The latest news...

Well, I am way behind on all the updates from the past week. We have been wading through paperwork, meeting new adoption families, reading lots and lots about African adult adoptees, and trying to get our brains around the fact that we were APPROVED!

Today I am going to share the story up until now. How did we get to Uganda? I'm so glad you asked...

August 20, 2009 - My precious Internet savvy friend Rhonda sends me a link to a blog telling me that this girl (Katie Davis) is NOT wasting her life! I go immediately to the site...because I'm all about knowing people who are not wasting their lives. I am captured by her story. I am also interested because one of my close friends Amanda Hill lived in Uganda for 3-4 months and is not writing a book in NYC on the story of orphans in Uganda. A bond is forged that I do not understand.

August 21, 2009 - Send off an email to Amanda to find out what she knows about Amazima Ministries. I sit with the girls and begin to read Katie's blog to Anli and Virginia Grace. We are all captured by the passion this young girl has for the least of these. I want the girls to hear and know about young women of today that are living with "Crazy Love." I learn that Katie Davis is also reading the book "Crazy Love" just like me. We are both stirred to live beyond ourselves.

August 27, 2009 - Leave for Athens, Alabama to visit friends Brooke and Joey...and the kiddos! We talk a LOT about God's desire for us to pour out and what it looks like to love our neighbor as much as we love ourselves. We are all of one heart burning to have a wild adventure loving God and others. I give Brooke the book "Crazy Love" and tell her about Amazima Ministries and Katie Davis.

August 28, 2009 - Amanda texts Brooke while we are there at her house. I tell her to ask Amanda to call me as soon as she can! I am totally connected to the work in Uganda...and Jay can't deny that he is too.

September 1, 2009 - Talk to Amanda on the phone and find out lots about Uganda! I don't even know at this time that you can adopt from Uganda. I learn about what she is writing and all she learned in Uganda. She doesn't know Katie personally, but she has friend in Jinja, Uganda (this means nothing to me at the time). We have to get off before I can talk to her about adoption.

September 3, 2009 - The girls and I sit down to read new posts from Katie during our Bible time to pray for the work going on there. We see they have posted a list of items they need. The girls decide that when they are able to get out there savings on the 5th of September that they will use their $35 to buy the items these little ones need...Jay and I stand amazed in tears. Our family is suddenly partnering with the work in Uganda.

September 4, 2009 - I email the contact info on Amazima Ministries' website to get more info on sending the supplies. The administrator Gwen emails me back...and I noticed that she has a blog...and is adopting from Uganda. So...though I am not currently able to read blogs...I go. I see that she and her husband have adopted 2 little girls from China (where we started) and now are adopting 2 little ones from Uganda...along with 2 biological boys about our girls' ages. For the first time I realize you can adopt from Uganda. WE PRAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

September 7, 2009 - We go shopping for the Ugandan orphans. God stretches our dollars to buy almost everything on the list!!! We couldn't find the ringworm cream:)

September 7, 2009 - I receive an email that tells me all about how she adopted from Uganda. She tells us that she is working through Amani Baby Cottage. She gives us as many details as she can about her adoption (she has not traveled to get her children yet). We google Amani and begin reading information. There is a phone number on the website...it's Labor day...but the director answers the phone!!! I tell him our story, about the skin cancer, about the denials...everything. He tells me..."it's no problem." He gives me the phone number of the adoption coordinator named Mary. We are in shock! We pray...

September 8, 2009 - We mail off the package of goodies for the little ones in Uganda. We pray over those children...knowing that we are more than connected. We pray...

September 9, 2009 - I talk with Mary from Amani for about an hour. I share our history, our challenges, our fears. She is thrilled to hear from us and encourages us that all of this will not be a problem in Uganda. I ask about cost...it's about half to a third of the cost of China. We still don't have the money to begin. Dave Ramsey is in our heads and we know that God will provide the provision when our child is ready. We tell them we will have to move slowly until we have the money to be matched and file for custody.

