We're Home!

Dear praying friends,
We arrived home on Friday night after an arduous journey from Addis to Rome to Washington D. c. to Seattle. We were so glad to be safely home and in our own home and beds again! Bethlehem did great on the flights and is adjusting well to "America." as soon as my laptop is repaired I will upload some new photos. Today we are flying to Denver for my sister's Memorial Service. I was saddened to learn she was in the hospital with lung cancer when we returned from Ethiopia. She passes away yesterday and her service is tomorrow.
We love you!
Jim, Jaci, and Bethlehem

They're coming home

Dear prayer partners,
Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart to everyone who prayed while Jim and Jaci were over in Ethiopia. 
They got Bethlehem's VISA!  Praise the Lord!  They should be arriving at the airport in about 15 minutes and heading out, arriving home tomorrow afternoon :)  -Jill

Embassy appt.

Greetings friends and family!  I (Jill) spoke to Mom and Dad on the phone this morning and their Embassy appt. went great.  In fact, their presence isn't requested there again.  They weren't however, granted Bethlehem's VISA to come to the United States because there is one piece of paper missing from the poice department that is holding everything up.  If their agency can obtain this by Thursday morning Addis time they will be able to make their flight home.  They hope the document arrives in time because it would be costly to change all their plane tickets for a later date.  Keep praying!  They didn't sound worried about it either way which is strange to me because I would be stressing out if I were them.  But that is what I love about them- how they always trust in God :)

More pictures from Ethiopia!

            Bethlehem trying to ride a bike on the SIM compound basketball court

       On Wednesday night we took our neighbors (Dirk-Jon & Maryam Baarson) out to dinner at a nearby restaurant. The couple run the boarding school home for about 10 children. They invited us for dinner last Friday... they have been so nice and supportive of us that we wanted to thank them. Most of the kids were Middle School and High School... and they all orded pizza I think! :)

                 dinner last Sunday with a family here who have adopted 2 girls Bethlehem's age who wanted their girls to tell B about their experience moving to US

          Bethlehem helping Jaci bake cookies at the SIM guest house this week

                   Bethlehem in front of the Christmas tree at the Sheraton Hotel

Sheraton Hotel again... this Christmas display had a mechanical reindeer... it frightened Bethlehem at first until Efrim convinced her it was "fake"

The kids that we met on our drive Wednesday to the King's Forest. This is the oldest forest in Africa. The king of Ethiopia 500 years ago set aside this forest as it was his favorite place. On the drive there we met several groups of children, and gave them them the lollipops that our daughter Jill sent with us to Ethiopia.

Jim and Bethlehem hiking on the trail in the King's Forest. It was a great hike... 5.4 kilometers to the top where we got to go in the museum...

turns out it was full of stuffed animals endemic to Ethiopia. Bethlehem was pretty terrified at first of the animals... until our driver/friend Efrim convinced her they were not able to hurt her. :) 

Hello!

Here's a mother and baby that Jaci gave out some food to on our trip home from the King's Forest. She was standing in the field gleaning grain like Ruth in the bible with her baby in her arms.

Embassy Date!

Hello friends and family!  My dad isn't able to access Blogger in Addis to post on here so I'll share his great news.  They have an Embassy date Dec. 7th!  That was what we were so anxiously waiting to hear.  If they did not get this date, they wouldn't be home until Christmas Eve and would have had to change all 3 of their airline tickets which isn't cheap.  What an answer to prayer- Praise the Lord!  At their Embassy appt. they have to answer a few questions that they might need the attorney for, Dad said, but he is out of country right now.  Please keep praying that it goes smoothly and they are granted Bethlehem's Visa on the 7th.  -Jill

More pictures from Ethiopia

Judy Olson, Bethlehem & Jaci at the Karuftu Spa ... this was about 12 days ago while I was in Ethiopia

Judy, Bethlehem and Jaci

 

Jaci, Bethlehem and Judy had lunch at the Denver (Go Broncos!) Cafe while I was in Lakewood!  At the table are some other adoptive children from the Grace Guest House

Betty and her new drum... she loves music, singing, and drumming

Bethlehem & Jaci dressed up to go to the US Embassy (I think) to request a date for our hearing sooner than later (This was on Nov. 23 while I was flying back to Ethiopia)  

Bethlehem at our SIM Guest house kitchen sink cutting up tomatoes for dinner. She loves helping cook in the kitchen (unless there are children around to play with) :)

Please pray!

