Waiting

We are waiting to find out if they have been able to obtain the death certificates that the Embassy requires. We know that they had to go to a remote area to get the death certificates. We pray that they will get them today and get them to the Embassy right away for processing. Please pray with us that everything will be in order and that we will be able to get our girls as soon as possible.

So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

~ Hebrews 4:16

Light at the End of the Tunnel

I think we finally see the light at the end of the tunnel (hopefully it's not a train). The head of our agency met with six members of the US Embassy in Ethiopia last Friday. After a very long meeting the Embassy workers finally decided what was required to close our case. Our agency will be able to go to the area where Leah's father was from to obtain a death certificate. They should have this ready by the end of the week and submitted to the Embassy by next Monday. We are not sure if this will be soon enough to get the embassy date of Feb. 7th. We will have to wait and see if the Embassy finds all of this acceptable and sets our date. Please continue to pray that Satan will not thwart these efforts and that we will be able to get this document this week. Also, pray that the Embassy will not require any additional information and will accept this and allow our case to proceed. We are so ready to have our little girls home where they belong. It's been a very long race and we are ready for the finish line.


Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 40:31

Still Hopeful

The head of our adoption agency has been in Ethiopia since last Friday but has still not been able to get all of the documents for the Embassy that we need. He sent an e-mail today that he is going to the orphanage director tomorrow and demand that they get all of the documents together that are needed. We are still hopeful that he will be able to accomplish this while he is there although we are not as hopeful that we will be going for the January 24th Embassy date. We are also checking on the option of being able to bring Rachel home if they can't get this sorted out right now. We are praying for God to work it all out in His time and according to His will.

The Lord will work out his plans for my life - for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever. Don't abandon me, for you made me.

~ Psalm 138:8

New Pictures

We received new pictures of the girls today.



They still haven't told us anything about if they are getting the documents that the Embassy needs. I still believe that the attorney does not completely understand what is being asked for since his English is not very good. The head of our adoption agency is going to Ethiopia later this week so hopefully he can get everything in order. We have considered going ahead and getting Rachel now and then getting Leah after the paperwork is in order. We will decide that when we have a better idea how long this will take. Our agency is still telling us that there is a possibility we could have an Embassy date of January 24th but I will believe it when I read it.

More Documents Needed

These are the latest pictures that we have received of Leah and Rachel



We thought our documents were all in order but we received an e-mail from the Embassy this morning that they were still missing documents from our agency after three requests. We contacted our agency this morning and found out that they received an e-mail from the Embassy that they need additional information about Leah's family. Tomorrow is Christmas day in Ethiopia so our agency will not be able to obtain these documents until Monday. We are getting concerned that we may not be able to travel in January. Hopefully once the Embassy receives these documents on Monday they will immediately process them and allow us to travel for the next Embassy date on January 24th. At least we now know what documents are missing and can follow up with our agency. Please pray that we will be able to travel on January 24th. This date will be three months after our court date and 10 months after we received our referral. These little girls have been in the orphanage waiting for a family for 17 months or more now and it is time for them to come home.

Everything is in Order (we think)

We received an e-mail from the Embassy this morning informing us that they were still missing documents from our agency. Our agency said that they have now provided all of the new documents requested by the Embassy so they should have everything they need now. Hopefully the Embassy will verify that they do have everything they need and will give us a travel date soon. Please pray that the Embassy will look with favor on us and give us a date right away so that we can make our travel plans and plan for the time off from work.

Waiting on the Embassy

We continue to wait for the Embassy to decide when our Embassy date will be. Our attorney in Ethiopia has been to the Embassy to try to find out what the hold up is and he has been told him that they are still reviewing our information. Our agency provided the Embassy with all of the additional requested documents on December 22nd so we do not know why we are not able to get a date. We have sent e-mails directly to the Embassy but they are not responding to them. We know that God has a reason for making us wait but we do not know what that is. It has been almost 10 months since we received our referral and it is getting very difficult to know that our little girls are over there waiting for a home and we are not able to bring them home. Please pray that the Embassy would move our paperwork to the top of the pile and allow us to come for the next Embassy date on January 10th. Thank you all for your continued prayers for us in all of this.