I don't have a lot of time to write, but I wanted to let you know some brief details about our day!
When we arrived at the Thomas Center, all the children were waiting out front- holding beautiful roses for their new mommies and daddies. Zavion was the only one not standing- he was being held safely in one of his caregiver's arms. She handed him to me, and suffice it to say he was not a big fan. He spent a good 15 minutes crying and fighting to get out of my arms. We tried Mark too- that didn't work either. We went up to his room and saw his bed, and then were wisked away to our agency's office to continue spending time with our kiddos and finish our paperwork. Mark headed downstairs to work on paperwork with the other dads and the moms stayed in a room with the kiddos. There were 4 families with a total of 6 kids. The kids were all doing wonderfully- save for Zavion. He wasn't crying anymore, but her certainly wasn't comfortable. He stayed in my lap, and finally ventured down for a few minutes to play with a balloon. He played for a couple minutes, and seemed very intrigued with the other kids playing... but still no smiles. He started to whimper a bit, so I pulled him into my lap and tried to play a little game with him. After a couple minutes, he looked up at me, wrapped his arms around my neck and laid his head down on my chest. That's when the tears (for me) finally started to flow. A few minutes later he stuck his middle two fingers in his mouth, closed his eyes, and passed out. He slept for 2 hours. When he awoke, he was still uncertain- but definitely was ready not to let me go.
The rest of the day progressed beautifully. He is slowly started coming out of his shell. We actually were treated with a few smiles late tonight. He ate well at dinner, though he refuses a sippy cup, a regular cup, and will only drink from a water bottle :). He hated his bath, took his medicine like a champ, and played well after bath. Shortly after 7:30 he nuzzled up next to me and stuck his middle fingers back in his mouth. I took him up to our room, snuggled a few minutes, and laid him down in his bed awake. He kept sucking those fingers and was quiet, so I took my chances and snuck out. He was asleep in 2 minutes, no joke.
It was a blessed day. One of my favorite parts of the day was watching the other families we are blessed to be here with enjoying tehir new families for the first time too. The other kids are awesome- right now in our guest home we have a 20 month old, a 2 year old, a 6 year old, a seven year old, an eight year old and a ten year old. They are beautiful, their parents are beautiful and the siblings that traveled here are beautiful. What an overwhelming day.
Sunday, Sept 27
What an amazing day. We started the morning at Beza International Church in Bole. Our driver, Ephrim, joined us- awesome. I cannot even tell you how powerful the service was. It was everything I thought worshipping there would be and more. The service was in english, and the congregation was mostly Ethiopian- but we actually did meet a few Americans :). The worship pastor was unreal. He was dancing and clapping and singing his heart out. There was such freedom in their worship. In no way am I slamming our church (or our worship pastor :) )- but I could totally worship like that every Sunday. There was a palpable energy there- and a palpable passion and joy in the Lord. The message was absolutely incredible too. Based on Judges 15, where Samson is bound and then unleashed upon the Philistines. He talked about so often Christians are alive- but bound- and therefore unable to truly experience the freedom and joy that are ours for the taking in Christ. I was crying the whole time.
After church we were invited to our new dear friend Jared's small group for lunch. What a blessing. There were about 20 Ethiopians, Jared, us, another American and a woman from the UK. They barbequed kabobs and burgers and had pasta salad, fruit salad and chips and salsa. Hilarious. We enjoyed sitting around in a circle with all of them, fellowshipping and enjoying a meal together. They asked up to share our adoption story, It was an incredible opportunity to share how God has worked in our lives to call us to this place and share the most important thing about adoption- that it is the best picture we can give the world about our adoption into God's family through Christ. Adoption on earth is the Gospel personified in it's best representation- and we love giving God the glory for the fact that He has called us to be part of this story. Ther people were kind, loving and generous. It was susch a blessing to be invited into such an intimate gathering. As we were leaving, one of the young men told us we would always have a family to come to when we come back (which we will!) to Ethiopia.
After dinner, which included traditional "tips" (lamb) and injeera (soft bread that is very sour, used to dish up the tips with)- I opted for a coke and som almonds when we got back to our room- we had a time of worship in our guesthouse. Mark played the guitar and 4 of the other families staying here all gathered together in the living room to sing, pray and offer our hearts to God. What a blessing to gather together with people 5 days ago we didn't even know existed and sing praise to our God. It was amazing.