Dear Praying friends,

It seems we are going to the American Embassy this next week to ask for mercy to get a court date on Dec. 7.  :)

The reason for this is that there has been a hold up on the paperwork and the process to get the new passport and birth certificate for Bethlehem.

Our going to the embassy was suggested by the CHI staff person who took Jaci and Bethlehem to get the passport and birth certificate yesterday.

Last time CHI asked for an exception like this the Embassy official told them not to do so again... or something like that.

But since CHI (the adoption agency we are working with in Ethiopia) is suggesting we go and at least ask we are comfortable doing so.

Would you pray they would have mercy on us and allow us to proceed to prepare for a Dec. 7 Embassy date so we can come home on Dec. 9?

There are so many moving pieces to get all this done... and Jaci is so ready to come home.

I will be too when I get there! :)

We are asking for God's will of course... whatever God wants is what we want here.

But we would love for you to be praying with us for this matter and for the strength and grace if we end up having to wait for the next Embassy date which is Dec. 21st.

The other thing that needs to occur next week is for Bethlehem to get her medical appointment and the required innoculations to enter the US. Please pray that goes smoothly too.

We love you!
Jim for us all!

Judy's Nov. 21 update

Good morning!

It is Sunday morning here, and we are experiencing an exciting moment . . . one of the guests here is running the Great Ethiopian Race . . . he is a runner from Kentucky, and was very excited when he discovered that he would be here for their adoption at the same time this well-known race is being run.  He was REALLY sick 24 hours ago, so there was a good possibility he wouldn't be able to run, but run he did, and we've even seen him on the t.v. coverage three times.  This place erupted with excitement when we saw him!!!  Some of the adults will be going to a church service in Amharic; it is apparently a Pentecostal-type Covenant church, and Jaci and Bethlehem are going to go.  The other women and babies are going to hang out here . . .

Last night our "cultural" night out at Ephrim's apartment turned out to be an amazing evening.  His purpose in having us over was to introduce us to a couple from Florida who are adopting a 4 year old girl, and they have 4 children at home: twin boys 13, an 11 year old and a 10 year old.  He went to Dallas Seminary, and he and Jaci had many friends or teachers in common.  They had their 22 year old niece with them.  Ephrim's wife served Injera, the best we've had so far.  When Ephrim brought us home, he was so excited that their had been good connections between his guests.  He hopes to have his own guest house in the near future, and is also establishing a coffee business. 

Our other big event was a trip to one of the markets yesterday--a row of very small shops with a variety of merchandise and somewhat of a bartering system in place.  We went with a van-full of people and all of us came back with some souveniers tho' the quality is definitely questionable.  There were several people there who were begging, and a guard who chased the children away whenever they got too close . . . You feel so sorry for them, but you can't help everyone . . . and it is very hard . . . Afterwards we all went out to an Italian Restaurant and most of us had pizza . . . it was pretty good!  One of the gals brought most of hers back, and when we stopped at an ATM machine and again were surrounded by begging children, she gave her pizza to one of them and they ran off and shared it with the biggest smiles . . . ahhhh, Ethiopian memories.

I was hoping to change my flight home, but have been overruled, so will be here until Wednesday evening.  Jim flies in Tuesday evening.  There is a chance we may move on Tuesday, but it's definitely a wait and see since either the people who are staying there or their driver is sick.  So, as we're learning is the norm here, we are going with the flow. . .

