Thanksgiving...and Thanksgiving

Mark and I had a wonderful surprise on July 16th...we were given a court date for August 3rd!  So, Mark and I flew over to Ethiopia on July 27th then drove to the boys' orphanage on the 30th.  The drive was bumpy, strenuous...and beautiful.  More beautiful, though, were our boys!  Mark got to meet them for the first time.  He is quite smitten with both of them!  I feel very blessed to have had such a quick return trip.  It had been just slightly more than a month since I had last seen them.  It was such a fun visit.  They are both very happy boys.  Very loving and very smiley. We are so thankful for these two boys and for this chance to play with, and hug and snuggle them.

We had a very emotional goodbye as the orphanage nannies had to release several babies they had raised and loved for many months.  The love the nannies have for these precious children is very evident in the way they interact with the children, but was demonstrated that day in the sobs and tears as they hugged each child.  We are thankful that our boys have been so loved!

We then traveled back to Addis with one of our boys - the one who will come home first.  More fun, and snuggles.  We settled him in at his new temporary residence. Over the next two days we were able to visit with him there...we even got to see some of "S's" first steps!  We are thankful for these sweet moments with "S" and for the people that will be caring for him over the next few months.

Court went well then we headed home late that night.  We are now awaiting an appointment with the embassy so that we can bring that sweet boy home...we are hoping he will be home by Thanksgiving...which would be fitting...for we are very thankful!

Thanks again for your love, prayers and support.  This is an exciting part of this journey, we cannot wait to bring "S" home!  We will not be completely settled, though until both boys are here with us.
 Keep praying...
...nothing would hold up either case on their current course
...that God would supply the remainder of the financial needs
...transition for baby "S"
...transition for all Steimers
...wisdom about who will travel for each of the 3 remaining trips (one in Nov. and two next spring/summer)

In closing...as I reflect on this summer I continue to be amazed (and, yes, thankful) at the family that God is weaving together.  Through the ups and downs of last spring we often could only see the "underweave" of the tapestry that God was working on.  Now we get a glimpse of the other side and it is beautiful!

Julie in Ethiopia, "They both have great giggles too. So fun".

this short post was from a blog from one of Julie's tram - ethiopiateam2011.wordpress.com

We had a long bumpy ride out to Nekemte, VERY bumpy! Nekemte was filled with painting, fixing, enjoying time with babies and loving on the people.
Then on to Gimbie. Gimbie was an experience in God’s grace. A mom got to meet her future children.
God provided several team bonding moments. As well as the awesome opportunity to meet an amazing woman who has been in Gimbie as a missionary for 2 years.
Thank you all for your prayers! WE appreciate them!

It is Awesome that Julie got to meet our children for the first time!
she sent a very short email to me -

The trip is going well.  The boys are beautiful!  The trip to Gimbie is long and bumpy, but so worth it to see those two boys.  I was able to play with both and even able to hold and cuddle both, putting each one to sleep.  So precious.  They both have great giggles too.  So fun.  I am going to get kicked off the computer so I will send this then try to send more.  I love you all.  I am looking forward to seeing you at the end of the week. 

 on a very cool side note, God's providence was evident in that Julie flew from Knoxville to Ethiopia on the same plane as the medical team from our church that Julianna, Elizabeth and I went with last year. I just saw this post from the Cedar Springs team:

"Went to church today as a group then out to eat for lunch. We ran into Julie Steimer and her group at the restaurant

..Please keep praying, with much thanksgiving ....

-Mark

Learning Patience

God is teaching us a new meaning of the word "patience".  It is not merely waiting for what we want to happen...it is trusting Him when we do not know what will happen. 
We are still in a waiting phase, however we do have some new updates.  First of all, due to some extraordinary circumstances, we are now pursuing another little boy.  The case on the first boy remains open, but he may not be coming home for 2 years.  We are hoping to receive an official referral on the second little boy soonish - stay tuned.
Secondly, Julie is going on a mission trip to Ethiopia from June 19 through July 1. She will be doing some painting and other projects at three of the four  YWAM widow and orphans homes. 
Please pray:
1) God's peace
2) Safe and spirit filled mission trip for all involved
3) Our first little boy would not really have to wait 2 years to come home
4) The paperwork on the second little boy would come together without glitches

Thanks to those who continue to stick with us.  God is faithful.  As we teach our children through the Catechism for Young Children....Can God do all thing?...Yes, He can do all His Holy Will.

Moses in the desert

You may have wondered why we have not posted in awhile.  There has been little encouraging to post!  There have been several changes in the Ethiopian adoption system since we received our referral.  Much of the news has been discouraging as to the time it will take for us to travel to court and then, ultimately, to bring our baby boy home.  The past two weeks have been particularly trying as we have been on an emotional roller coaster. We have received very discouraging news at times that leaves us heavy hearted.  However, we have also received some news that shows that God is still in the business of moving mountains.  Then more discouraging news.  And so goes my heart - up and down with the news.  This morning, though, God reminded me of the story of Moses in the desert (Exodus 17:11-13) when the Israelites were fighting the Amalekites.  When Moses would keep his hands raised, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning.  Eventually Moses hands grew weary so two friends held his hands up for him.  God, I believe, is reminding me to stay close to Him in prayer and to trust Him to do His work.  And...btw...would you be willing to hold our arms up?

The good news is that there is a precious 18 month little boy who is healthy and happy and will, Lord willing, join our family some day soon. 

A REFERRAL

We are having a very exciting week! - yes, it is Christmastime and the Steelers play tonight, but I am talking about adoption excitement!  We received our approval from our government (I171A) on Thursday, we talked to our adoption agency (Youth With A Mission) on Friday. We called back on Saturday asking her to go-ahead with the referral we talked about. We worked really hard on getting the Dossier finished on Monday and Tuesday. Tuesday night we received our referral, our doctor looked it over Wednesday morning, we got some forms notarized and we drove to MO to visit Julie’s parents. We mailed our forms in today (Thursday) and our heads are spinning.
God is so gracious and we are soo excited! We also received a call today from Life Song letting us know we received a matching grant – so any new donations to our travel expenses will be doubled!

a week closer to a placement

Julie and I talked a lot about adoption this week. We are hoping to have a referral - to know who we will adopt - by Christmas. We are working on the Dossier (official packet of information to send later to Ethiopia). We will hopefully soon have an appointment for finger printing in Nashville. The paper work goes on forever. We also are finishing up the last online training course. This one was all about many medical and developmental issues that can come with international adoption. We have lots to think about and we are trusting God for each step.

One very encouraging thing that happened this week is that I got a call "out of the blue" from a young couple who I was privileged to marry a few years ago. They asked about our story and why we chose to adopt.
They want to help if they can by praying and sending money. It is encouraging for us to know that God is prompting to help.

Julie and I are both looking forward to bringing home our children.  It is encouraging to realize the support around us that will support us in raising them.

A quick update - a busy week

This was a great week - we got an important government application sent in. The “I600A” is an application to our government asking for approval to adopt from overseas.

But the most exciting part was a dinner and silent auction friends had for us to raise money for our adoption. Five couples hosted this dinner and it was a big success!

Lisa Harmon and others collected 50 items for a silent auction. Tobey Nichols cooked the food, Elaine Petsch lined up desserts, Julia Francis Clark organized the servers and the volunteer workers for hire, Renee Cook hosted the dinner at her home and worked the whole night.

Julie and I had a chance to tell our story and Renee helped set this adoption in context

of a great need for children in Ethiopia to have a loving home. We were humbled and grateful for the amazing response. About 70 people came and many who could not come showed their support. Over $4000 was raised! Again, we are humbled and grateful.