Hello everyone. So sorry for the absence of an update on the adoption and how things are going. Free time has not been much of a reality with 4 kids, ages 6, 5, 4, and 3 running around. As you can imagine. We also needed to sort things out through much prayer and needed some time to heal a bit. But we do have some important news and thoughts to share.
We, after much crying out to our Father and serious discussion as husband and wife, have determined that it is not in the best interest of Joe and Emmanuel to be in our family. While we feel called to adopt and planned for it to be a major reason for our move to Zambia, we know that God's plan is sometimes different than our own. While this has been tough to swallow and digest, we believe His ways are always better than ours. We also believe in James 1:5 when it says, if you need wisdom, to ask God, and He will give it to you generously. Boy, has He done that this week.
As we parented Joe and Emmanuel these past two weeks and really got to know them, we found that they have some serious emotional and psychological issues. Needs and issues in their hearts and minds that need to be dealt with now and for years to come. We had to think hard about our abilities and resources to help them. The reality came to us that it did not seem right to take them out of their culture and home country at this point in their life and throw them into a completely different culture where no one speaks their language in only 4 short months. They are at least a year away from being able to speak and understand English well. They need more time here in a stable environment where they can talk about the things they have been through with people who understand. The things they have experienced in their short lives are such that Mickey and I, nor anyone in our hometown, would ever be able to relate. This was a difficult realization, because pridefully, we wanted to believe we could do it. We also, as Americans, tend to think we can help by just bringing them to America, and while that can be true in many cases, we have found that it isn't the case with Joe and Eman. We feel very strongly that God has communicated this to us. These boys deserve the best and while we thought we were the best for them, we now know that we aren't.
Of course, we also had to look at our original family unit. God has already blessed us with 2 young children. As we thought about the great needs Joe and Emmanuel have, we knew that they would need most of our time, and that wasn't fair. Our children, Evan and Alea, still need us and we have a great responsibility in parenting them. In our minds, we thought that having all the kids be so close together in age would be perfect. We quickly found that while this might work in some instances, it was not working for us. We wish we would have thought this through more and prayed about it more when we were first thinking about adopting them, but honestly, at that point, we felt like since they were what was in front of us that it must be God's will. We now know that this wasn't necessarily the case and more prayer and thought should have went into that. Mickey and I also had to talk about our marriage. Where we have been, where we are at and where we are going. It is not easy to admit, but we know now that we weren't ready for this. We wanted to be, but after much honest discussion, we are sure that we need time to work on our marriage in many ways right now.
To be clear, we feel the same way about adoption as we always have. We feel the same way about God's power as we always have. It is true that we can do amazing things if God is in it. God can and does accomplish what we cannot do on our own. But we also know that there is a season for everything in our lives. We know God has put adoption on our hearts and while we thought it meant this year, He has another season in mind. And this time around, we know we will be able to use all we have learned from going on this journey this year. God doesn't waste anything. It is all for our good. As a friend wrote me this week, His refining fire is beautiful indeed.
