A day in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Well, to get you caught up.....I came to Addis Ababa HOPING to be able to take Crew home!!  That isn't the way this trip is going to turn out.  I am very sad about that!!  I don't think I have ever cried this much before!!  I really couldn't even function very well the day I found out they were furthering the investigation of his "orphan status".  More evidence is needed!!  BUT, I have realized (after a full day of sulking!!) that it is still a blessing for me to be here with this precious little boy!!!  I do not understand what our government is doing and why they are making this so hard, and honestly....I am mad about it!!!  But I still know that God will make it all good!!  He will take care of Crew and every one of the little orphans until they are HOME!!!

So, here I am in Ethiopia.... and today was a great day!!  Driving outside the city was amazing!!  I saw PURE BEAUTY.....and PURE POVERTY!!  I am simply dumbfounded at how poor it is here!!  We went to the store before we left the city and bought crackers and cheese and we passed them out to the kids on the side of the road (most of them carrying large loads).  To see their smiles like it was Christmas morning....OH MY!!!  I cannot describe how I felt.  Crew had a blast!!  He LOVES to be in the "peepee" (car).   I wish I had a van full of crackers to pass out!!  I could do this everyday!!  We passed a very old man carrying a HUGE load and I asked the driver to stop.  We backed up and I reached out the window to give him my full bottle of water.  His smile about killed me!!  PRECIOUS!!  His eyes said thank you and his smile said I love you!!  I love him, too!!  A bond was made right there!!  I said "I care" and he said "I know!"  AMAZING beyond words!!!

We went to dinner tonight so I could treat Yonatan and Solomon to a nice meal since they drove me all around while I've been here. We went to a nice buffet.  It was delicious!!  Crew loves both these guys very much and enjoys being with them!  I call Yonaton my other son!  If only he were not 25...I would adopt him, too!!  He told Solomon I am like his second mother!!  Dang!  I wanted him to say big sister!! haha!!  Anyway, Crew fell asleep on the way home so he is now in the hotel bed out for the night!! We will have breakfast and take our time in the morning getting ready....then I will take him back to the transition house.  I fly out tomorrow night!!

Something else we did today was go to FashionABLE.  This is the place where they make the scarves (by woman who have decided to make a living and be discipled, rather than make money in other ways such as prostitution).  I got each of the nannies at the transition house/orphanage a scarf from FashionABLE, so I will give those to them tomorrow. They are all so sweet and just LOVE the kids! I will be sad to leave Crew, but I am okay again....disappointed, but okay, because they truly do love him and take very good care of the children there!  They are like a family!!

OH!! We passed a wreck on the way home from the countryside, where a person died (so sad!!), and then within minutes we came upon an accident where a truck hit a woman walking on the side of the road. Solomon thought she was dead. We stopped and they asked if we could take her to the hospital. I couldn't look from the minute Solomon said DEAD. But when they put her in the van, she groaned, and he said she wasn't nearly as bad as he thought. I turned around to look and she was a teenager with blood on her and seemed to be in and out of conscieneness. The man that hit her held her and we drove her to Addis. I am sure she will be fine, and praying she did not have any internal injuries. It was just wild. I couldn't believe what was happening!!  All I could do was say JESUS and pray!!

For those of you who have never been to a Third World Country...GO!!  Look at your neighbor and see what you can do for them!!   They need you!!

For those of you who have been to a Third World Country....REMEMBER!!!  Remember what you saw and never think you need MORE!  We do not need more!!  We do not need bigger houses, or better cars, or more jeans, or more shoes or more purses!!  These people live in MUD HUTS if they are lucky! They work harder than anyone I've ever seen (from young children to very old), yet have very little to nothing!!  The Bible says to LOVE YOUR NEIGHBORS!!  Are we doing that?  Or do we just say a little prayer for them before we fall asleep on our tempurpedics and then forget about them the next day?  What is wrong with us?  Why do we think so highly of ourselves that we continue to drown in material things, yet people are starving?  Why do we have the "right" to MUCH....even extravagance....when these people struggle to feed their families each day? If we are Christians, how do we live so selfishly?  Do we really care?

Jesus was not treated as a king on this earth....so should we live as if we are?

"Whatever you do for the least of these.....you did for ME!!" ~ Jesus

Something for all of us to think about!!!

I will post ALL the pictures when I get home!!  UN.BE.LIEV.ABLE!!!  Just wait til you see!!

xoxo!

Debbi

Could this be THE WEEK?

A lot has been happening lately!!  It's been busy!!  Each thing, each activity, each day...makes me think of Crew!!  Even little things!  For instance, when Kyler is playing he will often say, "When Crew gets here, we can do this together!  I can teach him how!"  Okay!!  Precious!!  Kyler is 5 and already has such a heart for Crew!!  Then this past weekend we went to OU to visit Cassidi and Makenzi at college.  Our family went to watch Makenzi's University Sing performance and during the show I looked over at Kason and Kyler smiling and enjoying the acts and I thought, "Aww, Crew would have liked this, too!"  Even something as simple as the Christmas lights being put on the house this past week, I thought, "Wow!  What will Crew think when he finally gets here and sees all this!!"  He is already a part of us....our family!!

This week could be a week of GOOD NEWS for us and many other families!!  A team from the USCIS (immigration) in Kenya arrived in Ethiopia to review the cases at the US Embassy that have not been cleared yet!  These cases are the ones that are wayyyy overdue to be cleared!!  Our "case" (Crew) is in that group.  There is a very good chance that we will hear this week that they have finally cleared him!!  Today was their first day working there.  I woke up and the first thing I did was check my email.  It's something I've done each day for the past few months....about 50 times a day!  "Just MAYBE today they will clear us!!  Miracles do happen!!" has been my mindset for the past few months!!  FINALLY, this week could really be the miracle week!  They are there...right now!  They are going over the cases...right now!!   This has to be the week of hearing "COME GET HIM!"   Please, Lord!! PLEASE!!!

Yesterday was Orphan Sunday!  I wore one of my adoption t-shirts (I love them and wear them all the time!!).  I prayed for all the orphans that need a home...and food....and a family!  I prayed for eyes to be opened!  For hearts to melt when they see the faces of these precious little children who have nothing!!  For people to be blessed by being a part of adoption and to see it for what it really is!!!  If you haven't ever or in a while watched the video that inspired our family to adopt, watch it.  It's on my blog!  It's called "Depraved Indifference" by Eric Ludy!  It is life changing!

For those thinking and praying about adoption.....don't let anything stop you!!  If you wonder if you are called to adopt....you are!!  It's biblical!!  Really!!  If it's money?  You have enough to feed and clothe another child.  You do!  Yes, you do!!  If paying for the adoption fees is stopping you....I'll help you with a fundraiser!!  We did that!  Adoption is expensive, especially when you have kids in college and driving!  But it's possible!!  Trust me...that's where we are!!  Does the process scare you?  The paperwork?  Well, there is a lot of paperwork, but it's one piece of paper at a time!  Is it hard?  Yes, it can be!  But so is pregnancy and labor!  That's part of it!!  It just makes it sweeter when it's all done and you have that new child to bless and be blessed!!!

Please join me today and each day and PRAY that this is the week these cases (children) are cleared and can finally be HOME with their new FOREVER FAMILY!!  Please also pray for the many orphans around the world that need someone to say, "I pick YOU!"  Change a life forever!!!  What is stopping you?

xoxo!

Debbi