Were so happy-so happy TOGETHER!!!

It has been awhile since I last updated our blog, but we are doing well and life is so good. We are just absolutly all in LOVE with Hadassah Zafua. We have enjoy every day with her. We see Gods awesome love and ways as we look at her. We are in awe at the miracle of all 4 of our dear children. Life is a MIRACLE. We are fearfully and wonderfully made. It is so amazing to look at her and think where she has been in her little short life and know know she is home with her family by Gods grace for us all. We are thankful beyond words. How great is our GOD!!!

Its a WONDEFUL life!

We are enjoying all 4 of our children! We had a fun harvest party and all dressed up. Cecilia and Hadassah were princesses, mommy queen, Dominic king, papa and Remi were pirates. Here are a few other photos of our doll. Cecilia and Dassie have an amazing bond!

JOY

We are all doing great! Our little miracle Hadassah Zafua has been home almost 5 months now!!! She has brought us unmeasureable JOY! We are all so in love with her. She has the most amazing way with people. When you hold her her reaches our and gently touches your face and smiles at you. She is now crawling and pulling to stand at nine months! She is so precious and sweet. She knows her mommy and papa is very attached. She is still nursing and finds comfort in being close. Hadassah is in love with her brothers and sister and thinks they are very entertaining and laughs at them. She loves to play peek-a-boo and responds with belly giggles. She has really thrived and is gaining weight. She is now almost 20 pounds! She is so affectionate and loves to give kisses and snugle. She is a delight! We are so thankful for her and look at her with admiration, love, and hope. We know God has great plans for her life. Because of her beaming way other families have approached us and asked about adopting from Ethiopia.

Dominic is almost 5 and is doing great. He is very smart and loves learning. He loves to be with his family and is very protective of his brother and sisters. He is so affectionate with Hadassah and he and Cecilia have an occacional disagreement about whose turn it is to hold her, for how long, and who she like best!

Cecilia is 4 and is doing well. She is growing up into a wonderful little girl. She is an amazing help to me with everything. She is in love with Hadassah and never seems to tire of her. She is always wanting to hold her, change her, feed her, and bathe her. Cecilia and I love to do art projects while the boys play wild with swords and Hadassah sleeps. Cecilia is so fun!

Remi is a cuttie pie. He just is so charming and it covers up for so much mischief. He has a sparkel in his eyes and an adventure to discover all the time. He makes us all laugh and enjoy simple things. He brings life to our family. He is very possesive of Hadassah and gentle with her! He has done so well with having a new baby in the family. He does not like people to ask if they can take her home. That will set him off!

We are so thankful and humbled by the precious gift of our children. We know raising children is a great responsibility and we rely on God for his wisdom, grace, and prespetive.

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Billings Gazette Article

Today August 27th there is an article in the Billings Gazette about our adoption experience. For those of you who are looking at our "Blog"for the first time today I want to say thank you for your interest and care for adoption and family. I encourage anyone intersted in helping children around the world and specifically Ethiopia to consider sponsoring a child through Mission of Mercy. We visited the project in Addis Ababa and it is truly and amazing place that is doing a beautiful work for the children. There are 600 children waiting for sponsors. Some truly are waiting outside because they are not sponsored. I detailed our experience here on the blog at "our day with mission of mercy." To learn more about sponsoring a child go to missionofmercy.org
To get the clearest picture of our journey to Ethiopia go to "Update from Matt and Amanda in Ethiopia"
If anyone wants to contact us with question you can email us at matthewdesarro@hotmail.com
A little update. Hadassah is now 12 pounds she is getting chubby! She is full of life and doing amazing! The kids are so in love with her and continue to care for and love her in such a tender way. We thank God for the gift of family! How could we ask for more. We are truly blessed! May God recieve all the glory and honor for bringing our little Hadassah home!

More to come from the DeSarro Family!

This picture was taken Sunday the 22nd of July. We were blessed to share about our trip at church. Our family is all together now and we are all so full of peace and our heart are overflowing with JOY!
As far as the "blog" there is more to come. We still have not shared our last 2 amazing days in Africa or our incredible homecoming. We are so thankful to so many of you who have blessed us and been such an important part in seeing Hadassah come home to her family. We love you all and thanks God for the wonderful friends and family we have to share life with.
Cecilia and Hasassah are wearing matching outfit from my uncle Robbie and aunt Susan. Ceci has been waiting to ware them for at least 3 months and was beside herself Sunday morning when she got to dress her sister and then herself in these beautiful outfits. Rob and Susan are so special to us and are blessed to have 2 of the cutest little ones from Ethiopia. They have darling brothers who are 1 and 3. We used the same agency and had wanted to travel together, but their process went a little faster. We are so excited to have Ethiopian cousins! We love the Wempe family!
So check back there will be more to come in the next week or so. It is hard for me to do Internet as you can imagine with 4 dear little ones. We only have dial up which does not work with pictures so I have to go to the ranch. Thanks again to all we love for being a part of this joyful experience!

Little "Dassie"

Sweet sister Cecilia fondly calls her baby sister "Dassie."
I have to say it is cute and we love it when the kids say "you fill my heart with sunshine my little Dassie"- Dominic
It is easy to see why we are all so happy and having such an awesome time having our little one home at last.
Hadassah has gained almost 2 pounds since we have been together and is now 22 inches. She was just so tiny! She is now outgrowing new born clothes and diapers. She is doing awesome. She is so full of smiles and life. She is bright eyed and smiling almost all the time. She has slept through the night twice now. She loves to nurse and I am praying my milk supply will continue to increase because she is a hungry growing baby! When we smile at her she raises her eye brows and smiles back. She is now giggling- life is AWESOME!!!!

Little baby doll

This picture is for her mammy Janice. She loves this picture. This was taken our third day with our darling. Oh she is a sweet heart!!!

A loving man of God

Matt was so amazed, blessed, and encouraged by this kind man and his heart to serve the Lord and His precious children. We loved talking with him and were once again humbled on this trip to meet yet another amazing person serving God. He spends his days making the children laugh, smile, and praying over them. Matt was so touched by him and asked if he could pray for him. He was willing and thankful. Matt's heart was overflowing in awe of God's heart for the orphan. It says in the Word "How blessed is he who considers the helpless." We pray the fullest of our Lord's blessing upon his dear servant.

Blessing

This dear man is a pastor who prays for the children EVERY day at the care center. His heart is so beautiful and full of love. We were told of his heart for the children and that our little Zafua was so responsive to his prayers before we traveled. It was so special to meet him. We asked him to lay hands on Zafua and pray for her one last time. I only wish we had his beautiful prayer recorded.

Thankful Hearts!

This picture is with our dear Salem an answer to our prayers. She was one the three nannies that cared for Hadassah Zafu for two and a half months. She loves little Zafua and is absolutely awesome with her! She is a delight to be with and so full of life and JOY. She loves Jesus and and was welcoming to us and was so excited about our family photo book we had sent with pictures of all our kids. She looked at the book every day with her and played the tape of our voices talking and singing to our baby. We feel so thankful for all the love and excellent care our daughter received at the Care Center!