She tries to send me the application...it doesn't come. BUT...Gwen just happens (Um...can you say GOD!!!) to send me an application in an email. I thought she might have talked with Mary and had sent it on her behalf...she did not. She just sent it because she felt led! We fill out the application on the email form and send it off. We head to church for AWANA that night and stop by the church office to fax a hard copy to them. We still haven't had time to get references together, mail the application money check, and write our autobiographies. But...we will as we can.

September 10, 2009 - At 1:51pm we get the follow email:

Greetings,
Your application has been approved!

Less than 24 hours after emailing in our form...we are APPROVED! Remember we still haven't sent in our money, references, or autobiographies!!! We find out that there are not any girls at this time...but we don't have any money...so we'll just see what God does!!!

That night I call my mom. She is thrilled! God provides the money to go ahead with the process through my precious mother from my grandmother who passed away in April. God is too GOOD! We call lots of people and celebrate!

September 11, 2009 - Work on finding out about the status of our homestudy through DFCS for fostering. This begins a hunt for a homestudy agency who IS certified to do international adoptions. We spend the afternoon celebrating!!! We are APPROVED!
We send off an email to Mary to let her know that we have the provision to move ahead...AND that if God brought the provision, we are opened to seeing who God has for us to adopt...boy or girl!

September 14, 2009 - I talk with Mary at Amani and talk with her about the good news of provision to move ahead. She and I are so thrilled to see God at work so quickly! She shares that they do have some boys in our approved age range (from our foster homestudy). In Uganda they must (and SHOULD)do everything they can to make sure there is not a family member that wants to care for the children. They place ads in all the papers to let everyone know. This must last for 4 weeks. She tells me that it would be between now and 4 weeks for the match! We begin to turn our attention towards the fun of paperwork and homestudy!

That afternoon...a trail hits. A very hard night. But...the Spirit is at work! The day ends with joy and peace...praise God!

September 15, 2009 - We get the following email from Mary:

"Greetings precious amani families,
I want to give you an update to three families that have recently gone to court. One family, Arnold's family, has received their ruling and now wait for the written order. He will be coming home soon!

Two other families, Josephine and Asharif families, went to court on Monday. We are so grateful that the judge gave the time frame for their ruling: 2 weeks. This has been the normal turn around for rulings, so we are so glad there is not a delay. Sometimes, a judge will give the ruling a bit quicker, but we are thankful there are no delays. The judge used the word "deferred", but this means the ruling was not given immediately, but in two weeks. This is a great thing!

We have another family, Luke and Benjamin's family, that just had their care order papers signed!! They now have custody of two precious little boys.

We have two other families waiting for court dates: Marvin's family, and Matthias and Daisy's family. We hope to have those court dates soon...it seems Marvin's judge may have a large docket and will give a date when cleared. We know God has an appointed day!!!!

Two more families, Gift's family and Max and Gavin's family, have their care order(custody) papers in the probation office to get signed.

Bobby's family and Patrick and Nathan's family are sending their papers by Fed Ex.

Another family, Nathan's family, is sending their care order papers today by Fed EX. This family are missionaries in Mongolia!! How awesome is that!

Four more families have been approved and are waiting to be matched!! God has truly been amazing and blessed the children at Amani Baby Cottage."

That is us at the very bottom! We are just out of the gates and it's great to begin to talk with so many that are going before us on this journey! We know many of these families through email and phone calls. We can't wait to meet the others and form a group that can support and encourage each other as we travel this road...and when we come home!

Whew...well...that is the journey up until this morning! Who knows what each day from now will bring! We have learned to just enjoy the journey. We don't know where this will take us. We learned that the hard way this year. It has been a roller coaster. This one might not go all the way through either. But, we are walking...step by step...with the light of His Word of love for the orphans.

It has already been a mix of celebration and trial. But, when we see the walk of Christ how dare we expect an easy road? For the joy set before Him Jesus endured the cross!!! Hush my mouth.

Thanks for joining the journey. Thanks for praying. Thanks for supporting. Thanks for your interest. Thanks for your own walk of faith that challenges us. Thanks for your friendship. Praise God from whom all blessing flow.

We don't know how, where, when, or what this road will bring. We do know God opened what seemed like a shut door to adoption right now, provided the funds, and now has just said to walk.
As my very wise and wonderful hubby said..."It's about how we walk the journey...God knows the destination." Amen.