Our journey started Monday morning as we waited for our flight to leave DC.  We met a couple at our departure gate from Utah who were making the same trip to the West Sands Transition House to see their two children for the first time.  We survived the 13+ hour flight from DC to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Unfortunately, we slept very little (due to the anticipation of the excitement to come I’m sure!).  Unfortunately, we paid for it last night!

Upon landing in Ethiopia on Tuesday AM and worrying about whether or not our luggage made it with us to Addis (our luggage was one of the last ones off the plane), we connected with our host/translator.  During our drive from the airport to the Transition House, our host asked  us many questions about our family, our adoption process to date, and shared with us what we could expect the remainder of the week…specifically, our court date tomorrow.

Once we arrived at the Transition House, our host gave us an overview of the compound, our daily meals, and of course the rooms we would be staying in.  Then, we were finally taken to see our children for the first time.  Our new friends from Utah got to see their children first, and we were then introduced to Titus for the first time.

It’s hard to explain what it was like seeing Titus for the first time…exciting, yet very surreal!!  The nanny that takes care of him (along with approximately 5 other infants) was holding him, and we had to ask her if we could hold him.  As he has been in several of the pictures we have of him, he was all smiles.  He’s such a cute little boy!!  He has the biggest brown eyes; his hair is loosely curled; and he has a little dimple on his left cheek when he smiles…which he does a lot!  In fact, several of the nannies of come up to us and talked about how “Yosie” (his given name is Yosef) is always happy and smiling.  We hope that continues for our long flight home with him in (hopefully) a few months!  We spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out and loving on Titus.

Late in the afternoon, we were able to catch about an hour long nap before we headed out to an authentic Ethiopian restaurant…complete with live Ethiopian music and tribal dancing.  Audience members are encouraged to participate in the dances…and to answer your question, yes, Cassie and I did participate.  Unfortunately, none of you will ever be able to lay eyes on those videos!

In closing, Cassie and I would ask that you continue to keep us in your prayers.  Specifically, please pray for everything to go smoothly in court tomorrow so that this precious, little boy will legally be ours!!

P.S.  For those of you that don’t know, we are unable to share pictures online of Titus until he officially becomes ours following our court date.  Assuming all goes well in court tomorrow, I hope to be able to post a picture or two tomorrow or Friday before we head home.

Needless to say, the last few days have been exciting but hectic…but it will be well worth the stress when we get to see our son, Titus (more on his name at a later post), for the first time next week!!  We’ve had quite a bit to get prepared in the last few days and are operating on little sleep…which I’m hoping will make it easier to sleep on the long plane ride.

Obviously, today was my last day at the office before we head to Ethiopia.  As with every Friday at Unified Technologies, we had our Friday Operations meeting first thing in the morning.  Several years ago, we began starting our meetings with everyone thanking at least one other employee for something they did during the week.  This week we had another first…our CEO asked one of my colleagues to pray for Cassie and me in our upcoming trip.  What a humbling experience to have my co-workers pray with and for us.  It continues to amaze me the interest and impact this process has not only had on our family but others around us.  I certainly love my work family, but I love even more to see God working in other’s lives and using this experience to draw them closer to Him!

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers next week.  Specifically, please pray for safe travels, an uneventful court date, and plenty of time to spend with Titus.

Stay tuned…I hope to update a few times while in Ethiopia (if possible).

GREAT TRUTHS
1. In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm and three or more is a congress.
– John Adams

2. If you don’t read the newspaper you are uninformed, if you do read the newspaper you are misinformed.
– Mark Twain

3. Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But then I repeat myself.
– Mark Twain

4. I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.
– Winston Churchill

5. A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.
– George Bernard Shaw

6. A liberal is someone who feels a great debt to his fellow man, which debt he proposes to pay off with your money.
– G. Gordon Liddy

7. Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner.
– James Bovard, Civil Libertarian (1994)

8. Foreign aid might be defined as a transfer of money from poor people in rich countries to rich people in poor countries.
– Douglas Casey, Classmate of Bill Clinton at Georgetown University

9. Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.
– P.J. O’Rourke, Civil Libertarian

10. Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else.
– Frederic Bastiat, French economist (1801-1850)

11. Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
– Ronald Reagan (1986)

12. I don’t make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts.
– Will Rogers

13. If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it’s free!
– P.J. O’Rourke

14. In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other.
– Voltaire (1764)

15. Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn’t mean politics won’t take an interest in you!
– Pericles (430 B..C.)

