I know some of you who read this have adopted and I need you to tell the other readers about God's faithfulness in providing in all kinds of crazy ways to make that happen. This is a request from me to you to tell about how good God really is in order that those who are reluctant to start the process can be encouraged.
Please even just tell a little story.
Some have gone to pick up their kids recently, some have had them for a long time, I don;t really care which one you are please just share. I would love it if there were 50 stories on here about God's faithfulness. We can't praise Him too much.
10/9/09
Ants
Teresa and I were talking yesterday about the needs we just saw a week ago in Ethiopia. There is so much need and we have so little resources. She said she feels like a little ant.
Imagine the ant going back and forth from the scrap of food to the ant hill. The ant doesn't get discouraged and say, "Well it's too little food for such a long walk so I just won't do anything". The ant leader picks the closest food and the colony starts the work. Back and forth, back and forth; one crumb at a time. What are they really getting done? This is way too much work for one little crumb, but is it?
If they didn't, each one, do their part the entire hill would die.
Now imagine that we are ants but we have God as our Provider. God gives us some work to do and it seems like the "crumbs" are really far from the "hill" but that is where we are called to work. We work each day going to and from that "crumb", and as we work we pray that God would deliver to us a feast closer to the hill. Well, it only takes God dropping an entire picnic basket right next to the hill to change both our attitude and the effectiveness of our work.
So, we must not get discouraged that we are undertaking too great a task. We must not grumble that God has made the task too far away. We must not grumble at His provision. We must rejoice in His provision and pray that He would give us fruit in our labors and if He decides to drop a "picnic basket" right next to us, then He alone is the One who is deserving of our praise.
I hope this encourages you as you contemplate God's faithfulness to the ant hill.
Imagine the ant going back and forth from the scrap of food to the ant hill. The ant doesn't get discouraged and say, "Well it's too little food for such a long walk so I just won't do anything". The ant leader picks the closest food and the colony starts the work. Back and forth, back and forth; one crumb at a time. What are they really getting done? This is way too much work for one little crumb, but is it?
If they didn't, each one, do their part the entire hill would die.
Now imagine that we are ants but we have God as our Provider. God gives us some work to do and it seems like the "crumbs" are really far from the "hill" but that is where we are called to work. We work each day going to and from that "crumb", and as we work we pray that God would deliver to us a feast closer to the hill. Well, it only takes God dropping an entire picnic basket right next to the hill to change both our attitude and the effectiveness of our work.
So, we must not get discouraged that we are undertaking too great a task. We must not grumble that God has made the task too far away. We must not grumble at His provision. We must rejoice in His provision and pray that He would give us fruit in our labors and if He decides to drop a "picnic basket" right next to us, then He alone is the One who is deserving of our praise.
I hope this encourages you as you contemplate God's faithfulness to the ant hill.
10/5/09
Opportunities Abounding
I got an email from Michelle last night; a very long email. I need to talk to her today and make sure I have all the facts straight before I post too much. But here is what I know right now.
They brought a good group of kids to the orphanage after we left; close to 20 more. They hit a hyena with the van and had to do some repairs to the van while on the road with all the kids. There are some relatively large financial obligations that are looming over head right now and with the US and world economies doing less than stellar, it is difficult for them to make ends meet. Michelle is still very hurt from all the slanderous remarks made about her on Australian TV; the entire program was very anti-Christian. Since their vision is to place kids in only Christian homes that makes them a key target. There are some real positive opportunities in Ethiopia right now, but all these things take dollars, and they just don't have lots of dollars right now. Now there are a lot of mouths to feed there and that all takes money and staff, which takes more money.
I personally don't even have any idea where to begin. The needs are so great and we don't have enough to "fix it", but God knows where the support will come from and He works in some crazy ways to show off His great power.
Please pray that Michelle and her team would have wisdom. That God would show Himself strong to provide for each one of these issues. That each one of us would trust Him in our daily lives and live in such a way that He would be shown great.
What can you do? Whatever God calls you to do, in whatever way He calls you to do it. Don't quench the Holy Spirit and don't limit His power to provide, but also don't feel guilty and then give. Pray that God would make it clear what you are supposed to do. The Macedonians were delighted to give out of their poverty, not because they felt guilty, but because God provided a way for them to show off His greatness as they were lead to give.
What is God going to do and how is He going to provide? I don't have the slightest idea, but it will be fun to watch Him work through His saint and then to watch Him provide for His faithful ones.
They brought a good group of kids to the orphanage after we left; close to 20 more. They hit a hyena with the van and had to do some repairs to the van while on the road with all the kids. There are some relatively large financial obligations that are looming over head right now and with the US and world economies doing less than stellar, it is difficult for them to make ends meet. Michelle is still very hurt from all the slanderous remarks made about her on Australian TV; the entire program was very anti-Christian. Since their vision is to place kids in only Christian homes that makes them a key target. There are some real positive opportunities in Ethiopia right now, but all these things take dollars, and they just don't have lots of dollars right now. Now there are a lot of mouths to feed there and that all takes money and staff, which takes more money.
I personally don't even have any idea where to begin. The needs are so great and we don't have enough to "fix it", but God knows where the support will come from and He works in some crazy ways to show off His great power.
Please pray that Michelle and her team would have wisdom. That God would show Himself strong to provide for each one of these issues. That each one of us would trust Him in our daily lives and live in such a way that He would be shown great.
What can you do? Whatever God calls you to do, in whatever way He calls you to do it. Don't quench the Holy Spirit and don't limit His power to provide, but also don't feel guilty and then give. Pray that God would make it clear what you are supposed to do. The Macedonians were delighted to give out of their poverty, not because they felt guilty, but because God provided a way for them to show off His greatness as they were lead to give.
What is God going to do and how is He going to provide? I don't have the slightest idea, but it will be fun to watch Him work through His saint and then to watch Him provide for His faithful ones.
10/4/09
I Need a Little Help here
For those of you have adopted previously and are much more savvy than I, will you add your thoughts to the site on the initial steps to adopting, please?
Since our return, and really before we left, we have some people in our church who are getting very excited about the prospects of adopting and want to know how they should begin, as well as where all the money will come from.
