ethiopian faith journey

(Follow link to the right 'OUR STORY FROM THE BEGINNING' for more of our story)

“For I know the plans I have for you”, declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11.

God has been writing our story in His book of life – orchestrating details and making connections for our faith journey to Ethiopia for some time. Here is a glimpse of what God has unfolded for us and the journey He has called us to – God has written the story start to finish, but we are just beginning to receive this blessing. He will unfold His journey for us a little bit every day and we are blessed to have you experience the love of Christ for His children with us. There will be a day when we know the whole story and I pray that we can spend eternity with each of you singing praises of His goodness together!

The above verse from Jeremiah goes on to state, “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord…” (v. 12-14)

We have called upon God and prayed to Him and He was listening. We sought Him with all our hearts and we found Him calling us to Ethiopia.

After we adopted Eliana, God led us to cross paths with many people who were touched by adoption, considering adoption or knew someone adopting. After seeing the way Eliana’s story touched lives, I (Angie) began giving out our phone number to anyone showing interest, praying that God would use our blessing to touch others for adoption. I received a phone call one day from a woman, Jen (& husband, Larry, also in the process of adopting), who expressed several people had given her my name & phone number, from varying circumstances and she felt that God had placed it on her heart to connect with me. They were using the same agency, All God’s Children International, and they actually lived only 3 miles from us – ‘isn’t that a coincidence’ we commented. We kept in touch and I was blessed by watching God at work through their journey to Ethiopia for their beautiful daughter Aleena. By chance, we actually met in person at the Little League field while watching our boys and we shared the joy of their upcoming travel to Ethiopia in crossing at the ball fields! About 4 weeks ago, Jen shared with me with that Aleena has 2 biological brothers that were later relinquished for adoption. After petitioning the Lord and praying for Aleena’s brothers, they felt God was telling them not to adopt them. She was broken and crying out for these boys and the Lord’s provision for them.

Upon receiving the email, something stirred in my heart…the same quiet knock God gave me when He brought Eliana to us. That day, I knelt at my bedside and prayed for these boys that God would bless and protect them and lead them to the family He had already chosen for them. I prayed that God would break our hearts for these boys if I was hearing the knock from Him and not from within my own selfish desires. Joe and I began to pray for these boys and the families that would be approached about them – ‘Lord…let the people hear your heart for them and bless their precious lives.’ Every family contracted with All God’s Children (AGCI) prayed over the placement of these boys and each one received a ‘no’ from God. When there was one family left to contact, we called AGCI and stated that although we were not currently contracted with them, we were praying over them and felt God calling our hearts to them. At this point, our hearts had been broken for these boys and our confirmation from the Lord would be that He stirred every other waiting family’s hearts to say ‘no’. On November 26, 2007, we received a call from AGCI that these boys had not been placed. Joe and I prayed together once more for these precious lives and received clear calling from God that our sons, Muaz (age 7) and Bereket (3 months) were being saved for us. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

As of Friday, November 30, we are an officially contracted family with All God’s Children International and are pressing forward at mock speed to bring our sons home! Our adoption process in being done in reverse order since normally the home study and paperwork comes first and placement with your child follows. Well – God is working this miracle for us in reverse, so it is a race to catch up and bring them home. Our second confirmation from God that this was His calling for us is that it is also beyond us financially. God is made strong in our weakness and we are about to experience that in all of His fullness. In the next few weeks, we will be watching God make the miracle of approximately $18,000 happen (and then another $20,000 in the next 3-4 months)! In the past, I struggled with making this need public in order to adopt again, but God has shown us His need for these two boys to be safe, loved and growing in Christ. It is about watching an awesome God work a miracle and giving Him the glory for who He is! It is about leading others to Christ by experiencing His love for His children (our boys) lived out to the fullest measure…

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7 The Lord is working in powerful ways and we are excited to see Him work a miracle…

Joey has arrived!

