something like that?! At any rate, the important thing is that when we find ourselves in that place that we can ALWAYS go running back to God. When we are faithless, He is still faithful. Good thing too! :)
I have this little problem right now though. We've been invited to a Super-Bowl party at the home of a gourmet chef. This chef is a friend of a friend. He really is a master at culinary arts. We've had the good pleasure of attending a reception that he prepared. So, this chef wants to sample Ethiopian food. The food is not a problem. However I'm completely out of teff! I ordered some from The Teff Company online, but it's still not here! I may have to break down and drive all the way to Raleigh where I'll have to spend a small fortune on a tiny little bag of the stuff! Abeba still hasn't found us a new dealer. Hmmm... that sounds kind of shady, doesn't i?! Anyway, my point is to let my readers know that as soon as my teff arrives in the mail I am going to make another batch of injera and I will videotape each step and post it on you-tube along with detailed instructions in writing. Soon there will be injera-making-ferenj all over the world! :)
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Habesha Me?
Is it vain to put a bunch of pictures of myself all dressed up on my blog? I sure hope not because that's exactly what I've done tonight! :) Last night Avery and I decided to play Ethiopian photo-shoot in our dining room and this is the result. The top picture is a wrap that I bought in Ethiopia to use as a sling for the baby we escorted. The next one is a fancy party dress that Abeba gave me. And the third one is a traditional Ethiopian dress that my dear friend Rosa sent me quite a while ago. It was the first thing I had ever received from Ethiopia and I still remember how much it completely made my day. I wonder if I could pass for Habesha?! :) (Ethiopian)
The news on our adoption is that our agency's country rep needs to pick up a letter from the appropriate government offices stating that the agency is relicensed. Once she gets it, then she has to take the letter to the courts. Then once they look at it she will be able to go back and request our courtdates. The letter is supposed to take a week or two before it is ready for pick up. It's already been a week. So we'll see what happens.
I was feeling pretty sad today so I called a very dear friend to ask her to pray for me. She's an older lady and one of the things I love most about her is that she tells me the truth. She pretty much told me that she loves me, she always prays for me, God has given me assurance after assurance that He will indeed bring my kids home, and that I need to praise God in all circumstances. She told me that she will pray for me, to go to God with this, and to call her back later. Now, I don't mean to say that she gave me one of those trite religious pats on the back that is insincere and totally misses our obvious human condition! This particular friend would never do that to me. She was incredibly loving in the things she said to me and as I listened I knew how incredibly right she was. The truth is that God has been so good to me my entire life, even in the most painful of circumstances. He has never left me. He is good and He is faithful. At all times. Always. And that alone is reason enough to give Him praise. I'm not totally there yet. But I'm getting there. Funny how life can be such a roller coaster! Completely at peace one day and so sad the next. And through it all God tolerates my mood swings. AND He even loves me in my mood swings! How's that for love?!
Enjoy the photo shoot! :)
The news on our adoption is that our agency's country rep needs to pick up a letter from the appropriate government offices stating that the agency is relicensed. Once she gets it, then she has to take the letter to the courts. Then once they look at it she will be able to go back and request our courtdates. The letter is supposed to take a week or two before it is ready for pick up. It's already been a week. So we'll see what happens.
I was feeling pretty sad today so I called a very dear friend to ask her to pray for me. She's an older lady and one of the things I love most about her is that she tells me the truth. She pretty much told me that she loves me, she always prays for me, God has given me assurance after assurance that He will indeed bring my kids home, and that I need to praise God in all circumstances. She told me that she will pray for me, to go to God with this, and to call her back later. Now, I don't mean to say that she gave me one of those trite religious pats on the back that is insincere and totally misses our obvious human condition! This particular friend would never do that to me. She was incredibly loving in the things she said to me and as I listened I knew how incredibly right she was. The truth is that God has been so good to me my entire life, even in the most painful of circumstances. He has never left me. He is good and He is faithful. At all times. Always. And that alone is reason enough to give Him praise. I'm not totally there yet. But I'm getting there. Funny how life can be such a roller coaster! Completely at peace one day and so sad the next. And through it all God tolerates my mood swings. AND He even loves me in my mood swings! How's that for love?!
Enjoy the photo shoot! :)
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