It would be very encouraging if you could just say a little about those 2 things. We started the process in a less than "normal" way and so if you could speak to this that would be great. Also, I know that all of you who read this are loaded:), and so if you could tell us some stories about how God provided for your friend's adoption, who aren't loaded, that would be awesome. I am giving you license to post a long comment.
It certainly is fun to watch our Magnificence God show off His power so we can only give Him glory when it is finished.
Since our return, and really before we left, we have some people in our church who are getting very excited about the prospects of adopting and want to know how they should begin, as well as where all the money will come from.
It would be very encouraging if you could just say a little about those 2 things. We started the process in a less than "normal" way and so if you could speak to this that would be great. Also, I know that all of you who read this are loaded:), and so if you could tell us some stories about how God provided for your friend's adoption, who aren't loaded, that would be awesome. I am giving you license to post a long comment.
It certainly is fun to watch our Magnificence God show off His power so we can only give Him glory when it is finished.
What's going on?
Just an update on the adoption process for our family.
Before we left I contacted the home study guy and he told me everything is going along fine. As someone who likes to keep the ball rolling and stay involved, it is a little difficult to just sit here and wait for others to do their part and not want to push, but he assured me everything was fine and that we would have time to get all the necessary components completed.
It is very interesting to be where we are right now and to watch God work. I am not sure, ministry wise, what it is that God has for us in the future. It certainly seems that He is changing our direction slightly, if not significantly, but at the same time He has not diminished our absolute love for the ministry we are currently in. So maybe He is just expanding it.
The great part about being in partnership with The Father in ministry is He knows EXACTLY where and what we should be, and He equips us to do the work that He has planned for us to do. When you sit back and think about that it really is amazing and can be overwhelming. The God of the universe has something very specific for each of His children and He doesn't ever give us anything we can't handle. In our weakness He is strong and I am much too weak to do any of this on my own, so it is good that He is really strong.
In Ethiopia I was expecting Teresa to be much more overwhelmed than she was, and at least as emotional as me, but God really protected her and she was able to contribute much. Often it is hard to think objectively when emotions get in the way and God worked mightily in and through her.
So how is God going to use us, with our new son coming soon and the kids going off and doing their own ministry things? I have no idea. But that is the best part. I don't have to know and I don't have to be concerned with any of the details. He is in control and He will direct our paths when we wait on Him. All of these things are for our refining and make us into useful vessels for His Kingdom. We get to participate in ministry for The King. WOW.
As I am still not a little messed up on the time change I was reading this morning James 1 and was thinking about how often I hear The Word and discount it as if it is for someone else. There are some pretty pointed statements in this passage and also some pretty encouraging as well.
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
We certainly don't want to be deceiving our own heart, which are deceitful enough without us helping, but look at the end of this section. When we act on what we hear and know to be right and we persevere, God blesses us in our doing. He blesses our work when we do what we are obey. He doesn't have to make that promise, but He does.
So, what does God want form each one of us? He wants us to trust Him and obey. And the words of the song are true that when we do this we will "be happy in Jesus".
Before we left I contacted the home study guy and he told me everything is going along fine. As someone who likes to keep the ball rolling and stay involved, it is a little difficult to just sit here and wait for others to do their part and not want to push, but he assured me everything was fine and that we would have time to get all the necessary components completed.
It is very interesting to be where we are right now and to watch God work. I am not sure, ministry wise, what it is that God has for us in the future. It certainly seems that He is changing our direction slightly, if not significantly, but at the same time He has not diminished our absolute love for the ministry we are currently in. So maybe He is just expanding it.
The great part about being in partnership with The Father in ministry is He knows EXACTLY where and what we should be, and He equips us to do the work that He has planned for us to do. When you sit back and think about that it really is amazing and can be overwhelming. The God of the universe has something very specific for each of His children and He doesn't ever give us anything we can't handle. In our weakness He is strong and I am much too weak to do any of this on my own, so it is good that He is really strong.
In Ethiopia I was expecting Teresa to be much more overwhelmed than she was, and at least as emotional as me, but God really protected her and she was able to contribute much. Often it is hard to think objectively when emotions get in the way and God worked mightily in and through her.
So how is God going to use us, with our new son coming soon and the kids going off and doing their own ministry things? I have no idea. But that is the best part. I don't have to know and I don't have to be concerned with any of the details. He is in control and He will direct our paths when we wait on Him. All of these things are for our refining and make us into useful vessels for His Kingdom. We get to participate in ministry for The King. WOW.
As I am still not a little messed up on the time change I was reading this morning James 1 and was thinking about how often I hear The Word and discount it as if it is for someone else. There are some pretty pointed statements in this passage and also some pretty encouraging as well.
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
We certainly don't want to be deceiving our own heart, which are deceitful enough without us helping, but look at the end of this section. When we act on what we hear and know to be right and we persevere, God blesses us in our doing. He blesses our work when we do what we are obey. He doesn't have to make that promise, but He does.
So, what does God want form each one of us? He wants us to trust Him and obey. And the words of the song are true that when we do this we will "be happy in Jesus".
10/2/09
Finally back to posting
While away I added my thoughts to the computer and now have put them in for you to read. I did this differently than normal, as I want you to be able to start on the first day and read down the week. So, just keep scrolling down until you have finished the trip.
I really am serious about having people over for dinner, or whatever, so you can ask us questions and you are able to see more clearly what is going on in Ethiopia.
We pray that God would call some to adopt and some to help in other ways so we can, each one, fulfill the purpose He has for us. Don't ignore the Holy Spirit's calling on your heart to move. God is big and somehow He will provide for you everything that you need to complete the task He has called you to do. But, you have to step out in faith and trust Him. If we don;t trust Him we are sinning and we put ourselves in His place, as we think we know what is best.
I certainly do not have all the answers about the subject by going there for a week, but I have some and we would love to help you in whatever way we are able.
Pray that God would work mightily in your own heart and in the heart of others that His work may be carried out by His servants.
I really am serious about having people over for dinner, or whatever, so you can ask us questions and you are able to see more clearly what is going on in Ethiopia.
We pray that God would call some to adopt and some to help in other ways so we can, each one, fulfill the purpose He has for us. Don't ignore the Holy Spirit's calling on your heart to move. God is big and somehow He will provide for you everything that you need to complete the task He has called you to do. But, you have to step out in faith and trust Him. If we don;t trust Him we are sinning and we put ourselves in His place, as we think we know what is best.
