August 7th, that is our court date!
In Ethiopia on August 7th, all of our paperwork is taken to the Ethiopian Court to the area that handles adoptions. A judge will look over all of our paperwork along will all of our little guy's paperwork and will make a ruling on whether or not he legally becomes our child. Passing court is a huge deal, it makes the child officially yours in Ethiopia and once we pass court we are able to travel to pick him up and bring him home.
Our adoption agency told us that 40% of the families do not pass court on the first time. Paperwork could be missing, someone may not show up, or the judge may have questions on the orphan status of the child. Ethiopia takes the ethical side of adoptions very seriously and they want to make sure things are being done in integrity and in a legal ethical manner. In the world of international adoption problems can occur where people try to sell their children for money and Ethiopia wants to make sure this is not the case in each adoption.
So truly it is all in God's hands. We pray so much that we will pass court the first time on August 7th. We so desperately want to bring our son home and once we pass court we will be able to post his pictures on our blog and share him with all of you.
Please pray for us as we continue to wait. We long to be united with Him and just continue to pray that He will receive our love but most importantly receive God's love for Him by coming to know Jesus as his Savior. God has been so faithful to us in this whole process and we just can not wait to share Jesus with our little guy. As we wait for Him we continue to trust and know that God loves Him more than we do and He is holding him in His hands. Please pray for the judge to have everything they need on the 7th, to pass our case.
Tonight I was thinking how can I describe what God is to us during this time in our life of waiting and being totally dependent on Him. How can I describe how amazed we feel that out of the billions of people in this world and hundreds and thousands of miles that separate us from Ethiopia, that God would chose us to become this beautiful Little guys parents. We are so in awe of God and how he would work to unite us in even though we may be miles apart. When I thought about all this I remembered the song that we had sung at our wedding ceremony. This song completely describes who God is. How Jesus is great enough to be our savior and redeemer yet at the same time He is intimate enough with us that when we cry out he hears us!
Monday, July 27, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
An Orphan's Prayer
An Orphan's Prayer
An Orphan's Prayer
from All God's Children's Agency Newsletter
no author noted
I am waiting…somewhere far, far away…on the other side of the world.
I may not know who you are or what you look like.
But somehow, deep in my heart, I know you are out there.
That one day you will come and find me.
It's a long journey, and it takes a lot of time.
I wish it could be easier.
But I know that the ones who come for me will not count the cost.
They will only see the joy of finding me.
For now I abide in the fields of the fatherless.
Day by day wondering, "Why was I born here and not somewhere else?"
Asking, "Why couldn't my life have been different?"
It is so lonely…
Even though I am surrounded by hundreds of other children,
I know that something is missing.
I know in my heart I need a place to call home.
My arms long to be wrapped in a father's embrace…
I long to be saved by a mother's love.
Gazing out the orphanage window, I offer a prayer of hope,
"Oh God, please help them come quickly."
Even as I lay in the darkness each night somehow I feel assured.
That no matter how lost I appear I am not alone.
Holy hands guard my steps; sacred fingers wipe my tears…
Touching my lonely heart.
The one who made me,
The God who knew me before I was born,
Hears me every time I call.
He whispers His promises in my ear.
I listen with hope to His voice.
But what I worry about most is that no one wants to look for me.
The fields are vast, and there are so many scattered all over the earth.
I wonder how one little child, so lost, can be found.
Yet He calms my heart and assures me that He will find you.
That He will make sure you hear His voice clearly.
He has promised me that He will make a way through the fields.
That He will personally cut a path, and lead you right to my orphanage door.
My prayer is…
When He speaks, please don't forget to listen.
When He calls, don't be too afraid to go.
For I am waiting…somewhere far, far away.
An Orphan's Prayer
from All God's Children's Agency Newsletter
no author noted
I am waiting…somewhere far, far away…on the other side of the world.
I may not know who you are or what you look like.
But somehow, deep in my heart, I know you are out there.
That one day you will come and find me.
It's a long journey, and it takes a lot of time.
I wish it could be easier.
But I know that the ones who come for me will not count the cost.
They will only see the joy of finding me.
For now I abide in the fields of the fatherless.
Day by day wondering, "Why was I born here and not somewhere else?"
Asking, "Why couldn't my life have been different?"
It is so lonely…
Even though I am surrounded by hundreds of other children,
I know that something is missing.
I know in my heart I need a place to call home.
My arms long to be wrapped in a father's embrace…
I long to be saved by a mother's love.
Gazing out the orphanage window, I offer a prayer of hope,
"Oh God, please help them come quickly."
Even as I lay in the darkness each night somehow I feel assured.
That no matter how lost I appear I am not alone.
Holy hands guard my steps; sacred fingers wipe my tears…
Touching my lonely heart.
The one who made me,
The God who knew me before I was born,
Hears me every time I call.
He whispers His promises in my ear.
I listen with hope to His voice.
But what I worry about most is that no one wants to look for me.
The fields are vast, and there are so many scattered all over the earth.
I wonder how one little child, so lost, can be found.
Yet He calms my heart and assures me that He will find you.
That He will make sure you hear His voice clearly.
He has promised me that He will make a way through the fields.
That He will personally cut a path, and lead you right to my orphanage door.
My prayer is…
When He speaks, please don't forget to listen.
When He calls, don't be too afraid to go.
For I am waiting…somewhere far, far away.