Sean has returned from North Eastern Ethiopia and his mother now is back in Rwanda. Sean led a group from the US to a remote people last week, who live nomadic lives raising camels and goats. World Vision has done good work with these people who initially were very resistant to any work that World Vision, or any NGO might want to do but now they are open not only to the work being done, but to people visiting them. They are a fierce people who file their teeth into spikes.
I stayed here in Addis with the kids and Sean’s mother came from Rwanda
to help. We had a nice week and it was a great opportunity for the kids
to bond with their Grandmother.
They are both doing well, enjoying trying new solid foods now that they
are over the 6 month mark. They are sitting up pretty well and I have
to watch them so carefully now if I place them on the bed as they move
all around and I am never sure which direction they might go!
I went to church this morning for the second time at BEZA church, an
international church here in Addis. This church is only three years old
but is very large. The musicians and pastor are very talented people
and it is fun to go worship among people from all over the world, mainly
of course Ethiopians but this church has a heart for Africa in general
and reaches many people. I have gone both times with a lady from my
guesthouse who is from Rwanda. Worshiping with someone who has endured
the genocide is quite humbling. I think we have no idea what real loss
is in America. This lovely woman has lost her mother, father and all of
her siblings in the genocide that happened only 14 years ago. Talking
to her just a little bit about her story, which is unfortunately not
rare at all in Rwanda, makes what happened there so much more real to
me. I will not, I hope, forget her story as quickly as I did forget
about the genocide after I saw the movie Hotel Rwanda. It is so hard to
understand how such mass killing happens, how you stop seeing people as
human just because they belong to a different tribe or race than you
do…I really feel my heart expanding not only for Ethiopia, which is
doing very well in many respects, but for Africa in general. I find
myself praying often for this continent, that God might move among the
people in a way that we have not yet seen.
Ethiopia is surrounded on many sides by countries that are in civil war
or in conflict with Ethiopia-Sudan, Somalia, Eretria, there are problems
at nearly every border. I just don’t have the historical knowledge I
guess, or the context coming from America, to understand or know how to
pray sometimes. I want to return here. I love the people and the
culture, it is so beautiful. I hope our children will learn Amharic.
It is a bit of a sensory overload in many ways to be here on the streets
(I have gotten good at getting around even on my own-today I rode the
minibuses that are all over the city for the first time-it costs about 6
cents to ride them) and see all the beggers and cripples and orphans, to
smell the different smells and to observe the mass of people who
obviously come from such a wide range of socioeconomic places. I
definitely feel like an outsider who breezes by with no real clue of who
people are or why they do the things they do. On the other hand I
realize more and more that they are not that much different than me.
People every where have the same wants and desires, they love their
families and work hard to improve their lives.
So this is the week, we’ve been here almost seven weeks and we’ve waited
now six for this second court date. Please Lord Jesus, please let these
children who we have grown to love dearly be ours officially on
Thursday. If you pray, pray Wednesday night, the court date will be
going on here Thursday morning which is Wed night there. I hope to post
pictures then, you’ll be sure to fall in love with them as I have Thank
you for upholding us in your prayers. I know that our God is able to do
vastly more than we might ask or imagine. God Bless you!
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Week 5
We are going into our 6th week now with the boys. They continue to grow and display new skills every day. It is SO fun They are smiling more and more and now sitting up when they have their hands out to hold them! We just compared the pictures from the first week to the ones in the past few days, what a difference! They will be 6 months on Thursday. The big thing I have done with the boys in the last week is to train them to make themselves fall asleep and it has made SUCH a difference. Before they would need me to hold them until they fell asleep and it was really hard with two babies! The also would want me to hold them every time they woke up at night or during naps to go back to sleep. Well, they are doing great now at making themselves fall asleep. It required that I allowed both of them to cry for about two hours strait, probably the hardest thing I have every done (especially with people all around hearing them!) but now I lay them down awake at bed or naptime, tell them that it is sleep time, and a few minutes later they are asleep! I do miss holding them during those sweet moments but I think this is an important life skill to develop, putting yourself to sleep. I am reading "babywise" thanks to my sister in law, which I just got last week so that has been very affirming in how I am doing things Anyway since putting themselves to sleep they wake up much more rested and happy and I am able to rest too (for 2 two hour naps a day!). They also now each have their own pack and play to sleep in as Sean’s parents brought us an extra one and I think this helps them sleep better too as they are not so aware of the other one.
