ethiopia day 10 (last day!)

Friday July 1

WE ARE GOING HOME TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We ALL woke up with smiles on our faces!!

We don't leave our guest house until 5:30 tonight...and our flight doesn't leave until 10 pm
We fly through Rome and then to Dulles, arriving sat morning at 8:40 am

Pat's first words to me this morning were, "we made it"
I don't think either of us can believe we have survived this...
We could NOT have done it without Hannah
And HE has carried us through some pretty overwhelming moments

Can't WAIT to be home....to my hot shower, big bed, space to go running, diet coke, computer with fast Internet, and food that doesn't make me sick!!!

ethiopia days 8 and 9 (days 17 and 18)

day 8 - wednesday, june 29

our mornings at the guest house go pretty much the same - everyone takes showers, we eat breakfast and pack our backpacks for whatever we are doing later that morning

on wed morning, we asked to be driven to a playground we had seen when we were driving around. you have to pay to get in. it was worth it. it was SO wonderful! we were there a little over an hour.

i wore levi on my back and hannah and i speedwalked around the park (a BIG hill) for about 45 minutes.

it was amazing to watch lincoln - when we first got there he didn't know how to play.

by the time we left, he was having a blast.

it's amazing to watch him learn "normal" things - like using a fork, wiping his hands after he eats

ate lunch with the group

and spend the rest of the day/evening at the guest house.

pat and evan went and played basketball with one of the guys that helps us here and some of his studens (he's a youth pastor)

that was SO fun for him

day 9 - thursday, june 30

pat and i did jillian on rooftop before breakfast

midmorning our packets arrived with the boys passports/visa's - the RIGHT visa's!!!!! hip hip hooray!!!!

i started packing - which felt SO good

we went out to lunch and then were at the guest house for the afternoon/evening

as i put levi in his crib, and kissed the others goodnight, it was amazing to realize that the NEXT time i put them to bed we will be HOME!!!!! (sleeping tomorrow night on the plane doesn't count :-))

after we put the kids to bed, we hang out in the common area of the main floor of the guest house - it is so amazing to sit there with hannah and evan and stacey - such favor from Him to give us them at the end of our day!

our last night in ethiopia....wow...we've almost made it!

ethiopia - where we stayed

there was a joy in going back through the pics in rwanda for yesterday's post.

this was harder.
these were DARK days.

we did have fun {the area outside of our guest house. you pretty much couldn't step foot outside of that black gate. felt very caged in.}

and the gift of being with friends...and making NEW friends was AWESOME!

we tried to make the most of it...our dinner of clif bars and flavored water in the lobby...

and movies...

but it was so hard. we felt stuck. we had nothing to do. almost nothing to "check off" to bring us closer to home. we were just waiting...

the kids and hannah slept here! our room had 2 bedrooms and a living room and little kitchen area.
GREAT service and accomodations! they cleaned our room every day. we were on the 4th floor...so we got plenty of exercise walking up and down a million times a day :-)

pat and i and levi slept here.

bathroom.

lincoln slept on a cot in the living area.

when i look at these my heart and stomach feel sick.
so, i'm moving on.

we were SO glad to leave and come HOME!!!!!!!!!

ethiopia day 7, (day 16)

I forgot about the show my kids put on last night for the guest house
It was adorable and everyone was a great sport to humor them :-)

Day 7 (tues, June 28) began the same...breakfast and playing ouside in our little parking lot
Rebekah got sick in the morning and didn't feel great all day
My friend that is also here, Stacey, was SUPER sick all day...spent a lot of time praying for her

Went to lunch (all the families go together) and then Hannah came back to the guest house with r,j, and b and pat and I went to the embassy with Lincoln and Levi for our appt.
After a 2 hour wait, we had a 3 minute interview and left with the frustrating news that they are issuing us the wrong kind of visa's for the boys
No matter what, the visa's will be done on thursday and we can leave
on friday - which is GREAT news
We are working on contacting the right people to fix the visa issue...praying it gets cleared up

Dinner and evening at guest house - all 5 kids were in bed and asleep before 8 pm!! Whoo-hoo!!

