Back In The USA!

Just a quick entry to say we are back safe and sound in the USA. We had quite the welcoming committee at the airport. Thanks to everyone who came out to welcome us home. It meant so much to have all of you there. It was a tough 18 hours plane ride back with no sleep and I caught a virus before we left and I was pretty sick on the plane ride. So to see all of you coming off the plane lifted our spirits. Tam is amazing and we are overwhelmed by God’s precious gift. He is speaking more English each day, smiling, laughing and enjoying his new home. No real issues yet although he likes to go outside without telling me. I am still not up to par but will try and write more later. Thanks again for all your love and support.

Crater Lake.. The Big Adventure!

We spent yesterday on a wild adventure driving 3 hours west of Addis Ababa to a breathtaking lake called “Crater Lake.” The last hour of driving was in our big bus on rocky roads and steep ravines. We brought along tons of food so we could pass it out to the many children we saw along the way. When we would stop they would crowd the bus wanting a glimpse us and oh so pleased when we had treats to give them. Tamerat wanted to give them his new backback that Kim had given him which made me tear. He ended up giving the pants he was wearing to a little boy who had pants on that were so badly shredded and pinned together with big safety pins. You could see his entire legs through the pants. We had brought an extra pair of shorts for Tam and he wanted to give him his pants.

Once we arrived we rode on horseback down to the lake. What an exciting experience for al of us. Each of us were on our own horse and led by guides. The guides ranged in age to 10 years old to 70 years old. We had quite a following of locals as we made our way down to the lake. It was of course Tam’s first time on a horse and he loved it.

Traveling that far out into the country is like stepping back in time. We saw the most beautiful landscape and countryside and the people were so friendly and curious. It was great to get out of the hustle and bustle of Addis.

Here is a picture of some of the children we met along our visit to Crater Lake. These kids have little or nothing and spend their days tending the livestock or taking care of each other. Some of the girls had little bouquets they were trying to sell. They are precious!

We are packing today as our flight leaves tonight and arrives in Dulles at 7:55am. We won’t clear customs till probably 8:45. It’s going to be a long flight as we leave at 10:30pm and fly all night. Both Stefan and I have picked us a hacking cough and I am praying it’s nothing to major. We are all so thankful for God’s hand of safety and provision while we are here. We could not have asked for a better trip or a better son! We look forward to seeing all of you upon our return. Will try and post once more before we leave with a picture.

We spent yesterday on a wild adventure driving 3 hours west of Addis Ababa to a breathtaking lake called “Crater Lake.” The last hour of driving was in our big bus on rocky roads and steep ravines. We brought along tons of food so we could pass it out to the many children we saw along the way. When we would stop they would crowd the bus wanting a glimpse us and oh so pleased when we had treats to give them. Tamerat wanted to give them his new backback that Kim had given him which made me tear. He ended up giving the pants he was wearing to a little boy who had pants on that were so badly shredded and pinned together with big safety pins. You could see his entire legs through the pants. We had brought an extra pair of shorts for Tam and he wanted to give him his pants.

Once we arrived we rode on horseback down to the lake. What an exciting experience for al of us. Each of us were on our own horse and led by guides. The guides ranged in age to 10 years old to 70 years old. We had quite a following of locals as we made our way down to the lake. It was of course Tam’s first time on a horse and he loved it.

Traveling that far out into the country is like stepping back in time. We saw the most beautiful landscape and countryside and the people were so friendly and curious. It was great to get out of the hustle and bustle of Addis.

We are packing today as our flight leaves tonight and arrives in Dulles at 7:55am. We won’t clear customs till probably 8:45. It’s going to be a long flight as we leave at 10:30pm and fly all night. Both Stefan and I have picked us a hacking cough and I am praying it’s nothing to major. We are all so thankful for God’s hand of safety and provision while we are here. We could not have asked for a better trip or a better son! We look forward to seeing all of you upon our return. Will try and post once more before we leave with a picture.

