We went and saw the boys today...it has been about 2 weeks since we visited. Why, you might ask? Honestly, this process of adoption has and continues to be such a crazy, twisted, up and down, spin you around journey, I just couldn't bare to keep visiting them and feeling my heart love them more and more, when I didn't know for sure if they would end up being mine. And I wish I could say today, that I know for sure and that's why we went and visited today, but I can't. Not yet. We are making some headway, but not enough to be sure.
As I woke up this morning though and knew we were headed to Lusaka today for some errands, I knew I couldn't drive by where they were without stopping to see them. And I am so glad we did. Little E ran up to me and hugged me, and J noticed us and waved with a big smile on his face. This coming from the boy who didn't smile one time during our first two visits there. E wanted me to hold him most of the time and J played soccer with Mickey, Jeff (our friend who just moved here), and Evan. The boy loves him some soccer. I taught E how to say Evan and Alea's names. Neither of them speak very much English at this point, lots of work to do there, but I know it will come quickly, especially being around my two talkative kiddos!
J had some tears towards the end when he could tell we were getting ready to leave. This is the second time he has cried when we have left. So, after he walked away, we talked to one of the house moms about how they were doing. We were so happy and so sad to find out that they have been missing us, asking when we will come back, and when they can go with us.
Oh, my heart.
We explained to the housemother that we are trying our best, but the process is so slow, and to please talk to the boys and help them understand.
Please continue to pray for these two boys and for us, as we both wait. For the boys to feel our love and more importantly, Jesus' love for them and for us, as we work on God's timing being best, not our own. Knowing ultimately, that He is our loving Father who works everything for our good.
Isaiah 40:31 "But they who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not grow weary, they shall walk and not faint. "
Romans 8:28 "And we know that in all things God works for for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose."
Loving like Jesus, Living for Jesus, and Learning about Jesus is what we are about!
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Monday, December 9, 2013
A Look Back at the Last Few Weeks in Pictures
Sorry I haven't blogged much the last few weeks. My hubby is pretty much the walking wounded after his motor bike accident and soon after, he hurt his back...so that has left me pretty much holding down the fort. He is also working on his final paper for his graduate degree in Apologetics, which means he has been a computer hog. :) Anyways, this is just a little glimpse into our life here in pictures. This is another busy week with getting our friends, the Smiths, settled into life here, as well as trying to get this adoption in the books-more on that really soon I hope! Hope you enjoy!
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| Helping at the preschool-they love when I bring Evan along!!! |
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| Oh these little boys are too adorable for words! |
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| Waiting at the mall killing time waiting for our social worker, she was only an hour and a half late! |
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| Mickey's awesome wounds from his bike accident :( |
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| Aby and her Bible study ladies at Chishiko Village, so glad I got to tag along! Titus2 Women Zambian Style! |
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| Thanksgiving Day cooks |
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| Ev and Josiah, good pals |
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| Kiddos at the Thanksgiving Day table |
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| First glimpse at "our" boys-can't show faces just yet!!! We got to take them out to eat the other day...really crazy eating out with 4 instead of just 2! |
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| Ev and Alea playing "Hullabaloo" on family game night, really cute interactive game |
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| Alea still likes to snuggle after nap |
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| Daddy doing school with Ev, he is learning to read and doing awesome! |
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| Mickey talking to Watson, our groundskeeper |
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| On our drive to Lusaka there are always young children walking alongside this very busy road! I don't like it one bit!!! |
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| There are a few Christmas decorations up at the mall-it makes our kids so happy! |
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| Smiley girl out to eat for pizza pizza |
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| Jeff Smith and his family arrived, we were so happy to pick them up at the airport |
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| OH my dear friend Heidi is here...so happy to see her smiling face. For those of you who don't know, we have gone to the same church together for the last 8 years and we led a Bible study together this past year! |
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| Little Margaret showing off a pillowcase dress that was made in the states by some friends of GiveLife, love these dresses, they are so adorable! |
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| Daddy snuggling his little girl |
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Who do you know-Kim Kardashian or Katie Davis?