We hardly even know what to say to each other anymore
I don't think pat and I have had a real conversation for days...it makes me sad, this precious time together...side by side in Africa, but it's just so hard to get through each minute.
I guess my prayer right now, besides just getting home and everyone staying healthy, is that pat and I could enjoy being together in this...even if just for a few minutes...

Every night since we've been in Ethiopia, we put l&l to bed and then pat & I play UNO with rebekah, Joshua and Bailey- it's a sweet time together

ALSO, Bailey lost ANOTHER tooth!!! One in Rwanda and one in ethiopia!!
How many 1st graders can say that?!?

ethiopia day 6 (day 15)

I was up all night in the bathroom. No fun...

It continued all day...hoping I can sleep tonight and wake up well tomorrow

Spent the morning just playing outside of the guest house with bubbles and a soccer ball

My spirit was much lighter today...thanks to His love and
encouragement pouring through all of you!

Lincoln was taken to a clinic to get his tb test read and it was negative - HUGE praise!!!
We were soon told that we were given an embassy appt for tomorrow (tues) afternoon - this means that we are going to be totally set to leave on Friday with NO stress!!! Amazing!

Went to lunch with a few families - it's so fun to be with other families!
Ended very awkwardly with a temper tantrum...many of the families here are just here for their court day and don't have kids with them, so we feel like the circus that everyone is watching.

It rains here every afternoon - like, POURS.

Levi seemed to turn a corner today...was much more content and less fussy.

Spent the afternoon/ evening at the guest house hanging out and ate dinner and after we got the kids to bed we enjoyed some great time with friends in the common area before, hopefully, heading to bed for
a great nights rest!!!

1 more day closer to home!!!

 

ethiopia day 5 (day 14)

Slow morning before we went to church
As we were waiting to head to church, one of THE best sights arrived!!
The snyders pulled up, hanging out of the van and waving with their beautiful smiles
It is a TRUE answer to prayer to have them here

The church service we went to here was much more "American" which was kind of nice
My heart enjoyed singing and hearing the songs I know

Ate lunch with the snyders (and some other families)

The afternoon/evening was hard for me emotionally but He was faithful to get me through
His promises never fail
And my husband,sister,family,friends are amazing to point me to them

Ended the day skyping my parents and brothers family (they were all together)
That was so good for my heart

Spent the night in the bathroom...no fun

Praying Lincoln's tb test is negative tomorrow!

as close as i could get

this is so hard.

i KNEW it would be hard. i did NOT think it would be easy.

i just didn't know HOW it would be hard...what it would look like.

so many of you write/comment and say things like, "you are in awe" or "we are showing God's love" or "what a testimony we are" and, just speaking for myself here, i do NOT feel able to accept those comments.

i am struggling.

for those of you that have become parents, you know how it brings out how sinful you truly are? you just don't realize how selfish you are until you have someone depending on you 100% (again, speaking for myself here)

well, this is like that, but 100fold. maybe i "shouldn't" be saying these things.

maybe i should just share the beautiful moments...like singing "how great Thou art" this morning in church while holding levi - the precious boy i've prayed for for 2 years...and looking over at pat holding lincoln in his arms. it was beautiful. but, it's also messy...it was the last song of the service. i spent the whole service outside holding a screaming baby. pat spent the whole service with lincoln in his lap squirming like an octopus.

i know that i can't do this on my own.

i need HIS strength.

i spent a few minutes a little bit ago with my Bible...hoping to soak some of HIM in.

i opened it, read 2 words, and my head fell onto it and i wept and wept and wept.

that was as close as i could get...i can only weep...and beg...and repent...and try again.

pray for strength for me.

supernatural strength.

i have none left.

i had heard going into this that the "normal" progression is that there is a "honeymoon" period. and then a "hard" period. and then you transition into just being a family.

well, i don't think we had a honeymoon period. maybe we skipped it?? or, if this IS the honeymoon period, i might need to be admitted to a mental hospital :-)

 i'm really ok.

He is good. He meets me when i need Him to.

i'm just trying to be honest and real.