WE ARE GOING TO ETHIOPIA!
We leave this Saturday! I am thrilled, overwhelmed, excited and nervous.... Let me explain!
First things first, after a long process full of ups and down, we accepted a referral of a little boy in late January of this year. We then watched our case progress while we began to get weekly updates of how our little guy was doing. Thankfully, many of our pictures show a smiling little dude! Last week we learned that we have a Court date in Ethiopia for July 1st, where we will appear in court and little brother will legally become part of our family! We leave Saturday, have an overnight layover in Washington DC, and then with great joy will get to meet Little Brother on Monday, June 30th! For a process that feels like it has taken forever, the last stages have flown by allowing us to travel before we thought we would. This moment has been a long time in the making and it is almost hard to believe that the time is finally here. We are so looking forward to seeing that sly little smile that we have seen in so many pictures over the last few months in person. And at the same time, we are rapidly preparing for our departure both at home and at work...
The next big question is: Is he coming home with you this trip? The answer... we don't know, but we hope so. If not, we will make a trip in another month or so, to bring him home. Traditionally bringing a newly adopted kiddo home from Ethiopia took two trips -- the first trip for court (like we are going for now) and then 6-8 weeks later a return trip to bring the kiddo home. Based on the process at that time, this was the most logical way (particularly for families with kiddos at home already that couldn't stay in Ethiopia for that length of time). However, recently the US and Ethiopia have worked to change the process for adoptions to the US from Ethiopia. We think the changes are good and are in the best interests of kiddos (I can get into that another time). This also means that we see a chance that a kiddo could come home in just one trip. However, this change in process is very recent, so it is unclear exactly how long it will take if a kiddo comes home with one trip by his or her adoptive parents. And, when you are dealing with two governments and a variety of offices, it can be a bit unpredictable. To be honest, we are hoping that Little Brother will be able to come home, but we also know that we just don't know. How is that for clarity? So we are leaving with plans to try to get him home, but realize that if things just are not going quickly, we will likely have to return on a second trip to bring him home. So for those of you that know me and my propensity to plan; this unknown is a pretty big deal. It makes me nervous, but one thing I have truly learned a lot of in this process is to simply trust God. If Little Brother is meant to come home this trip, then I can trust that God will show up and show us the way to get him home.
We are trusting that our God will continue to meet our needs as we take these next few steps in bringing this sweet boy home. We have been beyond blessed by the love and support (financially and otherwise) from our family and friends throughout the last year and a half in this adoption process. And now, we humbly ask again for your support. I have hesitated in writing this as we have been pursuing other options to fund our travel, but with our travel time coming so quickly (hallelujah!) we are simply running out of time (and that is a good thing)! While knowing we will be heading to meet Little Brother soon is exciting news, we are still about $5,000 short of being able to fund our travel (either for one extended stay or two trips). That is a significant amount of money, but this includes airfare, housing, meals, court cost, driver fees, etc....
We are asking God to move mountains for us to bring this little guy home really, really soon. Would you please pray for our family? Pray that Little Brother remains healthy in these last few weeks and pray that he finds comfort through such a significant transition, pray for Hyat and Embrie (they are so very excited) as they will also face significant change, and pray for Buck and I as we will be making many decisions over the next few days/weeks. To be totally honest, you can specifically pray for me (Jeni)... I have to admit I am not the best traveler and have some fears around travelling to Ethiopia and being away from my kiddos for so long.
Finally, if you are able, would you help us with our travel expense? Many of you have already been incredibly generous throughout this process, and we are so grateful. There are a couple of ways you can donate. You can make a tax deductible donation through our church's website, simply put "Reece Adoption" and it will go into our account there. (Disclaimer: In doing so, you understand that, in accordance with IRS rules and regulations, the use of the gift is subject to the discretion and control of the Journey Church Adoption Fund, notwithstanding any preference that we may express in this form, or on any check.Basically, if there is money left in our account that we don't need, it will be given to the general fund in the Encompass Orphan Care Ministry). Or you can make a donation directly to us through our paypal account by clicking on the donate button on the right side of the page.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I have to say again we are so, so blessed! Thank you for your prayers! Thank you for all of the offers of support from helping with kids, to watching the dog, to watering flowers and taking care of the "farm" (the chickens, ducks and a garden can't be forgotten)! We couldn't do it without you all and we count our blessings often!
I'll try for a proper blog update soon... But so far summer has included multiple camp trips, shooting bows (and Hyat shooting out another tooth) and watching some sweet puppies for a friend!
Here is some cuteness to tie you over until next time:
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| EDIT: Wow! You peeps are fast from Facebook to here! I love it... But just FYI - No, we did not get a puppy! We have had the good fortune to dog sit the mama dog to 4 sweet and adorable (as evidenced above) puppies. Embrie is in love, but, as much as I would love to, we are not in a position to have a new puppy right now! |
Much love and many thanksgivings... The Reece Clan (Buck, Jeni, Hyat, Embrie and Little Brother)!
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