Going Away party at Care Center

After our day at Mercy center we had to rush back to the Care Center for a very special going away party for all the children going home that week. The nannies took Zafua from us for a little while and returned shortly with all the other babies and children dressed in traditional Ethiopian clothes. It was a very special ceremony where we heard of all of the staffs heart felt love for our children. They are all truly amazing people full of love for all the children. They talked about their hopes for the children and their love for them and about how much they would be missed. A highlight for me was watching our friends little 15 month old baby boy and 4 year old boy see them and run to them! The nannies stood in the middle of the room holding the children they had cared for and asked us to gather around them and pray for them. A loving pastor who visits the children every day prayed for the families and children. It was an awesome moment. They then had all the children dip their hands in yellow paint and put their hand print on the Ethiopian flag so they would leave their mark and never be forgotten. Little Hadassah was not to into that but we all agreed hers was the tinest hand print on the wall. They then served cake and pop. What amazed us is how well the little toddlers sat waiting patiently for 30 min. for the party to start. These little ones are so darling and precious! When each child got their hand painted and pressed to the wall all the kids would chant the childs name for our little one "Zafua, Zafua, Zafua!!!" What an awesome place for children and a beautiful experience for adoptive families!!!

Jesus and the children

We were so blessed by a friend who found this beautiful picture of Jesus blessing the children
of the world. She printed and laminated them for the children. It was so fun to give them out with a fruit snack. This little one held hers up to show me and I had to get a picture!

What a cuttie!

What a cuttie!

An amazing baby gift for Hadassah

We received a call from some dear friends that said after reading our "blog" that decided the baby gift they wantred to give Hadassah is to sponsor a child at the Mercy Center in Addis Ababa. They choose a six year old little boy close to their sons age to sponsor. What a blessing this will be to our friends, and our little one to know of as she grows.
This photo was taken the day we visited the Mercy Center. These precious children were all watching a movie on a tiny TV when we came. We were given a microphone and able to share with them. We them gave granola bars that had to multiply to feed them all. We were truly humbled by their gratitude for something so small.

Visiting Zeruable

Zeruable is my parents sponsor child throgh Mission of Mercy. In this photo Matty is blowing bubbles with Zeruables cousins and sisters. We had a wonderful visit with this dear family. We prayed with them and they prayed for us a prayer that blessed us more then we can say. We are so encouraged by the faith and humility of our friends. Zeruable's father is so full of passion for the "one true living God!" Amen! Little Zeruable was in awe of markers. He would make a line on the paper and then look up in smile in complete awe. My parents sent clothes, shoes, toys, match box cars, vitamins, food, markers, paint, chalk, pens, drawing paper, construction paper, soap, wash clothes and a big warm blanket. He was so excited! We had back packs full of stuff for his sister Hannah, and his 2 cousins. We also were blessed to give his father, bother, aunt and several neighbors each a zip lock full of treats, shirt, flip flops, and tooth brush. It was a very special time for us all. Our highlight was hearing Zeruable's testimony and his love for Jesus.

Our Sponsor Child Etenesh thorugh Mission of Mercy

Our dear Etenesh, her great aunt and baby Hadassah outside of the Mercy Center in Addis Ababa. Meeting our sponsor child was a day we will always treasure. It was so amazing to spend the day with the precious young girl we had prayed for and looked at her picture hanging on our fridge for so long. We choose Etensesh because of her dream of being a doctor. We were so blessed by her vision for her future in the midst of living in such hard circumstances. We will do everything we can to see this become a reality for her. We were told we can send her to college in Ethiopia for $50-150 per a semester. We have been writ ting letters and getting to know each other of a year and a half now. We instantly had a bond as we meet at the Mercy Center. We were so blessed to go to her home that consists of mud, card board and metal and a tarp for a roof with no running water. ( Matt saw to it that her get a metal roof and their house fixed up because it is their rainy season) She is living there with 8 other relatives. We were so humbled by their love and hospitality and pure joy over the simple gifts we brought. We had such a beautiful time together. Etenseh is a delightful girl and we just love her. If you want to read more about this wonderful day and all the other precious children we shared in more detail on "An Amazing Day at Mission of Mercy-Mercy Center"

Happy Baby!!!

Little Hadassah Zafua after her first bath from Mommy and Papa. She is so HAPPY!!! She is full of smiles and joy. She loved her bath and is so responsive to us. She is melting our hearts!!!

Sweet Family

We were so blessed to be invited to visit this dear family in their mud hut. They welcomed us into their hut where they and their live stock live. It was very dark inside and they had a fire in the center of the room. The mother invited us to eat corn with them. I gave what I had left 2 little Snicker Bars each. They did not know what to do with them. They just held them, after I opened the first and they tasted it they quickly wanted the second open. We wish we had more to share with them. Matt quietly gave the father money. Notice the older brother with the baby tied to his back. I may have to try that:-)

Heavy Load in the rain

Beautiful young women carring loads along the road on our way to Hosanna which is four hours south of Addis Ababa.

My handsome husband and darling daughter!

Walking back from the Care Center to our Guest House with baby Hadassah. A dry warm day! A nice change from the rain. Behind us are other adoptive families and babies. Our baby is almost to small for her carrier!

Our first day with our beautiful Hadassah Zafua!!!

Matt hoping our bags will come!

