East Africa facing Drought

The news coming out of Africa these past few days is hard to read. Southern Ethiopia and the surrounding countries are experiencing a drought that could possibly become the worst in 60 years. We need to stop what we are doing and pray.

Click on the news stories to read:

The West Must Start Heeding Early Famine Warnings

Ethiopia: The Great Trek for Water in the South

Eastern Africa: Half a Million Children "At Risk"

Anniversary's

Over the last 5 days, Brian and I have celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary and today is our 8 month anniversary of being DTE. One anniversary was pleasant to celebrate and the other not so much. I'll let you guess which one is which. It amazes me that every time I go through a rough patch with the adoption, God never leaves me hanging. I was very bummed out when the wait times were extended again, but that rut only lasted a couple of days. Today I am feeling much better. There are so many people who God has brought into my path who have been through the process and are so kind and encouraging. I hope to one day be used by God in a similar way to encourage others. It would be so much easier if my faith would always stay strong, but I have my moments when I am weak. I love that through these trying times, as difficult as they seem, my faith grows stronger through each trial I face. Praise God for that. James 1:2-4 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

Our wedding anniversary was wonderful. The Baker's watched the kids so we could have a couple of nights to ourselves in Siesta Key. Thank you Lowell! Here are a few of the pictures we took.

Wait Times

AAARRRGGG!!!!! (roll of eyes)

Brian & Anna,

As your family is in the waiting stage of the adoption process, we are writing to inform you of a change to our predicted timeframes between dossier submission and referral.

The wait for a male referral is now predicted to be between 10 and 16 months. The wait for a female referral is now predicted to be between11 and 18 months. Wait times currently show a trend of increasing.

There are many factors that contribute to wait times. Each child’s case can vary in the amount of time it takes to be ready to be referred to a family. America World thoroughly investigates each case and it can take weeks, and at times months, to clear referrals with medical or documentation issues, or to obtain necessary governmental documents/clearances/etc. that are needed before he or she can be referred.

While we know this news is disappointing, we are encouraged to share that MOWCYA has increased the number of recommendation letters they write to 15 per day. We will continue to apprise your family of any other changes that occur, and we are praying for your family and all families in the various stages of the adoption process. Please feel free to let me know if you have any follow up-questions.

Blessings,

God Moments

I absolutely love God moments. Some might call them coincidences, but I know better. Lately, I have been having a hard time following Christ and keeping our communication open. I have been lacking on my daily devotions and quiet time with God, filling my day with much less important things. I don't understand why I do this, but there are times when I put up a wall. Of course, I should know better because every time I do this I end up with a rotten attitude, an anxious heart, and without God's peace (that's the biggest one). Of course I know God eagerly awaits for me to come back and welcomes me with open arms, but I am just so stubborn. Well, over the past week, I have really been trying to get my priorities straight and stop being so stubborn. I had a great girls night with one of my friends from our Bible study, enjoying a pedicure, makeup shopping and dinner at Chili's. We just began doing a summer study on Lisa Whelchel's book "Friendships for Grownups." I find it slightly ironic that this book touches on breaking down walls we create to protect ourselves. It was very nice making time for a friendship for me. I often brush "me time" under the rug, but truly enjoyed making me a priority for the night. By the way, thank you Brian for encouraging me to go out. Anyways, I am getting a bit side tracked. The two God moments are as follows: One- A week ago at church I spotted a couple I had not seen before, so I made my way over to them, introduced myself and invited them to our Adult Bible Fellowship Sunday morning (Brian was not there that Sunday). Last Sunday, I came into ABF and saw Brian talking with them. Well, it was really neat when I found out that they were adopting twins from Romania. I didn't learn this the previous week during the brief introduction. I felt like God set them there to have another couple we could relate to with our adoption journey. I felt like that was a huge encouragement in the midst of my emotionally draining journey (for the moment). And to think, if I ignored the Holy Spirit's nudge to introduce myself, I would have probably not met them. God moment number 2.... Since both of the kids are going to summer camp for a few hours each day this week, I decided to get a massage. While I was in the waiting room, I began reading the Power of a Praying Wife book. At the start of the massage, I started praying for Brian and later in the massage, Unchained Melody (our song) began playing as the background music. Like I said, some might call these coincidences, but I feel like both of these are God reminding me of His great presence. I just love my God and how patient and loving He is with me. I guess my great big stone walls I put up are no match for my Almighty God.... and I am glad about that :)