16. No man’s life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session..
– Mark Twain (1866)

17. Talk is cheap…except when Congress does it.
– Anonymous

18. The government is like a baby’s alimentary canal, with a happy appetite at one end and no responsibility at the other.
– Ronald Reagan

19. The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessings. The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of misery.
– Winston Churchill

20. The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that the taxidermist leaves the skin.
– Mark Twain

21. The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools.
– Herbert Spencer, English Philosopher (1820-1903)

22. There is no distinctly Native American criminal class…save Congress.
– Mark Twain

23. What this country needs are more unemployed politicians.
– Edward Langley, Artist (1928-1995)

24. A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have.
– Thomas Jefferson

25. We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office.
– Aesop

FIVE BEST SENTENCES

1. You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity, by legislating the wealth out of prosperity.
2. What one person receives without working for…another person must work for without receiving.
3. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.
4. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it.
5. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work, because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work, because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that is the beginning of the end of any nation!

First and foremost, we’re excited to announce that we received a referral for a 3-month old baby boy on Monday, November 30th!!! I’ll give you all the details further down in this blog but first let me bring you up to date on what has occurred up to this point. It is amazing to see God in control and at work throughout this process!

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future..” – Jeremiah 29:11

In all honesty, up until the last few weeks, very little had happened in regards to our adoption process. The only two things that come to mind between our last post and a few weeks ago was 1) a decision by Cassie and I to allow our boys to join us on our 2nd visit to Ethiopia and 2) being asked several times by our adoption agency, Lifeline Children’s Services, if we would consider anything less than 2 children.

For those of you who are unaware, Ethiopia requires two visits to the country prior to bringing home your child/children. The first trip is to take care of all the legalities on the Ethiopian side in regards to the child/children you are adopting. While the 2nd trip is the actual trip to pick up your child/children.

After much discussion and prayer (and urging by Trenton and Garrett); we have decided to allow them to join us on our 2nd trip to Ethiopia to pick up their new brother…assuming they help raise their portion of travel expenses to join us. Their enthusiasm and commitment to this adoption has been unwavering and luckily we’ve seen the same commitment from them in their fundraising efforts. The opportunity for us to travel together as a family to Ethiopia to meet the newest addition to our family is an opportunity of a lifetime for both them and us.

It has been wonderful to see the boys setting aside their desire to purchase “things” in order to save money for their trip. Both Cassie and I feel that the things they will learn through this process will be beneficial for them for years to come. It has been enjoyable to see their creative juices flowing on ways to raise the needed funds.

This past summer, with a lot of help from the boys, we put out our 1st garden. The boys set up a roadside stand to sell the produce along with signs on what the money will go towards. We had a yard sale earlier this year (where the boys baked cookies to sell and their cousins and Nana made cake pops and flower arrangements to sell for the boys), Cassie’s sister has offered to host a bake sale sometime after the 1st of the year, both boys have decided to make and sell walking sticks, as well as many other ideas have been tossed around. Stay tuned as I’m sure we’ll be sharing more details on these ideas in the weeks and months to come.

Another occurrence over the last few months has been some questioning from our Lifeline represenative on whether or not we would consider less than two children. To give you a quick background, when Cassie and I first started this process we set up our parameters on what we wanted for our family…two boys anywhere from birth to 5/6 years old. After all, we’ve already raised boys, we know what to expect, etc. However, after continual prayer and discussion, we changed that a bit and said we would be open to two kids as long as they were the same gender. However, by the time we had completed our initial paperwork, we had even given this up to God and settled on whatever two kids He felt was best for our family; no matter the gender…boy/boy, girl/girl, or boy/girl.

Fast forward to just a few weeks ago and we sensed yet another urging from God. Lifeline had a picnic (on Saturday, November 20th) for anyone that had worked with them in the past or was currently in the adoption process with them. Shortly after we arrived, we stopped to talk with our Lifeline represenative [that we have been working with]. The question was asked again if we were still only considering two children. Again, our answer was, “yes”. However, after many conversations throughout the day with other families, Cassie and I both felt we needed to discuss and pray about this more. Additionally, some close friends of ours that recently adopted three children from Ethiopia, asked if they could stop by our house and pray and share some things they went through during their process.

After our time with them, more conversations between Cassie and I, and more prayer on the subject; Cassie and I both felt that this was an area that we were trying to control and that we felt we knew what was best for our family. If we truly believed that this adoption was a path that God put us on, and He knew what was best for our family; then why weren’t we also letting Him have complete control of our adoption? Cassie and I agreed that if we were truly letting God take this over; not only should we be open to less than two children…but we also had to be open to more than two children. So, the next morning (Monday, November 21st), Cassie called our agency and informed them that not only were we open to only 1 child, but we were open to as many sibling groups that needed a home…be it 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.” – Isaiah 55:8

Nine days after our decision to release our control in this area to God, Lifeline notified us with our referral. Cassie received a call from Lifeline on the morning of Wednesday, November 30th, informing us that we had a referral for a 3 month old boy named, Yosef. Shortly after that call, Cassie received an email from our agency with a picture and some details on our new son. While we cannot share a picture at this time, let me just say he is the cutest thing we have ever seen!! He has loose curly hair, big brown eyes, the cutest little nose, lightly colored skin, and what looks to be a little dimple on his right cheek. Per the paperwork, he’s as healthy as he can be; and based on his picture, he’s quite an alert little boy. We plan to use his name, Yosef, as either his first name or at a minimum as a middle name. Ironically enough, his name means, “God will add.” Isn’t that just like God’s sense of humor?!