An amazing Day at Mission of Mercy- Mercy Center

Our Day at Mercy Center with Etensh and Zeruable

We woke up early and packed all the donations in bags. Matt had the idea to bring all of the gifts of zip locks with clothes and food with us to Mission of Mercy. We eat at the guest house with all the families we are growing to be such good friends with and then waited for Mission of Mercy to come and pick us up for the day.
It is so important for us to take our little Hadassah on this special outing because we want her to always know from her infancy she has cared about her people and the plight of the children here.
We were picked up by the Children’s Director and kind women named Lyode and a driver. As we drove to the Mercy Center she told us that Etensh and Zeruable were very excited to see us and waiting with joy for us to come. She said that she was very curious about how my parents picked to sponsor Zeruable. She said he is a very special case for them and they all felt for him to be sponsored by my parents and the opportunity to meet us was an answer to their prayers. She said that they have 600 children waiting for sponsors. Loyde said that Zeruable’s father had come to know Jesus through the project and was so passionate about Jesus and a totally transformed man. She said knowing Jesus has completely changed this man. His wife and had come to the project for Bible study and had such faith for her family and prayed over and over Zeruable would be sponsored to go to the children’s program and that her husband would come to know the hope of Jesus that had changed her life. He came with her one time heard the gospel and received Jesus into his life and was totally transformed. He is so passionate about the gospel and children. He is now working at Mercy Center as a pastor being trained by the senior pastor. Loyde told us this wonderful man is now raising his 3 children alone because his wife had to leave the country to work as a maid in Lebanon. She said times are very hard in Ethiopia with 70 PERCENT UNEMPLOYMENT RATE. Zeruable’s father has prayed fervently for his son to be sponsored and is praising God he was sponsored and will have the rare opportunity to welcome his sponsor’s family into their home.
As we arrived at the Mercy Center we were so full on anticipation. It is a large old factory at the bottom of a very bumpy road. When we pulled in Matt said” there is Etenesh.” She is so beautiful and has such a clam and gentle way. She came right to us and hugged and kissed us. She reached out to hold Hadassah and kissed her. She was so happy it was neat to see her pride to walk through the children outside saying something in Amharic with a smile. Zeruable and his father greeted us with such love and kindness. Zeruable reached up to hold my hand and smiled at me. He is just precious.
Lyode gave us a tour of Mercy Center telling us about their work. Etensh carried Zafua the whole time and Zerable and his father stayed right at our side throughout our time at Mercy Center. They have 1900 children in their program and 600 waiting for sponsors. When a child joins it helps the whole family through a holistic approach. The child will receive school uniforms, school supplies, be able to attend an after school Bible program, and a Saturday children’s program. The mothers of the children that desire can attend a sewing school, and if they can not find other employment they have the option to be hired by mercy center to make school uniforms for the children. They also have a program to teach the women to cook so they can find work cooking at restaurants.
As we walked into the main large room of the Mercy center we heard children praying. There were 350 children very tightly seated together with their heads bowed praying out loud. It is now summer break for the children so they hold a summer children’s program where they learn about the Lord, play games, hear stories, and watch a special movie sometimes. We are just totally in awe to see 350 children watching Shriek on a very small TV. They were distracted to see us and waving and smiling at us. This was the morning group. They will host 2 other groups of children in the afternoon. Lyode explained the summer program is so important because these children live in such poverty and they live in small houses with no space to play so they go to the streets and there they get in trouble. The kids are all so excited to come and have a place to play.
We first saw the sewing room. The women are working on very old machines and drawing their own patterns. We then saw a large room with a kitchen and women cooking.
We then went into a large room with many desks. This room was the offices of the counselors for the children. Loyde told us each of these people care like pastors to the children. They pray with them, listen to them and understand their family situations and help the family as much as they can. She said this is a very precious part of their ministry. We saw all the letters the children sit and write to their sponsors. The young man who translates then was so kind and humble. What a big job.
We brought 90 packages of Nature Valley granola bars for the children. We also had about 30 fruit leather. We were explaining to Lyode we did not have enough for all the children. She said that was no problem that they could just share the treat. We wished we had enough for everyone but there was nothing to do but open the granola bars and divide them up. The staff opened them up and broke the 2 bars in half and then told us as we pass them out to ask the kids to break them one more time. I asked to talk to the children first. I told them that Jesus loved them and as they pray and cry out to God, He will hear their prayers. I told them about Jeremiah 29:11 that God has a future and a hope for them. They were all so eager and have such bright eyes and beautiful smiles. As I looked out into the sea of children I was so moved wanting to see all of them have their needs meet and not worry about having enough food and living in such hard conditions. I know they are so precious to the heart of God!
Matthew and I then passed out trays full of broken granola bars. We would show them to share and they would nod yes. Some would say “thank you,” God bless you,” and “I love you.” Oh I wanted to give them each their own package but they gladly shared having only ¼ of bar. I was humbled once again. What amazing children.
Upstairs at the Mercy Center there is a church where mothers were just gathering for worship and teaching. Many had babies tied to there backs with there shawls.
We then went back to the sewing room to buy some of the goods they make. We were able to talk to the women and encourage them. One woman told us how happy she was that our little girl would have a bright future and a hope in Jesus. She was so thankful we had come to get a child with no mother in Ethiopia. She wanted to pray for Zafua and for our family. As she prayed with such passion she cried. I went to her and put my arms around her and we embraced and both cried. This mother has watched her own children struggle with hunger and not proper shelter. She had a reality of what Zafua’s life would have been in Ethiopia with out a mother. My heart is so moved and humbled by the hearts of God’s people. I then prayed over all the women in the room and they all echoed each translated phrase with a loud “AMEN.”
We bought some special things from them for Hadassah when she grows up. It was so neat to buy there hand made goods, but we did not buy as much as we wanted because we wanted to save the rest of the money for blessing the families we would go visit.
We then had tea and flat bread with the director of the project Getuech, Etensh, and Zeruable. Getuech is a kind and loving man. He has such a great heart for children and the work of God. Matt talked with him about the possibility of getting Etensh and her family a well. They do not have running water. They get there water from a neighbor. It sounded like the best possible thing to do was get them a water line to there house.
We then left the project with Etensh to go to her house. She again was holding Zafua and so happy to show her off. Her great aunt who looks like she is 80 years old came to the van so see us again. She had greeted us when we arrived but then gone upstairs for Bible Study. We all left in the van to go to Etenesh’s home. Getuech and Lyode both came with us. She lives in a slum. It was so poor. They walk every day to the Mercy Center which seemed a long way from their home. The conditions at her home are very hard. They live in a mud house with scrap metal on the outside. They have no roof and only a burlap tarp to protect them from the rain. We could not see how it was possible for 8 people to live the tiny little space. There was no way they could all lay down to sleep in that small of space. Etensh lives with her great aunt who came to the city from the country side 30 years ago at age 15. Her aunt that looks 80 is only 45! She said she was now very old, tired and to sick to work. She said she has had a very hard life looking for work. Her husband and she had several children and when he died the children had to quit school and work. Her daughter who is 22 also lives with her and her 2 year old little girl. Her son was there and we meet him. He is the only one supporting his family. Etenesh came to live with her aunt 5 years ago because her parents have “too many children to count” and they wanted her to have a future.
Our visit was so special. The hospitality of the family was so humbling. They were very excited and wanted to tell us about there family and lives. The aunt served us bread and pop. We gave Etenesh a Jansport back pack full of gifts. The first thing she pulled out of the back pack was a dress and shirt. She chattered so excitedly and disappeared she returned wearing the dress and flip flops. She threw her arms around me and then Matt and said with a huge beautiful smile “thank you-I love you!” She then went through the rest of the back pack with her aunt helping her pull stuff out. There were markers and notebooks, hair things, necklace, bracelet, treats, soap, wash clothes, tooth brushes and paste for the whole family, and shoes, another skirt and dress. She was so full of expression and excitement. We gave a small backpack with little toys and a jump rope to her little cousin who is 3. She was so happy. We then were so blessed to have the zip locks so everyone in the family was given a gift and they were all so thrilled. The aunt had put up pictures of Jesus all over the blue painted mud walls so we knew the picture of Jesus blessing the black child would mean so much to her. She told us that she has prayed for years to God to care for her family and in our sponsoring her Etenesh that she loves so much and coming to see her was God showing her he has not forgotten them. She told us how much this meant to her and she had been praying years for Ethenesh and she knew God had heard her prayers and hugged and thanked us for caring. She got out Eteneshs report card that was stored so carefully in a plastic bag. She told us that Etenesh had moved from 42nd to 11th in her class since we have sponsored her. Etenesh told us she dreams of being a doctor. We encouraged her in her dream. We asked Loyde about helping her accomplish this dream. We asked how much it would cost to send her to college in Ethiopia she told us it depended but on the school. It would be between $50-$150 per semester. We encouraged Etenesh to continue to study and pray to God asking Him for grace and help to accomplish her dream to help others through being a doctor. God willing we want to support Etensh until she fulfills her dream of being a doctor. Matt talked with Getuech about the water situation. There was really no way to get them a well. They do not own the land and there house is clustered with several other little shacks that are connected. They all share water that is in walking distance. What we saw as their greatest need was a roof. It is now the rainy season and there tarp leaks. We are in awe of how 8 people live in their tiny space. Matt arranged with Getuech to have a metal roof put on for them. When he translated to the family they were so excited and thankful. We then took some pictures. We were so blessed to pray for the family and they were very loving and responsive. They all love Jesus so much and they were so encouraging to us as well. Matt gave the aunt a large bag of almonds and we also had a nice night gown for her. She was very excited about everything. All the neighbors gathered around to watch all that was going on. It was perfect because we had shoes for the neighbors who had no shoes. We asked in Etenesh could come with us to Zeruable’s and then to our guest house to get the blanket for her and her family that we had forgot. As drove away we realized we forgot to give one thing to Etenesh’s aunt so we turned around and went back. Matt ran it into them. He said when he got inside they were all had mouthfuls of almonds and were chattering happily looking at everything. Matt gave them 1,000 bur which is about $100 US for food and anything they needed. They were so thankful. The average annual income in Ethiopia is $120 US.
Etenesh was so happy to go with us to Zeruable’s and wanted to hold the baby once again. Geetuech and Loyde thought we should stop and have lunch at a little local place. We graciously said “yes.” I was a little nervous because we had been so careful and only eat at the guest house and not yet been sick. They ordered a traditional Ethiopian dish with Injeria which is moist sour bread that is wrapped up and then used to pick up your food to eat it. The dish came all on one plate and we all eat with our hands. There were so many bones in it and unrecognizable things. We had a nice lunch talking. We were so blessed by these 2 precious people who serve the Lord so selflessly. They have passionate heart for children. Getuech insisted on holding Zafua through lunch. He loved her. They asked so many questions about her. They said where she is from there are many wild animals and they think it is a miracle they did not eat her. They said children are attacked and eaten by hyenas in that region. I felt sick hearing that. I know God’s hand has been on her and he has a beautiful destiny for our daughter. He has kept her as the apple of his eye.
After a long lunch finished off with some very strong Ethiopian coffee we went to Zerable’s home. It was also in a very poor area. They were waiting with huge smiles at the top of the road for us. There was no way to get to their house with the truck so we parked and walked. Zeruable held my hand. They live with a cluster of shacks built together also. They welcomed us to their little home with such love. We asked the father to share his life story and testimony with us and he was so happy to and did with such excitement and expression. He is so in love with Jesus ands knows God’s grace and forgiveness through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior has transformed his and his family’s lives. He said he had prayed to God over and over for his son to have a sponsor so he could go to school next year. He said he has no way to buy his son pencils or a school uniform. He wanted to know how God moved on my parent’s heart to support Zeruable of all the waiting children. We gave them a framed picture of my sweet mom and dad and they just studied it and smiled at them and then placed it in a special place. I told them my mom prayed to God to show her how to sponsor when she knew we were coming to meet Etenesh. She looked at all the children’s pictures and kept coming back to Zeruable. She loved his beautiful little face and that Zeruable was a builder. She felt that Zeruable was the child she was to sponsor. The father said “Amen” with every phrase translated to him. He was so thankful and told us God had heard his prayers and thanked God for my parents and wanted to pray a blessing for them and thanked God that they listened to God and were used to answer the cry of this Fathers heart. Wow! I see in a whole new way the power of sponsoring a child and how it blesses their life. It truly blesses a whole family. Since Zeruable is sponsored they are also getting food aid which is a great blessing to this family. We then gave the gifts we had. Little Zeruable was so excited he was shaking. He was so curious about everything and wanted to immediately try everything. He had a sister Hannah who we also had things for. The father explained they are now living with his sister and her 2 daughter who are 2 &3 because the government had knocked down his mud hut to build a road. He is hoping to buy a house for his family someday. We had little back packs for the 2 little girls with a jump rope, little toys and treats. They were thrilled. We were able to give the zip locks to Zeruables father and all the neighbors who had gathered around. It was so calm and everyone was so thankful. We saw this is what God had planned all along for those bags. If we had gotten our language we would have given it to the children in the south and not had enough for everyone and it would have caused problem. We were able to give them to very poor families who were watching this family be blessed but also received unexpected gifts. It was truly amazing to see Matt pull out the perfect size package for each person there. There was such a sweetness and gratitude. We were wishing our friends who helped with the zip locks could have been there to see the faces of joy who received them. He served us a biscuit type cookies and pop. We know this was a sacrifice for them and they wanted to bless us. We never drink pop but even Matty did 2 times in 1 day!!! We prayed for the family. Little Zeruable who had been excitedly playing with his new match box cars, markers, watch, and other little trinket toys stopped to pray. He laid his little six year old face on the bed in a kneeling position and prayed. Matt laid hands on the Father and he raised his hands to heaven. It was just a powerful time of loving God together. We left telling them we were looking forward to having the joy of worshiping our Lord together in heaven one day. They were all saying “Amen” to that! As we left about 50 little children were waiting for us. It was great timing because Matt had brought the fruit snacks a friend from my Bible study had sent with us. Every child got one. They were so eager and excited. It was such a blessing to give like this. We had tried on the street to give to the children and you just get mobbed and it is nearly impossible because there are so many people. We had a very special time and it was truly God’s blessings all day because every one at both homes were given something perfect for them and all that saw the families blessed also were given something. It was incredible to get in the car and see we had given everything and not one person had been turned away. Isn’t God so good! He planned our day and we were so thankful to him for those who blessed us so we could be blessed to be a blessing to his precious people.
We returned to our guest house with Etenesh. We got the blankets we had bought for Etenseh and Zeruable. Matt gave the Getuech the director of Mission of Mercy $200 US for the roof for Etenesh’s family. He promised to get it done for them as soon as possible. He was so happy to do it for them. Etenesh was sad to say good buy. She just clung to me and kissed my check over and over. She told us because of God, herself, and us, she was going to be studding very hard in school so she can one day be a doctor and that her heart was full of hope. I shared with her to use the journal I gave here to write down her prayers to God like letters and let him speak to her heart and fill her with His hope for her life. She was so responsive. It was really sad to tell her goodbye. We love her very much! It was so awesome to realize I was hugging and had spent the day with the precious child whose picture had hung on my fridge for so long. We praise God for bringing her into our lives! The directors were so loving and thankful for our coming to be with these families. Matt and I were amazed they had shared their whole day with us and are so thankful to them for their heart to serve their people and the Lord. What an amazing day. Abraham was right when he said we are blessed to be blessings. We feel so blessed to share in the lives of all the precious people we were with today. Our hearts say thanks God you are great!!!
Matt and I talked that night about how much God asks of us. To whom much is given much is required. We have been given so much! We saw first hand God’s heart for the poor and widow. We heard both families talk about their prayers and cries to God to show them he cared about them in their situation. We felt so convicted to be sensitive to the Lord that our hearts will be obedient to His leading because we never know when God wants to use us to answer another’s prayers. It worries us how many times we have let this world cloud our hearts and not been a part of God’s work in the earth. Matt and I could not sleep talking about our day. We are thankful for the dear ones that we were able to love and be loved by today. Thanks to all who shared so freely to make this day possible. We wish you had been here with us. We love you!