After church we were invited to our new dear friend Jared's small group for lunch. What a blessing. There were about 20 Ethiopians, Jared, us, another American and a woman from the UK. They barbequed kabobs and burgers and had pasta salad, fruit salad and chips and salsa. Hilarious. We enjoyed sitting around in a circle with all of them, fellowshipping and enjoying a meal together. They asked up to share our adoption story, It was an incredible opportunity to share how God has worked in our lives to call us to this place and share the most important thing about adoption- that it is the best picture we can give the world about our adoption into God's family through Christ. Adoption on earth is the Gospel personified in it's best representation- and we love giving God the glory for the fact that He has called us to be part of this story. Ther people were kind, loving and generous. It was susch a blessing to be invited into such an intimate gathering. As we were leaving, one of the young men told us we would always have a family to come to when we come back (which we will!) to Ethiopia.
After dinner, which included traditional "tips" (lamb) and injeera (soft bread that is very sour, used to dish up the tips with)- I opted for a coke and som almonds when we got back to our room- we had a time of worship in our guesthouse. Mark played the guitar and 4 of the other families staying here all gathered together in the living room to sing, pray and offer our hearts to God. What a blessing to gather together with people 5 days ago we didn't even know existed and sing praise to our God. It was amazing.
Saturday, Sept 26 evening; Sunday, Sept 27 daytime
Saturday, Sept 26, evening
We were blessed to be invited out to dinner with our new friends, the Trier family, to celebrate their daughter Juliette's birthday. As we piled into Ephrim's car, we were delighted to see a woman from Oregon who was staying at another guesthouse and had become friends with the Triers as well. She held an adorable Ethipian boy on her lap- he was nestled into her chest with his little hand securely wrapped around her wrist. As we began to drive to the restaurant, she shared her story with us. I was fighting back tears the whole time. She had come to Ethiopia three weeks before with her husband, a pediatrician, to bring home two special needs boys. They were 18mmonths and two years. The 18 month old suffered from severe malnutrition and Rickett's and was functioning as a 9 month old. The two year old was HIV positive. They knew coming into Ethiopia that they would be here longer than most adoptions, as the paperwork for HOV positive orphans is "about double" what we would have done. They were waiting on some CDC paperwork to be completed- paperwork they were told would be finshed 10 days earlier at this point. Her husband finally had to leave to go home on Friday night, taking the 18 month old with him and leaving her with their new two year old. She is hopeful that she will get to go home within this week- she wants desperately to be with her other 7 children back home! Anyways, her testimony as to the calling God had placed on her and her husband in regards to adopting special needs children was overwhleming and beautiful (I seem to be using those words over and over again in all my posts). When we arrived at dinner I was in awe of this woman. We enjoyed a wonderful meal together, highlighted by the antics of her two year old. He is one big ball of personality, a total ham. He delighted in copying our words, playing high five games with Mark, peek-a-boo with me, and dipping french fries in ketchup (kids love for french fries and ketchup really is universal!). What moved my heart the most, even more than his megawatt smile and contagious giggle, was his obvious love for his mother. He was bonded to her instantly, and though he showed us attention and affection, he reserved his most tender moments for her. Priceless. It was an incredible evening.
