It happened. Oh yes, it did! February 7th...a day where our lives changed forever. Incase you, missed the big announcement from our excited kiddos on Facebook, or haven't heard yet from others, we are the privileged parents of a BABY BOY from Ethiopia! Yes, it's a boy, and yes, he's a baby! The baby part was both a shocking & pleasant surprise :) As many of you know, our age range was 0-4yrs. We had always just assumed that we would get an older child. Oh, the plans that we "think" we have :) I wasn't even close. Many of you know the information I have shared thus far, but I wanted to write to really fill you in on all of the details, since many are asking, so here goes, and yes, this will probably be a long one, so you might want to grab some coffee :)....
As God would have it, Cole and I were actually working in the office that day. We were super busy that morning hammering out details of an upcoming ministry event. At about 2:00pm I got a phone call from an unknown number, and I wasn't going to take it, since I was at work, but I noticed the location of the phone call was out of Washington state. Our adoption agency is located there, and I thought, maybe I should take this just incase :). Cole was on the phone with someone else in the office, so I answered and walked out of the room. It was indeed our agency, and she immediately said, "Kristi, I have a referral for a baby boy that I want you to look at." Excited shock. Words that can kind of describe how I felt at this moment. It was like an out of body experience. Really. So, of course I said, "Ok!" Then it began to sink in a bit, and I said, "He's a baby?" Yes, he's 5 months old, and my agency sounded just as surprised at me that they had received information on a baby this young. It just doesn't happen that often. Amazing! I had really just completely discounted the fact that we would ever get a baby, but of course this would be AWESOME if we did! She went on to tell me some details on some cosmetic issues regarding him, which I will get to in a minute. I just remember that I kept saying after each issue she shared..."Oh, we don't care about that, and Oh, that doesn't matter to us :)" He was OURS! You see, I had been praying that the very 1st child we got referred to us would be the child that God had. He was our ORDAINED child...I already knew. Then she said, "He was abandoned and found at 4 days old." Then the tears started to stream down my face...abandoned. Our baby was abandoned. My heart ached...just ached. I asked some questions regarding this, and all she could really tell me was that some people in the community found him near a forest (most likely trees and bushes) close to a hospital and notified the police. The policeman named him, and I am sad to say that I was told not to share that on the internet yet. But if you see me, I will gladly tell you because it will be his middle name :) We will be giving him a first name that we have chosen, but I need to double check if I can share this on here. I will tell you that too if you see me :) You will unfortunately, not see any of his pictures until we bring him home for legal reasons as well. Again, if you see me, he is the face on my phone, and I will gladly share :). She then informed me that she would be sending me pictures and all other info that she had on him. She kept saying, "He is just so cute!" I couldn't wait to see.
I hung up the phone, and again, an out of body experience. I took a few steps into the office, and looked at Cole and said, "It's a boy." He was looking at his computer and in work mode, so he said, "What?" He then looked at me, our eyes met...he knew by my face, and he said, "Was that them?!?!?!?!" I nodded, because as soon as our eyes met, I lost it, and I mean lost it. To the point that I could not speak. He was elated and hugged me, and in my head I was screaming, "He's a baby! He's a baby! He was abandoned!" I gained some composure, and told him the details. He was sooooo excited, and that is the understatment of the year :) We immediately were all eyes on my email. And then it came...his beautiful picture. To be honest, it was awkward to see our son for the first time on a computer screen. I almost feel bad saying that, but I want to be honest. I mean, we couldn't hear him, touch him, or smell him. It was a picture and so different from having your babies biologically. You know, you hear them cry right away, and you hold them, etc... So different, but so amazing, because by that night I was soooo bonded to that beautiful boy's picture :) So awesome how God does things! Just awesome. So, we called it a day, and got some cookies from a local bakery with "It's a boy!" written on them in blue and brought them home to tell my mom and the kids. Like a dream! It really really was. Our world completely stopped and God just poured on the joy. Simply overwhelming and amazing. Our hearts were FULL, and as you can imagine, they still are :)
I thought I would clear up some frequently asked questions :) Well, mainly one...so, now what? Currently, we are waiting for a court date. That is projected to be in the next 2-4 months. When we have a date, we will travel over to Ethiopia for our 1st trip. We will meet him and visit him daily in the orphanage...so amazing! We will appear in court and get approved to adopt him. We will stay about a week and then have to fly home. Yes, we will have to leave...without him, and I just can't wrap my head around that right now, but I don't have to yet :) Bottom line, it's a hoop we have to jump through to get to him in this process....it is what it is, and God's got this...He does. When we get home, we will await a date with the US Embassy in Ethiopia. That is also projected to be around 2-4 months as well. When we get that, we will travel back over for our 2nd trip and go and get our baby boy and bring him HOME...miraculous! All in all, we should have him home within the next 6-8 months. Yay!!!
Prayer has been so powerful throughout this entire process, and we have been privileged to see firsthand just how powerful it is! Because of this we wanted to make you aware of some things that you could be praying for if you feel compelled to do so. Here are a few…
- For him to get an adequate amount of formula/food each day so that he would continue to grow. We know that at 4 months, he weighed about 8 pounds, and no, that is not a typo...8 pounds.
- Healing for his thumb. We do not know the details, but he has ½ of a thumb on his left hand. In the last picture we saw, it was looking much better. However, we do not know how much movement he has in it.
- For us to continue to cling to God and the fact that He is in control of this entire deal and the timing of it. That we would COMPLETELY trust God.
- For the process of him coming home to happen as soon as possible but ultimately for God’s will to be done.
- For his mom or family member that abandoned him. My heart almost immediately ached for her/them and continues to. That they would not walk in guilt for the rest of their lives. I cannot imagine the desperation of a situation a mother or family member would be in to abandon a baby. That they would somehow get word that God covered this and has provided him with a Christian family, and that the Gospel would be proclaimed through this. For her/his/their salvation!
- For God and NOT us to be glorified throughout this entire process.
- For the transition as we make this addition to our family and for the kids as we will be going to Ethiopia twice and staying about a week each time.
- For this baby boy to be a WARRIOR for Jesus!
Thank you for your constant support, and may Jesus be lifted HIGH!!!
P.S. More to come soon :) I have another blog already swimming in my head that I feel the Lord prompting me to write :)
