waiting

Waiting is unbelievably hard. I thought waiting for a referral was hard. Then I thought waiting for a court date was hard. And they are. But I must say meeting our sweet baby girl in January and then having to leave her was the hardest. At the time though, I thought we would be back within weeks to get her. So, while leaving was difficult, I thought it would not be for long. We left Ethiopia on February 12, needing a committee's approval for our adoption to be finalized. It is May 30 and we still do not have the paperwork. Not one things has changed in our case. Our daughter, however, is now 11 months old instead of 7 months. She has changed SO much and looks so different. We have gone through every range of emotions the past 4 months. Anger, Sadness, contentment, thankfulness, anxiety, peace, joy, longing.......

I came across this verse today. I am not a Bible scholar so I do not know the context but it totally resonated with me.

Psalm 119:81-84

"I am worn out waiting for your rescue, but I have put my hope in your word. My eyes are straining to see your promises come true. When will you comfort me, I am shriveled like a wineskin in the smoke, but I have not forgotten to obey your decrees. How long must I wait?"

For the past two weeks many cases have been processed, some of which happened before our courtdate and some of which happened after our courtdate. I truly am SOOOOOO excited for the people who have passed. Each time someone passes court, ONE MORE child gets to come home. I rejoice in that.

But I must admit I sometimes have felt forgotten. Some days have felt hopeless. We love our social worker and agency and cannot say enough wonderful things about them, BUT we have had so many days where there are no answers.

I was so thankful to see words in HIS word that I am feeling.

After reading this verse, I again claim that "I PUT MY HOPE IN YOUR WORD." God always finishes what He starts and brings His will to completion. We truly believe that. While we would have it differently, we are still called to wait. And if that is God's best for us and for our baby girl, then we trust Him in that.

Thanks for the prayers and kindness. We are so thankful. Please also continue to pray for the other families waiting.

Hope everyone had a great weekend! Anna

January 31, 2011

Our second day in Addis, we met our BABY GIRL!!!!! Here is our last picture before getting in the car to make the 20 minute drive to meet her!



We were so nervous. Several years of dreaming about this sweet girl and we were finally going to see her face in person. As we entered the foster home, there were 15-20 babies laying on a mat in the sun. We walked past...overwhelmed with the fact that we were THERE! Russ whispered that he thought we had just passed her. We looked around and there she was!!! I will never forget the look she had on her face! We both went and just stared at her. She was a little frightened at first....well, most of the time we spent with her. I then picked her up and held her for the first time. She didn't cry at first...but I did. I could not believe that I was actually holding her. She then started to cry so I returned her to the caregiver. After they took her to her room, we went to see her again. She was asleep in her crib so Russ and I just stared, in awe that this was happening. They then fed her and we watched her play. She was so small yet so strong! She crawled and was into EVERYTHING! We noticed that the rug had been torn....and then noticed that she was the one doing it! We stayed about an hour and then it was time to leave. So hard leaving her after finally being in the same room with her after 5 months of only seeing her on a computer screen.

Afterwards, we had lunch and then went to tour the Silk Factory. We loved seeing how the women and men take actual cocoons to get the silk. They unwind the silk and create thread to then make fabric, scarves, purses, hats, etc. Such a neat process!












After touring and buying Lucy the cutest hat from their store, we went to Bilo's for dessert. GREAT ice cream!

Our last stop for the day was visiting the Alert Leprosy Hospital. Men and women receive long-term treatment for HIV and Leprosy here. As you walk around the hospital grounds, you see men and women creating the most beautiful items. You could then purchase these items in the gift shop. We bought Lucy a beautiful crocheted table cloth. Beautiful to see these people with limited physical abilities (no fingers, no hands, etc.) doing such unique and detailed work.





We ended the day with take-out from Cloud 9. We were exhausted...such an emotional but wonderful day!