Sunday, Sept 27 daytime
Will have to wait for later... time for dinner
We were blessed to be invited out to dinner with our new friends, the Trier family, to celebrate their daughter Juliette's birthday. As we piled into Ephrim's car, we were delighted to see a woman from Oregon who was staying at another guesthouse and had become friends with the Triers as well. She held an adorable Ethipian boy on her lap- he was nestled into her chest with his little hand securely wrapped around her wrist. As we began to drive to the restaurant, she shared her story with us. I was fighting back tears the whole time. She had come to Ethiopia three weeks before with her husband, a pediatrician, to bring home two special needs boys. They were 18mmonths and two years. The 18 month old suffered from severe malnutrition and Rickett's and was functioning as a 9 month old. The two year old was HIV positive. They knew coming into Ethiopia that they would be here longer than most adoptions, as the paperwork for HOV positive orphans is "about double" what we would have done. They were waiting on some CDC paperwork to be completed- paperwork they were told would be finshed 10 days earlier at this point. Her husband finally had to leave to go home on Friday night, taking the 18 month old with him and leaving her with their new two year old. She is hopeful that she will get to go home within this week- she wants desperately to be with her other 7 children back home! Anyways, her testimony as to the calling God had placed on her and her husband in regards to adopting special needs children was overwhleming and beautiful (I seem to be using those words over and over again in all my posts). When we arrived at dinner I was in awe of this woman. We enjoyed a wonderful meal together, highlighted by the antics of her two year old. He is one big ball of personality, a total ham. He delighted in copying our words, playing high five games with Mark, peek-a-boo with me, and dipping french fries in ketchup (kids love for french fries and ketchup really is universal!). What moved my heart the most, even more than his megawatt smile and contagious giggle, was his obvious love for his mother. He was bonded to her instantly, and though he showed us attention and affection, he reserved his most tender moments for her. Priceless. It was an incredible evening.
Sunday, Sept 27 daytime
Will have to wait for later... time for dinner
Updates from Ethiopia
Friday, Sept 25- morning
We are about to start day 2! We had a restful night in the guest house and enjoyed spening the morning with other guests. There is one family hefre from Indiana that adopted a 7 month old girl, Kidest. She is beautiful, and I got to love on her during breakfast! There is another family from NC that is picking up their 18th child. They have adopted 5 from Ethiopia in the last 5 years alone, and their other kids are from all over the world. They are amazing. There is another family here that sold all of their belongings and moved here at the beginning of Sept with their 12 year old and 10 year old to equip churches here in Ethiopia that are being carried along by their North American denomination- so that they can be self-governing and self-sufficient. They are an amazing family. We are about to go to do some sightseeing with a friend of a friend.
We love you! Keep praying! We will find out this afternoon if we can get more info about Zavion and wehere he was found, etc. We would love to go visit- we'll see.
Friday, Sept 25- evening
We had a tremendous and full second day on our adventure. We were blessed with an amazing breakfast here at the guest house , enjoying fellowship with new friends bonded together through our deep love for Christ and Africa. A friend of a friend, Jared, met us here at the house around 11. Jared moved here fulltime in 2007 and is currently serving as youth pastor for a large church here in Addis. Spending the day with him was an incredible blessing. We secured a driver for 400 birr ($32 US) for the day and drove around Addis.
This is when the wrestling really began for me- the wrestling that I knew was going to be coming quickly as we ventured into the city in the daylight. We know nothing of the poverty that was not the exception, rather, the rule, as we traveled the streets. There were begging children, hungry, shoeless mothers with babies strapped to their backs, and men covered in burns and old blankets who couldn't even speak to ask for their handouts. 7 weeks ago when we lost my Dad, I expereinced deep pain like I never have before. However, I know nothing of the suffering that these individuals endure on a daily basis. To actually look deep into the eyes of this kind of suffering, and have no idea how to even put a bandaid on it much less truly make a difference, is a difficult place to be. Especially for someone like me, who cries at the mere thought of atrocities such as these- mush less seeing them face to face. I found myself asking "why" to God in many different ways throughout the day. And to be brutally honest, I found myself asking Him where exactly He was here.
At the end of the day, after discussing my wrestling at length with both Mark and Jared over bagels and the most delicious coffee I have ever experienced (that was our third of the day- you can't beat a macchiato for the equivalent of 30 cents US) we went to the youth service for Jared's church, Beza. "Youth" at that church is loosely defined as 13-30 year olds- can you imagine? We had the privilege of praying with the team that was leading the service before they began- a group of 20 somethings that were 100% sold out for Jesus and for Ethiopia. The service was centered around some young professionals that spoke to the youth regarding their education and how to incorporate Jesus into their scholarly and professional lives. These young professionals were pouring out their lives and their testimonies on a Friday night to a group of students who may be coming from homes where they are told their lives won't amount to anything. These kids (some were actually our age :) ) were worshipping and seeking their God in amazing, beautiful ways. Watching them surrender to their God was powerful, moving and convicting. It was awesome. God was there- just as He was in those slums I mentioned above. Sure, it was a little easier to see Him moving amongst those youth, but I still believe He was there with that poor mother and those desperate children. For it is when we are at our beaking point that He is there the loudest.
