Two Months Down, Baby!!

I remember when we first began this journey, I could not imagine getting our dossier finished- much less what it would be like to be at the momentous 2 month waiting mark. It feels great! So far, the waiting has been a lot different than I thought it would be. I have my good days, characterized by a sense of peace and firm faith in my God to bring all things to pass as He sees fit. Other days, my bad days, I am an emotional mess! I cry at the drop of a hat, I take all adoption news as a bad omen and I collapse into bed at night with a longing I scarcely feel I can handle much longer.

I have no idea how old Nya will be when we are united with her. Therefore, I don't have retail therapy to help me get through the wait. :) Surprisingly, I have manged fairly well to keep my mind occupied thus far. We homeschool year round with breaks here and there, so I am still busy with that. I have the task of planning a move soon because Clayton was blessed by our Lord to achieve his dream job- Chaplain in the U.S. Navy!!! Therefore, we will be moving in a few months so that will certainly help keep my mind occupied. I have two great little men to raise daily and right now we are in VBS and that always makes for a chaotic week! Somehow, though, I have a sense that our lives are "missing" an element and I know all you adoptive parents know to what I am referring. Although Nya has yet to become a part of our family in the legal and physical sense, her presence is missed and felt in my heart nonetheless...

One comforting, and also surprising, occurrence, is that whenever I am alone with God (and most especially when I am worshipping in church) I am overwhelmed literally with love and longing for our girl. I have come to treasure those moments. The Lord renews my strength, affirms my dreams, and prepares me for what is ahead in those moments. So, this is my 2 month post. Only 5-7 more months to go until we see our girl's face. Can't wait!

Families United in Ethiopia Today!

Today, 6 families are traveling to Ethiopia to meet their children. Meet their children...amazing! The Cordells, Kidds, Wests, Starrs, Schaetz, and Gardners are all part of the AWAA family who have concluded the road to adoption and are now on the cusp of a new journey. How wonderful... Just wanted to document this day. It's been a while since we have had families travel. With the court closings approaching, there will probably be only one other travel group until Fall.

Total Trust in God

Because this is a blog dedicated to the chronicling of our adoption journey to bring Nya home, I thought it important to update everyone on the latest events in Ethiopia. There has been a severe drought going on for quite a while in Ethiopia and it has had devastating consequences on many fronts. One, and the most important, is that this nation's economy has been severely weakened due to the fact that the economy is centered in agriculture. As a result of this crippling drought, many people are literally starving and the word famine is on the tip of economic forecaster's tongues. In addition, the drought has caused the country to conduct scheduled power outages regularly. This has, obviously, led to a dramatic change in the country's business activities which rely on technology. Specifically, court proceedings are slowing down (majorly) and, therefore, so are adoptions.
The bad news does not end there. It appears that at least 11 adoption agencies have had all pending adoptions suspended indefinitely due to suspicion of unethical business practices (not on the part of the agencies necessarily; rather, on the part of the Ethiopian orphanages with which they work). Sigh.......
It is always amazing to me that wherever a righteous cause is forming (adopting orphans is a righteous cause no matter how one looks at it), darkness tries to invade and corrupt. Money and greed...
However, the purpose of this post was not to lament the dire situation we are facing in the adoption world. It is to say this. My daughter is alive in Ethiopia right now and she is living in these uncertain times. Once again, I am faced with an incredibly odd feeling- one that only other adoptive parents can understand. I am filled with an almost overwhelmingly fierce maternal desire to be with her and protect her. Even if she is still with her mother, I feel a connection to both- a real and powerful love for both. As a parent, I tend to take on the whole of my children's existence as my responsibility. In reality, however, they all belong to God and not me. I am making a choice to place total and complete trust in my Father to care for the daughter He is so graciously giving me. I trust You, Lord, for I know that You see her, and love her, and will bring her to me when the time is right. I am but a steward.
To those who are reading this, can I ask you to pray? Not just for Nya, but for Ethiopia. These people have seen immense suffering and God can heal them and their land. Let's not forget them in our prayers and giving.