We had a nice visit with Sean’s parents last week. They were here last Wednesday and Thursday on their way to Rawanda. It had been quite awhile since we had seen them (since before our referral) so we had a nice opportunity to catch up. I also got some shopping done which was fun too.
Sean’s mom will be back on Monday for another week!:) Last Sunday Sean stayed with the kids and I went to another church service with a lady at our guesthouse from Rwanda. I liked the service much better than the one from the week before. It was quite long, 3 hours, but SO fun and alive! I could really sense the Lord’s presence and the music was So great. It was very Ethiopian which I just loved even though it was an "international church". The whole service was both in Amharic and English (one was always being translated) and it was fun to hear singing and
talking that long in Amharic. It is such a beautiful language. Anyway
God is so good, I have more to say but I must go now. I will try to write more soon but do not know if I can as Sean will be on a WV trip for a few days next week with his computer I hope you are all well.
We had a nice visit with Sean’s parents last week. They were here last Wednesday and Thursday on their way to Rawanda. It had been quite awhile since we had seen them (since before our referral) so we had a nice opportunity to catch up. I also got some shopping done which was fun too.
Sean’s mom will be back on Monday for another week!:) Last Sunday Sean stayed with the kids and I went to another church service with a lady at our guesthouse from Rwanda. I liked the service much better than the one from the week before. It was quite long, 3 hours, but SO fun and alive! I could really sense the Lord’s presence and the music was So great. It was very Ethiopian which I just loved even though it was an "international church". The whole service was both in Amharic and English (one was always being translated) and it was fun to hear singing and
talking that long in Amharic. It is such a beautiful language. Anyway
God is so good, I have more to say but I must go now. I will try to write more soon but do not know if I can as Sean will be on a WV trip for a few days next week with his computer I hope you are all well.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Week 4
We are now only 3 and a half weeks away from our second court date. The time is really flying and the boys are changing every day. This past week E and C switched a bit in that C wanted me to hold him all the time, was crying a lot, and had big fits E was content to be on his own while I tried to figure out what was wrong with C. I actually think we were spoiling him a bit because he was SO easy the first few weeks. I’ve learned it is okay to let them cry sometimes. This week they weighed in at
18 lbs and 17.8, C again caught up from last week and is back ahead of his brother (75% in American standards!). E also rolled over this past week and the day he did it he wouldn’t stop! C now is having a hard time remembering how to roll over? So funny how that works, maybe the extra weight is holding him back But C is moving around more. If I place him on the floor on a pillow and blanket he scoots himself 90 degrees the other direction. It is so fun to see them moving around so well. They are so excited, laughing and smiling all the time, it brings me SUCH joy. They now are not as thrilled with solids as they were last week. They much prefer their bottle and protest when I try to feed them some rice cereal. The good news is that their schedule is MUCH better. The have only woken up ONCE between 7pm and about 6am for the past 3 nights (at about 2am for a feeding). This is SUCH an improvement. They are also sleeping longer for their naps and they are so much more delightful and I am more rested as well after getting these breaks during the day.
We had a lovely weekend as well. On Saturday I went shopping with several of the other people picking up their kids at the HOH and Sean stayed with the boys. I purchased several small things and really enjoyed talking to the other families and learning about their stories. Their children are all adorable and doing well. We had a wonderful traditional Ethiopian meal back at the HOH which was delicious as usual. Unfortunately I forgot to wash my hands (after shopping all morning, touching money, merchandise, who knows what else) and since you eat Ethiopian food without utensils or napkins I licked my hands and got VERY sick afterwards. I lost all the food in less than half an hour and felt so miserable. I went home and took a cipro (sp?) and was better by the next morning thanks to my husband tending to me and people here at the guesthouse giving me chamomile tea etc…On Sunday I went to the International church here for the first time with a Psychologist missionary that was staying here at our guesthouse for the weekend. She is from the states but has lived in Uganda for the past 23 years! It was so fun to talk to her and nice to be around another Christian, counselor and American After church I cooked at the guesthouse, as I usually do, but with a woman from India. We made a wonderful dish of lentils, veggies and rice. We used so many fun interesting spices and it settled very well in my stomach. The people here at the guesthouse are from all over the world-Afghanistan, Ghana, Germany, Rwanda, etc. There are about 15 of us here and I don’t think ANY of us are from the same country (the missionary lady has left already). I was quite shy the first few weeks but have been spending more time talking to people the longer I am here. The Obama inauguration was HUGE with everyone, they were all PACKED in the living room, it really surprised me the interest in American politics, but it is quite common.