I am still wrestling, and know the reality is that I will continue to wrestle throughout our trip and well into the days after we return home. Wondering what God wants us to do with all that He is showing to us about how the majority of the world actually lives is something that I know will consume my thoughts and my prayer life- but maybe that's just where He wants me.
We love you and thank you for your prayers. They are sustaining us as we experience both joy and heartbreak- both within hours of each other.
Saturday, Sept 26- morning
It is a beautiful day in Addis- sunny and probably in the 70s. We had a restful nights sleep after playing cards with a wonderful family here at the guest house. We learned a new game- Nertz. We are hooked, and will teach you if you want :). We awoke to the sunny skies this morning and some awesome news that we had been praying for- more information about Zavion's story. We discovered the district where he was found- on June 16, 2008. He was found in a section of the "merkato" (market). Our agency actually recommended we don't go into that section of town , as it can be dangerous for foreigners. We also got the name of the orphanage he was at before he was in the care of our agnecy. It just so happened (thank you God!) that Jervain, a woman staying here at the guesthouse, had hired her driver to take her to the merkato this morning. And lo and behold, he used to work for an adoption agency here in Addis and knew exactly where the area of the merkato Zavion was found as well as where the orphanage was. We hopped in the car with Jervain and Ephraim (her driver) and headed to the merkato. What an experience! Ethiopians everywhere, selling and bartering their goods. It was the picture I had in my head of a local street market- but much busier. I was thankful Ephraim was with us. He loves Jesus and speaks very good english and was wonderful to be walking around the merkato with. He helped Jervain buy the fabric she was looking for (she is outfitting their new Ethiopian home for the next 5-10 years) and then led us to the area where Zavion was found. There is no way to know exactly where he was left, however, there is a bus station in that area and Ephraim said more than likely he would have been left there. He said that many women go to the station with their babies to find shelter from the cold and rain. While I do not know the exact spot, it blessed my heart to no end to know that he was left in such a populated place. There was no way that he would not have been found there, which says to me whoever left him wanted him to be found. Praise God! It was an overwhelming experience to walk those streets and imagine what was going through the mind of whomever (more than likely his mother) left him while they walked and held him, looking for the perfect spot to leave him. In the midst of people selling their wares, children selling gum to make less than 10 cents US and women begging, all I could think about was what that moment would have been like for both Zavion and that person who loved him enough to leave him somewhere he would be found. Was he scared? Was he hungry? Did he have any idea someone he knew and loved was leaving him- and leaving him for his good? I will never know, and maybe it's better that way. While my heart was filled with all these questions and musings, it was also full with an overwhelming sense of gratitude for God's faithfulness and sovereignty. Thank You Father, that You led us to a driver today that grew up in the merkato, that came to know Your Son as Savior, and delighted in taking us to this place that is so crucial in the story of our son. Wow. After we left the merkato we headed out for lunch and more macchiatos and then to the orphanage. As it was a Saturday there was no one there that could give us any information- we were asked by the nannies to come back during the week. We are hopeful that we will find someone there that can possibly tell us a little more about him as an infant- and possibly more about his discovery. We are looking forward now to dinner to celebrate Juliette's birthday. Juliette is the daughter of Jervain- they are the ones that moved here this month to begin mobilizing churches in Addis. She is a delightful young lady, and we are blessed to be able to celebrate her with her family tonight. We feel we are making some lifelong friends here and are hopeful we can encourage Tim, Jervain, Juliette and Timmy via email when we go home and they remain here, living amongst these beautiful people and ministering to them. We are looking forward to Monday, when we will finally hold our precious son in our arms. Until then, we will continue to soak up this beautiful place, and I will continue to wrestle with all I am experiencing. Today brought more poverty, more suffering, more depseration and more brokenness face to face. We drove by a man with no legs, countless women with babies strapped to their backs, children shining shoes for a few coins, homes made of corrugated tin and mud... we drove by hopelessness. With God's help, I will figure out what to do with all of it, Until then I will be thankful for this time and continue to seek His face in the midst of utter brokenness.