We want to thank everyone from the bottom of our hearts for all your support, love, and prayers. While we didn't get the answer we thought was right, God has given us His answer and He is always right. You better hold on to the seat of your pants for this next part! Mickey and I visited with our social worker this week to let her know everything that I just told you above. She understood completely and agreed that it would be a lot for the boys to move so soon to a new place so different than what they know. She also informed us that in no way would this adoption be done by August, when we need to be home, but that is another story. She suggested to check out a place called Tree of Life by Family Legacy. It is an orphanage run by a organization out of Texas. We told her we would stop there on the way home. When we got there, we couldn't believe it. What an amazing place. And we actually got right in with the director. This never happens in Zambia. We shared our story and the director confirmed to us that this would be a wonderful place for Joe and Emmanuel. The orphanage is designed for street children from Lusaka, and would provide them with the counseling, schooling, and familiarity they need. As we went home after the visit, Mickey and I decided to pray about this possibility. Our hearts were telling us that we really wanted Joe and E to be in a family, but we were really impressed with how Tree of Life is run. After taking time to pray, we got a phone call the next day from the director. He shared with us that he was having dinner with friends the night before. These friends were American missionaries who are the coordinators of Action Zambia in Lusaka. They have been in Zambia about 4 years and plan to be here at least the next 4 years. For some reason, the director felt led to share with these friends, that we had stopped in to Family Legacy today to discuss 2 boys possibly going there. This couple's jaw dropped. They informed the director that they have been waiting for a year and a half to adopt a sibling group of boys ages 4-9. They haven't heard anything from social welfare during this time, so they felt called to just wait on God and trust that it would come in time, even though they know as well as us how much work gets done by social welfare here. Needless to say, the director informed us that they wanted to meet us and the boys. We met with them today and they, without a doubt, want to adopt Joe and Emmanuel and we, without a doubt, feel like they will be perfect for Joe and E. I cry tears of joy every time I think about it. Isn't our God amazing??? They have already adopted a sibling group of 2 girls about 3 years ago from the same orphanage as J and E! This couple speaks Nyanja, as well as counsels street children. They also live in a Zambian community, where the boys will still be around their culture for sometime, as well as have Zambian sisters! I don't know about you, but I am pretty much just in awe of how God has worked this all out in a week. I want to write more about this, and will soon, but for now will leave it at that.
We still have the boys right now, as social welfare had asked for our help in finding the best solution for J and E. We told them we didn't want to take them back to where they came from at any cost and to please let them stay with us for the time being. Very grateful they allowed this and that God's perfect plan has been revealed. We will work next week with social welfare on all of this.
Finally, this little blog post doesn't really do justice to all we have gone through and learned during this time. We apologize if this all comes as a shock. Believe me, we are the most shocked of all. We never thought that after everything we have felt and gone through in the last year, that this would be the outcome. Sometimes, when something is good and right, like adoption, you don't understand why God would close that door. We are still trying to fully understand this, but God is working to help us. If you have questions or thoughts for us, please share, but please know while we are extremely happy with the outcome, that this is still a sad time for us as we say our good-byes to these boys that we have loved for about 5 months now and deal with some of the reasons we felt like we weren't ready to adopt. We ask for your grace and understanding at this time. Once more, we thank you. Your prayers have helped two boys who had no one, now have the family that we truly believe God had ready for them all along.
Loving like Jesus, Living for Jesus, and Learning about Jesus is what we are about!
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Friday, March 28, 2014
Our Life in Recent Pictures
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| The Zip Line-courtesy of Mick's parents-very fun for the kids, all though we are one broken bone in -:) |
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| My shopping buddy, Mick usually takes Ev somewhere else, grocery shopping here is a full contact sport and I have to be on top of it! haha |
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| Baby Grace, as we call her affectionately, this little girl is just the sweetest! |
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| It was a joyous day when the container arrived, the guys worked hard to get everything unloaded and set up! |
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| Dinner time at a table??? I had forgotten what that felt like. |
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| Dorie, our dog, has bound a bed in our little cart thing that we used to tote all of our luggage through airports. Silly dog. |
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| Eman is all smiles with Emma |
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| Ev played this game where he scared the kids while flying at them on the swing, the preschoolers loved it! |
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| Heidi using her awesome gift of teaching the Word-I am so blessed to be able to work alongside her here! |
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| Joe doesn't smile too often, so glad I captured this! |
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| Some kids out at Kalungula where we have planted a field and a garden now. |
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| Love |
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| Mick getting some airtime on the trampoline with the kids-this thing has been a lifesaver here for getting energy out of kids and adults! |
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| Pastor Prince and Kalungula School |
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| When it rains here, it pours... |
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| I tried about a hundred times to get her to smile normally, but this is her normal and I love it!!! |
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| I miss Iowa so much, but oh does it feel good to soak up the rays here everyday...Sorry friends back home, it will be warm before you know it! |
Monday, March 17, 2014
Adoption: The Latest
Honestly, not even sure how to explain our day on Friday to those who don't live here. I am sure you are getting a glimpse of how things in this country are run after following this adoption journey. I think I have lost count of how many times we have been told that we would know on this date or that date...Friday was definitely the worst kick in the gut for us. This time frame that we were promised, this date that we had set in our hearts and minds apparently didn't matter to social welfare at all. We went to Lusaka and went directly to find our social worker, who again was not answering her phone, and found out she would be gone all day for a funeral. After finding that out, I decided I would try and go meet the director, even though technically we were supposed to wait to hear from her. We head to her office building and I go in. As I am knocking on her door and not getting any answer, I ask a man walking by, "Is she in today?" Response I get, "she is out of the country".