Anyway we are looking forward to Sean’s parents coming in tomorrow night.
We are SO excited for them to meet the boys and the boys are excited to meet them too, I’ve been telling them all about them today.
Well I must sign off and get some rest. I hope you are all doing well, again thank you so much for your prayers. I actually have been getting a quite time with God most days and this makes a huge difference too. He is teaching me about how we, and all our worries, are all temporary, only Christ is eternal. This is why we so desperately need Him! (2 Corinthians 4, Hebrews 12) Bless you!
18 lbs and 17.8, C again caught up from last week and is back ahead of his brother (75% in American standards!). E also rolled over this past week and the day he did it he wouldn’t stop! C now is having a hard time remembering how to roll over? So funny how that works, maybe the extra weight is holding him back But C is moving around more. If I place him on the floor on a pillow and blanket he scoots himself 90 degrees the other direction. It is so fun to see them moving around so well. They are so excited, laughing and smiling all the time, it brings me SUCH joy. They now are not as thrilled with solids as they were last week. They much prefer their bottle and protest when I try to feed them some rice cereal. The good news is that their schedule is MUCH better. The have only woken up ONCE between 7pm and about 6am for the past 3 nights (at about 2am for a feeding). This is SUCH an improvement. They are also sleeping longer for their naps and they are so much more delightful and I am more rested as well after getting these breaks during the day.
We had a lovely weekend as well. On Saturday I went shopping with several of the other people picking up their kids at the HOH and Sean stayed with the boys. I purchased several small things and really enjoyed talking to the other families and learning about their stories. Their children are all adorable and doing well. We had a wonderful traditional Ethiopian meal back at the HOH which was delicious as usual. Unfortunately I forgot to wash my hands (after shopping all morning, touching money, merchandise, who knows what else) and since you eat Ethiopian food without utensils or napkins I licked my hands and got VERY sick afterwards. I lost all the food in less than half an hour and felt so miserable. I went home and took a cipro (sp?) and was better by the next morning thanks to my husband tending to me and people here at the guesthouse giving me chamomile tea etc…On Sunday I went to the International church here for the first time with a Psychologist missionary that was staying here at our guesthouse for the weekend. She is from the states but has lived in Uganda for the past 23 years! It was so fun to talk to her and nice to be around another Christian, counselor and American After church I cooked at the guesthouse, as I usually do, but with a woman from India. We made a wonderful dish of lentils, veggies and rice. We used so many fun interesting spices and it settled very well in my stomach. The people here at the guesthouse are from all over the world-Afghanistan, Ghana, Germany, Rwanda, etc. There are about 15 of us here and I don’t think ANY of us are from the same country (the missionary lady has left already). I was quite shy the first few weeks but have been spending more time talking to people the longer I am here. The Obama inauguration was HUGE with everyone, they were all PACKED in the living room, it really surprised me the interest in American politics, but it is quite common.
Anyway we are looking forward to Sean’s parents coming in tomorrow night.
We are SO excited for them to meet the boys and the boys are excited to meet them too, I’ve been telling them all about them today.
Well I must sign off and get some rest. I hope you are all doing well, again thank you so much for your prayers. I actually have been getting a quite time with God most days and this makes a huge difference too. He is teaching me about how we, and all our worries, are all temporary, only Christ is eternal. This is why we so desperately need Him! (2 Corinthians 4, Hebrews 12) Bless you!
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Week 3
All three of the boys are sleeping right now so I thought I would try to write a quick update Sean has taken the past two days off so it has been SO nice to have two of us with the boys vs. only me. He is hoping to work between 3-4 days/week here and is really enjoying getting to know the people here at World Vision. Last week he also helped out his former employer, Water Missions, and helped a team here with some well work which he also enjoyed. On Friday they treated us to a WONDERFUL seafood dinner at the Hilton. We both filled up on very good food that night!
