Prayer Request

I recently found out that Reuben and I are expecting another child (biologically). We are very excited and a little overwhelmed at the timing of things. However, we know that it is in the Lord's hands and are resting in that. Having said that. I contacted out adoption agency to ask about vaccinations and timing with the pregnancy and travel. They replied back stating that:

It is CWA policy to have parents who become pregnant during the process to go on "hold" status until the new child is 6 months old, then resume back on a decision by our Case Review Committee. In your case this issue will have to go for case review, because of the number of children you have, plus the additional referred children, birth order considerations, etc. I will bring your case to the committee, but that will not be until we return after January 4.

What is your expected delivery date? That will of course have an effect on the case timing as well.

If you do go on hold, it will be necessary to release the Kedir siblings to another adoptive family. I will be in touch with you after the holidays, so we can discuss the next steps to take. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news right before Christmas, but we do carefully examine all the effects an adoption can have, and try to act in the best interests of the Ethiopian children but also of their adoptive parents here... we don't want to put an undue burden on any family, and try to make the best decisions we can in each case.

If you have any other information that might be relevant to the decision, please let me know, and of course I'd like you to stay in contact even if your case does go on hold, so that I will know how you are doing.

Along with this, my husband broke a bone in his foot and sprained his ankle. He will be in a boot for 5 more weeks and then they will take x-rays to see if it has healed. Also, my oldest son, Brayden has a heart murmur that has been there since infancy and has remained. It seems innocent, but the doctor wants to make sure is not serious. So, we go this next week to a cardiologist for an echo.

We are asking for prayer for peace and that the decision that is made will benefit all those involved.
"I cast all my cares upon Him, for He cares for us"

Home study

Well, we finished up our last interview today with the home study specialist. They say it will take approx. 1 month to finalize everything. We have out last bit of training to finish up and more paperwork and forms to fill out. Exciting!

Home Study

On Monday we had our home study individual interviews which went quite well. The specialist asked how soon we would like to finish it up and we said asap. We do our final interview this coming Monday morning. Wooohooo! One more thing accomplished. We are about finished with the documents for the dossier. Now onto more training and more forms. We want to bring these children home as soon as we can.

We received good news from our agency newsletter last week. It looks as though the investigations have concluded and children can begin moving again within the next couple of weeks. Praise the Lord! Thanks for all of the prayers!
I had the privilege of sharing our story with the church I grew up in over Thanksgiving. What a joy to be able to share what the Lord has been doing in our lives. It's all for Him.

We have had a few updates in the last couple of weeks. I emailed the agency to check on Jemal and Martu as well as the situation in the area we are adopting from.

Jemal seems to be doing well, he has good attachment with the other children at the orphanage. They also said that he is eager to move on to his family:) They said he is polite and kind as well as open and communicative.

Martu is still in another area and when she was last seen by a doctor she was being treated for a herpetic lesion on her breast and chest area as well as some wheezing. They said she is now in better condition. They are asking for more in formation about the lesion.

I have heard that things “look positive”, but nothing definitive right now. There is certainly a lot of hope and staff in Ethiopia seems encouraged. They want to take things slowly, to not push officials at all, so we’re just looking to them for any reports as things happen. I think the officials had good things to say about CCCE, the organization they partner with there, and might start allowing children to be adopted again. So, that’s all I know right now. It seems encouraging, but there is nothing specific to report right now. Please keep praying!

We are working on our paperwork for the Dossier as well as our Home study. It is keeping us quite busy having to get everything notarized.

Praise the Lord for good reports!

We received and email today with some pictures and video of Jemal and Martu. We also found out that Martu is having some allergy problems. They are starting saline drops for her nose and some medication to help with the symptoms. Please pray for a speedy recovery. Thank God she is being taken care of.

We also received some news from our adoption agency about the area we are adopting from today:
Court re-opened on Monday, October 12th and we have received our first trickle of new court dates for late October. We expect more dates to be assigned soon. Cases in progress for children from the S region will continue as scheduled. However, no new referrals can be expected from that region until the government finishes conducting an investigation of the orphanages operating in that area. CWAE’s Country Representative reports that the Adoption Service Providers working with partner organizations in the S region will be meeting together to determine how they can best assist the various orphanages with addressing any government concerns. This process is expected to require several weeks, much as did the investigation earlier this year into abandonment cases within A A city limits.”What this means: ALL agencies working in the S area have been put “on hold” while investigations are conducted to make sure the procedure is done properly. If the investigation is done properly and thoroughly and fairly, then I would expect all to be fine. However, at this time, there is no guarantee that the officials in that region will allow adoptions to continue.