A Day On The Road

Today we spent the day on the road seeing so many things! We had the same bus that I rode on last year on my missions trip with Sammy “Mario Andretti” and Surafel at the helm! Our first stop was the National Ethiopian Museum where we saw lots of cool artifacts, clothing and history about Ethiopia. From there is was on to the “Mercato” an outdoor shopping market where they sell everything. You have to see it to believe it. We walked the streets for a couple of hours taking in it all. It is pure chaos and driving in it was an art form. Some of the sights were very disturbing. Things you would never see in the US. People with elephantiasis, leprosy and crawling on the pavement with twisted legs. You saw young girls with babies sitting on the streets begging and children that were no more than 3 or 4 selling things and roaming the streets. It puts our blessed life into perspective so quickly. Life is so hard here especially for women and children.

Just had to drop this picture in to show you how the kids live at Hanna’s orphanage. This is a neighborhood where the kids live. Each little house is two small rooms housing 8 children and a house Mom. They eat, sleep and hang out here and go to Hanna’s larger compound to study and play. The insides are neatly kept but pretty barren. There is one solo light bulb and no running water. Hanna is trying to buy a large place as she is paying rent for over 15 of these little houses and they keep going up in rent. Although these children don’t have much they are happy and joyful and so much fun to be around!

Hello to Mrs. Robertson's 4th Grade Class!

Salaam to Mrs. Robertson’s 3rd Grade class. That means “Peace be unto you.” This greeting is being sent all the way from Ethiopia to Dominion Academy! Ethiopia is on the continent of Africa. Take a look on your map in your classroom and see how far it is from the United States. It took us 16 hours by plane to get here! We only stopped once in Rome, Italy so they could refuel the plane but we did not even have to get off the airplane. Madeline wishes she could have been there for her first week of school but she is in Ethiopia picking up her new brother Tam. Tam was born here in Ethiopia and is six years old. He is experiencing all kinds of things for the first time! Ice cream, going to church, swimming, riding in an elevator, and eating American food are just to name a few. I know he will want to come to Maddy’s school to meet all of you!

Today we went to a big open air market called the “Mercato” where they sell everything. It is outside and there are so many people selling things. We were able to buy a few souvenirs to bring home to the US. We also visited an orphanage called AHOPE today that cares for children that do not have Mom’s and Dad’s. We were able to bring them many donations and some fun things too like candy. Above is a picture of Maddy handing out candy to some of the kids. Tomorrow we are taking a trip to the countryside where we will be able to ride horses down to a lake. Have a great first week of school and Maddy hopes to see you next week once she recovers from being seven hours ahead of you in time! God Bless!

Successful Embassy Appointment

Today was our embassy appointment at the American Embassy where they issue Tam’s Visa to travel. It was successful and Tamerat is cleared for take off! Today we asked Tamerat his name and he said “My name is Tamerat Asfaw.” We told him after the paperwork he is now Tamerat Mandanis. He had a huge grin and later when someone asked him what his father’s name was he proudly answered Mandanis.” We had dinner with the sweet lady who helped Andrea and Pete Kidd deliver our photo album to Tam several months ago and translate it to him. She is a nurse for the children at America World Adoption. She is truly making a difference in her country. Tomorrow we are going to AHOPE to visit. This is an organization that cares for children with HIV. We are brining donations and hope to meet the children and learn more about their work here in Addis.

Please pray for the Putty family. They are a family with CWA who have five children of their own and came to Ethiopia to adopt a little boy. There was an error in their paperwork and they now need an addendum to their I-171 from USCIS. It took me 4 weeks to get this addendum back home. They brought three of their children with them. They thought they were leaving on Friday with us and now they are looking at an extended stay. A very hard situation to be in!