I cannot tell you how much of a blessing this experience has been for our family so far…especially the past 2 weeks! It is both amazing and humbling to see the generosity and interest that people have taken in our story.

Just to share a quick story in that regards…the people I work with at Unified Technologies are awesome! Last night was our company Christmas party. Following our “dirty Santa” gift exchange we do every year, our CEO, Scott Diamond, talked about the amount of money our employees raised for some local families through the More Than A Gift program at Southeast Christian Church. As is our usual custom, the company matches what the employees give. However, this year, the employees gave enough of their own money that there was really no reason for the company to match. So, unbeknownst to Cassie and me, the company decided to take it’s portion of the money and give it to us to help with our adoption…specifically, to help the boys with their fundraising to join us on our trip to Ethiopia!!

What an emotional an unbelievable evening it was; not only for Cassie and me, but I think for a lot of people that I work with as well. It continues to amaze me how much this journey of ours has impacted not only me and my family but other people that we know and come into contact with. Again, it is both humbling and amazing how God chooses to use and reach His people! I simply hope and pray that through this journey those that we come in contact with see the love of Christ and how He has chosen to adopt anyone that wants to be part of His family!

The other thing I hope people see is the fact that this is such a faith ride for my family and me. We cannot do this on our own. Between having the money to pull this off, the emotional roller coaster this has been and is yet to be, and making it through all the things that can go wrong through the adoption process; it is unbelievable to see God’s hand at work! A verse that we have on the boys’ fundraising chart and that has become our family’s mantra; nails this point…

“Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” – Ephesians 3:20-21

So, what’s next? We are hopeful within the next 3 months we will be making our first trip to Ethiopia. Prior to that time, Yosef will be transported from his orphanage some 7 hours away to a transition home in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. During our first visit to Ethiopia, we will get to see Yosef for the first time, spend time with him and the other children in the orphanage, and finally go to court to legally adopt him. Unfortunately, at the end of that week, we will return to the states but will have to leave Yosef in Ethiopia. During our time back home, final processing of our adoption will take place before we will be allowed to return for our 2nd trip. Again, we are hopeful within about 3 months after our return home we will be allowed to return back to Ethiopia (along with Trenton and Garrett) to bring our new son back home with us.

Thanks to each of you for your thoughts and prayers over the last 10 months of our journey. I would ask that you continue to keep us on your list and specifically pray for the following for us in the coming months:

1. Yosef’s health and safety
2. Health and safety for the caregivers in Ethiopia currently taking care of Yosef
3. Quick processing of paperwork in Ethiopia so we can make our 1st trip
4. Patience for our family as we wait for our 1st trip
5. Low stress for our family as we prepare our home for a new baby
6. That we clearly see the many things God is teaching us through this process and we don’t get in the way of what He is trying to teach/show others

Below is a link to an article by Jamie Dean in this month’s issue of World Magazine regarding the recent changes with the Ethiopian adoption process.

“With international adoptions harder and harder to process and a slowdown in Ethiopia, the second-largest source of hope for American parents wanting to adopt overseas, the outcome can be heartbreak, or worse.” ...CLICK HERE FOR FULL ARTICLE

If you are a patriotic person, I encourage you to view this video from Dave Stone, Senior Minister of Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, KY.  If you are a patriotic person and a Christ follower, I highly encourage you to view the video.  Dave prepared and delivered an excellent message for the 4th of July weekend addressing the past, present, and future of our great country.

While we all have a tendency to want to blame the Democrats, Republicans, Bush, or Obama for America’s problems; as a free people, the success or failure of our country is our responsibility…that responsibility is even more inherent if you claim to be a Christian.  As Christians, Dave says we cannot blame the politicians for the past, present, or future of our nation.  Dave encourages each of us, as individual Believers, to take our faith seriously and to stop being lukewarm Christians.  If we Christians, really believe what we say we believe…our lives, our families, and ultimately our country cannot help but reflect that belief.

Cliffhanger: Family – The Foundation of a Nation (Dave Stone, Sr. Minister of Southeast Christian Church – 7/3/10)

The following is a quick rundown of what has taken place with our adoption up to this point and what the next several months hold for us.