Think that's about it for now, so will send love and hugs,

Judy (and Jaci and Bethlehem)

P.S. Jaci asked me to again thank you for your prayers . . . life is defintely challenging and an ongoing adventure here, and we are relying on and feeling your support and prayers . . .

(Thank you Judy for your wonderful updates... I will certainly miss them when you head back home!
Love you - Jim)

Judy's update Nov. 19th

Hi everyone,

I'm trying to figure out how to capsulate our day for you . . . It started with an outing with a friend of a friend who is involved with SIM here; she took us to the compound where she lives where they have an apartment in a triplex where Jaci and Bethlehem probably will move to in the next few days--on the way we picked up an Ethiopian woman who works for them who was at the hospital after receiving treatment for cancer, then to the compound (which is really nice), then to the school to pick up her son who is sick with an amoeba, then to the Immigration office where we waited for a very long time, going from one office to another hoping to get Bethlehem's passport.  It was worse than the worst-case scenario at a Social Security office, if you've ever experienced that!  After all that, the word we got was that it wasn't going to happen in time, although Jaci is going to plead her case at the Embassy next Thursday morning (why they're waiting until then, I have no understanding =)

So we got back, Jaci made us some pasta (since by then it was 3:00 and we'd missed lunch) and I rested for a while . . . It was time for Bethlehem to get her hair braided, but she was totally not in favor of it so she got taken to a salon and I came down to the common room where one of the couples returned from a doctor's visit with their 4 1/2 year old who was spiking a fever and then had a seizure . . . Everyone was in shock, but thankfully the owner's wife is a nurse and since they were here she immediately took over and calmed the child and the parents and helped with several phone calls . . . now it looks like the fever is gradually going down and the crisis is over for the moment.  Bethlehem is great with her; she speaks to her in her own language and is very caring.  This is not the first time she's seen the need to step in and help with one of the children who are having a hard time, and I understand she did that a lot at the orphanage.

I can't remember if I wrote about our evening last night with all the families and the staff here at the guest house and their "honoring" us with a "BBQ" of newly slaughtered sheep, intestines, injera, and soft drinks . . . because their intentions are the best, we try hard not to insult them, but it is a huge stretch for us.  Jaci got sick after the last one, a week ago, so we were both very careful not to eat very much.  Being this involved in another culture certainly has its challenges . . . and yet we are truly getting a taste of the kindness of a very sweet people.  Last night before the BBQ we walked to the photo shop to get Bethlehem's passport pictures taken . . . I wish I could describe the traffic, the shops, the people on the way, even the sidewalks . . . crossing the street is an adventure in itself =) but somehow it all works . . .

Will sign off for now.  We're so grateful for your prayers; keep them up!!

Sending love and hugs,

Judy (and Jaci and Bethlehem)

Update from Judy Nov. 18th

Just a quick update this morning . . . We had a very Ethiopian evening last night with dinner at an authentic Ethiopian restaurant, complete with a lot of singing and dancing; probably types from a number of different tribes . . . It was kind of over the top for us, but overall very entertaining.  The dinner was buffet, and of course other than injera and rice, I didn't recognize many of the choices and I decided to play it safe and feel fine this morning =)  I said on Facebook that I thought Rick Steves would be proud since it's the kind of experience he recommends . . .

Not too much new or different here except that one of the families here has their court date and all the others have their Embassy hearings, so everyone is a bit nervous.  Usually those appearances go well but it is still nerve wracking after so many months of waiting and preparation.  We've enjoyed the families; I think 3 are from Kentucky, one from Orlando, and one from Wisconsin, and they all have amazing journeys to this point.  All seem to be strong believing families.

Not sure what today holds but we probably will stay here at the guest house and just hang out with the other families and the staff and do some schooling with Bethlehem.  She may get her hair braided again  . . . one of the staff gals is very good at it . . .

Blessings to all; please keep praying!

Love and hugs,

Judy (and Jaci and Bethlehem)

Update from Judy Nov. 16th

Here is another update from Judy (our friend who is with Jaci) with interesting news...