Excuse me???
As the reality set in, knowing that we were going to have to wait yet again, I felt pretty defeated. I couldn't help but think that she will just keep doing this over and over, and that we would NEVER get an answer. So, I decided to try and do something about it. No more of this waiting/stalling game. I asked the man if there was someone else that I could meet with who might know of how the search for other applicants was going. He directed me to a nearby office. Of course, when I went there, she was at lunch so more waiting. Ha! That's all I can do is laugh sometimes. But after a quick grocery run for us in the waiting, we headed back so I could meet with her.
Once again, I wasn't expecting what happened. I shared our story with the lady, and the "interrogation" started. It was all very similar to what happened when Mickey met with the director 3 weeks ago. She stated that they needed to find someone who could give these two boys 100 percent attention, and there is concern about us having two kids of our own. I tried my best to explain that we would not even consider adopting if we didn't think we could love these two boys as our own and give them everything we have just like we do for our bio kids. I told her that God calls us all to care for orphans and that when something is from God, everything is possible. We know God will fill our hearts with love for these boys...He has already shown us glimpses of that. Next, she asked whether or not we had kids "that side", meaning America, to adopt. She felt like it would be too difficult to mix cultures. Again, I explained to her that God says in His word to care for orphans and He doesn't specify a specific country or only the ones in your culture. We have actually been asked this before, and honestly, we just don't get it. All that should matter is that a child who didn't have a family or perhaps was mistreated by family, is now in a loving home. Case closed. I also explained how my husband has been involved in Zambia for some time and that we will continue to have great involvement in this country. We specifically chose Zambia because of this so that our adopted children would never forget where they came from and that they would have a daddy who was trying to help people there. Lastly, she once again stated that we shouldn't have visited orphanages, because now the kids are sad and we are sad, and that wouldn't have happened if we would have waited for them to call us. Excuse me while I chuckle. First, I wanted to let her know that there was an easy solution for that, just let us have them. :) But of course, I apologized for not having followed any procedure. I explained that we did everything with a social worker, so we didn't know that we were doing anything wrong.
Of course, there was a lot more to the conversation. I felt very on the spot, but also felt like God supplied with all the best answers. To end the conversation, she basically just said, we would have to wait until Monday when the director would return.
This brings us all to today. We called our social worker this morning and she actually answered her phone!!! Hallelujah! This is a major feat here. She informed us she needed the official birth records and to meet her downtown so we could meet with the director. She explained she would inform her that the search for other families came up empty and show her the birth records so she would see that our bio kids and J/E are not the same exact age. We were so excited. We got dressed up and packed up for town. The birth records were with the dad's sister, so we grabbed those, and headed to our social workers office. She tells us the meeting won't happen until after lunch, so just hang out. But of course, after all day of waiting in Lusaka, she tried to meet with the director but she wasn't around.
Now, we are told, it is all supposed to go down tomorrow morning. You can imagine how skeptical Mickey and I are, but we are hopeful. If it is a yes from the director, we can go pick up the boys Wouldn't that just be glorious??? On the flip side, the director could say that even though there aren't any current families for J and E, that she still doesn't find it in the best interest for the boys to come with us.
So, we are asking for your prayers again. We know you all want an answer just about as bad as we do. :-) And we pray we will have one tomorrow!
Finally, as I got home this evening from another long day in Lusaka, I turned on some worship music. There is nothing like turning up some tunes and worshipping my Savior that gets my heart turned around. This song was the first to come on and I feel like it could be the anthem for this whole adoption process. Click on the link below if you want!
We Won't Be Shaken by Building 429.