I certainly do not have all the answers about the subject by going there for a week, but I have some and we would love to help you in whatever way we are able.
Pray that God would work mightily in your own heart and in the heart of others that His work may be carried out by His servants.
Italy to Ethiopia
We left with 3 hours to travel what would normally take 2 but there was a lot of traffic and so it took almost the entire 3 hours. We made our flight and were told we were the last to check in, but the gal gave us the exit row on both the flight to Dubai and also to Addis; God is so kind.
The travel in flight with the lay over was another 9 hours. Tack that onto the already long day and then loose another night of sleep and we are tired. Something new I had never seen was there was a video camera attached on the front of the plane and so we could actually watched the take off and landing. There was a serious cross wind on approach to Addis and it literally looked like we were going to land in the field rather than on the runway, but of course they know what they are doing and we landed fine.
The sights of Addis were close to what I expected, looking much like India. The roads into the orphanage are terrible, reminiscent of India/Sao Paulo. But what a treat awaited us when we got to the orphanage. The kids were ready in the room when we arrived and they sang us a song. Their little eyes just light up with joy as they sing and the boys sing so enthusiastically that the veins stick out in the neck.
The older kids are like big brothers and sisters to the little ones. They are really caring for their needs. Teresa immediately became attached to one little guy named Abenezar. 
He just loves to be held.
There are many sibling groups and it is not best to split up, so that is more of a challenge to place them, but they really are awesome little ready made families. Take a look. We would love to tell you about them over dinner:)Invite yourself over and we'll talk.
After dinner we found out that the orphanage is going to be moving tomorrow so the girls started to sort through all the things, some to be left here and some to be taken to the new location. The infants will stay in Addis and all the rest will go to the new place. There are so many politics involved with all of this kind of thing and especially because it is in a different country. The “normal” way is not normal here at all. But God knows and He cares for these little ones and all that can be done is to do what is known to be right and let Him take care of the rest. His ways are not our ways and our thoughts can’t even begin to comprehend His thoughts, so we work as unto Him and rest in His provision and care.
The staff here seems to work hard and to really love and care about the children. With the world economy going south, it is impossible to carry on this type of work without God providing even the most basic of needs.
Currently there are about 30 kids here in the orphanage that could hold as many as 80, but since He is in control He knows that the move was coming and it certainly will be much easier to move 30 kids rather than 80. They have placed about 40 this past summer, which has obviously diminished the numbers here and they would like to try to place 80 or more each year.
Imagine going from the village, which we have yet to see, where daily food is a luxury and certainly not the norm, and water is at a premium.
Imagine the staple food costing at the very extreme of what a family can afford and so often they go without food for more than a day at a time. Imagine living in the same clothes everyday until you can no longer actually fit in them.
Now imagine coming to the orphanage and having food 3 times a day, clothes that are periodically cleaned and past down, so you get different ones, and a firm roof over your head. Now imagine coming to the normal American home and how crazy that would look comparatively.
For sure, individually we can’t solve these problems, but we can make a difference in the lives of one or 2, or maybe 80 this year. It really doesn’t take that much to significantly change the lives of these kids, but we must start the process or nothing will ever happen.
It’s late and it’s well into tomorrow by my clock. God is amazing as He has allowed us the privilege of being here and hopefully making some sort of small difference in the lives of these kids. We can certainly go into all the world and preach the Gospel, but we can also bring them into our homes and have a huge impact on some.
The travel in flight with the lay over was another 9 hours. Tack that onto the already long day and then loose another night of sleep and we are tired. Something new I had never seen was there was a video camera attached on the front of the plane and so we could actually watched the take off and landing. There was a serious cross wind on approach to Addis and it literally looked like we were going to land in the field rather than on the runway, but of course they know what they are doing and we landed fine.
The sights of Addis were close to what I expected, looking much like India. The roads into the orphanage are terrible, reminiscent of India/Sao Paulo. But what a treat awaited us when we got to the orphanage. The kids were ready in the room when we arrived and they sang us a song. Their little eyes just light up with joy as they sing and the boys sing so enthusiastically that the veins stick out in the neck.
The older kids are like big brothers and sisters to the little ones. They are really caring for their needs. Teresa immediately became attached to one little guy named Abenezar. 
He just loves to be held. There are many sibling groups and it is not best to split up, so that is more of a challenge to place them, but they really are awesome little ready made families. Take a look. We would love to tell you about them over dinner:)Invite yourself over and we'll talk.
After dinner we found out that the orphanage is going to be moving tomorrow so the girls started to sort through all the things, some to be left here and some to be taken to the new location. The infants will stay in Addis and all the rest will go to the new place. There are so many politics involved with all of this kind of thing and especially because it is in a different country. The “normal” way is not normal here at all. But God knows and He cares for these little ones and all that can be done is to do what is known to be right and let Him take care of the rest. His ways are not our ways and our thoughts can’t even begin to comprehend His thoughts, so we work as unto Him and rest in His provision and care.
The staff here seems to work hard and to really love and care about the children. With the world economy going south, it is impossible to carry on this type of work without God providing even the most basic of needs.
Currently there are about 30 kids here in the orphanage that could hold as many as 80, but since He is in control He knows that the move was coming and it certainly will be much easier to move 30 kids rather than 80. They have placed about 40 this past summer, which has obviously diminished the numbers here and they would like to try to place 80 or more each year.
Imagine going from the village, which we have yet to see, where daily food is a luxury and certainly not the norm, and water is at a premium.
Imagine the staple food costing at the very extreme of what a family can afford and so often they go without food for more than a day at a time. Imagine living in the same clothes everyday until you can no longer actually fit in them.
Now imagine coming to the orphanage and having food 3 times a day, clothes that are periodically cleaned and past down, so you get different ones, and a firm roof over your head. Now imagine coming to the normal American home and how crazy that would look comparatively.For sure, individually we can’t solve these problems, but we can make a difference in the lives of one or 2, or maybe 80 this year. It really doesn’t take that much to significantly change the lives of these kids, but we must start the process or nothing will ever happen.