When I say those two names, Kim Kardashian and Katie Davis, who do you know? I can almost guarantee that every single one of you know who Kim is (maybe through no fault of your own), but I'm not sure you will know who Katie Davis is. And there is a major problem with that. Again, I will say, this may not be through any doing of your own. Unfortunately, people like Kim Kardashian are the newsmakers these days, and people like Katie Davis, are never mentioned in the media. Let's look at some similarities and differences between these two ladies.
Similarities: Girls, born in the 80's, beautiful.
And that's about where the similarities end. You might find a few other odds and ends they have in common if you really searched. But here come the differences and all I want you to think about is who should be in the public eye (not that Katie desires that and she says that in the foreword of her book), who should be a role model for our daughters, and who we should spend our time getting to know and learning from.
Kim: became popular after a sex tape with her boyfriend was leaked, eloped at age 19 and got divorced soon after, stars in a reality television with her family-basically a show about nothing or at the very least extremely trivial and usually inappropriate topics, has posed nude for Playboy, starred in a workout video titled "Fit in your Jeans by Friday", guest stars as herself in various t.v. shows, has her own fragrance, designs clothing, has a wax figure of herself at Madame Tussauds, has been named among the highest of Hollywood's earners, supports women entrepreneurs/cancer foundations/Armenien genocide awareness, came out with a music single that was deemed horrible, married in 2011 to Kris Humphries in a lavish tv ceremony and filed for divorce 72 days later, media called the marriage a complete publicity stunt, owns a clothing store with her sisters, started dating Kanye West while she was still technically married to Kris, gets pregnant with Kanye's baby, they get engaged, gave birth to her daughter, and she is now planning another ridiculously lavish wedding while also getting another huge contract deal to continue filming her reality show with her family.
Katie: went on a missions trip as an 18 year old to Uganda, returned the following year to teach kindergarten there, at age 20 started a child sponsorship program so orphaned and vulnerable children could attend school-the program now supports over 600 kids with food, spiritual guidance, school supplies, and medical care, established a non-profit titled Amazima Ministries International, a year later to help meet the needs of the poorest of the poor in Uganda, started a feeding program that feeds over 1200 children each week in the village of Masese(the poorest of the poor), so they can attend school instead of begging for food, let go of her loving boyfriend because she knew she couldn't leave all the people who needed her in Uganda and genuinely wanted to put others interests above her own, has 14 DAUGHTERS!, yes you read that right, she has adopted 14 daughters in her time there simply because they needed a mom even though she felt less than qualified to be a mom at age 20!, started a self-sustaining vocational program for women to make jewelry to be sold in the U.S. and all money supports these women and their kids going to school, wrote a book called Kisses from Katie that was on the 2001 NY Times Bestseller list and has 5 star reviews on Amazon, and continues to live and serve the poor and needy in Uganda.
I don't know about you, but I want a person like Katie to be in the public eye, I want my daughter to look up to Katie as a role model, and I want to learn more from her. She is making an impact for eternity, while Kim's contributions won't make it past the grave. Now, I don't know Kim personally, I don't know her real story, and this is not to bash her. This is about who our media spends their time reporting on and the reason they do it-because they know that is what we want to see on our morning news on our entertainment magazines. How can we change this??? I don't have that answer, the media is a tricky business. But I do know, I can support people like Katie, I can try to spread her message and the message of many others who are focusing their time on this earth for something greater. Will you join me??? Who do you know that is abandoning worldly desires and following God with their whole heart? Tell people, or better yet, be that person! :)
Colossians 3:2 Set your mind on things that are above, not on the earth.
Ephesians 5:11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but expose them.
Matthew 16:27 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of His Father, and then he will repay each person for what he has done.
In case you want to start by reading her book, click on the link below:
Katie's book about her journey in Uganda!
(Info taken from Wikipedia, Kisses from Katie book, and Amazima Ministries webpage)
Similarities: Girls, born in the 80's, beautiful.
