PLEASE PRAY

Thank you for your prayers and interest in our second adoption.  We met with our agency director last week.  She is now back in Ethiopia so we don’t expect any news for awhile.  Things don’t look good for us to adopt the little girl that we are hoping to bring into our family.  But, we also know that God is in control and He can work it all out.  So, this may be a delay or simply a redirection.  We are just trying to trust Him day by day in this situation.  God knows what is best for all involved.  Blessings on you and your families!

News from the "Front"

Thank you for your interest in our adoption.  We just got a call this morning from that things aren't going well at the orphanage.  We can't really talk about it at this time.  There are 3 other families as well who are trying to adopt from this orphanage.  There are 8 children altogether there waiting.  They are looking at an unprecedented challenge so may have to get legal counsel to explore what options are available. Our agency director is on the way home and will be back in the office on Tuesday of next week.  She may have further insight into this matter.  

We know that God's hand is not short and He is powerful to intervene on the behalf of these children.  So, it saddens our hearts, and yes, I (Jaci) shed a few tears .. . but ultimately I totally trust God that He is in control!  We really want His will!  It will be great to see how He works all things together for them who love God, for them who are called according to His purposes!  Amen!

We love you all! Jim & Jaci

CHI Hosts Ethiopian Delegation

Our adoption agency, Adoption Ministry of YWAM Ethiopia, is under the umbrella agency of Children's House International.  We were able to attend a dinner in Bellingham last Monday to honor a group of four delegates from Ethiopia who work with adoptions.  The man in this photo is Pastor Abdissa who is the head of Children's House International in Ethiopia.  Jim was able to preach at his church when we were in Ethiopia in 2010.  

It was a fun round-trip of about 6 hours of driving.  Thanks to Dave Pritchard who drove!  It was fun to go with their family.  They are the sweetest family!  The Pritchard's added three Ethiopian children to their eight.  Dave is on staff with Jim at church.

CHI Dinner in Ferndale Tomorrow!

We prayed for Brian Rodenbeck at church today as he leaves this week to pick up 4 year old Mark in Ethiopia. Somehow that makes us feel like we are a step closer to our own adoption of miss "T."

No news this week o nour own adoption. We are looking forward to going to Ferndale tomorrow for an Ethiopian Dinner with CHI ... Pastor Abdissa and delegates from Ethiopia are going to be there to see what adoption looks like in America. It will be a long day but we are excited to take part in it!

Thank you for your prayers during this waiting season! Please pray for things to move along in Ethiopia and for God's protection of "T" and her heart to be prepared by the Lord for all that is ahead for her.

Thank you so much! Jim & Jaci

NEXT STEP IN THE PROCESS!

On Saturday we received our Homeland Security clearance for adoption. This is what we have been waiting for! Some people wait up to 6 weeks for this... ours came in just 12 days. So we are thankful. Thank you especially for praying! We took Bethlehem to Seattle Sunday night to an Ethiopian restaurant to celebreate and had quite a time of it! She is so fun to watch when she gets to go have Ethiopian food! :)

Receiving the I-171H papers from Homeland Security is the last step on our side in order to receive a referral for miss "T." Thank you for your continued prayers for the referral and for God's perfect timing in all of this!

We love you,
Jim, Jaci & Bethlehem 

Homeland Security Done!
So this morning we headed up to Tukwila for our 8:00 am biometrics appointment at Homeland Security. Traffic was great... the appointment went smoothly... and we are thankful to be done with yet one more little "hoop." This is basically a finger printing appointment. From the adoption blogs it appears we will get a response anywhere from one week to six weeks from now. At that point we expect to get the official referral for little miss "T." We are in a big waiting period right now... but there is lots to do as we work at the church and at home so we are ready for our first trip to Ethiopia... perhaps in March or April. Please pray for us to use this time well, and for God's protection and preparation of miss "T." Thank you! We love you! Jim & Jaci  

Finally a date we can look forward to!
For the past month or so we have been on hold... or should I say waiting to hear something we can share. We finally have a new date to look forward to... we have our biometrics appointment up at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (Department of Homeland Security) in Tukwila. On Jan. 15 we are to go there and have our fingerprints and photos taken. It's the final step (that we know about anyway) before we are able to recieve our "referral" from Children's House International for our daughter. We hope that about a week or so after Jan. 15 to have the referral... then we should receive a date to travel to Ethiopia and meet "T." Thank you for keeping us in your prayers even during these long slow periods of waiting. And please pray for our daughter's protection from all evil in Ethiopia. Please pray God is preparing her heart to come be in our family. Thank you! Jim & Jaci