We don’t know when
· we will travel to see or bring home Abby
· we will list / sell our home
· we will move
We don’t know where
· Chris will get a job
· where we will live
We don’t know how
· it will all come together
But we do know the One who does.
John 14:18 "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you." I know this verse is referencing how He adopts us into His forever family but I am also taking it as an encouragement that He will also not leave Abadit an orphan, He will come to her as well.
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While living here in Illinois we have been blessed to see the four beautiful seasons a few times. When we lived in Texas we had summer and a few flashes of what we all may have thought might have been the other seasons (it felt like we needed to make sure we didn't blink during spring when the beautiful bluebonnets were blooming so we wouldn't miss seeing them) so since we got here we have been soaking in the different seasons.
The Lord talks about the different seasons in the Bible too. In Ecclesiastes 3: 1 “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” I feel that the time we are in is to be busy "caring for our crop before the harvest". We have so many life changing events on our plate that we need to just keep focusing on the Lord and what He puts before us to accomplish each day or we will get overwhelmed.
This is our year for change. Chris’s dad passed away, we are preparing to move (painting, putting things in storage, preparing our hearts etc.), Chris is retiring and is looking for a whole new career, Chris and the teens are working on getting their black belts in Taekwondo, I am working at church as the Early Childhood Coordinator (after 19 years of working as a volunteer), Daniel is a senior, both the teens are seeking to learn to drive, we are adopting Abby from Ethiopia and finishing getting our funds to we can go get her and bring her home.
I think in pictures and the image that comes to my mind right now is that of a watercolor painting. It turns out beautiful when it is finished but the patron who commissioned the painting isn’t exactly sure what it will look like when it is finished because the artist’s hand, water, paint and paper work together in harmony to create the final product. We can see the artist, who is the Lord, working in our lives and how He is using the different elements and circumstances in our lives to do the great work He wants done; we look forward in great anticipation to see His completed work but at this time we are focusing on being captivated by watching Him work through the process of it.
Each time we think we are getting close to bring Abby home the timeline gets pushed back a little bit farther and that is what today has brought us. Right now we are still waiting in her paperwork to be finished. In third world countries time just isn't measured the way it is here. For us it is each moment being calculated and budgeted so that it is all accounted for and we use watches, Iphones, lap tops, fax machines and cars that are always filled with gas to run them. For them it is sun up to sunrise and what day brings in the middle. They may have a computer in an office but when rural work needs to be done (going to a village to verify information) it may be via a car (after fueling up at a couple of stations of the gas is being rationed), donkey, pencil, paper and walking. Their version of saying "tomorrow, next week or in a month" simply means they are working on it as opposed to the literal meanig of those time measurements. So they said at the end of October about "a month" before Abby's paperwork would be done and we are still waiting on it; the good news is that it is being moved forward and it is not forgotten.
When her paperwork is finished then:
· Our paperwork will be sent to the Ethiopian government and we will be given a court date (about 4-11 weeks from when it is turned in). (Just to put that in perspective If that was today 1/26/12 that would be end of beginning of March -middle of April)
· After that 30 days then we will be given a court date, which will be another 30 days away due to their case load). (Our court date would be end of April-ish - May-ish)
o During this period of time Abby will be moved to Addis to our agency’s caring facility three.
· After that time we should be able to travel for trip 1 to get to see Abadit and visit with her at the caring facility in Addis. We should be there about a week and during that time we will officially adopt her according the Ethiopian government.
· Next we will wait about 6 -8 weeks (maybe even longer) to be invited back for our 2nd trip. (end of May-ish - July-ish??) Abby will get to stray with us in our hotel while we are there. We should have a trip within the country to take Abby back to see her friends from where she has been staying before she was moved to Addis. We will then travel back to Addis, finish the paperwork for the US and then get to bring her home!
Our timeline as we know it at this time –
Feb/ Mar – we are packing items to put into storage and painting our house to prepare it to be listed to sell.
Apr / May – we list our home to sell???
Sept / Oct – We hope Chris starts his new job in OR / WA area … we move with him?? Stay behind until the house sells??
· At some point we will travel to Ethiopia for our 2 trips
· At some point Chris will travel to the west coast for job interviews
· At some point we will need to look for a place to live in our new location
We are waiting and trusting the Lord in His perfect timing and we are lifting up our prayers to Him, as He invites us to in Phil 4. Please join us in prayer that Abby’s paperwork would be finished soon, that the Lord would comfort Abby’s heart in the wait and that He would provide the last portion of what is needed for our adoption funds. Then watch with us as our Lord directs our paths as we lean on Him.
Later in that chapter of Ecclesiastes it speaks of enjoying the work the Lord puts before us and for us to recognize that He is in control (Ecc 3: 10-15). We are praising the Lord for how He is guiding us to do the work He has put before us in this season and we are praising Him for the yield of that work. We praise Him for our good health, all that He has provided for us and how He made a way for us to be with Him in heaven forever and for us to be close with Him now. We praise Him for the help He has brought us. One of the wonderful ways He has cared for us is by sending Chris's mom to help us in so many ways (help with daily life, getting ready to move and with the kids while we are away in Ethiopia!) His blessings are overwhelming (the key is for me to keep my eyes on Him and not on the circumstances around us).
Thank you for partnering with us in prayer; it is the most important and powerful action we can do. God has the power to move mountains, I know that, I am confident of it and I am asking Him to do it.
In Jesus love,
Donna and the rest of the nest! JJ JJJ …. J
(If you would like to support our adoption you can donate through Lifesong &/or buy coffee through our link - both links are on the right side of our blog page)