Excuse me???
As the reality set in, knowing that we were going to have to wait yet again, I felt pretty defeated. I couldn't help but think that she will just keep doing this over and over, and that we would NEVER get an answer. So, I decided to try and do something about it. No more of this waiting/stalling game. I asked the man if there was someone else that I could meet with who might know of how the search for other applicants was going. He directed me to a nearby office. Of course, when I went there, she was at lunch so more waiting. Ha! That's all I can do is laugh sometimes. But after a quick grocery run for us in the waiting, we headed back so I could meet with her.
Once again, I wasn't expecting what happened. I shared our story with the lady, and the "interrogation" started. It was all very similar to what happened when Mickey met with the director 3 weeks ago. She stated that they needed to find someone who could give these two boys 100 percent attention, and there is concern about us having two kids of our own. I tried my best to explain that we would not even consider adopting if we didn't think we could love these two boys as our own and give them everything we have just like we do for our bio kids. I told her that God calls us all to care for orphans and that when something is from God, everything is possible. We know God will fill our hearts with love for these boys...He has already shown us glimpses of that. Next, she asked whether or not we had kids "that side", meaning America, to adopt. She felt like it would be too difficult to mix cultures. Again, I explained to her that God says in His word to care for orphans and He doesn't specify a specific country or only the ones in your culture. We have actually been asked this before, and honestly, we just don't get it. All that should matter is that a child who didn't have a family or perhaps was mistreated by family, is now in a loving home. Case closed. I also explained how my husband has been involved in Zambia for some time and that we will continue to have great involvement in this country. We specifically chose Zambia because of this so that our adopted children would never forget where they came from and that they would have a daddy who was trying to help people there. Lastly, she once again stated that we shouldn't have visited orphanages, because now the kids are sad and we are sad, and that wouldn't have happened if we would have waited for them to call us. Excuse me while I chuckle. First, I wanted to let her know that there was an easy solution for that, just let us have them. :) But of course, I apologized for not having followed any procedure. I explained that we did everything with a social worker, so we didn't know that we were doing anything wrong.
Of course, there was a lot more to the conversation. I felt very on the spot, but also felt like God supplied with all the best answers. To end the conversation, she basically just said, we would have to wait until Monday when the director would return.
This brings us all to today. We called our social worker this morning and she actually answered her phone!!! Hallelujah! This is a major feat here. She informed us she needed the official birth records and to meet her downtown so we could meet with the director. She explained she would inform her that the search for other families came up empty and show her the birth records so she would see that our bio kids and J/E are not the same exact age. We were so excited. We got dressed up and packed up for town. The birth records were with the dad's sister, so we grabbed those, and headed to our social workers office. She tells us the meeting won't happen until after lunch, so just hang out. But of course, after all day of waiting in Lusaka, she tried to meet with the director but she wasn't around.
Now, we are told, it is all supposed to go down tomorrow morning. You can imagine how skeptical Mickey and I are, but we are hopeful. If it is a yes from the director, we can go pick up the boys Wouldn't that just be glorious??? On the flip side, the director could say that even though there aren't any current families for J and E, that she still doesn't find it in the best interest for the boys to come with us.
So, we are asking for your prayers again. We know you all want an answer just about as bad as we do. :-) And we pray we will have one tomorrow!
Finally, as I got home this evening from another long day in Lusaka, I turned on some worship music. There is nothing like turning up some tunes and worshipping my Savior that gets my heart turned around. This song was the first to come on and I feel like it could be the anthem for this whole adoption process. Click on the link below if you want!
We Won't Be Shaken by Building 429.
Hopefully this will be our reality soon!
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Thoughtful Thursday-Suffering
I am going to try each week and post something that God is having me ponder-hoping you will join me with an open mind and take a moment out of your busy day to really think. I know many of you are saying to yourself right now, just sit and think??? Who does that anymore? If I have a spare moment, I am going to get on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/Google, or work out, or watch tv, or read a magazine, call a friend, make dinner, and this list could go on and on. But maybe, just maybe, you could find a few minutes on Thursdays to read this post and take a moment and ponder with me.