We are praying very hard for these kids and would encourage you to do the same. The only thing we can really do right now is pray… and I’ll send you updates as I hear them. We know the children need a family, so just praying that they will get that chance! No one expected this to happen… and it’s currently not affecting any other region we work with. We can hope that all will be ok.

That’s where we stand right now. This isn’t too uncommon really with international adoption—even different countries (different areas going on hold for different reasons), but the outcome is yet to be determined.

At this point, they have deposited our initial check and therefore will go ahead and send us the adoption planner, etc to move us forward.

We know that God's will will be done. Please join with us in prayer for this whole situation and that we learn from and grow into a deeper relationship with the Lord through this.

Today we mailed our IAP forms with our first payment for initial processing to Christina World Adoption. We also mailed our application to our home study provider with the initial payment. Praise the Lord! We have had a few set backs with getting the initial funds, but God is good and has once again provided. So on with more paperwork. Thanks for all your prayers.

Our application was approved! Yesterday, we attended an informational orientation Webinar about the adoption process. It was neat to be able to talk with other couples who are adopting as well. Next is getting a case worker and filling out many forms.
We are so excited to hear that the family that is adopting the siblings of our kiddos are on their way home from Ethiopia. PTL for all he has done!

Today we filled out and submitted our application for adoption. It should take a day to process. Then on to the next step. Exciting!