Hi everyone,

We're enjoying a beautiful sunny morning here after a power outage last night . . . it is so amazing to watch the FIVE!! adoptive families (six including Jaci and Bethlehem) interact and hear their stories . . . one family just left to spend the day at the orphanage where their six-month old is . . . they expect to meet the birth mother there today and go to court tomorrow.  He spent the day here with them yesterday; a delightful little boy with bright eyes and an easy smile.  All the rest of the families are here to go to the Embassy Court hearing tomorrow, so there are several children playing together and getting acquainted with one another while the adults share their stories and their feelings.  One of the families is on the way to pick up their 6 month old boy who will spent today and tonight here and then they will also go to the Embassy hearing tomorrow.  It is quite an amazing experience to be an observer in all of this activity . . . A high privilege indeed!

Yesterday we did go to Entoto which is a high (10,000 ft) mountain overlooking Addis . . . it was the first capital of Ethiopia and the 100 year old palace and museum made for an interesting tour.  I haven't had a chance to do any shopping yet since I wasn't feeling 100% yesterday and the things we did were enough for me =)

Bethlehem seems to be gaining ground with responding well to Jaci's instructions and discipline.  She fusses for a while but then comes around pretty well.  She is a very expressive little girl, so we have no problem telling when something displeases her =)  But overall she is a happy, active and enjoyable little girl.  She seems to be an eager learner as well and knows her numbers and letters and now several colors and is always anxious to play educational games or practice her English.  I feel like the bonding to Jaci is going well, even though when there are other children around she is more interested in playing with them . . . pretty normal, don't you think?

I think they pay for their internet by the minute, so even though it's extemely slow, I'll sign off for now so I don't cost them too much money, and one of the other families may want to use the computer . . .

Love you all,

Judy (and Jaci and Bethlehem)

Update from Judy Nov. 14th

This is part of an email Judy (the friend staying with Jaci currently) emailed 11/14...

It feels strange sometimes being so far from all that is familiar.  I can sit on the balcony outside our room and watch people coming and going down the little dirt road, more like an alley, from their homes made of corrugated steel without electricity or water, walking to the main street where they can catch a bus to go wherever it is they are going.  The traffic here is amazing . . . (the mini-vans that serve as taxis are known as blue alkaida's) and our driver is constantly shaking his head and talking about the crazy drivers.  But at least he is careful and very aware of the challenges . . .  There is sometimes noise from music or from the Muslim mosque. It isn't hot here because of our elevation (6000 +), usually around 75 but it cools down nicely at night.

We had an interesting day yesterday.  We went to church at an International Church where the service was in English, then to the Sheraton where Jaci takes Bethlehem to swim in their nice pool.  It is quite expensive, but a real treat for her.  I chose not to swim, but took my friend's kindle and sat down under an umbrella to read when it started pouring . . . and that went on for quite a while, so I sat there huddled under the umbrella with some towels around me to keep me dry.  After it finally stopped we went to the restaurant and had pretty good burgers, then they swam for a while longer. When we got back to the guest house, we were informed there was to be a big celebration for the one year anniversary of their operation here, and there were tables and chairs set up outside.  There had been 2 goats or sheep grazing on the grass the previous day, so we were surprised to see one of them hanging and being sheered . . . and later became the main dish for the celebration along with intestines in a spicy tomato sauce =)  We spent quite a while after the formal program getting acquainted with some of the children, there were 4 in each family (the owner's wife is a twin, and her sister's family was here, and they both have 15 year olds who speak quite good English).  So many similarities:  the boy plays soccer and guitar, and his brother plays drum, they girl loves volleyball and piano.  They were delightful and I would love for our grandchildren to meet them!!

After we went upstairs at about 8:30, people began gathering for a wedding which was scheduled for 11:00.  Bethlehem had a crying spell because (we think) she didn't want to leave the party, and then the noise down in the courtyard didn't shut down until about midnight.  Then guests arrived during the night.  Our morning begins early, so yesterday was a very long day.