Update from Matt and Amanda in Ethiopia

Our Amazing Adventure!
We left home at 1:00 PM July 5th, 2007. It was so hard for me to leave our children. They will be fine and are in the best possible care - with loving grandparents. We are so thankful for the blessing of our parents. Leaving made me very sad and my heart felt a great degree of sacrifice and sadness at leaving our three children. On the drive to Billings I was picturing Jesus telling the story of the Shepherd leaving the 99 to go rescue the one. It must have been hard to leave the sheep but the Shepherd knew the value of the one that could not make his way to him alone. Matthew and I have only been away from our children one night before. We believe God to be with them and care for them. We are forever thankful to our moms and especially for all the care and love they have for the children. We know they will have so much fun and that we will miss them more then they miss us we are sure. Our flight from Billings to Denver was 3 hrs because we had to do a holding pattern in Wyoming for 2 long hrs being told the Denver Air Port was closed due to weather! We landed in Cheyenne for fuel and waited to get clearance. When we landed we found that the Denver airport had not been closed and it had not rained. United was just very behind and the airline did not want to help any us and wanted it to be weather related delays. (We had also left Billings 45 min late with mechanical problems) With lots of talking and calls to our travel agent we found the only possible way to be in DC by 7:00 AM was to fly on Horizon to Las Vegas. The airline did not think they could get us to DC for two days! We were thankful for our travel agent finding a flight for us. So, we flew all night. We actually had a very nice time just being together and it was fun to see the lights of Las Vegas. The flight to DC was five hrs. It felt like a honeymoon for us to just have so much quality time together. We were both so full of joy and excited about our baby waiting for us in Ethiopia. At the gate for our Ethiopian flight we made friends with a couple from South Africa with three children. Their baby was 5 days older then Hadassah so I loved holding and loving on him. Nathanial is 15 lbs. - our baby is only 7 lbs! They are passionately in love with our Lord Jesus and we talked a few hrs. Matt and London really hit it off. He told me when Matt went to the rest room that I have a precious man for my husband with a very pure heart for the Lord and that was such a good thing. The flight was amazing. 300 people, Africans and American all together for sixteen hrs. As we made friends on the flight we were so blessed by all the amazing things that were planned while in Africa. Many wonderful people going home to see family they had not see in years. It was so humbling to hear their stories of sacrifice to make a better life to help their families still and Africa. Many people had not been home in four to five years. There were four mission teams from churches going to three different counties. A Young Life group, full of amazing people, were going to do A Young Life camp for two weeks in Malawi. There were several families adopting children on our flight. There were 2 from our agency and a few from different agencies. A large group of doctors and nurses who were taking 45,000 doses of a medicine that would rid people of Malaria. The most amazing conversation was with a priest from New York City and a priest from Uganda who are going to Rwanda to minister in the prisons. They have been invited by the government to come and share the forgiveness of Christ on the cross. I was so blessed by the depth and love for Jesus from these men as they shared about the massacre that took place there and their heart for both tribes and how they planned to share with these men who are captives of the shame and guilt of unspeakable actions. We learned so much about so many people’s lives. Everyone just walked around and visited with each other. Matt and I were both so in awe of the experience we had on our flight! We sat in same row as a wonderful couple from Iowa who also have three children and are adopting with our agency. We became friends quickly and really enjoyed Lane and Taywna. Our flight was long but truly inspiring and we have NEVER been on a flight with so many wonderful people that love Jesus with such demonstrative action- their lives! ETHIOPIA AT LAST!!! We landed at 8:30 AM. The smell as we got off the plane was so strong and familiar. It reminded us of China. The air port was like a movie, it was very basic and people from all over Africa were waiting for flights. People were lying all over the floor and bags everywhere. We went through three stop points and then attempted to get our luggage. Ours sadly did not come with the crazy flight we had in the US. We were so disappointed, but had to let it go because we were going to meet our baby girl next and for her was why we had come. The sights on the drive to the care center were similar to other 3rd world counties we had been in, but so much more intense. The smell, the noises and the conditions - people, children, babies living in such horrible conditions. It is unbelievable how they survive! The filth was like nothing I could have imagined. Animals were everywhere! We are staying in a part of the city where many African countries have their embassy’s. It is most dirt roads with a few paved randomly. We went to the office first where we ere given a warm greeting. We were with two other families from our flight. A women named Hannah gave us an envelope and said read this please and then you can go and meet your daughter. She has been waiting for her mommy and daddy. I opened it up and on the front of a large bundle of papers was the most beautiful baby printed with our agency letter head. I smiled and said she is so beautiful. (We truly thought it was just a picture of a baby on the cover of the info-they always pick the cutest children for promo info) The lady smiled and said that is your Zafua! I just started to cry! I was so overwhelmed. The packet was full of the most amazing pictures of her at the care center as well as info about her life there. The nannies clearly are in love with her and her beauty is so sweetly described like “rose bud lips.” After reading about her and seeing her photos we then went to the care center. We were all taken to an empty room. The magnitude of the moment was hitting us. Time was standing still and then our beautiful little girl social worker came and said Zafua is wanting to see her mommy and daddy - please come. We walked to her building with the staff watching and videoing us. We went up one flight of stairs to baby room Mussie B. Matthew saw her first and smiled at her. She lit up with the most amazing smile as she looked at us and began to coo and lift her little tiny arms. Matt held her and she smiled and looked at me. She reached her arm to me and I took her little hand. She is like a new born. Her hands are so delicate and beautiful. I held her and she gave me little open mouth kisses on my neck. She cooed and smiled. It was the most amazing joy filled moment. This baby has been grafted to our hearts by the power of our Father God and we all had a bond and connection that had been prepared by the Holy Spirit. Matt and I were both amazed by her look of recognition. It was like she new us and was so happy to see us. Her way is so sweet and gentle. She is absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!! We knew she was, but she is even more then we imagined. Our meeting was precious and we will forever treasure the moment we meet our gift from the Lord- Hadassah Zafua. Our second meeting After meeting the babies we were taken the preschool where our friends Lane and Twaya meet there little four-year old boy. As the van pulled up, little toddlers and preschoolers came running and yelling, “mommy – daddy”. It was amazing to watch the Henns meet their little boy and his excitement. As we got out, children we all reaching up to us saying “mommy – daddy” with such hope. I could hardly stand it. We held two at a time and they would kiss us and sing us “Yes, Jesus loves me.” We asked if they had families coming and some did and some did not. We played with the kids there about 45 min. Leaving was hard. They did not want to let go and some cried. These precious ones need families. We felt like we wanted to take them all. It was amazing to see them, and yet pulled at our hearts because we were not their parents as they hoped. We were then taken to our guest home where we ate a yummy meal with seven other families. We enjoyed getting to know them. We then were all blessed to go back and see our children again. It was so wonderful to see our little one again. She was lying in her crib. When she caught our eyes she smiled the most beautiful smile that filled our hearts with amazing joy. Hadassah kicked her little skinny legs and lifted her arms wanting to be picked up. She snuggled into me and was opening her mouth like a baby does when they want to nurse. I offered her my breast and she looked up and smiled at me! She then latched on perfectly! She looked up at me the whole time and if I looked away for a second to say something to the Nanny or Matt she would stop. So I focused completely on her and talked softly to her. I felt the same gentle feeling go through me the first time I nursed Remi and Cecilia when they were just born. It was amazing. While she nursed she held Matt’s finger. She nursed on both sides. Matt burped her and rubbed her back. She snuggled into him and fell asleep. It was perfect. How could we ask for more! It is amazing! When one of us holds her she always looks to find who is not holding her and reaches, so we hold her so the other can hold her hand or touche her. It is like she knows we are both her parents and she wants us both. Matt is so great with her as he is with all of our children. She just thinks he is so funny and smiles and coos for him. We are in love!!! It was hard to leave her there. They want the transition to be gradual and she comes in to our care fully on Wednesday. We are going to ask since she is so little if she can come Monday. The trip South We woke up at 3:30 AM. Each family got their own Land Cruiser