Today, I am thinking about the cause of suffering. Why our lives take sudden downward spirals sometimes. Why bad things happen.
Whoaaaa...you might say. That's pretty heavy, And no, I am not going to go super in depth on these questions today and actually, it is pretty simple when you think about it from God's eyes, but I just want to touch on what I have been learning about this subject in the particular case of Paul and Jonah from the Bible. I have been reading about the life of Paul, the greatest missionary of the New Testament, in the book "To Live is Christ" by Beth Moore. Man, did this guy go through a lot in his life time. After his conversion to total faith in Jesus Christ as the son of God, he went as many places as he could to boldly proclaim this message. Just like now, not everyone wanted to hear this good news. He was beaten, thrown in jail, shipwrecked, ridiculed, and stoned for his faith. Yet, he pressed on. He didn't care what it took, he wanted to spread the truth of Jesus to all. Now, you may not know much else about Paul except for what I just told you, but for purposes today, I want to look at just one aspect of him. His obedience. When God told him to go, he went. When God told him to stay, he stayed. At one point, God told him to go to Jerusalem, not exactly a friendly place for a Jewish Christian at this time, but He knew better than to disobey God's command. He quickly got arrested there and sent on to Rome. On the boat ride there, a massive storm struck. They were shipwrecked and eventually found their way to the island of Malta after several stomach churning days on the sea.
Now, let's look at Jonah. Jonah was a prophet in the Old Testament. God asked him to go to Ninevah to bring people back to God. Jonah quickly took a boat in the opposite direction because he was scared to go to Ninevah. He chose to disobey. Because of this God caused a great storm and eventually a big fish to swallow up Jonah for a few days.
Both men suffered, yes? Actually, they suffered in very similar ways. But the major difference is Paul was obedient and Jonah wasn't obedient. Wait a minute, you mean obedience to God doesn't guarantee us a storm free life????? Nope! (Hate to break that news to you prosperity gospel. :-) )
This all brings me to the few thoughts that popped into my head after reading about these 2 men.
First, the comparison of these two men showed me that God loves us no matter what. He delivered both of these men from their storm, whether or not they were obedient to His calling. That's pretty cool, as we are not perfect and not always obedient to what He wants us to do. It is pretty comforting to know that His love is unconditional. He did not give Jonah what he "deserved", but gave him another chance.
Second, our behavior as followers of Christ is crucial during a trial. Jonah did not use his trial (during the trial) for good. He slept during the storm and when he realized it was probably his fault, he said, "pick me up and throw me out into the sea...I know it is my fault." His attitude was poor me. Paul, on the other hand, demonstrated such faithfulness and obedience to God, that God sent an angel to him letting him know that God would save him and all aboard. He was actually an encouragement to others aboard-kind of funny since technically he was a prisoner being transported on this ship. When they finally washed up on an island, they were greeted with love and hospitality. They even spent 3 months there, where Paul was able to preach and teach about our Savior. As you can see, Jonah's attitude did not bring people to Him. How many times have you done the poor me thing? I know I have been there many times, rather recently too! And it is a terrible witness. But the way Paul endured the trial, with trust and peace, this brought people's attention to God, which is always a good thing. Am I right? Our attitudes as believers during a trial can make or break our witness for Him.
3rd, I thought about why God did all of this. The answer is pretty simple. He wanted His will done. God wanted Jonah to realize His disobedience and trust that God's plans are always the best, even when they are scary or tough. God wanted the people aboard the ship with Paul to experience what it was like to be saved by God, and he wanted a little, unreached island to know about Him too.
So, I will end with this. Suffering is not fun. You better believe Paul and Jonah did not enjoy the trials they had to endure. Just like our trials are awful and heart breaking and scary and tough and unenjoyable. When we are in the trial, it is really difficult sometimes to understand God's purposes. I can say though looking back at the trials I have been through in my life, that God has used every single one for a purpose. Not one single trial was God punishing me or for no rhyme or reason. God is good, He would never do that. But He does HAVE to allow trials in our life at times for the sole purpose of bringing people close to Him. Whether it is just us he wants close as in Jonah's case, or in Paul's case, a whole boat full of people and an island, He LOVES us all so much that He will do whatever it takes. And I don't know about you, but suffering is worth it if it brings me to a closer relationship with Him or if it brings someone else to know Him as their Savior.
