9 Days and Counting

For those of you who are Facebook friends with us, you will know that the last week has been full of uncertainty.  We have gone back and forth on whether to keep our court date or wait until January.  We have been back and forth on how long to stay in Uganda, what tickets to buy, where our children will stay....you name it.

I finally got tired of calling people back and telling them we had changed our minds again and just stopped giving updates.

So, we have finally settled on a plan.  Chris and I will begin our travels on Oct. 30.  Chris will stay in Uganda with me for about two and a half weeks and will then have to come back home.  HOPEFULLY, by that time, we will have been granted guardianship of our sweet girl and possibly have been to immigration.  I will stay until the beginning of December.  The director of the orphanage feels like we may be able to complete everything by then and bring our girl home!!!  However, it is possible that our case could be sent to Kenya for review.  In that case, I will probably return home and will return when we get immigration approval.

Chris' parents will be coming to our house to stay with the kids.  If you really want to see the Christian community rally around you...adopt!  We have had love completely lavished upon us this week by so many people that I cannot even begin to describe.  I have had friends step up to home school my children while I am gone, friends offer to keep the children, people offer to transport them where they need to go (not an easy task with four kiddos), I have even been loaned long skirts to wear while in Uganda.  We have even had precious friends offer to bring meals three days a week to our house to ease the burden on my mother in law.

Even total strangers who have been through adoption have offered support, advice, prayer and love to us this week.

This weekend has been a mad rush of travel preparations.  Our bedroom is beginning to look like a small department store with bags covering most open space.  And our to do list seems to grow by the hour.  Each time we leave a store, we think of three or four things we should have gotten while we were there.  Walmart is going to LOVE us!

Despite all the crazy.  I feel so incredibly blessed.  We serve such a mighty God, and in those moments where I feel I cannot hold up under the stress anymore, I know I can just cling to Him.  None of what we are doing or will do has taken Him by surprise!  He isn't worried!  He doesn't tremble in fear at what might be!  His timing is perfect and His love is eternal and as undeserving as we are...He just keeps pouring it on us.  So, I am trying to just relax and enjoy the ride (somedays are a lot more fun than others)!

How can you pray this week?

Pray for us as we continue with last minute preparations.  I am scattered under the best of circumstances  so if I am supposed to call you back, send you a message or remember anything you tell me...odds are against it right now (just being honest here, folks).  Praise God for a detail oriented husband that makes a list and then remembers to look at it!  We may at least make it to another country with all our paperwork in order.

Pray for our lawyer, our judge and the immigration people.  Pray they would have wisdom, clarity, humility and a willingness to put our child before their pride.

Pray for our sweet girl as she faces many, many new experiences and life changes.

Pray for our children and Chris' parents while we travel and they try to keep rolling along!

Blessing to all of you!  We will try to keep you posted while we travel!