Tam is now showing much more personality and the signs of a being a true boy! Climbing on things, making animal noises at dinner and using the utensils as instruments. There is a new mischievous grin that has just surfaced as well. The newness for Madeline has worn off and I think she now finds him a little annoying and someone who is competing for our attention. All of which we expected! Love will grow! His finger is much better but pray for Stefan as we think he may be having some stomach issues. Please email us as we love getting emails from home! Thanks to Francine who gave me “Marley & Me.” It’s a book about a crazy yellow lab and all his antics. I read some excerpts to Stefan in bed last night and we laughed so hard we cried! I highly recommend it! Signing off..

Stefan is the Man!

My husband is the most amazing handiman ever! I totally destroyed our USB port which downloads our pictures. Very precious item but Stefan took it apart with nail clippers and untweaked it! Can you say Maguiver? I wish I could post all the pictures of Hanna’s because there are so many great ones that really paint the picture of our experience and how precious the kids are but I am only allowed to load one at a time. We did face painting and this one is of Tam! Hi to Bella who is on a playdate at Marla’s house. Donna Tanner if you are reading one of the girls asked for you by name and wondered if you were with us. You made quite an impressions! We are off to dinner. Tomorrow is our embassy appointment and dinner with our friend Fortuna who helped the Kidds translate our photo album when they visited Tam several months ago.

When we were at Hanna’s the girls there could not resist braiding Maddy’!s hair. She kept it in overnight and then had to shower. Tonight there was a huge thunder and lighting storm and we were on the 12th floor having dinner and we looked down at the pool and can you believe there were at least 10 people swimming in the pool? It was crazy! We played crazy eights tonight with Tam. He played one hand with me and then immediately caught on and played is own hands. Tomorrow we go to the embassy and will get his Visa to get back into the USA!

Wow What A Day!

Just came back from a night swim at the pool and had to share a picture. Can you tell we are in love! We all shared lunch together and yes.. pizza again. Our staple diet is pasta, pizza and machiatos! Off we went to Hana’s Home. It was exciting to see her new place which is much bigger and offers more space for the kids to play. I recognized so many faces from last year.. only now they are bigger. Surafel was amazing as a translator and explained to the kids what we would be doing. Thanks to all of you for the wonderful supplies. We were able to bring six bags of supplies, gifts and activities! We set up stations doing face painting, soccer, playing with the parachute/inflated beach balls, crafts and I washed feet and gave pedicures to about 20 girls. It was a privilege and pure joy to see the delight as I massaged their feet and painted their toes. Something I am sure most of them have never had the pleasure of. It’s common place for all of us to get our nails done and something we take for granted. The parachute was a huge hit with the little ones. Thanks to the Hardy’s for letting us steal theirs! The kids had an amazing day but honestly I know that my family received more from them than we gave to them. Tam and Maddy had a blast and were running around with ease and comfort with all the kids. We were also able to leave $1300 for Hanna to continue supporting the 160 kids that she is taking care of. She has now opened up two other centers in other parts of the country where babies and children are currently living in prisons with their mothers. What a work she is doing! All the kids were asking if we were coming back tomorrow? Of course I burst into tears as each one of them came up to hug, kiss and say God Bless You to each of us.

It is incredible watching Tam each day. He is talking more, singing and belly laughing with his sister. He has such a sweet personality and just keeps saying “May I please go swimming at the pool Mommie?” Stefan I commented on the change tonight as we put him to bed as compared to the first night. He was all grins tonight as he hugged his little dog and when I bent to kiss him and say goodnight he grabbed my neck and pulled me back and gave me a big squeeze. Tomorrow we are going back to his foster home to do some paperwork in preparation for our embassy appointment on Tuesday. We took a ton of pictures at Hanna’s but clumsy me I broke our USB port which downloads our pictures so I am not sure I’ll be able to send anymore. I was hoping to send some from Hanna’s. Thank you for all your prayers! Another prayer request is for Stefan as he was playing soccer with the boys at Hanna’s and fell on his hand. It’s pretty swollen and we are hoping it’s nothing serious. Don’t want to make any trips to the hospital while we are here.

Just came back from a night swim at the pool and had to share a picture. Can you tell we are in love!

Love to all of you...

Our First Day!