He is worth it all. And we are worth it all to Him.
James 1:12
Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which [the Lord] has promised to those who love Him.
Today, I am thinking about the cause of suffering. Why our lives take sudden downward spirals sometimes. Why bad things happen.
Whoaaaa...you might say. That's pretty heavy, And no, I am not going to go super in depth on these questions today and actually, it is pretty simple when you think about it from God's eyes, but I just want to touch on what I have been learning about this subject in the particular case of Paul and Jonah from the Bible. I have been reading about the life of Paul, the greatest missionary of the New Testament, in the book "To Live is Christ" by Beth Moore. Man, did this guy go through a lot in his life time. After his conversion to total faith in Jesus Christ as the son of God, he went as many places as he could to boldly proclaim this message. Just like now, not everyone wanted to hear this good news. He was beaten, thrown in jail, shipwrecked, ridiculed, and stoned for his faith. Yet, he pressed on. He didn't care what it took, he wanted to spread the truth of Jesus to all. Now, you may not know much else about Paul except for what I just told you, but for purposes today, I want to look at just one aspect of him. His obedience. When God told him to go, he went. When God told him to stay, he stayed. At one point, God told him to go to Jerusalem, not exactly a friendly place for a Jewish Christian at this time, but He knew better than to disobey God's command. He quickly got arrested there and sent on to Rome. On the boat ride there, a massive storm struck. They were shipwrecked and eventually found their way to the island of Malta after several stomach churning days on the sea.
Now, let's look at Jonah. Jonah was a prophet in the Old Testament. God asked him to go to Ninevah to bring people back to God. Jonah quickly took a boat in the opposite direction because he was scared to go to Ninevah. He chose to disobey. Because of this God caused a great storm and eventually a big fish to swallow up Jonah for a few days.
Both men suffered, yes? Actually, they suffered in very similar ways. But the major difference is Paul was obedient and Jonah wasn't obedient. Wait a minute, you mean obedience to God doesn't guarantee us a storm free life????? Nope! (Hate to break that news to you prosperity gospel. :-) )
This all brings me to the few thoughts that popped into my head after reading about these 2 men.
First, the comparison of these two men showed me that God loves us no matter what. He delivered both of these men from their storm, whether or not they were obedient to His calling. That's pretty cool, as we are not perfect and not always obedient to what He wants us to do. It is pretty comforting to know that His love is unconditional. He did not give Jonah what he "deserved", but gave him another chance.
Second, our behavior as followers of Christ is crucial during a trial. Jonah did not use his trial (during the trial) for good. He slept during the storm and when he realized it was probably his fault, he said, "pick me up and throw me out into the sea...I know it is my fault." His attitude was poor me. Paul, on the other hand, demonstrated such faithfulness and obedience to God, that God sent an angel to him letting him know that God would save him and all aboard. He was actually an encouragement to others aboard-kind of funny since technically he was a prisoner being transported on this ship. When they finally washed up on an island, they were greeted with love and hospitality. They even spent 3 months there, where Paul was able to preach and teach about our Savior. As you can see, Jonah's attitude did not bring people to Him. How many times have you done the poor me thing? I know I have been there many times, rather recently too! And it is a terrible witness. But the way Paul endured the trial, with trust and peace, this brought people's attention to God, which is always a good thing. Am I right? Our attitudes as believers during a trial can make or break our witness for Him.
3rd, I thought about why God did all of this. The answer is pretty simple. He wanted His will done. God wanted Jonah to realize His disobedience and trust that God's plans are always the best, even when they are scary or tough. God wanted the people aboard the ship with Paul to experience what it was like to be saved by God, and he wanted a little, unreached island to know about Him too.