We are about to start day 2! We had a restful night in the guest house and enjoyed spening the morning with other guests. There is one family hefre from Indiana that adopted a 7 month old girl, Kidest. She is beautiful, and I got to love on her during breakfast! There is another family from NC that is picking up their 18th child. They have adopted 5 from Ethiopia in the last 5 years alone, and their other kids are from all over the world. They are amazing. There is another family here that sold all of their belongings and moved here at the beginning of Sept with their 12 year old and 10 year old to equip churches here in Ethiopia that are being carried along by their North American denomination- so that they can be self-governing and self-sufficient. They are an amazing family. We are about to go to do some sightseeing with a friend of a friend.
We love you! Keep praying! We will find out this afternoon if we can get more info about Zavion and wehere he was found, etc. We would love to go visit- we'll see.
Friday, Sept 25- evening
We had a tremendous and full second day on our adventure. We were blessed with an amazing breakfast here at the guest house , enjoying fellowship with new friends bonded together through our deep love for Christ and Africa. A friend of a friend, Jared, met us here at the house around 11. Jared moved here fulltime in 2007 and is currently serving as youth pastor for a large church here in Addis. Spending the day with him was an incredible blessing. We secured a driver for 400 birr ($32 US) for the day and drove around Addis.
This is when the wrestling really began for me- the wrestling that I knew was going to be coming quickly as we ventured into the city in the daylight. We know nothing of the poverty that was not the exception, rather, the rule, as we traveled the streets. There were begging children, hungry, shoeless mothers with babies strapped to their backs, and men covered in burns and old blankets who couldn't even speak to ask for their handouts. 7 weeks ago when we lost my Dad, I expereinced deep pain like I never have before. However, I know nothing of the suffering that these individuals endure on a daily basis. To actually look deep into the eyes of this kind of suffering, and have no idea how to even put a bandaid on it much less truly make a difference, is a difficult place to be. Especially for someone like me, who cries at the mere thought of atrocities such as these- mush less seeing them face to face. I found myself asking "why" to God in many different ways throughout the day. And to be brutally honest, I found myself asking Him where exactly He was here.
At the end of the day, after discussing my wrestling at length with both Mark and Jared over bagels and the most delicious coffee I have ever experienced (that was our third of the day- you can't beat a macchiato for the equivalent of 30 cents US) we went to the youth service for Jared's church, Beza. "Youth" at that church is loosely defined as 13-30 year olds- can you imagine? We had the privilege of praying with the team that was leading the service before they began- a group of 20 somethings that were 100% sold out for Jesus and for Ethiopia. The service was centered around some young professionals that spoke to the youth regarding their education and how to incorporate Jesus into their scholarly and professional lives. These young professionals were pouring out their lives and their testimonies on a Friday night to a group of students who may be coming from homes where they are told their lives won't amount to anything. These kids (some were actually our age :) ) were worshipping and seeking their God in amazing, beautiful ways. Watching them surrender to their God was powerful, moving and convicting. It was awesome. God was there- just as He was in those slums I mentioned above. Sure, it was a little easier to see Him moving amongst those youth, but I still believe He was there with that poor mother and those desperate children. For it is when we are at our beaking point that He is there the loudest.
I am still wrestling, and know the reality is that I will continue to wrestle throughout our trip and well into the days after we return home. Wondering what God wants us to do with all that He is showing to us about how the majority of the world actually lives is something that I know will consume my thoughts and my prayer life- but maybe that's just where He wants me.
We love you and thank you for your prayers. They are sustaining us as we experience both joy and heartbreak- both within hours of each other.