Tomorrow we're planning to do some sightseeing.  Our driver suggested a museum, the garden at the President's house, the market, and some other things.  So it could prove to be an interesting day . . .

Will close before I lose my internet connection . . .

More photos from Addis Nov. 7-9

Jaci and Bethlehem playing on the "front porch" of our guest house with another adoptive child.
Bethlehem is very good playing with the other children who come by the guest house!

Photos from Addis Nov. 7-9

Bethlehem baking cookies at the guest house with Jaci - it's good to keep her busy and she likes cooking!

Bethlehem playing in the pool at the Sheraton in Addis Ababa. She loves the pool, especially when there are other children there to play with such as last Sunday when the pool was "full" of kids.

Home for a couple weeks

Hi everyone,
I arrived home last night after 30 hours of travel and 4 airports!
Tired is a good summary!
Thankfully Judy Olson is in Ethiopia with Jaci and Bethlehem.
It sounds like things are going well for them.
Please continue to lift them up in prayer for:
1) Bethlehem's adjustment
2) Their health and strength
3) Wisdom for Jaci and Judy to stay one step ahead of Bethlehem
4) That they will be a blessing to the Ethiopians and other adoptive families they meet.
Please pray also for me as I catch up things at church and preach the next two weekends.
Thanks!
Jim

Pictures from Ethiopia

Hello friends and family!  This is Jill writing for Dad because they are having a hard time uploading the pictures onto the blog from Addis.

meeting for the first time at the Widows and Orphans home in Adama, Ethiopia

 lunch at a hotel in Adama

leaving the orphanage forever and heading to Addis Ababa

riding in the big city

Bethlehem is pleased with her new sunglasses

her braids had to come out so they could treat her dry scalp

a trip to the Lion Zoo in Addis with driver and friend Ephraim

went to the Sheraton in Addis to go swimming

Bethlehem's first time swimming!  She didn't want to leave even after 2 hours

Mom forgot to bring her swimsuit to Ethiopia so dad got quite a workout

the falls by the Portuguese bridge

some more beautiful scenery

hiking in the countryside

                                                    Pray for Mom's sinus infection!                       

What a day at court!

Dear praying friends,

Jaci and I thank you for praying for us.
Yesterday was our court day and after being at the courthouse from 9:30 am we finally were sent off for lunch for 2 hours and came back at 2:00 pm... our case came before the judge about 3:00 pm... our appearance lasted about 6 minutes... and then she declared us officially the parents of Bethlehem! :)
One potential problem came to nothing (the ministry of women's affairs did not like the fact that a mistake had been crossed out and changed on our wedding license from Oregon in 1976). Our attorney prepared us for that situation and said we would need to convince the judge... but she said it was no big deal. We credit that to the prayers of many people both back home and here.
We were at court yesterday with Dave & Kris Adam, also from our church in Washington, so that was a very special treat. We could not have planned that if we had tried. That too was a God thing!
The hardest part of the day was seeing Bethlehem say goodbye to her mother. She broke down in tears and sobbed and sobbed. That happened again a couple of times yesterday. It is getting less frequent and she continues to be very sweet... but we know this is very hard for her. Also for her mother of course.
We had hours with Abaynesh yesterday... standing around waiting for our court time...    and then sitting in the waiting room outside the judge's room. Most of that time we could not communicate very much due to the language barrier... but we tried... and occasionally a translator was around to help. We loved the time to get acquainted with Abaynesh! And the video tape YWAM took of our time with her with the help of a translator will be a priceless treasure both for us and for Bethlehem!
Please continue to pray for Bethlehem (and Abaynesh) to adjust and experience God's peace!
I have not been able to access my email accounts on the internet, except for a couple of days I did get on my gmail account. So please forgive us for not emailing more.
Later today I will try to post some photos... now I need to go spell Jaci and spend some more time playing with Bethlehem.
We love our new daughter!
And we love and appreciate you!
Jim for the 3 of us