So, I will end with this. Suffering is not fun. You better believe Paul and Jonah did not enjoy the trials they had to endure. Just like our trials are awful and heart breaking and scary and tough and unenjoyable. When we are in the trial, it is really difficult sometimes to understand God's purposes. I can say though looking back at the trials I have been through in my life, that God has used every single one for a purpose. Not one single trial was God punishing me or for no rhyme or reason. God is good, He would never do that. But He does HAVE to allow trials in our life at times for the sole purpose of bringing people close to Him. Whether it is just us he wants close as in Jonah's case, or in Paul's case, a whole boat full of people and an island, He LOVES us all so much that He will do whatever it takes. And I don't know about you, but suffering is worth it if it brings me to a closer relationship with Him or if it brings someone else to know Him as their Savior.
He is worth it all. And we are worth it all to Him.
James 1:12
Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which [the Lord] has promised to those who love Him.
1 Peter 4:12
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you;
Friday, March 7, 2014
House Hunters International...what???
We have you all sorts of confused, I believe, with my Facebook post about being on House Hunters International, so let me give you the 411.
A year and a half ago, when we decided to move to Zambia for a year, my crazy hubs decided to email HHI on a whim and tell them of our plans. It has always been a favorite show of ours-love seeing all the different places around the world and types of housing and culture! Never in a million years did we think they would actually contact us... About 3 months ago though, much to our surprise, we got an email from a casting director. He wanted to Skype us and hear more about our story. We told him about our plan to adopt and to help our friends organization called GiveLife do some agricultural development and assist their preschool, as well as do some medical outreaches with an American doctor at the Gospelink Bible College. He was very interested in the adoption part because of the difficulty of adopting from here and thought that the higher ups at HHI would be very interested as well. And come to find out, they were!!! We got a phone call about a month after that telling us we were a go! Fast forward to last night where we Skyped with the lady who will be producing our show. They will be coming here May 1st-May 4th to film.
Now to the major questions we have been asked by many, one being, "are you moving to Zambia permanently???" And the quick answer to that is, "no." The long answer is this, we found out much to our dismay, that like pretty much all "reality" television, House Hunters is kind of staged. Yes, we were devastated, just like many we talked to about this. But I do hold to the fact that our general story is true, so hopefully they all are. We really did move here and the reasons stated are true and not fabricated in any way! But we obviously already live here and so the house we live in now will be one that we visit and the one that we end up choosing, so that's where it gets a little iffy. :) Our stuff will be moved out so we can come "look" at this house like it is empty. We will also look at 2 other houses just like the typical show format. They will also film us doing some things in the area, like going to Sunday market in Lusaka, the animal park, the local Chongwe market, Mickey playing basketball, etc. And they were interested in filming me at the preschool and Mickey doing some farming or some medical outreach. 2nd, some were surprised to learn HHI would actually want to film here because there is only modest housing. Yes, our apartment is definitely what you might call modest, but there are actually really nice homes in Lusaka, and they will extend the search there. The debate will be between us living here close to work and friend, with cheaper rent, or living in the city with higher rent. 3rd, we don't know an air date yet. They told us probably early fall of this year, as soon as we know, we will tell you! Ha! I seem to be saying that a lot lately. 4th, we did fill them in on the latest with our adoption. This is what they want the crux of our story to be about and so we didn't know if they would still want to film us if we really don't get to adopt in the end. When we talked to them a few months ago, we really thought the adoption was for sure going to happen. Now hopefully, we will get the answer we both want, and that is we have the boys and it is a very happy ending! But none the less, they are going to come film anyways, and will focus more on the work we have been doing over here if our adoption does not go through. 5th, do you get paid? Yes, there is a small stipend. They actually want you to use it to fly back home for the back story, but we told them that it would only cover the cost of 1 ticket, and since we are only here a short time, it really isn't worth it to fly all the way back home for 1 day of filming, and they were cool with that. So then it is just ours, which we plan on using to further our ministry here in some way. This is all a gift from God anyways and we want to give it back to Him! 6th and final, I am super nervous and of course Mickey is super excited. So our life goes usually. To be honest, there are times when my fear of it all makes me want to not do it. But when it comes down to it, if one person watching the show is encouraged to adopt, or thinks wow, they moved to Zambia to help people, I wonder what that is all about, and somehow us being on this show points one person to God, then I am all in. So, please excuse my lack of acting skills, or if I don't look right on TV, or say something stupid, we just want God to be glorified in all of this. (even though we were told we can't mention God, that's another story) We are hoping our reasons for being here will be apparent enough to break that rule!!!