It’s late and it’s well into tomorrow by my clock. God is amazing as He has allowed us the privilege of being here and hopefully making some sort of small difference in the lives of these kids. We can certainly go into all the world and preach the Gospel, but we can also bring them into our homes and have a huge impact on some.
Day 2
As I sit at the desk and read I hear the sounds of birds, children and the voice over loud speaker chants out “prayers” to someone who can help less than the children. These children are a light to this world, though, for right now, they are relocated to staying within the walls of the “compound”. By God’s grace someday they will be set free to spread their light and hope into this dark world around them.
Like any other children they need Jesus; they need the Gospel. In this life they have no hope unless it is given by some outside means- they need a hero to rescue them from their plight here. But even more than how desperate is their current plight- which in many ways is difficult to comprehend- they have a much greater need of eternal rescue. How great it is that The Father has not only made the one Way, but He has offered it freely to all who will accept it. As foolish as it would seem for any here to refuse the gift of help from outsiders, is the foolishness of any man who refuse The Father’s gift of His salvation.
I think that in our comfortable life we can often lose track that we truly are in such a desperate situation- without hope and without God- until He rescues us. The picture of the beggar is literally everywhere you look here. We are all beggars until we are made heirs of the King. How clear the picture of Ecclesiastes seems to be here in Ethiopia. Life is hard and then you die is much more “in your face” here than it is in America. For the most part we have no idea what a hard life looks like. Our “hard life” would equate to camping and not having a microwave or missing the show we like to watch.
Separating sheep and goats is part of the daily life here; dogs that are not pets, but scavengers. The poor and the needy are truly with you everyday and in every way. Jesus’ call to bring Him the little children has a different feel to it here than it does at home. Here, the children are the poor and needy; they are the helpless, homeless and fatherless.
What a privilege to bring some help in a small way. The people here in the orphanage work hard. The nannies work in 2, 12 shifts. Currently there are 2 nannies per shift, plus a cook, a house keeper and 1 guard. The orphanage director lives pretty close by and goes home each night to his family. He is a former taxi driver who was found to be faithful and they have trained him to carry this responsibility. He loves the Lord and is a very sweet, gentle man. This is 2 Tim. 2:2 in action; as he has been faithful and now he needs to find another faithful man who will be ale to be taught and pass this on to the next.
There is so much work, so little earthly reward, yet so vital in impacting the Kingdom for Christ.
Is. 41:8 But you, Israel, my servant,
Jacob, whom I have chosen
the offspring of Abraham, my friend;
9 you whom I took from the ends of the earth,
and called from its farthest corners,
saying to you, “You are my servant,
I have chosen you and not cast you off”;
10 fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
There are so many sweet and precious promises right here in these few verses. It is our delight to be His servant. He has chosen US. He calls us Friend. He brought us from the ends of the earth. He didn't bring us all this way to "cast us off". He is going to be with us; He will strengthen us and help us to do the things He has planned for us to do and He will hold us up with His righteous right hand. Think about that next time you are feeling lonely or overwhelmed.
We just had a very difficult experience; one that we had planned on having, but I had not thought it was going to be so soon.
A young, maybe 16-18 year old, mom just came to the orphanage and dropped off her little- one month old- daughter. She is working as a house keeper, the father is no where to be found, she can’t work and care for the baby and if her employer finds out she has a child they will fire her. She loves her child as much as any other mother but she has no way to provide and so this is her best option. What she really doesn’t realize is how much of a change her daughter will undergo. This little baby is absolutely beautiful; looks very healthy, well fed and responsive to movement. She smiles at the future, though she doesn’t have any clue of what her past was, and what her future could have been, she now has hope.
The baby- Yepsura, which means from God- came to the orphanage in literally rags; no diaper, just a shirt, and a couple of small shirts to wrap her in, with a make shift cloth for a blanket.
Maybe this is similar to what Jesus was born into, and yet He chose to come to earth to win us back. WOW! We have hope of the future because of a little baby.
On the way to this young girls “home” I was talking to the orphanage director and the evangelist. There is no plight so grim as one who faces eternity w/o Christ, not even the future of an Ethiopian mother like this, or this little girl. Without Christ their situation is more than grim; at least in America there is some pleasure to life under the sun, but here there is no pleasure and no hope to get out.
We went shopping while waiting for some guys to come up from the orphanage in Sodo. This is an experience everyone should have at least once in their life, but for some that would certainly be enough. We bought beads, purses, an antique shield, a shepherd’s club, scarves, necklaces, a stool, spoons and some other trinkets, all of which we could live w/o, but I guess we are doing our part to support their economy.
After getting our fill of the shopping we had to go to the internet café, as the only people, here in Ethiopia with internet in their homes are the very rich. After taking 17minutes to just load the program to receive emails we gave up a few minutes into actually trying to down load them. While driving to the next station we had a flat tire. I know what to do in this situation. The irony of the entire situation is that the tire blew out and the one they put back on literally had only the liner- like an inner tube for a tubeless tire- left.
My estimate is 10-15 minutes driving before this one blew out. We drove just a few blocks and traded this cab in for another one- which also had a huge separated- ready to blow out- tire on my side. Oh well, it’s Ethiopian and no one is ever in a hurry to do anything, so you have to go with the flow.
We had a nice dinner, probably the last “normal” food we will have in the next few days.
Oh the goodness of God; it’s so hard to comprehend why He would allow us to “help” Him with ministry.
Like any other children they need Jesus; they need the Gospel. In this life they have no hope unless it is given by some outside means- they need a hero to rescue them from their plight here. But even more than how desperate is their current plight- which in many ways is difficult to comprehend- they have a much greater need of eternal rescue. How great it is that The Father has not only made the one Way, but He has offered it freely to all who will accept it. As foolish as it would seem for any here to refuse the gift of help from outsiders, is the foolishness of any man who refuse The Father’s gift of His salvation.
I think that in our comfortable life we can often lose track that we truly are in such a desperate situation- without hope and without God- until He rescues us. The picture of the beggar is literally everywhere you look here. We are all beggars until we are made heirs of the King. How clear the picture of Ecclesiastes seems to be here in Ethiopia. Life is hard and then you die is much more “in your face” here than it is in America. For the most part we have no idea what a hard life looks like. Our “hard life” would equate to camping and not having a microwave or missing the show we like to watch.