July 31, 2008

THE LORD PROVIDES...







We have been so blessed to enjoy our wonderful little home for the past 11 years with a beautiful yard, precious neighbors (whom we have grown to love) & the Mebert family (Angie's sister, husband & 4 kids) just 5 houses down the road. Since the Lord doubled our family, we have become aware that there is a season for everything & our 1040 sq. ft. ranch has become quite full... so we put the house up for sale 2 months ago. By the grace of God in this housing market, our house sold within 2 months and we were even able to make some profit out of it. We will be closing on our beloved Ross St. home by Aug. 27.
When we sold the house, we had no idea where we would move to, but we knew God had a plan for our growing family so we began to search for 'the-deal-of-the-century' to find a larger house. The Lord has always been faithful to provide for our needs and this is no exception...we signed a purchase agreement on our new home yesterday. This is surely a buyers market and we found a bank repo for a wonderful price in a great sub in Grand Blanc. We will be so very blessed to enjoy 2400 sq. ft. in our new home - it feels like a palace! We have 4 bedrooms large enough to bunk siblings in (with double closets) & a kitchen big enough for all our food and kitchen stuff (we now use the basement & 1/2 bath to store stuff) - the dining room is big enough for our family to fit at the table without crawling under the table to get out!! The yard is still spacious with room to run and play football, soccer and baseball (essential with 5 boys...& 1 girl).
God is so faithful & we praise Him for His provision...

July 23, 2008

SUMMER JOY...


"But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you."
Psalm 5:11






There is nothing more priceless than the smile on the face of your child...you know that special look that each of them has which is a reflection of the unspeakable joy in their hearts. The look is different on the face of each child & yet the feeling in a mother's heart is the same. It is powerful & tender; it is filled with gratitude to our Creator for giving life to each of our children and then allowing us to invest in those lives for a God-ordained time. It reminds me that it is my privilege & responsibility to disciple each of these children I have been gifted with to grow in love and admonition of the Lord; the only constant source of love, protection & joy. My heart is filled with joy each time my children smile & I praise God for His priceless gifts...

July 21, 2008

BASEBALL SEASON REFLECTIONS...



LITTLE LEAGUE 2008 SEASON HAS COME TO AN END...
It was a wonderful season of great family fun for everyone. We were so blessed to have baseball be a family affair this year with coaching from daddy, papa, Uncle Ryan & Aunt Kimmie. Our boys enjoyed the sport as well as the sportsmanship & their younger siblings had fun watching them play as well. We began the season the day after Muaz & Bereket arrived home and Muaz started playing in the very first game. It was so much much to watch his skills improve & his love for the game as well. Ethan had a wonderful season & his skills improved greatly as well. His favorite position was to be either at pitcher or first base with his cousin Keegan at the other to have some great plays as a 'cousin-duo'. Aiden finished his season with a broken (batting) arm and only missed one game. He learned quickly how to bat one-handed as a lefty and catch and throw with one hand as well.
Our kids are so very blessed to have grandparents that are so involved and devoted to them - they enjoyed the company of grandma Theresa & grandma & papa at nearly every game. They were also blessed to have great-grandma & great-papa & their 'next-door-neighbor grandparents' at a few games to cheer them on as well. Life is so much sweeter when shared with the love & support of family & dear friends...



ASPERGER PATIENT PROGRESS...



"O LORD my God, I called to you for help and you healed me."
Psalm 30:2

Aiden's wrist is healing well and he was able to advance to a short cast for the next 2 weeks - he is enjoying the mobility in his elbow again and mom is relieved to have a nice, new - clean cast on!

Bereket's eye is healing well from surgery - no signs of infection or complication. It will be some time before we know what his left eye will look like and how it will function (we know he will not have sight, but I am referring to mechanical function). He still has a hard time opening it real wide and it is turned in more than before. The surgeon is not sure if his eyes will track together or what the strength of his eye musculature will be...we will have to wait & see. He is really light sensitive in the left eye and prefers to keep both eyes shut in the full sun.

