Greetings from Ethiopia!! I'm not feeling very good from dinner tonight and am wide awake, so I figured I'd take the time to get online while the internet was working so I could share about our visit to an orphanage yesterday. We went there with the A's and were so humbled and overwhelmed by what we saw. We walked into the tiny dark classroom where all of kids were squished inside and began introducing ourselves and asking the kids their names. They are all so gentle and sweet. We basically froze when we noticed "D and F" there from the Waiting Child List. For some reason I did not expect them to be in an orphanage -- I thought they were in the Transition Home with AWAA. For the last few months that they've been on the WCL we've had a special place in our hearts for them, and so seeing them there really caught me off guard and stirred up emotions that I wasn't expecting. Throughout the time there, we kept getting drawn to them because they have such beautiful spirits and are SO incredibly sweet. At one point the older boy came up to me and quietly told me "that's my brother." I don't know why, but that just broke my heart to see how proud and protective he was of his little brother, and it made me sad to think how quickly these kids have to grow up. When we got our picture with them, my tears started to flow, and the older one looked at me and touched my face and said "No problem." I pretty much lost it after that and gave him a hug, and he said it again. I had to walk away from the group because I was about to do a full out sob, and when I came back another little one came up to me and gave me a hug and said "Don't worry." He had just asked the boy how to say that to me in English. I was so taken aback. Orphans in Ethiopia are comforting ME???? How can that be? That moment - that whole visit - was something that left me forever changed. The A's and J and I cried all the way back to the guest house, and I sobbed for about an hour in the shower that night. I am sooo hoping and praying that these amazing boys find a family soon. From someone who's here adopting a 9-month old (and on CLOUD 9) I must say that something about the older boys have captivated me. I would just like to encourage those of you who are considering adopting older children (something we plan to do in the future) that D&F are such special and beautiful kids. Can't wait to see who God has for them...I know that family will be incredibly blessed.
Please join Tim and I as we pray these boys have a family soon... In a country like Ethiopia where there are over 4.6 million orphans many children are in this same situation. Pray with us for them also, God's children. Our God is Father to the fatherless.
Love you,
Angi & Tim
"My friends, adoption is redemption. It's costly, exhausting, expensive, and outrageous. Buying back lives costs so much. When God set out to redeem us, it killed him." -Derek Loux
When we read this email it broke us (that happens a lot). My husband was reading it out loud and we were both in tears by the end. Though I've never met them D&F have had such a special place in my heart and it kills me that we can't be the ones to parent them. I'm praying for that other family to FLY through their paperwork so they can bring them home. Then need to be home; they've been on the WCL way, way, way too long.
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