Separating sheep and goats is part of the daily life here; dogs that are not pets, but scavengers. The poor and the needy are truly with you everyday and in every way. Jesus’ call to bring Him the little children has a different feel to it here than it does at home. Here, the children are the poor and needy; they are the helpless, homeless and fatherless.
What a privilege to bring some help in a small way. The people here in the orphanage work hard. The nannies work in 2, 12 shifts. Currently there are 2 nannies per shift, plus a cook, a house keeper and 1 guard. The orphanage director lives pretty close by and goes home each night to his family. He is a former taxi driver who was found to be faithful and they have trained him to carry this responsibility. He loves the Lord and is a very sweet, gentle man. This is 2 Tim. 2:2 in action; as he has been faithful and now he needs to find another faithful man who will be ale to be taught and pass this on to the next.
There is so much work, so little earthly reward, yet so vital in impacting the Kingdom for Christ.
Is. 41:8 But you, Israel, my servant,
Jacob, whom I have chosen
the offspring of Abraham, my friend;
9 you whom I took from the ends of the earth,
and called from its farthest corners,
saying to you, “You are my servant,
I have chosen you and not cast you off”;
10 fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
There are so many sweet and precious promises right here in these few verses. It is our delight to be His servant. He has chosen US. He calls us Friend. He brought us from the ends of the earth. He didn't bring us all this way to "cast us off". He is going to be with us; He will strengthen us and help us to do the things He has planned for us to do and He will hold us up with His righteous right hand. Think about that next time you are feeling lonely or overwhelmed.
We just had a very difficult experience; one that we had planned on having, but I had not thought it was going to be so soon.
A young, maybe 16-18 year old, mom just came to the orphanage and dropped off her little- one month old- daughter. She is working as a house keeper, the father is no where to be found, she can’t work and care for the baby and if her employer finds out she has a child they will fire her. She loves her child as much as any other mother but she has no way to provide and so this is her best option. What she really doesn’t realize is how much of a change her daughter will undergo. This little baby is absolutely beautiful; looks very healthy, well fed and responsive to movement. She smiles at the future, though she doesn’t have any clue of what her past was, and what her future could have been, she now has hope.
The baby- Yepsura, which means from God- came to the orphanage in literally rags; no diaper, just a shirt, and a couple of small shirts to wrap her in, with a make shift cloth for a blanket.
Maybe this is similar to what Jesus was born into, and yet He chose to come to earth to win us back. WOW! We have hope of the future because of a little baby. On the way to this young girls “home” I was talking to the orphanage director and the evangelist. There is no plight so grim as one who faces eternity w/o Christ, not even the future of an Ethiopian mother like this, or this little girl. Without Christ their situation is more than grim; at least in America there is some pleasure to life under the sun, but here there is no pleasure and no hope to get out.
We went shopping while waiting for some guys to come up from the orphanage in Sodo. This is an experience everyone should have at least once in their life, but for some that would certainly be enough. We bought beads, purses, an antique shield, a shepherd’s club, scarves, necklaces, a stool, spoons and some other trinkets, all of which we could live w/o, but I guess we are doing our part to support their economy.
After getting our fill of the shopping we had to go to the internet café, as the only people, here in Ethiopia with internet in their homes are the very rich. After taking 17minutes to just load the program to receive emails we gave up a few minutes into actually trying to down load them. While driving to the next station we had a flat tire. I know what to do in this situation. The irony of the entire situation is that the tire blew out and the one they put back on literally had only the liner- like an inner tube for a tubeless tire- left.
My estimate is 10-15 minutes driving before this one blew out. We drove just a few blocks and traded this cab in for another one- which also had a huge separated- ready to blow out- tire on my side. Oh well, it’s Ethiopian and no one is ever in a hurry to do anything, so you have to go with the flow.We had a nice dinner, probably the last “normal” food we will have in the next few days.
Oh the goodness of God; it’s so hard to comprehend why He would allow us to “help” Him with ministry.
Day 3
Is.41:17 When the poor and needy seek water,
and there is none,
and their tongue is parched with thirst,
I the LORD will answer them;
I the God of Israel will not forsake them.
18 I will open rivers on the bare heights,
and fountains in the midst of the valleys.
I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
and the dry land springs of water.
19 I will put in the wilderness the cedar,
the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive.
I will set in the desert the cypress,
the plane and the pine together,
20 that they may see and know,
may consider and understand together,
that the hand of the LORD has done this,
The Holy One of Israel has created it.
Notice the One doing all the work in this passage. I want to be a servant of the King, but there is nothing I can do that He does not do through me. As I observe all that takes place in Ethiopia each and everyday and want to find a solution and be a help in some way, but this passage tells me that all I can do is sit back and watch what He does and be amazed at His power; power to create rivers in the desert, an oasis where there should be none. He is the King of Glory, the creator of all things, His name is Jesus, Precious Jesus, the Lord of Glory, the King of my Heart, The King of Glory.
We are moving the bulk of the orphanage today from Addis south about 6 hours drive to a place called Soddo. The purpose is that most of the kids come from this district and Addis is expensive. So only the infants will remain here, as they may need to go the clinic and it is too far for them to get back. Toddlers and up will move to Soddo today. From here on the plan is to bring the kids to the new facility upon completion of paperwork and then in small groups they will be brought here for a day of 2 to visit the clinic and then returned to Soddo.
Today will be very interesting as there is a lot to do, but not like we would normally think of moving an orphanage.
There are 25-ish kids, the clothes they have on their backs and very few other supplies; they just don’t have much to move. A couple of desks, few tables, some plastic chairs, some bunk beds and a few regular beds and that’s about it. We are praying for safety as we go and the Lord’s blessing on this new location; that He would make this new location a place of springs in the desert for these kids.
You can see the day unfolding in the next post.
and there is none,
and their tongue is parched with thirst,
I the LORD will answer them;
I the God of Israel will not forsake them.
18 I will open rivers on the bare heights,
and fountains in the midst of the valleys.
I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
and the dry land springs of water.
19 I will put in the wilderness the cedar,
the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive.
I will set in the desert the cypress,
the plane and the pine together,
20 that they may see and know,
may consider and understand together,
that the hand of the LORD has done this,
The Holy One of Israel has created it.