God is healing the Asperger patients & we praise Him for sustaining us through some unhappy nights and discontent patients. God is always faithful...







July 14, 2008

SURGERY DAY...


PRECIOUS 'BABY BEAR'...
HERE IS BEREKET BEFORE SURGERY (LEFT) & AFTER SURGERY (RIGHT). THE SURGEON DIAGNOSED HIM WITH PERSISTANT VASCULAR DISEASE IN THE LEFT EYE. HE HAD TO REMOVE THE LENS, CLEAR THE BLOOD & PERFORM SEVERAL OTHER REPAIRS. HIS RETINA IS DISORGANIZED, SO HE HAS NO VISION IN HIS LEFT EYE & WILL NEVER REGAIN VISION IN THE LEFT EYE. WE HAVE NOT SEEN THE LEFT EYE YET BECAUSE IT IS COVERED, BUT HE HAD TO REMOVE SOME OF THE COLORED PORTION OF HIS LEFT EYE, WHICH WILL LEAVE HIM WITH SOME COSMETIC ISSUES. THEY WILL PROBABLY RECOMMEND A COLORED CONTACT LENS AT SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE TO ADDRESS THIS.
WE ARE PRAISING GOD THAT HIS RIGHT EYE IS NORMAL - THE SURGEON DID NOT FEEL HE HAD ANY ISSUES TO ADDRESS IN THE RIGHT EYE AT THIS TIME! WE HAVE TRUSTED THAT GOD WOULD PROTECT HIS VISION AT A LEVEL HE KNEW HE NEEDED AND ARE SO GRATEFUL FOR A NORMAL RIGHT EYE!
THE SURGEON DOES NOT FEEL HE HAS GLAUCOMA, BUT THE UNDERLYING ISSUES FROM HIS EYE STRUCTURE DID CAUSE INCREASED EYE PRESSURE IN THE LEFT WHICH PRESENT MUCH THE SAME AS GLAUCOMA. HE WILL CONTINUE TO RECEIVE FOLLOW UP CARE WITH DR. TRESE THROUGHOUT HIS LIFETIME TO MONITOR BOTH EYES AND ONCE AGAIN WE ARE SO GRATEFUL FOR A HIGHLY SKILLED AND KIND HEARTED SURGEON (WHAT A WONDERFUL COMBINATION!).
BEREKET IS RESTING WELL RIGHT NOW AND WE ARE PRAYING HE WILL STAY PEACEFUL THROUGH THE NIGHT (HE ONLY GOT 3 HOURS SLEEP LAST NIGHT - HE WAS SCREAMING & CRYING MOST OF THE NIGHT BECAUSE WE THINK HE HAS HAND/FOOT/MOUTH VIRUS). WE WILL BE SEEING THE SURGEON FOR FOLLOW UP AS WELL AS THE PEDIATRICIAN FOR THE VIRUS TOMORROW.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS FOR 'BABY BEAR' - WE FELT A STRONG PRECENSE OF LOVE & SUPPORT WITH US TODAY...

July 11, 2008

SURGERY SCHEDULED


Bereket had a busy week of appointments & testing for his eyes with the retina specialist at Beaumont, which caused his left eye to become really irritated from all the activity. Wednesday we noticed that he had some bleeding behind his left eye that is pooling behind the colored portion of his eye. We took him back to the doc and they are concerned, but felt the pressure was stable enough to wait for scheduled surgery on Monday. They have no idea why the eye is bleeding or what is going on in that eye, but plan to get some answers from surgery Monday. They will also be testing and examining the right eye during surgery to determine why the optic nerve is enlarged and measure eye pressure, etc. We are so grateful for the excellent care he has already recieved and look forward to getting some answers to the mystery of our precious 'Baby Bear's eyes on Monday. Please pray that his eye pressure remains stable through the weekend and for the skill of the surgeons on Monday at 10:00 am.
Bereket's older siblings are getting very concerned for his eyes after his multiple appointments. They are noticing the changes in his eyes and the increased squinting and rubbing - pray for them as they worry about their baby brother as well. Having siblings is such a gift from God and it melts our hearts to hear both their laughter and their tears for each other. Praise God for the journey He has set before each one of us...