We have been here three weeks now. I can’t believe it. The boys are doing well, still crying when they are tired and refuse to sleep but generally they are healthy and I have much to be thankful for. C rolled over this past week and both are sitting up well with a little help (they fall over after about 10 seconds if you don’t support them in some way). They could not even hold their heads up when we met them so this is great progress I think! Today we fed them a little rice cereal at lunch and they gobbled it down with no problems at all (eating is one of their specialties!) We aren’t trying other solids until the official 6 month date (2 weeks away) but I think we just can’t keep them full on formula alone. I am hoping it will help them sleep better too. E has now caught up with C in weight, both 17.2 lbs. I think C’s cold may have slowed him down a bit I got out a bit today as well on my own. I have been a bit hesitant to do this, I feel so much safer when Sean is with me but this is hard to do on this trip! I decided to take a walk down a road I hadn’t been down (Sean stayed with the boys). I found a mall with many nice shops, some coffee houses with wireless internet connections (nice to know!) and a theatre. I don’t think we will have much time to go but it was nice to be a place I felt safe to roam about and to start thinking about what I might want to bring back with me, it was also nice to get a little exercise. Next Saturday I am hoping to go shopping with Almaz (Tsyguy’s wife) and a bunch of Americans who will be here picking up their kids at the HOH so I am looking forward to that too. I also found some cute baby stores on my outing which was fun as well. The only thing I bought today though was water. We really go through the bottled water here between the 4 of us! A
2 liter bottle is about 60 cents and we go through about 4 liters a day so I bought 6, 2 liter bottles. It seems we go shopping here about every day for something as we can only carry so much walking. There are many small shops around our guesthouse-small grocery stores and fruit/veggie stands and since we cook most of our meals at the guesthouse it seems we are always in need of something.
After shopping this morning, I came back to Sean looking exhausted as both boys had only slept for 40 minutes for their morning nap and they were very grumpy. (He has come home to me in this state a few times now too). He had to call on one of the ladies to help him while I was gone as they both were screaming…poor guy. This parenting thing IS exhausting, I love it but both Sean and I feel fairly delirious as we are going on so little sleep every day. We did not bring pacifiers but I found some the other day and they work wonders to get the kids back to sleep during a nap so we are using them for this purpose. I think it comforts them and they are SO much happier in the afternoons if they can sleep for a few hours vs. a few minutes. I can’t wait until we can take the boys out with us in America, I am sure this will be a whole new experience. So far we basically stay in one room with them all day. But, I wouldn’t change one minute of this time for the world. I LOVE being with our babies, they are so sweet and smiley and wonderful.
Sean’s parents arrive next week and we are very excited to see them, both for the support and because they will get to meet the boys!
Thank you all so much for your emails and prayers and support. It has been hard to find time to sit down and journal or pray or anything but I do feel God’s loving arms supporting us every day and I am sure this is due to all of the prayers you are sending out for us.
Bless you!
We have been here three weeks now. I can’t believe it. The boys are doing well, still crying when they are tired and refuse to sleep but generally they are healthy and I have much to be thankful for. C rolled over this past week and both are sitting up well with a little help (they fall over after about 10 seconds if you don’t support them in some way). They could not even hold their heads up when we met them so this is great progress I think! Today we fed them a little rice cereal at lunch and they gobbled it down with no problems at all (eating is one of their specialties!) We aren’t trying other solids until the official 6 month date (2 weeks away) but I think we just can’t keep them full on formula alone. I am hoping it will help them sleep better too. E has now caught up with C in weight, both 17.2 lbs. I think C’s cold may have slowed him down a bit I got out a bit today as well on my own. I have been a bit hesitant to do this, I feel so much safer when Sean is with me but this is hard to do on this trip! I decided to take a walk down a road I hadn’t been down (Sean stayed with the boys). I found a mall with many nice shops, some coffee houses with wireless internet connections (nice to know!) and a theatre. I don’t think we will have much time to go but it was nice to be a place I felt safe to roam about and to start thinking about what I might want to bring back with me, it was also nice to get a little exercise. Next Saturday I am hoping to go shopping with Almaz (Tsyguy’s wife) and a bunch of Americans who will be here picking up their kids at the HOH so I am looking forward to that too. I also found some cute baby stores on my outing which was fun as well. The only thing I bought today though was water. We really go through the bottled water here between the 4 of us! A
2 liter bottle is about 60 cents and we go through about 4 liters a day so I bought 6, 2 liter bottles. It seems we go shopping here about every day for something as we can only carry so much walking. There are many small shops around our guesthouse-small grocery stores and fruit/veggie stands and since we cook most of our meals at the guesthouse it seems we are always in need of something.