Notice the One doing all the work in this passage. I want to be a servant of the King, but there is nothing I can do that He does not do through me. As I observe all that takes place in Ethiopia each and everyday and want to find a solution and be a help in some way, but this passage tells me that all I can do is sit back and watch what He does and be amazed at His power; power to create rivers in the desert, an oasis where there should be none. He is the King of Glory, the creator of all things, His name is Jesus, Precious Jesus, the Lord of Glory, the King of my Heart, The King of Glory.
We are moving the bulk of the orphanage today from Addis south about 6 hours drive to a place called Soddo. The purpose is that most of the kids come from this district and Addis is expensive. So only the infants will remain here, as they may need to go the clinic and it is too far for them to get back. Toddlers and up will move to Soddo today. From here on the plan is to bring the kids to the new facility upon completion of paperwork and then in small groups they will be brought here for a day of 2 to visit the clinic and then returned to Soddo.
Today will be very interesting as there is a lot to do, but not like we would normally think of moving an orphanage.
There are 25-ish kids, the clothes they have on their backs and very few other supplies; they just don’t have much to move. A couple of desks, few tables, some plastic chairs, some bunk beds and a few regular beds and that’s about it. We are praying for safety as we go and the Lord’s blessing on this new location; that He would make this new location a place of springs in the desert for these kids.You can see the day unfolding in the next post.
More Day 3
We left the Addis orphanage at 1, which is about 3 hours later than what was originally planned, but in Ethiopia the clock is just something that hangs on the wall and sometimes they pay attention to it. The real clock is the sun- “Are there not 12 hours in a day?”.
I taught the kids the song that goes, "Holy, You are Holy, King of kings Lord of lord..." and so they sang that on the bus for a while. It was very nice.
We left the compound, on the very bumpy road, but only the main roads are paved, even in Addis. One of the reasons for moving away from that compound is that it is very expensive and the road in front of it is so bad, and often people can’t find it.
There are no road signs anywhere, that I saw, and so finding anything is very difficult. After leaving and driving about an hour we had to stop and get a pass to drive on the road to Sodo. About a half hour after we left there Michelle realized that we were still very close to the original starting point. We had just driving an hour and a half with 25 kids, ranging from 11 months to 12 years, and had barely gotten anywhere. We also found out that since it was now getting close to 3 that we had to take a different route to Sodo, because the short route- 4 hours drive- is filled with thieves at night, and so we took the longer one. We had no idea how much longer it would really be.
The kids ate lunch, which we were seriously considering NOT given to them. For some, this would be a very trying trip. We have one HIV positive child and he was the one most affected by eating lunch. In fact, he threw up about 10 times. We had him in the front of the bus and he used the “bucket” often. In all there were about 5 kids who threw up and 10 we pretty sick. They were so good. We could not stop to go to the bathroom more than once and in all the trip took 10 hours. We gave a few of them a cracker, but other than that they ate nothing on the way. The adults were talking about how American kids would do in this situation. There was almost no fussing, even from those who were really sick and no one complaining about being hungry or having to go potty. Imagine not eating for 10 hours and not going to the bathroom. The littlest one- 11 months- was dry when we arrived in Sodo.
There were more than a few serious wrecks on the way, but God protected our small “vessel” as we journeyed. One of bus helpers was amazing. He held the HIV+ kid for most of the trip and cleaned him up after every event.
We had so many serious road challenges. Even as we were within a mile of the new place were had to carefully navigate so the bus didn’t get stuck. It is the tail of the rainy season and the locals are ready for it to quit. The roads take a beating when the rains are so heavy, which makes life even more difficult than is normal.
The truck with all the beds and everything else arrived previous to us and we were really hoping that the guys would have everything set up, but nothing was done. So when we got here we threw the mattresses on the floor and everyone crashed, including us. When you’re this tired the bed does not matter.
I taught the kids the song that goes, "Holy, You are Holy, King of kings Lord of lord..." and so they sang that on the bus for a while. It was very nice.
We left the compound, on the very bumpy road, but only the main roads are paved, even in Addis. One of the reasons for moving away from that compound is that it is very expensive and the road in front of it is so bad, and often people can’t find it.
There are no road signs anywhere, that I saw, and so finding anything is very difficult. After leaving and driving about an hour we had to stop and get a pass to drive on the road to Sodo. About a half hour after we left there Michelle realized that we were still very close to the original starting point. We had just driving an hour and a half with 25 kids, ranging from 11 months to 12 years, and had barely gotten anywhere. We also found out that since it was now getting close to 3 that we had to take a different route to Sodo, because the short route- 4 hours drive- is filled with thieves at night, and so we took the longer one. We had no idea how much longer it would really be.The kids ate lunch, which we were seriously considering NOT given to them. For some, this would be a very trying trip. We have one HIV positive child and he was the one most affected by eating lunch. In fact, he threw up about 10 times. We had him in the front of the bus and he used the “bucket” often. In all there were about 5 kids who threw up and 10 we pretty sick. They were so good. We could not stop to go to the bathroom more than once and in all the trip took 10 hours. We gave a few of them a cracker, but other than that they ate nothing on the way. The adults were talking about how American kids would do in this situation. There was almost no fussing, even from those who were really sick and no one complaining about being hungry or having to go potty. Imagine not eating for 10 hours and not going to the bathroom. The littlest one- 11 months- was dry when we arrived in Sodo.
There were more than a few serious wrecks on the way, but God protected our small “vessel” as we journeyed. One of bus helpers was amazing. He held the HIV+ kid for most of the trip and cleaned him up after every event.
We had so many serious road challenges. Even as we were within a mile of the new place were had to carefully navigate so the bus didn’t get stuck. It is the tail of the rainy season and the locals are ready for it to quit. The roads take a beating when the rains are so heavy, which makes life even more difficult than is normal.
The truck with all the beds and everything else arrived previous to us and we were really hoping that the guys would have everything set up, but nothing was done. So when we got here we threw the mattresses on the floor and everyone crashed, including us. When you’re this tired the bed does not matter.
Day 4 for real
The night of rest was sort of a mess. There were people knocking on the gate starting at 5, and we didn’t get to sleep until around 1. The bus got stuck as it was trying to leave and so they wanted us to come and help push them, but that was not happening. They eventually got themselves out around 7.
