First of all I would like to say thank you for your prayers over the last few weeks, and secondly I would ask that you continue praying!
Today we received word that the boys do have two different mothers, however, the father does not want either of the boys. The orphanage director is going to submit paperwork to the local court to allow Tadele (Isaiah 4yrs) to be adopted since he has been abandoned by his parents. Mamush (Jonathan 8 or 9yrs) is available and there are no legal issues with him since his mom has indeed passed away.
Our prayer is that the Lord would move the hearts and minds of the officials in Ethiopia to allow Tadele to be adopted since he has been abandoned by his parents for almost 2 years. Please join us in praying for the boys and also for wisdom for decisions to be made, and grace to accept whatever the outcome may be!
Thanks so much
Teresa
Monday, September 26, 2011
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Complications, Tears, Prayers and Peace
Well where to start! It has been almost four months since we first saw the faces of the two boys who were referred to us for adoption from Ethiopia. Since then every month we have anxiously awaited the newest picture and information on how they have grown and what they have been doing.
Yesterday when I received the call from our caseworker I was so excited.... my first thought was "Yes, our documents have been sent to court!" Not God's plan!
Our caseworker informed us that one of our boys may not be available for adoption anymore, pending further investigation. It seems as if the father of the boys may have given miss-information to the orphanage and the boys actually may not be full brothers. They may have different mothers, one of which may still be alive. The authorities are investigating and we should know more in the next few weeks.
So we certainly would appreciate it if you would pray for "our" boys! We pray that if the mom is truly alive and wants her son that there would be a joy filled reunion, if not we pray that God would grant us our prayer and desire of our heart to bring these two boys home and to make them part of our family. We would also appreciate prayers for wisdom and discernment as we proceed and make decisions as facts and circumstances come to light.
I am so thankful for the steadfast love of the Lord that never fails, His mercies that are new every moment, and especially for the peace that passes all understanding as I trust in Him.
Thanks so much,
Teresa and all
Yesterday when I received the call from our caseworker I was so excited.... my first thought was "Yes, our documents have been sent to court!" Not God's plan!
Our caseworker informed us that one of our boys may not be available for adoption anymore, pending further investigation. It seems as if the father of the boys may have given miss-information to the orphanage and the boys actually may not be full brothers. They may have different mothers, one of which may still be alive. The authorities are investigating and we should know more in the next few weeks.
So we certainly would appreciate it if you would pray for "our" boys! We pray that if the mom is truly alive and wants her son that there would be a joy filled reunion, if not we pray that God would grant us our prayer and desire of our heart to bring these two boys home and to make them part of our family. We would also appreciate prayers for wisdom and discernment as we proceed and make decisions as facts and circumstances come to light.
I am so thankful for the steadfast love of the Lord that never fails, His mercies that are new every moment, and especially for the peace that passes all understanding as I trust in Him.
Thanks so much,
Teresa and all
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Two Weeks Closer!
Well it has been a whirlwind of activity and sharing these last few weeks! After accepting the referral for our two boys we then told our family and friends, printed out oodles of pictures, put new background pictures on our computers and phones and spent a few days just saying WOW it happened...
Then we had a little work to do. First get home study updated...check, get it authenticated and sent out to Washington DC....check, wait, wait and more waiting! Now we really have nothing more to do until September when we will have to be re-fingerprinted just in case it is later than January when we get the boys.
Next was to think of some names. Our 8 year old will be named Jonathan Scott (Ethiopian Name) Hollis, and our 4 year old will be named Isaiah Matthew (Ethiopian Name) Hollis.
As I look back over the past year, yes it has been a year since our decision was made to proceed with adopting from Ethiopia, I see so much of God's hand and grace in our lives to bring us to this point. I remember how we said we could not possibly adopt a child older than 5.... God allowed us to spend time with older foster children and to understand how it is not as scary as the world makes it out to be! Older children are not irreparably harmed and unlovable. They are beautiful and are in need of a home and a family who loves them just as much as the little ones! Due to our life circumstance and situation I cannot even believe we contemplated a toddler! Our boys will fit right in with friends and neighbors, and be blessed with many friends of their age.
Anyway, I am rambling and my beeper is going off telling me dinner is ready!
God bless and have a great 4th of July
Teresa
Then we had a little work to do. First get home study updated...check, get it authenticated and sent out to Washington DC....check, wait, wait and more waiting! Now we really have nothing more to do until September when we will have to be re-fingerprinted just in case it is later than January when we get the boys.
Next was to think of some names. Our 8 year old will be named Jonathan Scott (Ethiopian Name) Hollis, and our 4 year old will be named Isaiah Matthew (Ethiopian Name) Hollis.
As I look back over the past year, yes it has been a year since our decision was made to proceed with adopting from Ethiopia, I see so much of God's hand and grace in our lives to bring us to this point. I remember how we said we could not possibly adopt a child older than 5.... God allowed us to spend time with older foster children and to understand how it is not as scary as the world makes it out to be! Older children are not irreparably harmed and unlovable. They are beautiful and are in need of a home and a family who loves them just as much as the little ones! Due to our life circumstance and situation I cannot even believe we contemplated a toddler! Our boys will fit right in with friends and neighbors, and be blessed with many friends of their age.
Anyway, I am rambling and my beeper is going off telling me dinner is ready!
God bless and have a great 4th of July
Teresa
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Weddings, Life and REFERRAL!!!!!
So yes it has been many months since I have written because not much has changed... Except, Emily is married, Amanda is coming home in July, Rachel is in a relationship with a great guy we all really like, and Andrea has her permit and is going back to Etowah High School in the fall. Carly graduated and is living with us and working at KSU.
Oh, and today we accepted the referral for 2 brothers ages 4 and 8 who have been waiting in the orphanage for a year to be adopted. We are very excited and the girls are busy naming them and thinking of all the fun things they will do when they get here! According to our agency there is a good chance we will be traveling for our court day some time in November and will perhaps have them by January or February of 2012. That is, barring any unforeseen complication which there are many of in the adoption process.
So what are our next steps? Well they will send some forms for us to sign, we have to update our home study and get a new form from the US immigration dept because the older boy is 1 year older than we are approved for and the younger boy has a health issue we are not approved for.
Please pray for us as we walk through this phase of the adoption process. We are now waiting for paper work, finishing up an educational video and waiting for medicals to come in. It will be a few weeks before we get any more information.
We are praying for patience, provision and wisdom! Thank you for your prayers and concern so far and am very excited for the day that will come when we can introduce them to our friends and family both in photo's and in person. (photos will not be able to be posted until after our first trip to Ethiopia)
Love to all
T
Oh, and today we accepted the referral for 2 brothers ages 4 and 8 who have been waiting in the orphanage for a year to be adopted. We are very excited and the girls are busy naming them and thinking of all the fun things they will do when they get here! According to our agency there is a good chance we will be traveling for our court day some time in November and will perhaps have them by January or February of 2012. That is, barring any unforeseen complication which there are many of in the adoption process.
So what are our next steps? Well they will send some forms for us to sign, we have to update our home study and get a new form from the US immigration dept because the older boy is 1 year older than we are approved for and the younger boy has a health issue we are not approved for.
Please pray for us as we walk through this phase of the adoption process. We are now waiting for paper work, finishing up an educational video and waiting for medicals to come in. It will be a few weeks before we get any more information.
We are praying for patience, provision and wisdom! Thank you for your prayers and concern so far and am very excited for the day that will come when we can introduce them to our friends and family both in photo's and in person. (photos will not be able to be posted until after our first trip to Ethiopia)
Love to all
T
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