and we were off to see the area our children were born. It was dark as we left the city but people were everywhere. They were in white shawls walking. Our driver told us they were going to the Orthodox church because it was Sunday. The stores open at 4:00 AM here. We passed a little shop where they were butchering an Ox and selling the meat. It is the beginning of rainy season here and it was raining hard. As the sun came up, we began to see the beauty of this country. The landscape is beautiful The rolling hills, mountains, valleys, rivers, and vegetation remind us a little of Hawaii. The families live in round mud huts and are farmers. There were children everywhere! People and animals are all over the roads. It was so amazing to see children alone, just playing on the road in pouring rain with little or no clothes. After it rained, the water flowing through ditches was so muddy and people were bathing in, washing clothes, and drinking it. We were also really excited because we got see two large baboons!!! The drive was just incredible. There are so many beautiful children!!! Ethiopia is a nation of children! We saw very few old people. Our driver is two years younger then us and all four of his grandparents have been dead for years. People die so young her. Out driver told us he almost died twice last year from Malaria and Yellow Fever. There is so much sickness. WE WERE TOLD 40% OF CHILDREN IN ETHIOPIA WILL DIE BEFORE THE AGE OF 5! That was so heartbreaking to hear as we watched precious children play along the road. They would dance, wave, and blow kisses to us. It is not right these children are living and dying like this. I have never cried so much as I have in the last 48 hours. I continually have a lump in my throat and fight back tears. I smile because I want them so much to see the love of Jesus in me and I know his heart breaks more then I can possibly feel. We both feel God’s presence here with us so sweetly. We went through several little villages and all the people line the roads to see the “foreigners” pass through. Ethiopians are the MOST BEAUTIFUL people in the world! Every one of them is amazing. The girls especially are gorgeous! There skin is caramel brown with the most striking features. They are all so friendly and wave at us and smile. It is so humbling to see the loads they carry over gravel with bare feet. They use big banana leaves to cover their heads from the rain. As we came to Hosanna, the town of 300,000 where our little Zafua was brought to the CHSF care center, the poverty was so intense. It was so filthy and no order. There were really not even roads, but just a path with muddy ruts. Children were all over. I saw so few adults. They were in the rain and looked so cold. I was amazed to see babies on so many children’s backs with little ones all around. We went to the office of CHSF Hosanna first. That is where Maiwos (Matthew) the police officer brought Zafua. There were several children to greet us with hugs and I was kissing them all when we got out of the car. They would fight to get to you and to get a kiss. They were so cold and they were shaking and teeth chattering. I could hardly stand it. I wanted to give them all blankets and hold them. I wanted to really take them all home and give them a FAMILY! That is what they need. We were told many of them are orphans. We were told that Ethiopia’s reputation in Africa is ‘a nation of orphans’. They say there are between 4-7 million orphans. The children meeting us were the same ones that we had brought a zip lock for with flip flops, shirt, shorts, underwear, snacks, and a picture of Jesus blessing the children. We were both sick we did not have our things. All we had to share was from our carry on and that was almonds, peanuts, and little snickers. They went a little crazy when we gave what we had to them and were attacking us for more. It was hard to even stand. I also was only wearing flip flops that I wore for our flight because my shoes were in my lost suitcase. It was so muddy and my feet were sinking in the mud as the children hung on me. I could not complain about my cold muddy feet when these children live this way. I made my way very slowly to the gate. The children would not let go of me. Our driver had to pull them off of me. Oh, how can a person take all this in…? Matt is amazing! He smiles and plays with them, gives them five, and makes them smile. I love my husband so much. Inside the CHSF office compound it was so peaceful. They had painted on a rock “Jesus is LOVE.” Scripture verses were painted on the walls in Arahmaic. Families were there to meet the family they had trusted to raise their children. We saw girls that looked no older then 15 there to meet adoptive families. One man there with his daughter has 16 children and 2 wives! We talked with the staff and they are the most beautiful loving people. They just have the love and tender heart of Jesus alive in them. What a ministry! (Our US agency that funds this is NOT Christian in any way, but the Ethiopians who run the program are.) One told us “if you say you love Jesus and do nothing you don’t truly love him. We have to love with what we do and not what we say. You love Jesus and so you came for his child. Now you have Zafua - a very special baby!” This man who said this to us is living it. He was a reporter in Addis and moved to this poverty-stricken place to help unit children with families. We also met with a wonderful man that reminds me of my uncle Jeff. He is so tender, tall and strong. His name is Johanas (John). He is the director of the project. He told us they sent word to the policeman in the village where Zafua was found to come Sunday AM and meet us. He said he knows that the police officers - Maiwos Telkidan - and the witnesses all wanted to come but he was worried the rain had made it impossible. I was so sad, and I tried not to cry. He told us that she is from a very small village 60 kilometers away on a very bad road that is hard for cars in the dry season and then a two hour walk to the village. HE thought the road had washed out. My heart breaks at the hardship and suffering of the people here. We wanted to be able to meet them. We felt sad for them. How disappointing to know the rain had made it impossible. They knew we were there only that Sunday and could not come. I just called out to God for his grace. We were so sad and disappointed also. Our darling Zafua is amazing. She is a SURVIVER!!! The fact she lived being found in the woods is amazing. They said when they found her she was wrapped in clothes of many colors. We were told that the potter Telkidan and his family kept her eight days. He did not know of anyone to care for her. Their family had to trade another family some thing of their own for cow’s milk to feed her. She is from the Hadero tribe. The village is very small and poor. He did not even know of adoption. He had a friend Matiwos (I do not know if he is from Hadero or not) who was a policeman who told Telkidan he would carry the baby to Hosanna to find help for her. He walked two hours caring our baby and then found a ride to Hosanna. In the mess of Hosanna he found someone who told him about the Care Center. Our little Zafua was brought by such a loving man that would not let her die and set out on what they said was a very far and sacrificial journey for him to take her to Hosanna. We see God’s love and hand in her life so clearly. Johanas told me she is from a beautiful area where they grow lots of ginger and coffee. I smiled and said I would make her ginger cookies when she is little and teach her to make them and tell her of her Hedero people. He left and came back and opened my hand and placed a small piece of ginger in it and then squeezed it closed with tears in his eyes. I just cried… He hugged me and said a blessing over me. They did an entrustment ceremony were birth families stood on one side and adoptive on the other. The birth family lit a candle and then walked to the adoptive family and gave it to them and said a blessing over them. Oh it was so powerful!!! One of the staff brought us a candle representing Zafua’s life and trusting us to care for her and teach her about Jesus. Our friends are adopting two little boys and they had an incredible time with the parents. It was so emotional for them all. The Holy Spirit was hovering in the room as we prayed. Lane, from our group, prayed the most passionate beautiful prayer for the Ethiopian families and then the birth father of their sons prayed for all the families. It was long and full of passion and love. The Ethiopian mothers were on their knees crying and had their hands reached to heaven or over their heads. It was one the most sacred experiences of our lives… When we left the center there were sixty to seventy children there waiting for us. The other families ran to their cars and were gone. We stayed with the kids for awhile. I again kissed and blessed as many as I could. I would just speak blessings over them and touch them. There little checks were so dirty, but I could not let that stop me from touching them. They responded to the kiss and touch with such joy and would give me huge hugs in return. We got to our car and Matt got out the almonds. What happened next is a blur. The kids got so out of control they were grabbing Matt and pulling on him so roughly. They were trying to get the almonds from him. The kids on the outside of the circle were fighting each other to get closer to Matt. The driver told Matt to give him the almonds and he would give them to the kids. The kids were beside themselves. They are so hungry and cold. It was hard to leave. Matt bought a pot for milk from a man at the window and as he went to pay, he grabbed the money from his hand, and two other boys started beating him up for the money. We had wanted to give these kids the zip locks full of stuff but we realized while we were there we did not have enough and it would have caused huge problems among the children who were fighting each other to survive. It was very grieving. We smiled and gave what we had and then had to go… We next were taken to the small orphanage where Zafua spent the first 4 weeks of her life. It was very simple. It was almost bare of furniture and no toys. We meet the sweet young girl