After shopping this morning, I came back to Sean looking exhausted as both boys had only slept for 40 minutes for their morning nap and they were very grumpy. (He has come home to me in this state a few times now too). He had to call on one of the ladies to help him while I was gone as they both were screaming…poor guy. This parenting thing IS exhausting, I love it but both Sean and I feel fairly delirious as we are going on so little sleep every day. We did not bring pacifiers but I found some the other day and they work wonders to get the kids back to sleep during a nap so we are using them for this purpose. I think it comforts them and they are SO much happier in the afternoons if they can sleep for a few hours vs. a few minutes. I can’t wait until we can take the boys out with us in America, I am sure this will be a whole new experience. So far we basically stay in one room with them all day. But, I wouldn’t change one minute of this time for the world. I LOVE being with our babies, they are so sweet and smiley and wonderful.
Sean’s parents arrive next week and we are very excited to see them, both for the support and because they will get to meet the boys!
Thank you all so much for your emails and prayers and support. It has been hard to find time to sit down and journal or pray or anything but I do feel God’s loving arms supporting us every day and I am sure this is due to all of the prayers you are sending out for us.
Bless you!
Monday, January 19, 2009
Week 2
I once thought, once we have kids, What will I worry about?
Fears of motherhood
"Is his poo the right color?"
"Does he have a temperature?"
"Does he have some strange, rare disease?"
"Is he connecting with me?"
"Am I connecting to him?"
"Will I ever get to do anything again other than change diapers and try to calm crying babies?"
"Is he progressing at the right rate?"
"Is he getting sick?"
"What will I do if he gets sick?"
"They are so fragile, what if I do something to hurt them?"
"Is that clean?"
"Someone might try to steal them!"
"Am I getting enough time to stay healthy myself, how do I exercise or have time to process all these thoughts I have?"
"Am I interacting with them enough? Am I interacting with them too much? Am I dividing my time equally between them?"
Crazy! Thankfully I have a great husband who is able to help me laugh at some of my ridiculous fears. Yesterday was a hard day, neither slept well and they were very grumpy the whole day. Also they are"talking", Cuing and googleing more each day, so when they are awake it seems like they are either crying or ga-ga-ing, which I think is good but very different than the babies we met a week ago who just sat there and observed and pretty much never cried. Today they are much happier and sleeping/napping very well. This makes such a difference. It allows me to put them down by themselves (which I just have to do with two babies) without bursting into tears
I am having my sister post these for me as I do not have access to my blog so I will not be able to read any responses you might have for me.
Feel free to email me at Rachel.kerrigan@gmail.com
Fears of motherhood
"Is his poo the right color?"
"Does he have a temperature?"
"Does he have some strange, rare disease?"
"Is he connecting with me?"
"Am I connecting to him?"
"Will I ever get to do anything again other than change diapers and try to calm crying babies?"
"Is he progressing at the right rate?"
"Is he getting sick?"
"What will I do if he gets sick?"
"They are so fragile, what if I do something to hurt them?"
"Is that clean?"
"Someone might try to steal them!"
"Am I getting enough time to stay healthy myself, how do I exercise or have time to process all these thoughts I have?"
"Am I interacting with them enough? Am I interacting with them too much? Am I dividing my time equally between them?"
Crazy! Thankfully I have a great husband who is able to help me laugh at some of my ridiculous fears. Yesterday was a hard day, neither slept well and they were very grumpy the whole day. Also they are"talking", Cuing and googleing more each day, so when they are awake it seems like they are either crying or ga-ga-ing, which I think is good but very different than the babies we met a week ago who just sat there and observed and pretty much never cried. Today they are much happier and sleeping/napping very well. This makes such a difference. It allows me to put them down by themselves (which I just have to do with two babies) without bursting into tears
I am having my sister post these for me as I do not have access to my blog so I will not be able to read any responses you might have for me.
Feel free to email me at Rachel.kerrigan@gmail.com
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
We have arrived!
January 13, 2009
Hello from Addis Ababa. We have now been here one week. On Monday we had the court date that we had hoped would finalize the adoption, unfortunately it was not successful and was rescheduled for February 26th, we would then travel home about 3 weeks later. We are now in the process of deciding whether or not to stay here and wait it out for many weeks or to go home and absorb the cost of another flight out here in March. We are hoping to stay here and Sean is talking to World Vision about the possibility of working for the office here in Ethiopia. Apparently there is much he could do from here. I then would spend the days with the children as I have been since we have gotten here.