It was a long flight but we made it safe and soundly and with all 13 bags! Can you believe it! Our hotel room could not be more perfect! Lots of space for the extra bags and thanks to Edwin Miller we had a dozen roses in the room when we arrived. We all were able to sleep and woke up this morning with great expectation to see Tam! Our appointment was for 10:30am. We pulled through the gates and I could see him sitting on the steps and I watched recognition in his face as he saw me in the van. It felt almost surreal as we met him. He did not run into our arms or leap for joy but was very appropriate considering he has never met us and we are strangers to him. We spent some time at our agency’s care center learning a little more about him. Of course he got glowing reports. “Brilliant” was one of the adjectives used to describe our new son. I can only say that he is more precious than I could have ever imagined.

We had the privilege of delivering two photo albums for our friend’s the Huges who have two children in the same care center as Tam. We got to meet both of them and give them their albums. They are beautiful children who were so excited to learn that their friend Tam would only be living 10 minutes away from them.

We headed back to the hotel for lunch and Kara you will never guess who I ran into in the lobby! BeBe! He was our translator on our missions trip last summer. He then shared lunch with us and was great help with Tam at lunch in talking to him. We then traveled about an hour to the Adera orphanage where Tam was dropped off by his birth mother. It was obvious that Tam was adored by the Director and his wife and they admitted that he had actually spent more time in their home than at the orphanage. We brought donations, took pictures, learned more about Tam and I was able to leave a letter and pictures for his birth mother. We were so glad we went as it was touching to meet the people who had cared for him and had loved him so much.

After a very long day we headed back to our hotel to see yet another old friend, Surafel! He had come to the Hilton to try and find us and just as we were coming through the lobby from our day we ran into him. He shared dinner with us and was such a blessing as he translated so many things for us to Tam. We were worried about whether Tam knew any English? Well, he is reading Madeline’s chapter books? I think he is still shy to speak but I suspect he knows lots of English. He can certainly read and can beat Madeline in running down the hotel hallway!

We miss our sweet Bella and hope she is doing well! It’s late here so I am going to sign off by saying God is good! More to come tomorrow!

Tam slept through the night with out any issues although he looked a little nervous as we put him to bed. His personality has come out so much more today. He is so sweet and fun. He called me Mommie which made me tear. We suspect he knows way more English than he is letting on as he can read Madeline’s chapter books. When we ask him questions about colors, numbers, and body parts he knows them well. He is way ahead of where we thought he would be. He eats Ethiopian food for breakfast, lunch and dinner which consists of sponge like bread called injera along with a very spicy meat. I don’t think he has ever had any other types of food. We took him to the pool for his first every swim. How fun it is to see him experience things for the first time. It was a beautiful day today so we got to swim and they also have a park for kids where he had a blast swinging and sliding and teether tottering! We are back in the room now as he naps from 1pm-3pm? I think I am going to try it with Maddy! Maddy just peeked in on him and said he is sucking his thumb. Tomorrow we will be visiting Hanna’s to play with kids and deliver supplies. Please pray for Tam’s finger as he has a bad cut that is infected. He also has a severe cough so we started him on antibiotics the first day we picked him up to try and prevent possible anything serious from developing.

We had the pure pleasure and joy of being giving Tam his first ever ice cream. He has had so many firsts in just two days! Eating ice cream, riding in an elevator, trying fruit roll ups and going swimming. We are continually amazed at how much English he already knows. Today Stef went to work out and we walked by to say hello and Tam said “Sports club.” Who knew? Maddy and Tam are bonding like crazy giggling and laughing and racing down the long hallways in the hotel to our room. She told me today that “she loves her brother and that he is so much fun.!” I told her to give it a few weeks! Of course we are in the honeymoon period but loving every minute of it. Thinking of you all and so appreciative of your love, support and prayers!

Just wanted to share a cute picture of the kids together after racing down our long hallway to our room. Madeline let Tam beat her the first few times but no longer.

Blessings...

We Are In Rome!