There was NO food here and so the guard and I went to town to buy bread for the kids. We took a “taxi” and it took about 25 minutes for the whole turn. If we had walked the entire way it would have been about an hour or more. 50 small loaves of bread for was about $4.5, so that was cheap enough. The kids ate and are now playing in the yard.
There is so much to do and so little to do it with. The land lord is going to paint the bedrooms today, which mean we can’t allow the kids to sleep in those rooms until tomorrow. We will have the same sleeping arrangements tonight as last night, but there is a roof over our heads and the rain isn’t on us. God is so good.
We had a meeting with a “social worker” who is advising the staff what the best means to go forward on several fronts. He really likes the idea of the donkeys, especially when we told him we thought they should pay the “fund” back so that there would be donkeys in the future for other needy widows. He suggested that they start a water service; meaning the widows would hire a man who would work the donkey and get water to sell to the local workers. The widow and the man would split to profits and he would provide housing and she would provide food and she could still probably put a little money away at the end of each month and provide her a “salary”.
We had pasta for dinner. The Ethiopian food gets to me after just a few meals and so it is nice to have something that is normal to me.
Tonight we are sleeping in a hotel and here are a few pics of a "5 star" hotel in Sodo. This literally is the nicest one. The first night we had only a cold shower, the second night there was no water at all.
Overall a good day and it seems we got a lot accomplished.
Day 5
We started the morning off early. We wanted to get out to pick up the kids so we could in turn go back out and get the donkeys.
We stopped by the bread store and got a bag full of bread loaves and took them to the kids and off we went. We take a mini van most places, as this is the only way we can get so many people moved around. We drove about 1 hour from town into the villages. We had some meetings already set up. 2 meetings were to deliver photo albums to relatives of the kids who are already in the States. This is a pretty big celebration for them as they get to see what is happening in their lives and see how they are growing.
We went from there to another village; the village we were scheduled to pick up a bunch of kids. Today is a festival holiday here and so many things are either stopped or at least postpones. This was the case with picking up the kids as well. We intended to pick up 15 and we were only able to pick up 2. This was best anyway, as we were not as prepared as we could have been to receive them, so they will be picked up on Monday.
We dropped off the kids at the care center and then went to town to rent trucks to pick up the donkeys. The girls went to see Dr. Mary and were very encouraged and we went to get donkeys. Everything here takes much longer than we are used to. It only took just a little less than an hour to drive out to get them, but then it took almost 3 hours to have them selected and then loaded onto the truck.
We drove back to the care center and dropped them off, but since the widows were not selected, we have to give them out tomorrow morning. So the donkeys are staying in the compound over night. The kids thought that was great, we’ll see what it looks like tomorrow morning.
We got back to the hotel to find out that we still did not have hot water, so we switched rooms. Unfortunately the entire hotel doesn’t have water, so I guess having only cold water was better than having no water at all.
We stopped by the bread store and got a bag full of bread loaves and took them to the kids and off we went. We take a mini van most places, as this is the only way we can get so many people moved around. We drove about 1 hour from town into the villages. We had some meetings already set up. 2 meetings were to deliver photo albums to relatives of the kids who are already in the States. This is a pretty big celebration for them as they get to see what is happening in their lives and see how they are growing.
We went from there to another village; the village we were scheduled to pick up a bunch of kids. Today is a festival holiday here and so many things are either stopped or at least postpones. This was the case with picking up the kids as well. We intended to pick up 15 and we were only able to pick up 2. This was best anyway, as we were not as prepared as we could have been to receive them, so they will be picked up on Monday.
We dropped off the kids at the care center and then went to town to rent trucks to pick up the donkeys. The girls went to see Dr. Mary and were very encouraged and we went to get donkeys. Everything here takes much longer than we are used to. It only took just a little less than an hour to drive out to get them, but then it took almost 3 hours to have them selected and then loaded onto the truck.
We drove back to the care center and dropped them off, but since the widows were not selected, we have to give them out tomorrow morning. So the donkeys are staying in the compound over night. The kids thought that was great, we’ll see what it looks like tomorrow morning.
We got back to the hotel to find out that we still did not have hot water, so we switched rooms. Unfortunately the entire hotel doesn’t have water, so I guess having only cold water was better than having no water at all.
Day 6
I didn’t sleep much, as the orthodox were doing their chanting literally all night and are still going this morning. What a sad life. They certainly are good at saying their prayers before men and being loud in the square.
The girls want me to meet Dr. Mary so the plan is to go there before we go to the compound to deliver the donkeys. It should be a busy morning, but then we are headed back to Addis, as we leave tomorrow evening. It will be nice to get a real shower.
AS in all of Ethiopia it seems, the schedule is only to think about, not really do. Instead of going to Dr. Mary’s we went to do the donkeys first, as the widows were supposed to be already waiting for us. In reality there were a couple of them there, but by the time we actually delivered the donkeys we certainly could have gone to see Dr. Mary. But this is Ethiopia and we are not going to be culture changers here, especially in just a week.
There was no water in the care center starting at 1 yesterday and the guy is supposed to come and fix the pump today, but I would be shocked if that happened. So the nannies ordered water to be brought up by the water service guy and his donkey; kind of ironic to have so many donkeys in the yard and then hire a guy to bring water, when there is actually a faucet in the front yard.
The nannies couldn’t make breakfast for the kids until they had water so we were encouraging the guys to get the water here quickly. The kids were really excited about the donkeys yesterday when they came in, but being hungry takes some f that fun away.
We found out that today is like our Christmas. We knew there was supposed to be a huge celebration, but we didn’t know that it was this big and it has really stopped a bunch of things from happening that could have easily happened had it been another day on the calendar, but God knows.
Since it is “Christmas” the kids told us that they always have meat, but the meat markets are all closed. We sent one of the guys out searching and he came back with about 10 lbs. of beef, so the kids will be very excited about that. They don’t often get to have meat, as it is so expensive.
Michelle thought that they needed something to distract them so she got out the bubbles and gave each child a small bottle. They LOVED it. So for an hour or so they played with those.