It is WONDERFUL to be spending this time with them. They change so much every day and I think they are really benefiting from the one on one interaction. They are adorable, very healthy-16.5 and 17 lbs at 5 months. Caleb was born first and has maintained a ½ lb lead on his brother. They smile and coo and giggle. It is a delight to be getting to know them. So far we have been there from about 9:30 in the morning (before this they get a sun bath and water bath from their nannies) and then we stay until it is getting dark around 6. Sean is going into the office today so we should have some answers as to whether or not he can work from there, and I am going alone to the HOH for the first day. I am a bit nervous to care for two at once, so far we have been able to each have one of them. People at the transition home (HOH) are wonderful and have invited us to stay as long as we need to. We will get to meet many families if we are here for 10 weeks, come and leave with their children. So far we have met two families and it is a delight to see them during such a special time. So there are many wonderful things about being here.
It is hard to be away from family and friends, especially as I have many baby questions to ask, and to get use to figuring out everything here. Sometimes I get quite frustrated but if I can sit back and really reflect on all the blessings I have in my life, which are more apparent than ever, I am thankful. We are trying to save money where we can so we have begun cooking for ourselves. This is a challenge in itself as the food here is quite different. Also we have not figured out daily transportation so we have been taking cabs back and forth from our guesthouse to the HOH (we get one free week of transportation as every family does through our agency but the rest is on our own). Now if Sean starts working here, we would like to hire a driver to take me to and from so I am not trying to negotiate by myself with strangers. Also the guest house is about 15 minutes away from the HOH so we may also look at alternative housing closer to the HOH. The other challenge I need to figure out is washing clothes, we can pay for this, but if I can hand wash the clothes myself (which there are many with two babies) I can save money. I just need to find a place to dry the clothes as our room is quite small and we currently are sharing a bathroom with other guests. I know we are "roughing it" in American standards but I really don't mind, I just like to have all of this worked out and to be on a schedule, then I can relax into it a bit. Anyway, I am off for another day with the babies! Sean is off to World Vision and will send this from there. I have not been able to reach my blog on internet connections around here but World Vision has broad band so that will be very nice. They also are giving him a cell phone today for local calls which will also be quite helpful. God is taking care of us and I am very thankful for his provision. I hope you all are well back in the states! I hear there has been flooding in Washington near our home, I pray everyone is safe.
We were able to take a trip to see some of the countryside this weekend. This was SO great and I would highly recommend it to anyone who might be traveling here. I will try to have Sean post some of the pictures here, this country is SO beautiful.
Hello from Addis Ababa. We have now been here one week. On Monday we had the court date that we had hoped would finalize the adoption, unfortunately it was not successful and was rescheduled for February 26th, we would then travel home about 3 weeks later. We are now in the process of deciding whether or not to stay here and wait it out for many weeks or to go home and absorb the cost of another flight out here in March. We are hoping to stay here and Sean is talking to World Vision about the possibility of working for the office here in Ethiopia. Apparently there is much he could do from here. I then would spend the days with the children as I have been since we have gotten here.
It is WONDERFUL to be spending this time with them. They change so much every day and I think they are really benefiting from the one on one interaction. They are adorable, very healthy-16.5 and 17 lbs at 5 months. Caleb was born first and has maintained a ½ lb lead on his brother. They smile and coo and giggle. It is a delight to be getting to know them. So far we have been there from about 9:30 in the morning (before this they get a sun bath and water bath from their nannies) and then we stay until it is getting dark around 6. Sean is going into the office today so we should have some answers as to whether or not he can work from there, and I am going alone to the HOH for the first day. I am a bit nervous to care for two at once, so far we have been able to each have one of them. People at the transition home (HOH) are wonderful and have invited us to stay as long as we need to. We will get to meet many families if we are here for 10 weeks, come and leave with their children. So far we have met two families and it is a delight to see them during such a special time. So there are many wonderful things about being here.