We just landed in Rome where we have an hour layover while they refuel the plane. The above picture shows our friend Bruce Hardy who graciously drove us to the airport, the porter and all of our r3 bags which totaled over 650 lbs of supplies ! Wow, we got everything on. Many thanks to Laura Didhardt who spent hours with me packing, weighing and tagging bags to make sure they were all under weight. Nine of our bags are filled with humanitarian aid thanks to many of you. We had two young boys in our neighborhood, Colin Wohlfert and Josh Kuzbell who really set out to make a difference. They decided to raise money and donations for an organization called AHOPE who is on the ground in Ethiopia caring for children with HIV where they have two orphanages. They care for these kids physically, emotionally and spiritually. They are doing an amazing work and will be so blessed by the 200 lbs. of donations that we are bringing to them. What a blessing! As I reflect on our last days before we left, I am thankful for so many people who made it possible for this happen. Kim Miller who so graciously hosted Madeline for days so I could pack and get things done! Our couples small group who came to our house after hours to sit in Tam’s room and pray for him and our trip. My Mom who has spent countless hours behind the scenes making meals, doing laundry, ironing (yuck) and loving on my kids. Thanks to all of you who have been so good to us.

A New Picture

We have a confirmed US embassy date of 9/2/2008 , confirmed airline seats and confirmed hotel rooms so it finally feels real! We depart on Wed, August 27 and will return on Saturday morning, August 28. Wow! What are the chances that anyone would have a contact to Ethiopian Airlines. My answer is that it was not by chance that our good friend Steve Johnson had a client with close connection to Ethiopian Air. Steve was so gracious and helped us secure deeply discounted tickets saving us over $1200.00. I love it when you see God meet needs so unexpectedly. I was also put in touch with an Ethiopian lady who works in Human Resources at Mclean Bible Church. Where does she live? Just moved to Ashburn and is willing to help us with translation and language when Tam comes home. What a blessing! It looks like the orphanage shaved his head! I cannot wait to get my hands on him. Now he just needs some new shoes!

14 More Days & Counting

We have a confirmed US embassy date of 9/2/2008 , confirmed airline seats and confirmed hotel rooms so it finally feels real! We depart on Wed, August 27 and will return on Saturday morning, August 28. Wow! What are the chances that anyone would have a contact to Ethiopian Airlines. My answer is that it was not by chance that our good friend Steve Johnson had a client with close connection to Ethiopian Air. Steve was so gracious and helped us secure deeply discounted tickets saving us over $1200.00. I love it when you see God meet needs so unexpectedly. I was also put in touch with an Ethiopian lady who works in Human Resources at Mclean Bible Church. Where does she live? Just moved to Ashburn and is willing to help us with translation and language when Tam comes home. What a blessing!

Tam Is Ours!

Today was our court date in Ethiopia! We had friends all over the country praying that all the paperwork would go through successfully making Tam officially ours! We received a call this morning letting us know that everything went through! Wow! I had chills and I think every hair on my body was standing up. After nine months on our adoption journey we will be traveling to Ethiopia to pick him up. Our tentative dates of travel are 8/29-9/5/2008. We are now waiting to hear from our agency on a confirmed Embasay date appointment. Once we get this we can book our flights!

Praying That WE Pass Court..

Today we received word that we have a court date in Ethiopia on July 24th. We are so thankful and excited as we sit back and watch God at work in this process. If our court date is successful we will travel five weeks later to pickup Tam. That puts us at the last week in August or the first week in September!

We Got Our Court Date!

Today we received word that we have a court date in Ethiopia on July 24th. We are so thankful and excited as we sit back and watch God at work in this process. If our court date is successful we will travel five weeks later to pickup Tam. That puts us at the last week in August or the first week in September!

Great Email

As I was coming home from errands today I said a silent prayer asking the Lord for some good news towards our journey to bring Tam home! I silently breathed “let there be an email from our agency! “ When I walked in to check my email there was an email from our caseworker telling us that indeed our paperwork had been submitted to the court in Ethiopia and we should have a court date before it closes! We were all thanking and praising the one who put us on this journey!

