Hero

One of my favorite songs right now is called Hero by Abandon (you should check it out).  It's such a great reminder that we aren't alone, we do have a Hero who died to save us.  I've found myself listening to this song a lot lately, I need a hero right now, this waiting has been tough.  I was doing so good for a while, but the silence over the last couple weeks has really gotten to me.  Adoption is a hard & rough journey, don't ever let anyone tell you differently.  Birthing a child is much easier.  Yes it can be physically draining on you and your hormones are out of control.  But the roller coaster that goes along with international adoption is the hardest thing I have ever done.  In this time we have really had to learn patience and trust God's timing.  For over a year now we have been preparing for 2 more babies and for our trip to Rwanda.  And to be honest, I'm tired of preparing, I'm tired of waiting...  But obviously God still wants us to wait and trust.  I recently read something that talked about how important waiting is because during that time we can grow so much or choose to become bitter.  Take Abraham for example, he waited multiple decades for his promised child and during that time it seems that his faith grew.  It's definitely not in my nature to wait, never has been, I've always been a rather impatient person.  I've also found that this waiting seems even harder the closer they get to our dossier number.  Sorry for the randomness and unorganization of this blog, I'm really struggling to gather my thoughts.  So...I guess I'll go back to waiting...thankfully we aren't doing this alone, we have a hero by our side: "there he goes, a hero, the savior over the world...."

Randomness

I don't really have much new to say, I feel like I've been in another world lately.  God has definitely answered prayers and things have continued to move in Rwanda.  I find myself checking my email obsessively now just to see who else received their approvals.  Please pray that each of these families get their referrals soon.

Here's a random picture I thought you might enjoy.  Our daughter has a way of making everything girly (he was wearing high heals as well, but they kept falling off)!

2010 Book Review

In addition to reading many adoption related books last year, I also read some great books that I would highly recommend to all of you out there.  Please keep in mind too that I'm not a huge reader, so a book has be pretty good for me to actually finish the whole thing.  Here are my favorites from 2010 in no particular order:

The Hole in Our Gospel

Tom Davis (I recommend reading all his books, my favorites are Fields of the Fatherless & Scared)

Crazy Love

Radical

Sacred Waiting (I'm currently reading this one and it's very convicting)

Happy New Year

I can't believe 2010 has come and gone.  I enjoyed looking back at all our pictures from this last year, as our kids have gotten older we have enjoyed many wonderful adventures together!  Looking back at this adoption journey, lets just say its been a rough road filled with unexpected blessings.  We truly believe that sometime this year we will bring our children home.  But what that time-line looks likes we have no idea.  There were more approvals last month, we are praying that this movement continues!

In the mean time I will continue reading more books that have been recommended to us.  Last fall I went through every adoption book ever recommended to us.  Each of the books I went through was recommended by other families who have adopted, our adoption agencies, and Adoptive Families Magazine (which I highly recommend subscribing to).  So for you adoptive families out there, here is the list of my favorites so far:
       1. The Connected Child (by Dr. Karyn Purvis)
       2. When Love is Not Enough (by Nancy L. Thomas)
       3. Adoption Parenting: Creating a Toolbox, Building Connections
There are many other really great books out there, I went through over 30 of them.  But they all started to get very repetitious of each other.

We wish you all a Happy New Year!!!  Praying that each of you finds ways to bless others in this new year!!!

New Hobby

For the last few months or so I have been telling my husband that I need to find some kind of new hobby.  My mind is constantly focused on Rwanda and I could use a distraction from it.  Life does go on even though my heart is in another place.  Also, I think it drives many people in my life crazy since all I want to talk about is Rwanda, orphan care, adoption, etc.  The good thing about constantly having Rwanda on my mind is that I have a very dedicated prayer life at the moment.  As I have searched for a cost effective hobby that wouldn't take time away from my family and homeschooling, I've haven't found much.  Everything cost money. =(  But on the brighter side, I did find something to do that would give me money. =)  I now take care of my sweet nephew, who I truly enjoy loving to pieces.  Isn't he cute:

World AIDS Day: Statistics We Should Not Ignore

33.4 million people live with AIDS/HIV today, this includes 2.5 million children

22.4 million Africans are infected

This virus kills 2 million people worldwide per year (1.4 million are Africans)

This virus newly infects 2.7 million people worldwide per year (1.9 million are Africans)

Over 9 million people in Africa are in need of treatment or medication, only 4 million are currently receiving treatment

Last year nearly ½ million babies were born with HIV

World AIDS Day

KNOW THE TRUTH AND BE PART OF THE SOLUTION!!!

