Minneapolis 9-29-06 CHSFS VISIT

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I am blogging from Jaimee Jo's (Tanya's Sister) apartment in Minneapolis. We came up here on Thursday evening and are staying through Sunday.
Yesterday we met with Kristina from Children's Home here in Minneapolis. We had such a wonderful conversation! It was so good to meet and put faces with the voices we've been hearing on the phone. It was also so encouraging to hear their stories and as you can guess, give hugs! We are so happy that God has put us with Children's Home. They are so good at what they are doing, and they really care about families. Kaylee and Isaac went into the agency went with us. They were really good and they also got to watch the video that they made from the orphanage in Addis Ababa (Capital City of Ethiopia). The video was a very good depiction of life there. It was amazing to see how well the kids there are cared for. The video showed how they sun the kids, how they bathe them, feed them and sing, dance and play with them. Kaylee and Isaac didn't really like to see how they had to give them the shots and take blood samples for tests. Erin stayed with Lea and played with Malachi and Claira.
We also got to meet Jan who actually started the program for Ethiopia. She came into work on her day off because they had a referral for a family and they were going to call someone and tell them. They were so excited and it was really neat to see that.
The pictures above are as follows: The map picture shows how many kids have been placed by CHSFS from in homes. However, that was last year. It is now over 300!! The picture with the Ethiopian woman is from the Restaurant called Fasika here in St. Paul. It is an Ethiopian restaurant and the food was SOOOOOOO GOOD! We had Injera bread and Chicken Tibs. Injera bread is like this pizza crust sized bread that is a little spongy/moist like a pancake. By itself it really doesn't have much flavor, but it was so good with the chicken and vegetables. We all shared it, Tanya, Me, Lea, and Jaimee. Then we talked to the customers and they were all from Addis! they were so friendly and willing to answer our questions. Our waitress just came to America 11 mos. ago. We also went to a small Ethiopian market across the street, we are learning a great deal about the Ethiopian Culture. There is so much to tell but the morning is heating up here at Jaimee's apt. so I better go!

L

Update 9-25-06

Hello again everybody,
I want to keep writing in here, but it has been a few days.
We met again with our Social Worker for our 2nd Home Study visit last Fri. We had an exceptional talk and are thanking God so much for her!! She has been so helpful and easy to talk to. We drove to Schleswig, Iowa, where she lives and talked for about three hours. It was like a date for us Tanya and I because the kids were being cared for at home by some loving friends and family! We had a great talk for the hour ride down and hour back through the very beautiful loess hills.
I'll write more later.
L

Praying for our birth mother

This weekend as I was busily going on about my business of birthday party planning, church sunday school kickoff plans, laundry etc......I was reminded by the Holy Spirit to pray. I was walking down the stairs to our basement and all of a sudden my heart was instantly aching to pray for the health of our child and the birth mother. Most likely our child is conceived. Probably not born yet, but the reality that he or she is alive and growing is overwhelming. What pain and suffering is this birth mother going through. Does she have adequate food, water, nutrition? Most likely not. Oh, how I took for granted in my pregnancies all the medical care, proper diet, ultra sounds, prenatal vitamins, shelter.........There are so many unknowns as we wait on the Lord for our new precious child.
Dear Lord, I pray for the birth mother of our child. I know nothing of her situation. It is comforting to know you are in control of all things. I pray some how she would hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. I pray that You would be her hope. I pray for our child or children. I am feeling anxious about the realization that there are so many things I cannot control like I was able to with Kaylee, Isaac and Erin. Lord, you are teaching me to trust in You more. Thank you for your grace in my life. Thank you for giving us the desire to adopt.
Tanya

Happy Birthday, Kaylee

Golden Birthday tomorrow for Kaylee. She just laid down for bed and has that smile on her face- you know that special smile you have when you know that when you wake up you'll be 8 years old! Wow, i can't believe she is that age. Just yesterday she was five and the day before that she was 3. We started this blog for our adoption stuff, but it is also about our family and this is the big excitement for the next couple of days. We did do another round of cleaning at church tonite. It went well and i think we will have a pretty good system down after tonite for future cleanings!
In other adoption news, We will probably have another home study appointment in about 2 weeks. Right now we are going through some training materials from CHSFS agency and it has been excellent! We are praying for a someone somewhere on the other side of the world who will be (or may already be) carrying a child that God has designated for our family. I am asking God for faith!

L

God Provides Us With Adoption Funds

Tonight was the first night we officially began the cleaning duties of our church. We are praising God for the opportunity to earn money to put toward our adoption expenses. As we think of the upcoming adoption expenses we realize that it is because of God's grace we have a peace. We don't have 20,000 dollars. However, we know God has put the desire to adopt into our hearts and we are trusting Him to provide the funds. Even if we have to go into debt, I cannot imagine a better reason. We are beginning to feel such a bond to the baby He has chosen for us.
A few weeks ago, Isaac came to me with all of his piggy bank change. He said, "Momma, I want you to have my money to help buy our baby." (smile) I was so touched by his motivation to contribute. So this enthusiasm is now being directed toward church janitorial duties. Tonight this included emptying garbage cans, dusting window sills, scrubbing tables and polishing the drinking fountain. Kaylee was also such a big help cleaning tables, dusting, organizing sunday school curriculum, and keeping track of Erin who was running around barefoot happily chasing a rubber ball. We grabbed cheeseburgers and had a picnic before we began. Layne hopes to bring some music next time so we can dance around the church as we clean. (smile)
Well, as a mom who is experiencing the many blessings of raising three I am so excited for the adventure we are on as we are officially "expecting" our fourth child (possibly 5th if God has twins in store for us).

Mr. P's Pizza

We met with a couple who has a little girl from Ethiopia. The Langtons. It was so exciting and they were great!
I can't believe how God works. It turns out that Ta knew the girl from when she was at N'western and they lived on the same hall! Also, The Langtons traveled to Ethiopia with a family from Nebraska that we have e-mailed and talked with about at year ago. The Langtons are actually awaiting a referral right now and could be traveling back to Ethiopia very soon. God is growing their family even more!

It was just very obvious that God brought our families together and to hear their story was just amazing. I know our story will be very different, but to know what they did and who they met, how they traveled. It was very encouraging and exciting to hear.

L