Prayer Works!

We have been praying as a family that Tam’s second round of medical reports would come in this week. The window of opportunity is closing for us to get a court date before the courts close in Ethiopia. God was so good and provided Pat Van Winkle our friend who is also a pediatrician in California to read them and give us feedback for a quick turnaround. Our doctor was slammed due to being out last week and could not get back to us for a couple of days. Time is of the essence so Pat was a god send and gave us the thumbs up to proceed. He called us back within the hour of getting the reports. He felt the best feedback was that of Furtuna and Rachel who visited with Tam personally last week. On another note, I have been getting good information about the possibility of connecting with Tam’s birth mother while we are there. Fortuna offered to help and I emailed with a family who told me that the CWA staff here says No to meeting birth families but that once you get to Ethiopia the staff is often willing to set up a meeting. Wow! God is answering our payers and concerns! We are now praying that CWA will be able to get a court date before the courts close! We are trusting that the Soverign God of the universe has perfect timing.

Father's Day

It all seems much more real now that we know that Tam knows who we are and all about us. I think about him every day wondering how he is doing and what he is thinking about. Wondering what it will be like on that first day we meet. Will he attach to us? What will his grief and loss look like when we get home? How can we help him through it? We are headed for the Beach for two weeks and I secretly think it will help pass the time and get my mind from worrying about whether or not we will get to Ethiopia this summer.

God's Gift To Us!

What a day it has been! Our friends, Pete and Andrea Kidd traveled to Ethiopia to pick up their sweet little girl, Gabrielle. Prior to leaving they asked us if they could visit our little guy Tam while they were there and hand carry something from us. Who knew if it would all work out? At the time Tam had not even been moved to CWA’s care center. With only days before their departure, Tam was moved to our agency transitional home and we were able to make plans for them to hand carry a photo album and a few treats. We were told that they could not meet him personally. My case worker went on vacation and I was assigned a new case worker at CWA. When I called to get the address for the care center she told me that indeed the Kids could visit with Tam and promised to email them to let them know we were coming. They were able to take Furtuna and Rachel both working for AWAA with them to translate the visit. They had trouble finding CWA’s transitional home but they did not give up. They pressed on down a rocky cliff and a gully filling with water only to be told that Tam was not there and that they could not see him. The director of the program finally agreed after all to let them see Tam and then they set off across town to another location where Tam was living. Finally they were able to meet Tam. They presented him with the photo album that we had sent and Furtuna sat with him and translated every notation in it for him. They said he did not say much but smiled a lot especially when he saw his sisters and heard that Maddy loves soccer. He told Furtuna that he was happy but I am sure he is so overwhelmed trying to process it all. My heart breaks for the loss of his own birth mother and how he must be feeling without her over the last five months. We are overjoyed to have someone meet him and the report was that he was extremely handsome and sweet. He looked very healthy. We give God all the credit for making this happen and are so thankful that the Kidd’s were willing to do this for us. There is no greater feeling than watching the God of the universe at work in your our lives! Still waiting on the results of his second round of medicals. I am desperately wanting those results and a court date. I am certain that we are supposed to go and get him this summer but I surrender to the One who’s ways are not my ways and who’s plans are not my plans. Trying to wait patiently in Him and trusting in his perfect timing. It sure is hard! Below is the Kidd’s email about our son Tam!

Melodie and Stefan,

WOW!!!!!!! Your son is a DOLL!!! He is so cute I can't stand it. Fortuna and Rachel went with us and they both were so taken by how sweet and cute he was. The pictures are below, we got more, but it takes so long to send, I will when we get home.

