News and Prayer Requests

Well, we got the bill for the girls yesterday so I think that officially makes them ours. Amy also talked to Sue, the agency director who just got back from Ethiopia on Sunday. She said the girls are shy and that they didn't talk much when she saw them.

The twins are still in their village at this point, because there is not room for them yet in the orphanage in Kamashi (Western Ethiopia). There are several adopting families set to travel in the next few weeks, and once they get their kids, there will be room for the girls to come to the orphanage. Sue said they are first priority to get to the orphanage because they are in the care of a neighbor, not a family member, and the other kids in their village who are available for adoption are with extended family.

She also told me that the girls will be brought to the agency's home in Addis Ababa a minimum of 3 weeks before we travel so that they can get their paperwork finalized. This is good, because two of the nannies at the home in Addis speak some English, and they teach the kids some key phrases (like "I need to use the toilet"). Sue is hoping to have them brought to Addis for longer then 3 weeks so they can receive better treatment for their parasites and worms, but again it depends on when space becomes available.

Sue told us it looked like we wouldn't travel until early February, but it all depends on when we get our court date. Christmas is celebrated in Ethiopia the first week of January, so we lose time for both the US holidays and the Ethiopian holidays.

So, our big prayer requests are:

1) that space will open up for the girls to be brought from their village to the orphanage, and then on to the home in Addis so they can be treated for their "intestinal friends".

2) that we could get an early court date. We can travel about 4 weeks after the girls' court date. If we get a court date toward the end of November, we could possibly squeeze in at the end of December, before or between the two holiday celebrations. But if we don't get a court date until December, it will probably push us off until early February.

3.) finances. We have applied for several grants, and we are waiting to hear back. The girls' placing fee is $11,500, and then we'll have travel and hotels, etc. We have applied for enough grant money to cover all these expenses, but grants are very hard to get, because there are so many families applying for them. Please pray that the Lord will move mountains to provide the finances we need to bring the girls home.