Adoption Update

It has officially been 1 year since we started this adoption journey.  We filled out our 1st application, started filling out mountains of paperwork, and giving away every bit of personal information about us to complete strangers.  We hit multiple road blocks as we went through our paper chase including difficulty with FBI background checks and delays with USCIS.  When we first started, we thought our children would be home by this Christmas, but God obviously has other plans.  In reflecting upon this last year, I wouldn't change a thing.  God has taught us so much each step of the way and I'm sure He has many more things to teach us!  This journey isn't easy, but God also seems to teach us the most in difficult times.

As for the update, I wish I had some news I could share.  We are still awaiting our approval from Rwanda as well as many families ahead of us.  Please pray for the families that have been waiting for over 18 months now, this wait is hard and I can only imagine how they are feeling.  Also pray that the waiting families respect Rwanda's process they have in place.  Pray for the ministry in Rwanda and wisdom with how to process all the dossiers.  Most importantly, pray for a miracle, that God moves mountains, and that these children can come home soon!

Putting Thanksgiving Into Perspective

I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving!  We are still in the midst of celebrating today and I hope you each remember all the little things we should truly be thankful for, not just this time of year, but everyday.  Follow the link below and see what some of the street children in Kigali, Rwanda are thankful for:

http://africanewlife.org/blog/thanksgiving-in-rwanda-or-thankfulness-in-rwanda/

Ignorance is Bliss

Many times we choose to be blind to what is going on in the rest of the world.  This could be out of complete selfishness or because it is too overwhelming and hard to know where to even begin to help.  I actually had a conversation yesterday with someone who was literally blind.  This person had no idea what was going on in the rest of the world and wondered why we were adopting from Africa.  "Are there children in Africa who need homes?"  I was so floored by this question that I didn't even know what to say or where to start.  Do I tell this person about the millions of orphans in the world,  all the people that die from AIDS everyday, the millions of people in the world who do not have food or clean water, the thousands of children who are sold here into the U.S. as sex slaves, etc.  DON'T BE ONE OF THESE PEOPLE...KNOW THE FACTS...DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!!

Here are some statistics put together by UNICEF in 2008 (since it's now 2010 these numbers have increased):
It is estimated there are between 143 million and 210 million orphans worldwide (recent UNICEF report.)

The current population of the United States is just a little over 300 million… to give you an idea of the enormity of the numbers… (The current population of Russia is 141 million)

Every day 5,760 more children become orphans

2,102,400 more children become orphans every year in Africa alone

Every 15 seconds, another child in Africa becomes an AIDS orphan

There are an estimated 14 million AIDS orphans in Sub-Saharan Africa (a number higher than the total of every under-eighteen year old in Canada, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Ireland combined)

This figure is estimated to reach 18 million orphans in Africa alone by 2010

8 out of 10 children orphaned by AIDS lives in sub-saharan Africa

Approximately 250,000 children are adopted annually, but…

Each year 14, 505, 000 children grow up as orphans and age out of the system by age sixteen

Each day 38,493 orphans age out

Every 2.2 seconds another orphan ages out with no family to belong to and no place to call home

All I Want For Christmas

I'm sure all of you know the popular Christmas song "All I want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth."  As a child, this was my wish one year, I really didn't enjoy eating without those 2 teeth.  My wish for Christmas this year is our approval from Rwanda.  This may seem a little far fetched since a whole lot of nothing has been happening lately.  But I was reminded through my Bible study this week that with God anything is possible, even if it doesn't seem possible according to our human standards.  So my song for Christmas this year: "All I Want for Christmas is Our Approval From Rwanda."

Orphan Care

This weekend our church observed Orphan Sunday.  This was a week later than normal as most people around the world observed Orphan Sunday on the 7th.  Our church had the honor of hosting Tom Davis as guest speaker and he did an amazing job!  I highly recommend reading his books, he is by far my favorite author.  I guess my point for this blog is that you are aware that there's a huge need around the world.  As you start your Christmas shopping, think about all the children around the world who are hurting.  This doesn't mean you have to adopt.  There are many great ways to help, here are a couple of my favorites: 
      
You can buy coffee, each bag feeds an orphan for a month: http://www.saintscoffee.com/
       
You buy a shirt that makes people aware of the need and the proceeds help feed children in Uganda and Haiti:  http://147millionorphans.com/pick-me/

For more ideas see the links on the right of this blog under "Be A Voice" and watch this video below (pause the music to the right of this blog so you can hear the video).