Quite the journey getting there, we got to see more Addis in this trip to Tamrat than the whole week combined. First we drove around and found CWA......they were working on the road so we LITERALLY climb down a rock hill into a ditch filling with water and back up the other side (pete has pics of this) We got inside the building and was told Tamrat was not there he was at the home (that's where we thought we were going); then the director of the Ethiopia program wanted to talk to us. We went upstairs to his nice office and were told we could not see him. He said this was not allowed.......on and on and on and on. He finally said since we travelled so far that he would let us, but no pics and only 5-10 minutes. Fortuna translated the ENTIRE book that

you sent, he just smiled and at times looked a little emotional. He seemed very proud and told Fortuna he was happy. He is really cute and both Pete and I gave him hugs and told him how much you loved him and have been praying for him. We told him how we would be seeing him back in the states. Go to bed knowing your little guy knows your face, and his sisters' faces (he seemed very happy when he learned of his sisters) he is holding onto your photo album and knows how much you love him. Really, the look on his face said it all and it was such an honor to be able to do this for you and for Tamrat.

Enjoy the pictures you are truly blessed.

Bella Nick Names Her Brother!

We showed Bella the picture of Tam and she instantly said “He’s cute! That’s my big brother.” She promptly named him “Tam Tam.” Today I made a visit to see Andrea Kidd. She and her husband are leaving for Ethiopia on Saturday, June 7, 2007 for Ethiopia to bring home their little girl Gabrielle. They so graciously offered to visit Tam while they are there and hand carry a photo album, letter, and treats. God has provided a translator for us so they will get to spend time with him and get to know him. We both cried today as we prayed for their journey and knowing that they will be meeting their daughter for the first time and our son. Next milestone is a court date!

Tam Has Been Moved!

One the big milestones for us was getting Tam moved from the orphanage to our agency care center. We received notice today that he had indeed been moved and would be receiving his second round of medicals for our review tomorrow! Yeah! We are praying for a court date as the Ethiopian Courts close at the end of July for two months due to the rainy season. Our hearts desire is to travel before this happens to get our little Tam. Best of all we know that the sovereign God of the universe is writing this script not us!

After our long journey of pursuing Daniel and Yordanus for adoption was shut down, we thought we would have to wait at least 4-6 months for a referral. God is so good and we got a call the next day from our case worker, Patricia Ward telling us she had three boys for us to consider. After much prayer, discussion and excitement we decided to accept a referral for Tamerat Asfaw. He is five years old and cute as a button! As we were considering him we looked at what he was wearing and there on his little sweat shirt was the word “Virginia.” What is the likelihood that a little boy in Ethiopia would be wearing a sweat shirt with our state written on it! Thank you Lord for that little confirmation!

How It All Began!

My journey outside my nice little life began when I attended a leadership conference for my church at Willow Creek Church in Chicago. In addition to the many seminars they featured a segment called "What One Woman can do." They highlighted three women who had heard God speak to their heart about the compelling issues going on around the world and decided to do something. I was so touched and moved by all of these women. After these women spoke they had exhibits outside from organizations around the country that are making a difference. I grabbed books, pamphlets, brochures and all at once my eyes were opened to the stark realities and hopelessness of the majority of our world.

I noticed article after article in magazines and newspapers about the plight of orphans in Africa. I began a personal journey to learn what was happening and began educating myself on these serious and compelling issues. The numbers were staggering. I learned that there were 45 million orphans in Africa and 5 million in Ethiopia alone mainly due to the AIDS pandemic. Young children were watching both parents die and often caring for them throughout their illness. In some cases they were left to care for their younger siblings all alone. As I evaluated my own very blessed life, I felt compelled to make a difference in some small way. Although there are many serious and challenging issues in Africa, which can sometimes be viewed as overwhelming, I firmly believe that each of us can make a difference one life at a time. I spent ten days visiting orphanages and seeing first hand so many children who have been orphaned by AIDs. The numbers were staggering but the children and their faces would haunt me for the next 10 months. I spent many sleepless nights sifting and processing what I had seen. Our family talked for hours about our responsibility to help others and what kind of response God was asking from us. My husband and I both agreed that after seeing the desperate needs first hand we could not look the other way. And so began our journey to bring our son, Tam home.