We have been in Ethiopia now for 2 weeks. We thought the end was near... But we did not get the news we had hoped today. Despite being in constant communication with the embassy on our case and what we needed to clear and be on a plane home tonight, it didn't happen. Not for lack of doing what needed to be done or for the fight to get the visa...but because of government work schedules. Despite what we were told would happen if we had xyz, when the government works only until 12noon, by golly, they only work until noon.
But besides that... We want to share what else has been going on here. Things with Tariku are going well. We are getting to know each other. We are connecting...but we have a long way to go. He will go to anyone. But we have seen if someone he goes to picks him up, he will reach out for me/us. There is another post about that coming... And how our cocoon will continue once we get home. But that's coming in the next couple of days.
This trip has been more than about our adoption. Way more. We knew it before we left home. But we weren't sure exactly what God had for us. What we were to do exactly.
Some background... It all started back when we learned about the conditions of 'The O' as Will calls it (the orphanage). We heard from a friend of ours that the conditions of The O were not good. We heard that T was covered in urine. Slept on urine soaked sheets. Most kids didn't have a diaper on. T didn't have anything to drink and only got a small amount of food and cried when there was no more. These things broke us. We were half a world away and could not do a thing.
But we prayed.
We shared with friends what we were hearing and we prayed together for provision for The O and for T and all the children. We sent money for diapers and food. We sent money agin. We prayed more...wondering/worrying every day if our T was going to bed with a full belly or hungry.
My friend Christy asked if she could share our story and the need...the desperate need for food, diapers, etc... And I said yes of course. And she shared it. And people responded. And more people responded. Her friends.... People I don't know... Who wanted nothing more than to help and care for the least of these. People donated dollars. And a few hundred turned into a thousand...I was blown away. Christy would tell me wait, more came in... And yet more. God had a plan and it was becoming clear that this plan was not just about diapers and formula. God had something much bigger in mind. He knew the needs. He knew the time. But we didn't. But we prayed for his direction. God show us.
And show us He did. We went to Ethiopia with a pretty firm understanding of what God wanted the money spent on. We knew that meeting the immediate needs for The O was a must. After we picked up Tariku on New Years Eve Day, a few days later Will had the chance to go and shop with the orphanage staff at the mercado for food supplies... Pasta, rice, formula, oil, hygiene needs...
They were more than thankful. We were in awe of how God worked this out - His hand was on this and His timing...perfect. We received a thank you letter after the two trips Will made to buy food and formula for the children still in the orphanage... children waiting for their families. God was right on time. His timing, absolutely perfect.
The second is an amazing ministry called Morning Coffee Gust House/Yezelalem Minch. We knew God put this on our hearts from the beginning and he confirmed it when we went to lunch the day we picked Tariku up from the orphanage. We were having lunch with Dawit and Soliyana at Tivoli, an Italian restaurant that has amazing pizza. While we were there a mission trip group walked in to have lunch and who do we see but our good friend, Birtukan from Morning Coffee... the mission group is there to work with Yezelalem Minch! Once we saw Birtukan, we greeted each other with a very warm embrace of friends who have missed each other so. We knew that moment that God was confirming His blessing to Birtukan and her ministry.
Birtukan invited us over to Morning Coffee for lunch and a coffee ceremony. We hadn't settled on a date until our time in Ethiopia was drawing closed. When we didn't get our embassy appointment on Friday, we were devastated. But God had a plan otherwise. Birtukan invited over for lunch...and so we went. We had a little bit of a drive since Morning Coffee sits a little outside the city, but the area is beautiful. And the home of Morning Coffee is beautiful as well, just like it's host and hostess. We arrived and Birtukan wrapped me in her arms and apologized for things not going well with the embassy. We had a lovely lunch and then coffee and popcorn afterwards. As we were there visiting, Birtukan's pastor arrived. Since adoptions have slowed down significantly, Morning Coffee was not filling her rooms like they had been filled in the past. (A side note: we did not stay here and it was a VERY difficult decision to not stay with our dear friend. But we needed reliable internet to be able to communicate with Ethan daily and for Will to stay in touch with his work and his clients so we needed to stay elsewhere that did have reliable internet and a fulltime generator should the power go out. Otherwise, we would have stayed in a heartbeat.)
As we were talking and hearing about the prayers being prayed for provision for Morning Coffee and Yezelalem Minch we knew it was time to share the blessing God had. And so we did. Again, we heard we were an answer to prayer... that God has provided through us. We simply listened, and obeyed and blessed where the Lord was working in Ethiopia.
The third ministry we were able to bless was AHope for Children. AHope is an orphanage that cares for children who are living with HIV. We received a list of needs and their list was long. It was such a blessing to go and help meet the needs of the children. We were blessed to have the opportunity to hear about all the wonderful things that AHope is doing in the community to help those children and families living with HIV. Empowering them...educating them...giving them HOPE. We know that the donation made is going to further the ministry of AHope - we know that the children will benefit from having the things they need to learn and be educated. It was such a blessing to be there and to share God's goodness. Again we heard, 'God has answered our prayer.'
We are humbled to have been able to be His Hands and Feet and to be the deliverer of God's blessings - to carry out His plan and how he used people here to meet the need of His people in Ethiopia...and right on time. I am in awe of how His plan has unfolded and to see first hand a great need, and to be able to help meet that need, even if only a small way.
Thank you to everyone who gave...and gave...and gave. You helped MANY children in Ethiopia with your generosity. With each group we explained the story of you all... how you responded to a need... how as the provision kept growing, we knew God had a bigger plan. The need was greater than diapers and formula and it stretched further than one orphanage. We are blessed to have been asked to carry out His plan and be involved in more than just our adoption while we were in Ethiopia. His ways are higher. We simply are His humble messengers who were blessed to see the wide, bright smiles and receive the warm, thankful embraces.
God's blessings. We cannot wait to see what God has next for us in Ethiopia.
No comments:
Post a Comment