Thankful

Thanksgiving is definitely a holiday that is quickly over-looked.  As Halloween ends, many people quickly move on to thinking about Christmas and forget about Thanksgiving.  This is extremely true for retail stores.  And I won't lie, I too was planning to look over Thanksgiving and had every intention of putting up our Christmas decorations this weekend.  But I came across this Thanksgiving craft in a magazine last night where you make a tree and put leaves on it, each saying what you are thankful for (see picture below).  We seem to overlook what we are thankful for in our everyday lives and seem to do this as Thanksgiving comes around as well.  So I thought this would be a good family project to help us really focus on what we can thank God for this Thanksgiving Season.

This tree contains what our daughter is thankful for, our son didn't quite get the concept and was more interested in playing with the ball of yarn. =)  I know my last post may have been a little depressing, so I'd also like to add here what I am thankful for and share how amazing this adoption journey has been:

- I am thankful for our beautiful babies who wait for us in Rwanda

- I am thankful that our dossier made it to Rwanda before they stopped accepting new ones in August

- I am thankful for our wonderful caseworker who did our homestudy

- I am thankful for our POA who loves the children in Rwanda dearly

- I am thankful for our agency who has a passion for orphan care

- I am thankful for the amazing support we have from family and friends as we continue this journey

- I am thankful for all the wonderful adoptive families we have built relationships with

- I am thankful for all that God has provided to make this journey possible

- I am thankful to be a part of a church who not only supports but strongly encourages orphan care

- I am thankful for the nuns who work so hard to care for our children at the orphanage

- I am thankful for all the volunteers who love on our babies at the orphanage

3 Months

Our dossier has now been in Rwanda for just over 3 months.  Nothing new has really happened, things have actually been very slow in Rwanda.  It's hard to even guess as to when we will get our approval, many families still wait ahead of us.  Please pray for the people in Rwanda as they have over 130 dossiers to go through.  Pray for guidance and efficiency.  Also pray for our POA who is working really hard to be an advocate for these children.

My husband and I plan to wait as long as we need in order to bring our children home.  This could be a short amount of time or years.  The journey is rough and emotional, but we know this is where God wants us.  The thought of waiting years brings tears to my eyes, but God teaches us so much when we wait on Him.  I still very vividly remember when our newborn son (who will soon be 3) spent the 1st five weeks of his life in the hospital.  As we saw many different doctors and  watched multiple tests be done trying to figure out what was wrong, all we could do was wait on God and trust Him.  I still have no idea why we had to wait so long to bring our sweet baby home, but that time we waited made us both really rely on God and trust Him.  Right now we are having to do the same thing with our next babies.  We have already learned SO much on this journey and I know God will continue to teach us as we wait.

Our every day lives go on, but these babies are forever in our hearts and prayers.  Never does a day go by that neither of us think of them and pray for them.  And many tears have already been shed by both of us for our sweet babies who we long to bring home.  Pray for strength as we continue this journey and that we will continue to rely on God every step of the way.

Hair Video

Just a little something cute I thought I'd share with you.  I totally appreciate how Sesame Street makes an effort at being racially diverse.  (To hear this video you need to pause the song box on the right column under our pictures.)

Movement

There has been some movement in Rwanda which is very exciting.  Some families have been approved in the last couple weeks.  We also received our dossier number which was a relief.  I have had multiple dreams about our dossier getting lost and never making it to the Ministry.  I'm just so excited to hear that there have been some approvals.  As for us, we still have quite a wait ahead of us and have no idea when it will be our turn, but God's timing is perfect.

Matthew West & Story Behind "One Less"

God is doing some great things through adoption and touching many lives. This video says it all! (Sorry that the song gets cut short, it's the only video I could find.)

Quote of the Day

A friend and mentor whom I really look up to shared this with me today, thought I'd pass it on to you:

"Orphans are easier to ignore before you know their names. They are easier to ignore before you see their faces. It is easier to pretend they're not real before you hold them in your arms. But once you do, everything changes."~ David Platt

My Heart

God has given me a heart for a country I have never been to, and not just because of our adoption.  Last spring God really laid Africa on our hearts and we know that someday we will be investing in some kind of ministry there.  What that looks like and what country, well I wish I knew, only God knows.  But in the mean time, He continues to remind me in random ways of these people that are in such great need, and I just ache to know that so many of God's children are suffering!  So many tears for these hurting people and a reminder that I am not worthy.

1 Month and Counting

Not much new here.  Our dossier has been in Rwanda for  a little over 1 month now, and that alone is reason to rejoice!  Rwanda announced last week that as of August 31st, they will no longer be accepting new dossiers.  For those of you wondering, this shouldn't change anything for us and others who's dossiers have been there.  To see the update, you can view the link below.

http://www.migeprof.gov.rw/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=183&Itemid=131

Since nothing really new is going on here, I thought I'd post our annual pictures we just took of our children.  Hopefully these pictures will soon be joined by their baby brother and sister whom we already love SO much!