that cared for Zafua and was so happy to see us and hugged us and told me so much, and I wished I could have understood more. The kids were again waiting for us outside. We gave them hugs and had to go. We both felt so helpless to not do more for them. Our drive back to Addis was amazing as the sun was shinning and no rain. We stopped at a mud hut to visit a family. They were so gracious. They wanted us to sit and eat corn with them. They had six children. I gave them all two mini snickers bars that had fallen out during the wild frenzy of giving them to the kids in Hosanna. I was so happy I had something to give them. Matt gave the father money. There home was a dirt floor with a fire in the middle of the hut. The mom had made it nice for our coming. It was very special to be in their home. We kissed all the kids and they just hugged and held on to us. Our driver also stopped at an ancient cemetery of kings and warriers. They had engraved swords on 12 feet tall rocks. He said it was 800 years old. We bought a hat for Dominic from a little boy who was five and who handmade them from things in the fields. The village kids came and did their tribal dace for us. It was AWESOME!!! I could not stop smiling! They are so cute and really know how to move. One little boy looked like MC Hammer with his moves! It was so swampy where we were walking and my feet were cover in mud and cow dung. A little girl who Matt had given his water bottle to came and washed my feet with muddy water. I tried to stop her but she insisted and rubbed the mud off my feet. They are so sweet. I found a few things to give them and they were thrilled. It was market day so people were everywhere as we passed through village after village. Seeing our daughter again!We were so excited to see Zafua. Matt was with our driver doing some things, so I went alone. The nanny was not expecting us to come Sunday. When I peeked in she was laying over Zafua with the tape player we sent on. The nanny was repeating to her everything I said on the tape. It was such an amazing blessing to watch. I said hello softly and the nanny, whom I had not yet meet, came running to me and threw her arms around me and said “I love you, you very good mother. I so happy you come for Zafua. Everyday we listen to you and I pray with you for baby Zafua. I love all your other babies- they so beautiful, Zafua look at pictures every day. She stroked my cheek as she talked to me. OK, so I was crying yet once again. Her name is Salem which means “Peace.” I had prayed over and over that Zafua would be the apple of someone’s eyes and God had heard, and it was through Salem-Peace. Zafua was so smiley and responsive to see me. She just snuggles her little body into me. She nursed again and this really made Salem happy, she would say over and over “you good mother, God heard my prayers for Zafua.” She had been taken good care of and loved. Matt came to visit and that was wonderful. His smile is amazing which triggers her amazing smile and my heart just overflows with JOY! We left, had dinner and came back to feed her after dinner. She nursed to sleep. It was so hard to leave. We broke the rules and walked home in the dark. I was very scared. It is about eight (what I would call blocks) away. I held on tightly to Matt and we prayed. I was stepping in human waste and mud and slipping all over. It was hard to keep my flip flops on. The smell outside when it rains is awful because people and dogs go to the bathroom anywhere and everywhere. I was so thankful to be home and slathered my feet in antibacterial soap and said a lot of prayers. I have never wanted shoes so badly. If our suit case does not come I am going to buy shoes. I now can relate with the people in a new way. Monday Matt went to the airport to see if our bags came and pick up another family. I went to orientation which was wonderful. The women talking asked Tawya and I at the end if we were Christian and oh yes that started a wonderful conversation. She said please, please tell other Believers about our children. That is what we sit at this table and pray for every day. Money and education is not what we pray for. We pray for parents who will train them in the ways of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is a wonderful program here and so many amazing people are working here for the children. There faith and love is so real and beautiful. I then went to see Zafua. She is wonderful and is always so happy to see us. I had a wonderful time holding her, nursing her, and playing with her. We went visiting to all the other rooms in the center. There are at least 70 babies there. I think Zafua is the smallest and I have to say as her mommy the most beautiful. They really all are amazingly beautiful! I held Zafua over them and talked to them. She loved it and so did they. They are all so sweet and just lie there looking around waiting to be talked to and picked up. The one year old room is really fun! The toddlers are so cute and it was so sweet to see them all lined up on 15 potties just talking to each other and doing their job. This is a very special place with LOTS OF LOVE! Back at the guest house I waited and ate with friends hoping our luggage would be there for Matt. He walked in with a huge smile and I said “thank you GOD.” One family last week waited five days to get there bags. We wanted our things to give so much! We then went shopping which was a disaster. The driver did not understand we wanted to buy blankets and supplies for the sponsored families. He took us down town to these little store fronts that were selling imported clothes and shoes. We were so pressured buy the men inside. They would not take no for an answer and stood in front of the door so we could not get out. Matt did not want to buy anything there, but I wanted to just get something and GO. We bought a shirt for 10 dollars US to give away. The driver called his friend who speaks English. We told him what we wanted and the driver then took us to the most incredible market. It was unbelievable!!! People everywhere and so many were deformed and bagging. The market went as far as we could see in every direction. People were bartering and yelling. He dropped us off and said he would wait right in the same place. He did not want us to take our back pack or anything with us. We at this point knew we only could get blankets. We say several people selling them. When we got out the van we were surrounded and it was hard to walk. People were touching me and I was getting nervous. We bought very nice heavy blankets for way to much money, $20 dollars US each. That was after 10 minutes of bartering. We just wanted to go. We walked as fast as we could back to the place to meet the driver. He was GONE!!! My heart sank. I looked every direction and could not see him anywhere. Baggers were touching me and talking right in my face. Matt and I were nervous but he was not as much as I was. He did not want others to know we were worried. I was praying in the spirit and just desperate for the van to come. It did come honking for people to clear the road. I was so thankful. He said they made him move. I wanted to video this unbelievable place and the driver saw my camera and said no, it was too dangerous and people would get in the van to take! I was so thankful to get to the care center. When we said where we had been they said they do not let families go there anymore because it is so dangerous. I was happy it was over. We had an appointment with the Care Center doctors. They are wonderful! They love Zafua and told us more about her. They said she came so small and has gained 3 pounds in their care. Her health has been good. The phobia she had they said was not serious and she was well very fast. She had conjunctivities 2 times. We visited with them about the children, Ethiopia, and God for a long time. They said 90% of the staff is believers and they all love Jesus and his children. He said Zafua is a very blessed baby to have us for parents she has the 2 best things a baby need breast milk and mommy and daddy that love Jesus. They told us we could take Zafua with us then and she had no need to wait until Wednesday and needed to be with us. We were so happy!!! We went to tell her nanny good-bye. We felt so happy as we drove away with her. We talked the whole way to her and she cooed and smiled at us. She has a little sing song voice that is precious! Our first night with her was so special. I was up with her most of the night. She nursed a lot. She doesn’t like to be laid down. She cries and when we pick her up she stops. She slept with us and even lying beside me she fusses. Lying on me she was peaceful and would go to sleep, so I just let her lay on me. It was such a special night of getting to know her. She loves to be close and talked to. Tuesday We went with all the families to the Embassy this morning. It was a very poor museum. I asked for the bathroom to change the baby and they took me outside to a steal shed. So, we came in and sat on a chair to do it. The tools we a saw on display were ones people in the south use. Ethiopia does have a long and interesting history. We saw the bones of Lucy - believed to be the oldest human bones found. After the museum we went back to the guest house for lunch. Then we had an hour-long drive to the US Embassy, though crazy no-rule, no-light traffic. The embassy is the most protected site in the city it seemed. It was fun visiting with people there. Our case went through perfectly and we were thankful. The gal working with us told us she was one the littlest and cutest babies she has everp seen come through. Caring for Hadassah is just like a new born. She has little core body strength. She has a hard time holding up her head. Her arms and legs are so skinny!!! Her little feet and hands are feet are so tiny! Her face looks like a four month old and she is expressive just right for her age. We know she will catch up soon. She is just so fun to hold and care for. I LOVE the tiny newborn stage so I am just in heaven dressing, feeding, and changing her. She is amazing!!!! _________________________________________________________________ Don't get caught with egg on your face. Play Chicktionary! http://club.live.com/chicktionary.aspx?icid=chick_hotmailtextlink2