And that's about where the similarities end. You might find a few other odds and ends they have in common if you really searched. But here come the differences and all I want you to think about is who should be in the public eye (not that Katie desires that and she says that in the foreword of her book), who should be a role model for our daughters, and who we should spend our time getting to know and learning from.
Kim: became popular after a sex tape with her boyfriend was leaked, eloped at age 19 and got divorced soon after, stars in a reality television with her family-basically a show about nothing or at the very least extremely trivial and usually inappropriate topics, has posed nude for Playboy, starred in a workout video titled "Fit in your Jeans by Friday", guest stars as herself in various t.v. shows, has her own fragrance, designs clothing, has a wax figure of herself at Madame Tussauds, has been named among the highest of Hollywood's earners, supports women entrepreneurs/cancer foundations/Armenien genocide awareness, came out with a music single that was deemed horrible, married in 2011 to Kris Humphries in a lavish tv ceremony and filed for divorce 72 days later, media called the marriage a complete publicity stunt, owns a clothing store with her sisters, started dating Kanye West while she was still technically married to Kris, gets pregnant with Kanye's baby, they get engaged, gave birth to her daughter, and she is now planning another ridiculously lavish wedding while also getting another huge contract deal to continue filming her reality show with her family.
Katie: went on a missions trip as an 18 year old to Uganda, returned the following year to teach kindergarten there, at age 20 started a child sponsorship program so orphaned and vulnerable children could attend school-the program now supports over 600 kids with food, spiritual guidance, school supplies, and medical care, established a non-profit titled Amazima Ministries International, a year later to help meet the needs of the poorest of the poor in Uganda, started a feeding program that feeds over 1200 children each week in the village of Masese(the poorest of the poor), so they can attend school instead of begging for food, let go of her loving boyfriend because she knew she couldn't leave all the people who needed her in Uganda and genuinely wanted to put others interests above her own, has 14 DAUGHTERS!, yes you read that right, she has adopted 14 daughters in her time there simply because they needed a mom even though she felt less than qualified to be a mom at age 20!, started a self-sustaining vocational program for women to make jewelry to be sold in the U.S. and all money supports these women and their kids going to school, wrote a book called Kisses from Katie that was on the 2001 NY Times Bestseller list and has 5 star reviews on Amazon, and continues to live and serve the poor and needy in Uganda.
I don't know about you, but I want a person like Katie to be in the public eye, I want my daughter to look up to Katie as a role model, and I want to learn more from her. She is making an impact for eternity, while Kim's contributions won't make it past the grave. Now, I don't know Kim personally, I don't know her real story, and this is not to bash her. This is about who our media spends their time reporting on and the reason they do it-because they know that is what we want to see on our morning news on our entertainment magazines. How can we change this??? I don't have that answer, the media is a tricky business. But I do know, I can support people like Katie, I can try to spread her message and the message of many others who are focusing their time on this earth for something greater. Will you join me??? Who do you know that is abandoning worldly desires and following God with their whole heart? Tell people, or better yet, be that person! :)
Colossians 3:2 Set your mind on things that are above, not on the earth.
Ephesians 5:11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but expose them.
Matthew 16:27 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of His Father, and then he will repay each person for what he has done.
In case you want to start by reading her book, click on the link below:
Katie's book about her journey in Uganda!
(Info taken from Wikipedia, Kisses from Katie book, and Amazima Ministries webpage)
Sunday, December 1, 2013
Short, but Sweet Adoption Update
First of all, thanks for all the questions about our adoption. I hate to always be so vague, but still at this point, we have to be. Nothing is for certain in a Zambian adoption, until you are on the plane leaving for the U.S.! So this will be short and sweet because that is all we can give right now. I mentioned the two brothers in a previous blog, and these are the two boys we feel God has for our family-after much wrestling with God about my inability and inadequacy to have 4 children, ages 3, 3, 4, and 4! And three of these children being boys!!! Yet, they have captured our hearts and there is no denying our love for them and our desire to raise them as our own, no matter what the cost.
