From God's Arms

For those of you who don't know, Tim and I received an unofficial referral from Ethiopia on April 4th.  It was unofficial because we did not have medicals or a birth certificate on the child. We had twenty or so pictures and a video to fall in love with, but no medicals and papers to know if the child was adoptable and/or the child God intended for us.  We heard, "They're [the medicals] coming," "Next Monday," "There's no power in Ethiopia, so it may take a few more days," "Maybe next Monday." Days went by....weeks went by....I thought I was going to lose my mind!!!   And I KNOW better!  I know how slowly things move in the developing world; I know how our time isn't African time; I know that the clinic isn't right around the corner with a Fed-Ex office next door in this African village; and, I know that God is bigger than all of that and was able to get everything done, really in a relatively short amount of time, about 3 weeks.  Kudos to our agency for staying on top of it all and seeing it through!

So....today we got medicals and a birth certificate, and everything looks WONDERFUL!  Woo Hoo!  So we will officially accept the referral and I plan to travel this summer to bring the child home!  

Now for your questions: Don't let the blue fool you!  She is a healthy, 11 week old, Ethiopian baby girl!  No, we were NOT expecting a girl, but God had another plan! ;)  Why no pics on the blog? Ethiopian law says that I cannot post pictures of her until she passes court in Ethiopia and officially becomes our child.  PRAYERFULLY, that will happen in May.  Our agency director was sweet enough to make these hand and foot prints of her when she was at the orphanage a few weeks ago.  I touch them and pray for her everyday!  Trust us, she is GORGEOUS!!!  Her name? I don't know if I'm supposed to say that on the blog or not, so I won't.  Sunflowers are one of Ethiopia's primary exports, so we'll call her Sunflower on the blog.

Please pray:

1. That she stays healthy!  There is little electricity or running water at the orphanage.  The nearest clinic is about an hour away.  She has not been vaccinated against common diseases, and meningitis outbreaks have been known to invade orphanages.  So please please pray God keeps her from all harm until I can bring her home.

2. That she passes court the first try.  In court, the judge will go over all of her papers, verify that she is a legitimate orphan, speak with living birth relatives, and then declare her our daughter.  

3. That the U.S. Customs and Immigration papers get filed and pass through easily here so that I can get her visa.  This is where we got "stuck" for several months with J.'s adoption!  

4. For her birth family.  We pray that they have peace about this decision and are provided with what they need to live.  It is impossible to ignore that adoption is necessary because of tragedy.

5. Finally, thank God for putting families together so that babies who need a home and parents who have homes and hearts to share can be joined together-even if it means a lot of paperwork, red tape, and a round-the-world adventure!

Ahhhhh...I feel like I'm dancing on air!  This has been weighing me down, but yes, God, I learned my lesson...again.  YOUR children get put together in families in YOUR timing.  Thank you for providing for her and smiling on us by blessing us with her.  You are an AWESOME God!  I'm off to celebrate for four days with my girlfriends in a cabin in the mountains, so peace be with you.  We'll keep you updated!