Saturday, Sept 26- morning
It is a beautiful day in Addis- sunny and probably in the 70s. We had a restful nights sleep after playing cards with a wonderful family here at the guest house. We learned a new game- Nertz. We are hooked, and will teach you if you want :). We awoke to the sunny skies this morning and some awesome news that we had been praying for- more information about Zavion's story. We discovered the district where he was found- on June 16, 2008. He was found in a section of the "merkato" (market). Our agency actually recommended we don't go into that section of town , as it can be dangerous for foreigners. We also got the name of the orphanage he was at before he was in the care of our agnecy. It just so happened (thank you God!) that Jervain, a woman staying here at the guesthouse, had hired her driver to take her to the merkato this morning. And lo and behold, he used to work for an adoption agency here in Addis and knew exactly where the area of the merkato Zavion was found as well as where the orphanage was. We hopped in the car with Jervain and Ephraim (her driver) and headed to the merkato. What an experience! Ethiopians everywhere, selling and bartering their goods. It was the picture I had in my head of a local street market- but much busier. I was thankful Ephraim was with us. He loves Jesus and speaks very good english and was wonderful to be walking around the merkato with. He helped Jervain buy the fabric she was looking for (she is outfitting their new Ethiopian home for the next 5-10 years) and then led us to the area where Zavion was found. There is no way to know exactly where he was left, however, there is a bus station in that area and Ephraim said more than likely he would have been left there. He said that many women go to the station with their babies to find shelter from the cold and rain. While I do not know the exact spot, it blessed my heart to no end to know that he was left in such a populated place. There was no way that he would not have been found there, which says to me whoever left him wanted him to be found. Praise God! It was an overwhelming experience to walk those streets and imagine what was going through the mind of whomever (more than likely his mother) left him while they walked and held him, looking for the perfect spot to leave him. In the midst of people selling their wares, children selling gum to make less than 10 cents US and women begging, all I could think about was what that moment would have been like for both Zavion and that person who loved him enough to leave him somewhere he would be found. Was he scared? Was he hungry? Did he have any idea someone he knew and loved was leaving him- and leaving him for his good? I will never know, and maybe it's better that way. While my heart was filled with all these questions and musings, it was also full with an overwhelming sense of gratitude for God's faithfulness and sovereignty. Thank You Father, that You led us to a driver today that grew up in the merkato, that came to know Your Son as Savior, and delighted in taking us to this place that is so crucial in the story of our son. Wow. After we left the merkato we headed out for lunch and more macchiatos and then to the orphanage. As it was a Saturday there was no one there that could give us any information- we were asked by the nannies to come back during the week. We are hopeful that we will find someone there that can possibly tell us a little more about him as an infant- and possibly more about his discovery. We are looking forward now to dinner to celebrate Juliette's birthday. Juliette is the daughter of Jervain- they are the ones that moved here this month to begin mobilizing churches in Addis. She is a delightful young lady, and we are blessed to be able to celebrate her with her family tonight. We feel we are making some lifelong friends here and are hopeful we can encourage Tim, Jervain, Juliette and Timmy via email when we go home and they remain here, living amongst these beautiful people and ministering to them. We are looking forward to Monday, when we will finally hold our precious son in our arms. Until then, we will continue to soak up this beautiful place, and I will continue to wrestle with all I am experiencing. Today brought more poverty, more suffering, more depseration and more brokenness face to face. We drove by a man with no legs, countless women with babies strapped to their backs, children shining shoes for a few coins, homes made of corrugated tin and mud... we drove by hopelessness. With God's help, I will figure out what to do with all of it, Until then I will be thankful for this time and continue to seek His face in the midst of utter brokenness.
On our way!
We are on our way to pick up our precious boy! The morning began with a 4:15 am wakeup call. We then navigated our way through the check-in at United Airlines with a little help- the kiosk would not let us check-in without checking in our infant too :). Had to explain why we didn't have the infant with us... yet. Settled in for some breakfast after a quick trip through security and while we were eating Mark sais "Honey, I think that is Ray Pritchard over there." Ray is a pastor who resides in the south. We ministered alongside him in Cannon Beach, Oregon three years ago and have followed his ministry since. He is undoubtedly one of the most encouraging people I have ever been around. I knew from Facebook that Ray was in Washington this week (at Cedar Springs- the same place Mark officiated a wedding at earlier this month) and told Mark it had to be him. Mark ran to him and we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast together. What a divine appointment! After breakfast we boarded the plane and enjoyed a 5 hour flight (that went by surprisingly fast) to Washington-Dulle Int'l Airport. We are in the middle of our five hour layover before we begin the 16 hour flight to Addis Ababa.
Hoping to post from Ethiopia- we'll see!
Hoping to post from Ethiopia- we'll see!
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