Hello to all,
Well, the love, joy and miracle of Hadassha continue. Matt and Amanda arrived on Saturday morning and were united with their precious daughter shortly after their arrival. I am entering this post for her as they are having trouble getting time to make an entry when service is available to them.
After their departure they had many airline adventures. They were delayed and missed their flight from Denver to Washington. They were told that they may not be able to land in Eithiopia until Sunday night which would have been very disappointing beacause they would have missed the trip to the South of Eithiopia to meet those who had witnessed Hadassah's circumstances in being left under a tree. But, after many adjustments and God's hand upon their steps they were able to make it to Washington by 7:30 in the morning for the 9:30 flight. There was some concern that their luggage (packed full of all they planned to give away to the children they would meet in the South as well as gifts for families they would meet). Matt and Amanda spent much time packing four large suitcases filled with the treasures to give to those who so greatly have need. They were careful to make sure all they packed had a purpose and were so grateful to ALL who had so generously contributed clothing, food, vitamins and other essential needs. The scheduled time of arrival in Washington was to have been 12:00 that night, so they flew around the US for awhile. They were on the right flight because Amanda reported through her one phone call that the flight was filled with fellowship, worship, and prayer for Africa. It was unlike any experience she and Matt have ever had. They were blessed and amazed. God is continuing to expand their hearts for Africa and His purposes in this wonderful continent. Because we only had a short time to talk, I will share the little she was able to communicate in a five minute call. First, they were told that their luggage did make the airline switch, but in reality it did not, but after arriving in Ethiopia they realized that when the luggage arrived (probably late Sunday night) they would be able to give it in many needy places and situations. She declared that God was ordering the steps of this giving. What a joy and miracle they received when they first saw their dear Hadassah. When they entered the nursery, they were talking and baby Hadassah turned to their voices and raised her hands to Matt with a delighted expression. When he held her, she touced his face and cooed and talked to him. Whe Amanda held her she responded the same. It was if to say, "You are here - I have waited and Now you are here!" The nanny's had been playing the tape recording of their voices and singing since they received it several weeks ago. Amanda's report is Glory to God and this is a most wonderful and amazing miracle. Hadassah is very small, but full of joy and expression and wonder. After a brief time together they returned four hours later. This time Hadassah seemed to look at her mommy like, "What do you want me to do and then quickly began to nurse and nursed on both sides for fifteen minutes." This was a wonderful and amazing answer to prayer and preparation to be able to nurse little Hadassah. Amanda's voice as she reported the amazement of being united with Hadassah for all three (mama, papa and baby) was filled with emotion and tears. She also expressed that nothing could have prepared Matt and her for the plight of precious people. Their hearts are being expanded. I am relaying the best I can what is happening, but I feel inadequate to communicate as Matt and Amanda would. I would say All is well, and the report is that meeting Hadassah was filled with joy, wonder, and a miracle that can only attest to the love and goodness of God and gives Glory to Him. They are well and loving the people they are with as well as the amazing Eithiopian people. Amanda will post as soon as she is able. Blessings to all and thank you so much for your love, care, and prayers as so many friends and family share this wonder with Matt, Amanda, Dominic, Cecilia, Remington, and sweet Hadassah. All is well on the Montana home front. I (Janice, Amanda's mom) and Sally (Matt's mom are enjoying our grandchildren in wonderful anticipation in meeting Hadassah. The kids are playing and doing well, but thinking about all that is happening on the other side of the world. Today, Carter (a cousin) asked Dominic, "What are you thinking about and he responded, "About my mama and papa and sister Hadassah and how they are and when I will see them." Thank you all and abundant Blessing from our wonderful Father God.

