Surrender

Hey friends!!! Words cannot express how thankful we are for you
praying and loving on us while we are in Ethiopia. We must say things
are not moving as quickly as we had hoped. What we are learning is to
trust God even when things are not as we would choose them. You would
think we would have learned this by now but nonetheless we are
re-learning it.. I think this is always the case for me :)

Waiting can be so hard. Monday was a hard day for both of us. We
realized we both had a little bitterness in our hearts. We truly
believed that our case would be final by now and we could take
placement with her here in Addis. We believed that God would move
mountains and this would happen. It is Wednesday here and we have not taken placement yet. BUT that does not mean that God did not move
mountains or that He isn't doing so right now.

We have spent the day in prayer and it is been a wonderful day.
Contentment and Gratitude are the two words that I have been
meditating on today. Yes, I pray that our case is final soon, that
she can stay at the guesthouse with us, and that we will get a quick
embassy date. Yes, I pray that by this weekend God will give us
direction on what to do about staying.

But today, my prayer is that I would be content. Thanking God for all
His gifts.

I am reading Calm My Anxious Heart and this prayer was in the chapter I read today.

Lord Jesus, I offer you:
All That I Am
All That I Have
All That I Do
All That I Suffer
Now and Forever

I added to that list: All That I Do Not Yet Have

Because this is His story. It has been all along. I offer this
story, her life, our lives, to Him once again.

We will make some decisions this weekend about staying or returning
home. Either way it is good and part of His plan. Thank you for
loving us. As you pray for us...pray for the other families waiting
for referrals, court, embassy appointments, etc.

We love you guys!

-Anna