Here is where we are at with adopting them. Their mother has passed and has family 11 hours from here, but no one has come forward from that family to care for the boys. We still may need to get a relative to sign a paper saying they give up all rights. Our social worker is working on that right now. We are hoping we don't have to make an 11 hour drive-if you think that drive would stink in the U.S., you have no idea how bad it would be here! Roads are not what you call straight, nice, necessarily safe or lined with food/bathroom options. :) We will do it if need be though.
The father has given us permission. He wants us to care for the boys and is excited for their opportunities with us. He is very sick and doesn't have much time left, and also says even if he wasn't sick, he doesn't think he could care for the boys.
Here is where we had a wrench thrown at us. We took the boys, our kids, and our social worker to see the dad the other day so he could sign the paper, since he had already agreed and all he had asked was to say good-bye to his boys. We are sitting there outside with all the neighbors in this little shanty neighborhood and they are all so happy and thanking us for wanting to care for these boys, when along comes the dad's sister.
She hears what we want to do, and basically says no, I don't think so. She says she doesn't think her brother is in his right mind to decide this. At first, Mickey and I are thinking, wow, this would be a hard decision for an aunt. She must really love them and will miss them. But oh no no no! This is not the case-come to find out (even though it was kind of difficult since they were all speaking Nyanja), that she never cared for the boys when they were living with their father, she doesn't even help her brother now when he is so sick, and the boys walked up and she didn't even acknowledge them! The neighbor ladies were trying to convince her, the dad was upset, even our social worker was getting frustrated.
So, now what? Well, remember that whole, wait and pray blog? Yep, back to that. She wants to talk to her family and says she will let us know on Wednesday. In the end, her decision may not matter since the dad is giving us permission, but the problem is he is so sick and may not be able to go to court and she would have to represent him.
There you have it, like I said, short and sweet. We are resting in God's providence for our family. We love these boys and want to bring them home with us, but we know that if God has something else in mind, then we will need to be at peace with it.
Again, thanks for questions, concerns, and prayers. Please continue praying! We will update again soon...
Here is where we are at with adopting them. Their mother has passed and has family 11 hours from here, but no one has come forward from that family to care for the boys. We still may need to get a relative to sign a paper saying they give up all rights. Our social worker is working on that right now. We are hoping we don't have to make an 11 hour drive-if you think that drive would stink in the U.S., you have no idea how bad it would be here! Roads are not what you call straight, nice, necessarily safe or lined with food/bathroom options. :) We will do it if need be though.
The father has given us permission. He wants us to care for the boys and is excited for their opportunities with us. He is very sick and doesn't have much time left, and also says even if he wasn't sick, he doesn't think he could care for the boys.
Here is where we had a wrench thrown at us. We took the boys, our kids, and our social worker to see the dad the other day so he could sign the paper, since he had already agreed and all he had asked was to say good-bye to his boys. We are sitting there outside with all the neighbors in this little shanty neighborhood and they are all so happy and thanking us for wanting to care for these boys, when along comes the dad's sister.
She hears what we want to do, and basically says no, I don't think so. She says she doesn't think her brother is in his right mind to decide this. At first, Mickey and I are thinking, wow, this would be a hard decision for an aunt. She must really love them and will miss them. But oh no no no! This is not the case-come to find out (even though it was kind of difficult since they were all speaking Nyanja), that she never cared for the boys when they were living with their father, she doesn't even help her brother now when he is so sick, and the boys walked up and she didn't even acknowledge them! The neighbor ladies were trying to convince her, the dad was upset, even our social worker was getting frustrated.
So, now what? Well, remember that whole, wait and pray blog? Yep, back to that. She wants to talk to her family and says she will let us know on Wednesday. In the end, her decision may not matter since the dad is giving us permission, but the problem is he is so sick and may not be able to go to court and she would have to represent him.
There you have it, like I said, short and sweet. We are resting in God's providence for our family. We love these boys and want to bring them home with us, but we know that if God has something else in mind, then we will need to be at peace with it.
Again, thanks for questions, concerns, and prayers. Please continue praying! We will update again soon...
Proverbs 19:21
There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.
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