Do you know what your money is going to?

There are many times we feel led to give to charity, but are wary of where our money actually is going and if those in need will really benefit from it. Take a look at this blog and if you give to them you will see exactly where your money is going and the children it is helping.

Into the Streets of Ethiopia

A little boy in need

There is a little boy in Ethiopia right now and his story has touched our family's heart and I wanted to share it with you all. He name is Mikias and he is 10 years old..the same as my Nathan. For about 7 years he had a family. A Mom and Dad, and younger sister. He went to school and lived with his family in Ethiopia. Then when Mikias was around 7, his daddy died and it was just Mikias, his mom and his sister.

Things must have been really hard for the three of them. I don't have any specifics, but I do know that his sister ended up on the waiting child list for America World available for adoption. A sweet family in California saw her and adopted her along with two other children.She is blessed with a wonderful family, she has been home around 4 months now and is thriving here in the US. Mikias stayed with his mama.

Fast forward to this month..AWAA found out that Mikias' mother has died. Now he is a double orphan. His sister is gone as well. My heart just breaks for this little boy. Our family has committed to pray for his safety. Our agency is not exactly sure where he is right now, but they are trying to get the paperwork to get him into their transition home and find him a family. I pray he is not on the streets alone.

We have never even considered adopting an older child until we heard Mikias' story and saw his face. We have asked to review his file if and when our agency does get it. We are praying for him and for guidance. Normally, you cannot adopt a child off the waiting child list AND wait on a healthy infant referral, but if Mikias' paperwork is not compete for another 7 weeks ( like they are estimating) then we will be close to the top of the infant boy waiting list...God's timing is always perfect. Will you pray with us for Mikias? Thanks.

DTE ONE MONTH!

We have been DTE for one month now! It has went by really fast. Hopefully the next few months will as well!!

I won a junk posse necklace!

I found out today that I won a Junkposse necklace!

Into The Streets of Ethiopia was having a giveaway and I entered and found out today I had won! It was such a God timing kinda thing! I just have to tell you how God used this give away to help me and give me refocus today.

I woke up with discouraging thoughts of not getting a referral until courts close and not getting to travel to next year and blah blah blah..such despair!

I had an email from a friend that works with a domestic adoption consultation practice and how there was an urgent need for hs ready families willing to adopt minority children.

I actually called to get the info on this and the lady said if we would work with her she would not be surprised if we were matched with an AA infant in 6 weeks! I was having such doubts about the Ethiopian adoption process and if God was really leading us that way. I know He was when we applied to AWAA, but the vision just gets blurred with all the waiting and uncertainness of it...ya know?

I was walking through walmarts parking lot and just prayed, "God, I really need some reassurance this is the right path we are on. We have spent so much time, money and prayers on this adoption and I am commited to it, but I just need some reassurance this is right."

Well, I walked in Wally World and sat down to grab a sub for lunch before I shopped and checked my facebook on my phone and there was a message that I had won!! Thank you Lord!! I felt like it was just a big hug, a reassurance straight from Abba God that Ethiopia was exactly where He planned for us to adopt from and He had everything under control!

I just wanted to share with you how special my day was. Thanks so much Portilla fam and Tracy at Junkposse for doing the giveaway and for getting the word out about Robel's ministry. I cannot wait to go meet him soon!

Awesome Ministry

This is a ministry to help the street kids in Ethiopia. It was started by a man named Robel that works with AWAA and helps the families that come over to pick up their children.

I have a link with more info on the right hand side of my blog. It is called Into the Streets of Ethiopia.

2 Trips back on

We received an email yesterday stating that the Ethiopian government met and now if you do not have a referral and court date by May 9th then we will have to make two trips. Since wait time for referrals are around 4 months right now, it looks like we will be making two trips.

Except for the cost of two trips, I am kind of excited about it. It will make getting our referral even more exciting because once we see his face we know we will get to hold him in only a month or so. We will also have more time to experience the Ethiopian culture. I want to buy Isaac 18 small Ethiopian gifts, (one to open every year on his Gotcha day) and two trips will give me more shopping time! We will also be able to take double the donations to the orphanage/transition home. Things like wipes, diapers and formula are soo expensive over there that the TH depends a lot on donations.

Thankfully, my kids are good with it too. They are fine with us leaving the country for two times. They love spending time with their grandparents and since I homeschool, they can take their school with them! We are blessed to have grandparents that dont mind them staying with them too!

The one thing I am concerned about (and I keep telling myself that God's timing is perfect so I really have no need to worry) is that courts usually close for the rainy season (Aug-Nov) so I am praying we have passed court before they close and then it will not interfere with our travel plans. If we have nor passed court before they close then our entire adoption will be put on hold until court resumes. So if you are praying with us on our adoption, a specific request is that we get our referral AND pass court before they close for rainy season.

Thanks so much for joining us on this crazy journey!

Do you like adoption tees??

Then this is the contest for you! There a ton of awesome shirts to be given away! Check it out over at Embracing The Least Of These

Abby

Back in January when we were going through the home study process of our adoption, I mentioned to Greg that we should pray about the possibility of asking our 12 year old daughter, Abigail to go with us to Ethiopia, This was back when we were only required to make one trip ( is it still that way or is it two trips now? ...who knows!) We prayed about it and decided to mention it to her and see what she thought. At first she was not sure. She likes her comfort things, that is for sure! The whole eating different, lack of showers, loong flights...she just wasn't sure. Greg wisely encouraged her to pray about it and seek God's leading. So, she said she would...

Back the beginning of March she decided she wanted to go. I was thrilled. I cannot think of anything better for a preteen American girl to do to change her perspective than spend a week in a third world country ministering to "the least of these".

Then we dropped the bomb. She needed to come up with the money for her own plane ticket. Especially with the whole two trip scenario out there still, we simply cannot afford the extra ticket. She has been saving since August half of her allowance for adoption expenses and so we told her to put that towards her ticket (about $100) and she decided to write letters telling family and friends what she wanted to do and asking for donations for her plane ticket. We are expecting it will cost around $1200.

About 3 weeks ago she wrote and mailed off 21 letters. As of today she has over $600! Half way there! Thanks so much to those who have contributed! I love watching her face as she gets checks in the mail and continues to count up how much she has and how much she needs.

We are going to have a big yard sale in June as she is planning to sell a lot of her stuff then. she is continuing to split her allowance in half and save it for the trip. I am praying the Lord will use this trip to impact her young life and give her a heart and burden for orphan care that will continue on through her teens and adult life.

IF we have to make the two trips, she is planning on going on the second trip, when we actually get to bring Isaac home. We are estimating that trip will be September or October. I am so happy that she will be joining us on this life changing experience!