• Our Dossier and Home Study were completed and delivered to Arise for Children (our adoption agency) at the end of May
• Since the end of May through the end of June, our Dossier and Home Study has been reviewed and approved by Arise for Children; shipped to Utah to West Sands (Arise’s Ethiopian adoption program partner) where it was also reviewed and approved; then shipped to Washington, D.C. for authentication; and finally shipped back to West Sands who sent it on to Ethiopia.
• Last week, Cassie and I had to get our fingerprints taken at Homeland Security.  We’ve already received those back and confirmed we are not wanted, hardened criminals.  The Homeland Security information will be on its way to Ethiopia next week.
• At this point moving forward, we will simply be waiting for the referral for our children.  Ethiopia’s Ministry of Women’s Children’s and Youth Affairs (MOWCYA) will review our Dossier and Home Study and then (hopefully) approve our adoption request.
• We have been told that we will receive our referral in 3 – 6 months.
• Upon receiving our referral, we will then await final clearance from Ethiopia for our court date.
• We will make 2 trips to Ethiopia.  The 1st trip will be a lot of legal stuff where we go through the Ethiopian court system to become the legal parents of our new children.  We will return to the U.S. (without our children) and then a month or two later will return to Ethiopia to finalize everything to actually take custody of our children and bring them back home.

We would appreciate it if you would keep the following in your prayers for us…

1. The Ethiopian children that God has picked out for us.
2. The Ethiopian caregivers that are or will be taking care of our children.
3. The Ethiopian officials reviewing our paperwork.
4. Continued patience, trust, and growth for our family through this process.
5. Peace for me regarding the financial obligations involved with this process.
6. Peace for Cassie regarding the unknown family and social dynamics and changes that will occur.

Since that announcement here’s what we’ve heard…

- Ethiopia’s Minister of MOWCYA was replaced within days of the above announcement.
- The U.S. State Department has indicated that many Governmental and Non-Governmental Groups have proposed offers to provide MOWCYA with the resources needed to continue operating at their usual pace.
- The Ethiopian MOWCYA has announced a revised plan which includes the processing of 20 adoption cases per day.
- We have had 2 sets of friends return from Ethiopia with the newest additions to their families in the past week.  Their agency’s Ethiopian contact said that he’s seen no slow downs in the process at this point.

Needless to say, with all the conflicting information we were getting, Cassie and I (more me than she) were a bit uncertain how to proceed. We began to look at other adoption options other than Ethiopia…both domestically and internationally. However, we have continued to come back to Ethiopia and really feel like God has laid Ethiopia on our family’s hearts…it doesn’t hurt that we’ve been blessed in celebrating with our friends upon their return with their new children from Ethiopia!!

Cassie and I have come to the conclusion that this journey is going to be all about trusting God and His will for our lives and having faith in Him. There are so many things we cannot control…and that is very difficult for Cassie and me (especially me). However, I am convinced that is (at least) a couple of the things God plans to work on with us through this process. I like to plan the next step; review my options; strategically make my decision; etc. It’s not going to work like that through this adoption. My only option is to have FAITH and TRUST; realizing that, whatever the outcome, God has a plan. It might not be my plan, but it is His…and ultimately, in the long run, it will be much better than any plan I can come up with on my own!

“Trust GOD from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for GOD’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; He’s the one who will keep you on track.”   - Proverbs 3:5-6 (The Message)

Per the article,

“Ethiopia’s Ministry of Women’s, Children’s and Youth Affairs has issued a directive saying it will process a maximum of five inter-country adoptions a day, effective March 10. Currently, the ministry is processing up to 50 cases a day, about half of them to the United States…the reduction of up to 90% in cases will allow closer scrutiny of documents used to verify a child’s orphan status.”

Obviously, this is very disappointing news to us.  After Cassie had a discussion with a friend who is in the last stage of their adoption journey (they are leaving next week to pick up their 3 kids from Ethiopia!), she shared a blog post with us from West Sands Adoptions (the adoption agency we will be partnering with), titled Rumors About (Ethiopian) Courts Slowing Down.

The blog post states that the Ethiopian Courts have not posted such a statement; rather Ethiopia’s Ministry of Women’s, Children’s and Youth Affairs (MOWA) is the government department that stated the reduction.  While, MOWA is part of the Ethiopian government, apparently they have made statements like this in the past in an attempt to get more staff for their department.

Our hope and prayer is that this is simply a political move by the MOWA in an attempt to get what they want.  Whatever it is and whatever the outcome, we know that God is in this with us and His ways are better than ours.  Please continue to keep us in your prayers as I’m sure this will be one of many “bumps in the road” we will see along the way.

- Brian