It is hard to be away from family and friends, especially as I have many baby questions to ask, and to get use to figuring out everything here. Sometimes I get quite frustrated but if I can sit back and really reflect on all the blessings I have in my life, which are more apparent than ever, I am thankful. We are trying to save money where we can so we have begun cooking for ourselves. This is a challenge in itself as the food here is quite different. Also we have not figured out daily transportation so we have been taking cabs back and forth from our guesthouse to the HOH (we get one free week of transportation as every family does through our agency but the rest is on our own). Now if Sean starts working here, we would like to hire a driver to take me to and from so I am not trying to negotiate by myself with strangers. Also the guest house is about 15 minutes away from the HOH so we may also look at alternative housing closer to the HOH. The other challenge I need to figure out is washing clothes, we can pay for this, but if I can hand wash the clothes myself (which there are many with two babies) I can save money. I just need to find a place to dry the clothes as our room is quite small and we currently are sharing a bathroom with other guests. I know we are "roughing it" in American standards but I really don't mind, I just like to have all of this worked out and to be on a schedule, then I can relax into it a bit. Anyway, I am off for another day with the babies! Sean is off to World Vision and will send this from there. I have not been able to reach my blog on internet connections around here but World Vision has broad band so that will be very nice. They also are giving him a cell phone today for local calls which will also be quite helpful. God is taking care of us and I am very thankful for his provision. I hope you all are well back in the states! I hear there has been flooding in Washington near our home, I pray everyone is safe.
We were able to take a trip to see some of the countryside this weekend. This was SO great and I would highly recommend it to anyone who might be traveling here. I will try to have Sean post some of the pictures here, this country is SO beautiful.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Leaving tomorrow morning
We're all packed, my practice is shut down, I've prepared some for when we get home all in about a week. It is really and interesting wonderful scary feeling to be doing all of this...God is making/growing our family.
I was feeling a sense of fear earlier this week about taking such a huge risk, going to Ethiopia and meeting the kids before they are officially "ours", knowing we have to get through a court date that is often rescheduled and an embassy date that could also be delayed due to some paperwork expiring soon. I do still feel some of this nervousness but this is normal, a normal feeling to something that is huge both because it is somewhat risky but also because if it does all happen like we hope we will be a family of 4 instead of 2. Anyway I was reading about Jacob in Genesis this week and how he didn't want to send his sons back to Egypt, he especially didn't want to send his youngest Benjamin because he had already lost 2 sons and the thought of loosing another terrified him. Anyway he eventually allowed them to go, all of his sons, to Egypt saying "as for me, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved". He accepted that the risk was great but it was worth it to save his family from the famine in Canon. What he didn't know is that when they returned they brought home not only food and Simeon who was left as assurance, but news that his other son who he thought had died years ago, Joseph, was alive and was running Egypt. What if he hadn't allowed his sons to go?
Somehow this story encouraged me. He was scared but he accepted that the risk was worth it. I think it is for us too-it is worth it to meet them as soon as we can, it is worth it to be in the country for at least a month and absorb the culture, it is worth it to potentially have all that time, just the four of us before we get home and Sean goes back to work.
Anyway here we go! Off to Ethiopia, what an adventure, what a gift to be able to spend time in such a different place, the birthplace of our children.
I was feeling a sense of fear earlier this week about taking such a huge risk, going to Ethiopia and meeting the kids before they are officially "ours", knowing we have to get through a court date that is often rescheduled and an embassy date that could also be delayed due to some paperwork expiring soon. I do still feel some of this nervousness but this is normal, a normal feeling to something that is huge both because it is somewhat risky but also because if it does all happen like we hope we will be a family of 4 instead of 2. Anyway I was reading about Jacob in Genesis this week and how he didn't want to send his sons back to Egypt, he especially didn't want to send his youngest Benjamin because he had already lost 2 sons and the thought of loosing another terrified him. Anyway he eventually allowed them to go, all of his sons, to Egypt saying "as for me, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved". He accepted that the risk was great but it was worth it to save his family from the famine in Canon. What he didn't know is that when they returned they brought home not only food and Simeon who was left as assurance, but news that his other son who he thought had died years ago, Joseph, was alive and was running Egypt. What if he hadn't allowed his sons to go?
Somehow this story encouraged me. He was scared but he accepted that the risk was worth it. I think it is for us too-it is worth it to meet them as soon as we can, it is worth it to be in the country for at least a month and absorb the culture, it is worth it to potentially have all that time, just the four of us before we get home and Sean goes back to work.
Anyway here we go! Off to Ethiopia, what an adventure, what a gift to be able to spend time in such a different place, the birthplace of our children.
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