We are ready to go back. But it's not time. We are longing to be in Uganda. But it's not time. We miss our friends that we made there. We want Jaxon and Vivi to experience the people and culture that we grew to love in just one week. We know they will, too. But it's not time.
Some days are easier than others. I try to enjoy the quiet in my house while my big kids are at school and I can do laundry and clean with out stopping to make Vivi a snack, 3 separate times, and talk Jaxon out of beating his face against his video game controller. In these moments I know that soon enough I will be spread even a little bit more thin, that I may be doing my work with a child strapped to me, like I was accustomed to just 6 years ago. (wow, has it been that long?!)
We have been in steady contact with the people that we met in Kampala's baby homes. We know that God will finish for us the good work that he started.
I have had a few requests from friends who wanted to know how we got started on this journey. So here is part of the story.
Did you know that Sally Struthers did this to us? I know that some of you who were a child of the 80's & early 90's, like myself, hafta remember her. I think they chose her because she had the saddest voice on television then. And they had her tell us about the children who were starving in Ethiopia. They showed the tiny African children with distended bellies and flies all over them, starving. Breaking my 8 year old heart. I have been called to this mission by God through Sally Struthers. :) He will use whoever he wants, y'all.
So this has always been the plan, after we were blessed the biological way with babies, we would go this route. Mikeblair and I discussed this in February of 2013 and decided that if we waiting many longer, our kids would be so self sufficient that we would talk ourselves out of it and it would be 'meant t0' but God never opened the door, kind of dream. Sometimes God needs for you to be still and other times He says move.
We started the move by doing research on international adoption on the internet and asking a few of our friends who have made this journey for some pointers. We quickly found that Ethiopia was a hotspot right now(maybe b/c of Sally) and that scared me. From what I had found, most of the developing world countries that were doing a high volume of IA, would end up in a mess and be shut down. When desperate people in desperate situations see a way to make money, they will try to get in on it. If that means selling children, so be it. Now, before you judge them, imagine that your children were literally starving....who knows what we are capable of.
My gut told me that Ethiopia was not a good place for us to start then. And I don't know about you, but since I hit my 30's...I trust my gut. So made a list of all of the countries that do IA, then narrowed it down to the countries that we could adopt through, still in Africa (of course, see Sally) Some have ridiculous regulations. After I had the list down to the countries that would accept us, I did research on the country itself. What was the culture? Why was it a 3rd world? How recent was the war that tore it apart?
Both Mikeblair and I felt lead toward Uganda, but that is another story for another day. Thank you all for being part of our village. God always sends one of you to write me a love note when I am having trouble waiting on His timing. Your encouragement means more than you know! Thank you for listening to Him, when he whispers to you that someone needs your encouragement.
Love You All
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