Hope this helped, thanks for all the interest and support. We should be back home by the time it airs, so might have to have a viewing party!!!
A year and a half ago, when we decided to move to Zambia for a year, my crazy hubs decided to email HHI on a whim and tell them of our plans. It has always been a favorite show of ours-love seeing all the different places around the world and types of housing and culture! Never in a million years did we think they would actually contact us... About 3 months ago though, much to our surprise, we got an email from a casting director. He wanted to Skype us and hear more about our story. We told him about our plan to adopt and to help our friends organization called GiveLife do some agricultural development and assist their preschool, as well as do some medical outreaches with an American doctor at the Gospelink Bible College. He was very interested in the adoption part because of the difficulty of adopting from here and thought that the higher ups at HHI would be very interested as well. And come to find out, they were!!! We got a phone call about a month after that telling us we were a go! Fast forward to last night where we Skyped with the lady who will be producing our show. They will be coming here May 1st-May 4th to film.
Now to the major questions we have been asked by many, one being, "are you moving to Zambia permanently???" And the quick answer to that is, "no." The long answer is this, we found out much to our dismay, that like pretty much all "reality" television, House Hunters is kind of staged. Yes, we were devastated, just like many we talked to about this. But I do hold to the fact that our general story is true, so hopefully they all are. We really did move here and the reasons stated are true and not fabricated in any way! But we obviously already live here and so the house we live in now will be one that we visit and the one that we end up choosing, so that's where it gets a little iffy. :) Our stuff will be moved out so we can come "look" at this house like it is empty. We will also look at 2 other houses just like the typical show format. They will also film us doing some things in the area, like going to Sunday market in Lusaka, the animal park, the local Chongwe market, Mickey playing basketball, etc. And they were interested in filming me at the preschool and Mickey doing some farming or some medical outreach. 2nd, some were surprised to learn HHI would actually want to film here because there is only modest housing. Yes, our apartment is definitely what you might call modest, but there are actually really nice homes in Lusaka, and they will extend the search there. The debate will be between us living here close to work and friend, with cheaper rent, or living in the city with higher rent. 3rd, we don't know an air date yet. They told us probably early fall of this year, as soon as we know, we will tell you! Ha! I seem to be saying that a lot lately. 4th, we did fill them in on the latest with our adoption. This is what they want the crux of our story to be about and so we didn't know if they would still want to film us if we really don't get to adopt in the end. When we talked to them a few months ago, we really thought the adoption was for sure going to happen. Now hopefully, we will get the answer we both want, and that is we have the boys and it is a very happy ending! But none the less, they are going to come film anyways, and will focus more on the work we have been doing over here if our adoption does not go through. 5th, do you get paid? Yes, there is a small stipend. They actually want you to use it to fly back home for the back story, but we told them that it would only cover the cost of 1 ticket, and since we are only here a short time, it really isn't worth it to fly all the way back home for 1 day of filming, and they were cool with that. So then it is just ours, which we plan on using to further our ministry here in some way. This is all a gift from God anyways and we want to give it back to Him! 6th and final, I am super nervous and of course Mickey is super excited. So our life goes usually. To be honest, there are times when my fear of it all makes me want to not do it. But when it comes down to it, if one person watching the show is encouraged to adopt, or thinks wow, they moved to Zambia to help people, I wonder what that is all about, and somehow us being on this show points one person to God, then I am all in. So, please excuse my lack of acting skills, or if I don't look right on TV, or say something stupid, we just want God to be glorified in all of this. (even though we were told we can't mention God, that's another story) We are hoping our reasons for being here will be apparent enough to break that rule!!!
Hope this helped, thanks for all the interest and support. We should be back home by the time it airs, so might have to have a viewing party!!!
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