In the mean time the widows slowly came to the compound and we finally had them all lined up. We had to tell them what they were agreeing to, as we just didn’t want to give them a donkey with no stipulations. Some of the stipulations were things like they had to take good care of them, they had to find shelter for them, the couldn’t abuse them and they had to pay back a portion of the cost of the donkeys into the donkey fund so this could go on again in the future for some other needy widows; there are so many. After they all agreed we started taking names and getting their pictures. There is nothing that happens fast and to give away a little less than 30 took a couple of hours. We were limited to getting only this much this time because of the holiday no one was really excited about doing business; they will get more later.
Giving them away was every bit as emotional as I expected. There were very old women- 55-ish, all the way down to 20. For sure they all have a story to tell, but we didn’t have time to listen to them all and have them translated. They were all very excited about the future, though some were a little nervous about caring for them. Close to half were taken down to the church by a young man, so the widows didn’t have to be drug all over the place. They will in turn find some one to work the donkeys and make money, which they will share in.
One lady told us she had been an orphan, as her parents had dies some how the same day, and that from 12 on she had to fend for herself. Somehow her husband had died and she was back to being alone again. Life in Ethiopia is very hard; death is common and starvation, or at least severe hunger, is the normal existence of so many. When we handed her the rope of the donkey she was so thankful. We reminded them often that these were gifts from God for their care, and they were even more excited.
One grandma looked to be about 50. If she were an American she would look 75-80. Here she was, all dressed up coming from church, coming to get a donkey. I am not sure how it can be, but I told Teresa, she was very elegant; very classy. She is absolutely beautiful, and she has had no cosmetic surgery. But in Ethiopia time takes it toll so fast and life is so hard. They don’t complain because that would do no one any good. What a lovely lady.
As we did our work I could not stop thinking of Matt. 7:11 which says, “if you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in Heaven give good things to those who ask”. I kept thinking about how desperately wicked my own heart is, and how they were trying to make me to be the hero. I don’t want to be the hero and I don’t even know if this is the best way to help them, but we were there to do this. Since our Father knows exactly what we need it is amazing to think of the care that He extends to each of us. He is So Good. In Ethiopia I say, “God is Good” and they respond with “All the Time”.
From here we did get to go and meet Dr. Mary and see the compound they have. It is huge and for Ethiopian standards id gorgeous. There are many buildings and gardens that the kids could use and work in. Please pray that God would allow them to use this facility, as most of it is empty now, and it would be an awesome home for them, while they wait to go to their new homes.
We then went back to the compound to pick up the 2 newest kids from the village to take them to Addis. When kids are first brought in they are taken to the city to be thoroughly checked out by the Dr. and get all their paper work in order.
When we arrived at the compound a young lady-12- was there to talk to Michelle. She has been in the other care center for 3 years and sleeps at home each night, as her mom is dying. She speaks English well and is very sweet. She walked a long way to make sure that she got her face in front of Michelle again before Michelle left again. This is the “persistent widow”, though she is only 12 and has never married she gets the idea.
She told us that her mom is dying of kidney disease and that she and her 14 year old sister can’t go to school any more because they can’t afford the $40 per year for books and uniforms. They have no way of making money and they rent a house for $17 a month. All told, their entire daily living expenses are about $125 per month. The 12 year old has been asking Michelle for 3 years to find her a home, and if the 14 year old can go with her they would love it. The mom is likely to die very soon, as there is not much care for these kinds of things here. The girls really are very lovely and I hope that God finds some one to take them both.
From there we got on the road back to Addis with the 2 new kids. They are 2 and 4 and yesterday they were in a village, in a hut, with a dirt floor and we are pretty sure they have never taken a real bath. Zalech, the little girl’s big toe nail is almost totally gone from running barefoot and we assume she has some sort of fungus on it. Taydros, the little boy, 2, had some sort of “onesy” type of affair on and it had been on so long that Teresa thought she may have to rip it to get his head out. All their clothes were brown-from dirt.
Since our experience on the bus on the way down, we were a little concerned that there would be some throwing up, especially since they look malnourished and we are reasonably sure they have either a parasite of worms. A great combo for a 5 hour first time ever in a car.
Taydros is stoic to say the least. Teresa said it is like he is a paralytic. He doesn’t move from where you place him. Zalech is trying to hard to be happy and to please me. I look down at her and she musters a smile every time. As we drive, he slept for the first hour or so and she slept for about 2 hours. Then when she woke up she was looking out the window and watched as an entirely new world flew by her. She only knew her village and had possibly never even gone into Sodo. Imagine, the Ethiopian countryside, your first sights.
The ride was supposed to take 5 hours and it did almost to the minute. With about a half hour to go Zalech was looking out the window and saw the lights of the town. We are not talking Las Vegas, but literally single lights hanging from a cord in a shop. She was so excited. It was like our kids seeing the Christmas tree for the first time; pointing and gasping, laughing and talking. I couldn’t understand anything she said, but joy is easy to interpret.
About 10 minutes into the excitement, without warning, she threw up all over me and her self. She didn’t have any idea what was going on, and there was a lot coming out. We had forgotten to take a bucket so Teresa made a “bucket” out of a diaper and she filled 2 of those up. It only lasted maybe a minute, but the results were all over the seat and the both of us. Immediately she wanted to be happy again for me. I felt so bad for her and h looked up at me with a sweet smile, as if to say, “I love you Daddy”, even though we just met.
As you can tell my heart is broken for these kids. I can’t take them all, but we can each do our part, whatever that might look like and allow God to work through us to care for these helpless ones.
We had peanut butter and jam sandwiches for dinner and it was off to bed. By the way, that sandwich was really good.
Last Day
We knew this would be a difficult day. The Addis compound is almost empty. The 3 infants are here, there is a 12 year old who stays here to go to school, the little girl with the heart problem and Zalech and Taydros. Just a few staff are needed and the balance either went down to Sodo or had to decline the invitation to go, as it is just too far from here.
We packed up our things and then just played with those who remained. This proved to be a very serious bonding time. The car ride was the first step, but then this almost one on one time with them
was really sweet.
There is no question in my mind that you can love these
children as much as you do your biological kids. We have only been here for 6 days and my heart hurts so bad for these we are leaving behind.
By the time we return home we will have flown some 18,000 miles and missed not a little sleep, but I would do it all over again. Teresa told me that behind Grant’s event this has been the most life changing thing in her life. I agree.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)