It was a Sunday morning, August 16th, 2009. Pastor had preached a message about orphans. We had been studying James and how we are not only to listen and know, but do what the Word says. James 1:27 Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. Following the sermon, we had Bible fellowship class and we were discussing a book, "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan. We talked about how we need to trust God to take care of us and how He blesses us when we trust.
It was now time to take prayer requests. D spoke up and mentioned about how it's neat that pastor was preaching on James and we were reading this book at the same time. He also began telling of what a blessing it has been for them to be adopting four children from Ethiopia. He stated that if we just step out and do what we are called to do, the blessings in return are amazing. D then shared that they just found out that the mother of the four children they were adopting had relinquished rights to two more of her children. The oldest 12? and the youngest 5mos? They didn't know if they should take them or if anyone else in their family or close friends would keep them in the same community. D asked the class if we would pray about what should happen or if any of us would feel led to adopt them.
Confirmation #1
All of the sudden, my husband, Reuben leaned over to me and said, "We'll take them". I was almost falling out of my chair. You see, God had given me the desire to adopt long ago. Reuben always seemed apprehensive and had some reasons why he didn't want to adopt. So, for the past two years, I had been praying about this. God wouldn't give me a desire for no reason. So, what an answer to prayer. Psalm 37:4,5 Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you your hearts desires. Commit everything you do to the Lord and He will help you.
I waited until church was over and asked Reuben in the car, if he could repeat himself. He said it again and oh, was I overwhelmed with joy. He called D's wife C, who had been home that morning with no electric and an asthmatic son, and told her we would take the kids. Reuben said she was so excited and asked that we would pray and make sure this is what the Lord wanted us to do. Well, I already knew it was what He wanted, I just hadn't voiced it. So, I told Reuben about how I had been praying for this.
Confirmation #2
I called my mom to tell her what was going on and to ask her to pray and she said, "Talk about God's timing, I was going to send you an article I read about two families adopting from Ethiopia for you to give to D and C, but I'll have you read it first." Wow, how cool was that?
That evening, was a benefit dinner for the Orphan Care Ministry at our church. Reuben was unable to go, so I went to share with D and C how we felt. That night, D and C shared their heart for missions and orphans and what the Lord has planned for them. I learned that they had prayed for God to give them six couples to call and have pray about the children and what God would have them do. We weren't one of these couples, but I still knew that we should adopt them. After the dinner, I approached D and C about the children and what I had been praying about. They were so happy about it and asked that we would continue to pray.
Later that week, we went on vacation and had some time to really focus and pray about things. God really gave me a peace that he would provide and everything would be fine. Oh, and we went on a time share tour and a couple from Ethiopia were on it as well. Ha! Love it!
It's so neat because for the past two years, I have been home with my children and God has shown me over and over about provision. He has been preparing me for this. I don't know how many times he has proven His love for us.
I remember last year, our air conditioner went out and we didn't know where we were going to come up with the money for a new one. We prayed. The next day, Reuben's grandmother wrote us a check for the exact amount that was needed. She didn't even know how much it was.
In December last year. we had talked about getting a bigger vehicle because we planned on having more children. We weren't real serious about it, but Reuben came home one day and said he found one online that seemed too good to be true. So, we went and looked at it. When we got there, we were told that normally you would have to wait for everything to be inspected and that could take awhile because of the amount of people in line. We happened to be the first in line. We were trading our car in and said to each other, we need a certain amount or we're not taking it. They came back with the exact amount we talked about to each other. Amazing! We knew this was the vehicle for us.
Every few months or so, I would get the urge or the feeling that I needed to go back to work so we could have some extra money around to be, what I thought was "Comfortable". Every time, God has put me in place and shown me that home is where I need to be. I Timothy 6:6-8 Choose to be content. Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can't take anything with us when we leave it. So, if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.
Matthew 6:25,33 That is why I tell you no to worry about everyday life-whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn't life more than food and your body more than clothing? Seek the kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
Confirmation #3
Most recently, a week before we were led to adopt, Meghan, in our Bible fellowship class expressed on face book that she got a job and needed childcare for her son. I happened to be on when she posted this comment and thought, hey, I can do that. God, once more put me back in my place and provided money for the adoption that I didn't even know about at the time. Zachariah is such a joy to watch and is giving me practice for when we get the baby.
I am also going to be watching another family in our Bible fellowship class' son a few days a week. God provided Janna with an awesome opportunity to teach choir at a Christian school in the area. She was concerned about childcare for her youngest. Isn't it so amazing how the Lord works.
Confirmation#4 &5
So, we got back from vacation and had clear direction as to what God wanted for us. That next Sunday, we were in Bible fellowship class sharing what God had been doing in our lives and how excited we were. C spoke up and said that they had money donated for us already. AHHH! Praise the Lord! Talk about knowing where the Lord wants you and stepping out and being blessed. Oh, it's all for His glory! C also told of how the day Reuben called and said we would take the kids that she had been praying whoever would be wanting the kids would have no questions or concerns. Reuben had no questions or concerns when he called her. That's when C knew, we were the ones for the children. Though Reuben had questions later, it was what C needed to hear. God is Awesome!
We had the chance to share our news with some people. There have been mixed emotions, but we know where God wants us right now and it's here, doing what we are doing.
We received some information on the children. Names, pictures,etc. So we continued praying about everything. The next Sunday at church, I got the chance to share some information with some wonderful ladies from a class I had taken called, " The Incredible Journey". Oh, the plans God has for us. They prayed over me and shared words of encouragement. I'm so thankful for the people and situations God puts in our path. In taking that class, God has opened me up to a whole new perspective of Him, His Word, and the wonderful relationship we can have with Him. Ephesians 3:18 And you may have the power to understand as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high and how deep his love is. It's cool to look back now and see how God's plan has unfolded and what is yet to come. I am so excited for it.
I was praying one night, and God spoke some pretty scary words to me. He told me that I would speak in front of many people. Speak?! That's one of the scariest things ever for me. I could sing all you want, but speak?! The next day I was praying and God spoke again and told me to write. Ok! I have a very difficult time expressing myself, so writing doesn't come easy. I love how God is molding and shaping me into what he wants me to be. I'm facing my fears, but not alone. Proverbs 3:5,6 Trust in Lord with all your heart, do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
Galatians 2:20 My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer Iwho live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.
Philippians 4:13 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus is calling us.
Confirmation #6
We received medicals for both of the children and both were negative for any major diseases . Praise the Lord! We had to send acceptance forms to the adoption agency and now are filling out the application to adopt. Please pray for clear direction and understanding through this process.
We are attending a monthly meeting for the Adoption/Orphan care Ministry at our church. It is very encouraging to be along side others who have the same call on their lives and share with them any concerns, praises or prayer needs we would have. Psalm 55:22 Give your burdens to the Lord and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.
There has been a song on my mind since this all has started and I would like to share the words with you. It's by Anointed and it's called, "The Call"
Vs. 1
It was on a day like no other
Seeking Your face when I discovered
My life was no longer my own, but Yours
Then I heard You say, "Go and tell them
To open your heart, let Me in
And I will supply your every need"

Then I cried, "Lord I don't know, If I can do it"
You will find your strength in Me, only believe
Then I said, "What if I fail, I just couldn't take it"
He said, " I have given you My ability

Chorus
For the sake, of the call
I am laying down my all
No turning back
Moving straight ahead
I'm on the right track
And it's all for the sake of the call

Vs.2
Sister let me encourage your heart
Brother, leave doubt behind, stay your part
Know that He's with you, yes He's there all the time
You may feel like you can't go on any longer
Though you are weak remember He's stronger
Through Him you can do most anything

Chorus

Bridge
Daily I press toward the mark for the prize
of the high calling of God in Jesus our Lord

Chorus

I will be keeping you posted on what's going on.