Maybe she's in these pics?

Jeannie from allofusonline sent us some pics that she took at the Bethzatha orphanage where many of the children adopted through AGCI are received from (see yesterday's post).  It is very possible that our girl is one of these in the pictures shown below.  (Although we're hopeful that she's already at Hannah's Hope awaiting final testing before being referred to us!)

But, whether she is in these pics or not, we still are praying for these beautiful children.  That they would be cared for, protected, and would be adopted soon by a loving family that can shower God's love upon their lives.

Looking through the pics, there are maybe only 15 or 20 children shown.  Each of these kids have been abandoned or relinquished by their parents.  They are lost and without security of a mom or dad holding them, loving them, providing for them.  They each have a story.  It is remarkable to look into each of their eyes and think of the hurt that they have already known - well before the time that their little hearts were ready to endure such pain.

And to think that these pics only show a dozen or more children at a single orphanage, and yet there are more than 4,000,000 orphans in Ethiopia alone.  To think how many pictures it would take to include all of them - to show each of their expectant faces.

Our favorite is the one where they are all praying with their hands over their faces at the table before eating.  Wow!

(You should be able to click on the pics to enlarge them.)

Maybe she saw our girl?

We received an email today through our AGCI email group from Jeannie Olivas (click here for her blog). The Olivas' were just in Ethiopia to pick up their 3 year old daughter (they are also adopting through AGCI). Jeannie also visited the Bethzatha orphanage where many of the AGCI children come from. When we read her email, we both got goosebumps thinking that maybe she saw our little girl, our little Peaches.

The closer we get to a referral, the more it really feels like our daughter is over in Ethiopia. Not just a little orphan girl for whom we feel connected on an emotional level. It really feels like this little girl, who we have neither met nor seen, is our daughter. The connection is growing deeper and deeper and our hearts are completely captivated.

Jeannie's email brought this all to a new level thinking that she quite possibly saw our little girl, which causes us to sense an even greater grasp of her reality.

Check out her email.....

From: Jeannie Olivas
Sent: Friday, August 13, 2010 1:10 AM
To:
Subject: Re: [agci-ethiopia] referrals, o please?!!


Heather:

When we were at the Bethzatha Children’s Home on July 29th we saw a ton of boys and girls ages 2-5, but very few infants. I’m thinking that your time is coming.
As a side note: when we were there, the children were being fed their lunch. Watching them pray was a heart-warming sight. Your daughter was probably one of those children.

Jeannie
www.allofusonline.blogspot.com

Korah

Korah is a community outside of Addis Ababa where the outcasts of society live.  (Read more about Korah by clicking here.)  Korah is located at the Addis trash dump.  The outcasts who live there are the lepers, the poor, the orphans, and the widows.  When you stop to think of what a trash dump must be like in a 3rd world country, it is staggering.  And to think of people living there, trying to have their physical needs met by what they can scavenge day after day, it is difficult to contemplate. 

The videos included below are both about Korah.  They both show the sobering need among these people.  They also raise a lot of questions.  How can we meet the needs of so many people?  What about their spiritual needs too?  Do we just try and meet their physical needs first, then work towards meeting their spiritual needs?   How do we balance all of this?  What would Jesus do?  What does Jesus want us to do?  These are the questions that roll around in our minds.

Ordinary Hero~ A day in the trash dump in Ethiopia from Kelly Putty on Vimeo.

Rain, Mud, and Really Big Holes

      Last week, a Bobcat arrived in our backyard. It dug an eight foot hole where a third of our yard had been before.

    That is the basement part of the addition. Still a long ways to go. But God is in control. Now we have a giant hole in our backyard, and a couple days ago, our greatest fear was rain. There just happened to be a huge storm last night. Wind, lightning, thunder, and pouring buckets of rain. An awesome display of God`s power.


    However, the hole just seemed to be a magnet for water. The water was streaming in from all directions. Dad was trying to build some sort of a dam to protect the hole. It was quite dramatic. The hole was filled with water. One and a half inches of rain in one hour. That`s a lot of rain. So, we called over Mr. Davidson and Mr. O`Halloran. We were so thankful for their help. And, by the way, sorry for the lack of pictures.


       So, T-bird and I went out with the dads and helped as best we could. Mr. O brought his Shop Vac (it had something to do with getting the water out). After building many "steel walls" made of dirt and dumping water out with beach buckets, the basement was saved from flooding, and everyone lived happily ever after (once we all took showers.).


    --Rye Bread

Another Number, Another Psalm

Our new number is 32.   I love reflecting on the Psalms.  They always apply very intimately to our situation.  God is good to flow His word into our hearts and  mold us to His image.

Psalm 32

7 You are a hiding place for me;
you preserve me from trouble;
you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah 

8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my eye upon you.


I pray these verses for our "Peaches."  I pray that He will be her hiding place, that He will preserve her from trouble, that He will surround her with SHOUTS OF DELIVERANCE!  He is so good to shower us with His presence.

And I pray for our family as we continue through this adoption (and home addition, and starting school again, and current 7 days/week work schedule), that He would instruct and teach us in the way we should go and that He would counsel us with His EYE upon us. 

What a great reflection.  What a great reminder.  What a great God!

Info on Timing of 2nd Trip....

We read on another family's blog today (http://thisisagreatadventure.blogspot.com/) that the timing between the 1st and 2nd trip is much shorter than we had originally heard - at least it is for them.  The two trip policy is new so there is very little actual information out there with regard to timing of the two trips.  They are one of the 1st two-tripper families, so we've all been watching their timing to help answer our own thousands of questions.

The left on their 1st trip around 7/24/10.  They just received word today that they're scheduled to make their 2nd trip on 8/23/10.  So basically a one month wait between trips - it's actually closer to just a three week wait for them since the 1st trip lasts almost a full week.  We had been told previously that the time between the 1st and 2nd trips could be 3 or 4 months.

We realize that their timing could change, and our timing could be completely different, and that the program could completely change again.  Nothing is sure in the world of adoption until you land on U.S. soil with your child. 

But, even though we know that nothing is sure in the world of adoption, we know that everything is sure in Christ.  We stand in Him, we wait on Him, we rest in Him.  As surely as He has brought us 5 beautiful biological children with perfect timing for each birth, He can just as easily bring our little girl from Ethiopia in His time.  Nothing is too difficult for Him.

Funny Worship Video

Check out this video found on Bob Kauflin's blog, Worship Matters.  It's a spoof on modern worship services that points the finger back at us worship leaders and says, "what's my true motivation, what's my focus?"

Enjoy!

(double click the video to take it to full screen)


"Sunday's Coming" Movie Trailer from North Point Media on Vimeo.