July 9, 2008

BABY 6 LOOKS GREAT!




PRECIOUS...
HERE IS OUR PERFECTLY HEALTHY 6TH CHILD'S (5TH SON) PICTURE DEBUT. WE HAD A 3-D ULTRASOUND TODAY AND HE IS ROUGHLY 1 POUND, 3 OUNCES & LOOKED GREAT. THE PICTURE TO THE LEFT IS THE 3-D VIEW OF HIS SWEET FACE WITH HAND UP TO HIS CHIN (IT SCANNED A LITTLE LIGHT). THE KIDS WENT WITH US AND THOUGHT IT WAS SO NEAT TO SEE BABY BROTHER LOOK SOOO REAL. I COULD HAVE SAT IN THERE FOR AN HOUR LISTENING TO THE OOH'S AND AHH'S & 'THAT'S HIS LEG - THAT'S HIS NOSE - IS HE SLEEPING? - I SEE HIS EYES - HIS FEET ARE TINY!' WHAT A PRIVILEGE TO SHARE THIS PREGNANCY WITH SO MANY EAGER BIG SIBLINGS READY AND WAITING TO LAVISH HIM WITH LOVE. ONCE AGAIN, WE ARE HUMBLED BY GOD'S GOODNESS...

July 8, 2008

ELIANA IS 3!












HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY ELIANA!


Our Guatemalan-American princess turned 3 on the 4th of July. She is such a blessing to our lives and we thank God for her every day. Her brothers are pictured above- helping to make the castle cake and frost the cupcakes - they were so excited to help & it was one of those moments I stood and thanked God for this life He has blessed me with. Her 3 older brothers also picked out her party dress for her (we had to go through 4 dresses before they could agree on one - how sweet is that?!). Thank you Lord for Eliana and the blessing she is to our family!

BABY BEAR'S EYES

















Today Baby Bear had the privilege of being seen by the leading retina specialist in the US at Beaumont Hospital. We spoke to 2 different families in the waiting room - one lived 12 hours away and the other was from W. Virginia & they bring their children to see Dr. Trese regularly for treatment. We are so grateful to live only one hour from such excellent care! Bereket will have additional testing on Thursday, which may give the doc more insight into what he may find during surgery on Monday, July 14. He is not sure what is going on in his left eye - he needs to do surgery to determine what is behind the lens and will most likely remove it and address any issues he finds. He is doubtful that he will have much vision in the left eye & if he removes the left lens, he will not replace it until he is a teenager. Dependant on the issues, he may be able to use a contact lens or glasses to gain some slight sight in the left. During surgery, they will examine the right eye for mechanical issues, pressures, etc. He does not know what level of vision he has in his right eye and stated that it will be several years before we know that for sure. Kids can appear to do well with very low levels of gross vision and until he is able to focus and tell us what he sees, we will not know exactly how much vision he has.

July 1, 2008

HUMBLY BLESSED!


33 IS A REALLY GOOD PLACE TO BE!


















I am so blessed...
I came home from an appointment on my birthday to a wonderful husband, who was cooking us a delicious birthday dinner, and 5 precious children. The older boys greeted me on the front porch with the cards they had worked very hard to hand craft with huge smiles on their faces as I read through each one. I was thanking God for His hand in my life and how rich my life is at 33 because of His guiding, grace and mercy. I wouldn't wish to be anywhere else, but right in the center of this life He has created for me...thank you Jesus!

EPHESIANS 1:3-6 (NLT)

"All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son."

ADOPTION IS GREATER THAN THE UNIVERSE