Love in Christ,
Janice Jones

Our Daughters Name

Our little Zafua will be named Hadassah Zafua _____ DeSarro.
We had been thinking of the name Kamara. In March Matthew said "I think she needs a Hebrew name, someone from the Bible." Matty mentioned Esther. We looked it up and it was Persian. We like who Esther was and the way she lived her life to never forget about her people and from where she came. That night we watched the Veggie Tail of Esther and Nest Ent. video of Esther. Matt then read the book of Esther. He called me into the family room where he said "Amanda look her name was not Esther it was Hadassah. She was adopted by Mordici and he changed her name to Esther so she could go to the palace." We called my dad to look it up on his high speed Internet and tell us what Hadassah meant. He said it means "from a TREE." Look on another site- "OK it means from a flowering Myrtle TREE." I was not so sure about the name or meaning. Cecilia heard me talking about it with Matt and my dad. She piped in "Mommy God knows our babies Opia name and when you hear her name YOU WILL KNOW WHAT TO NAME HER!"
On April 17Th we got the referral for our darling daughter and the first words I heard about her is "her name is Zafua which means TREE because she was found under a tree wrapped in clothes of many colors." OK Lord, wow we know her name is to Hadassah and we believe God has shown us clearly. We believe she will have a heart like Esther and never forget the plight of her people and one day we pray she will use the resources of where she is to help those she came from. We know she was born at such a time as this. She is a survivor found under a tree at only 1 day old miles from a main road. She will have a forever family is one of 400 out of 4.5 million. She was born at such a time as this! God has hand picked our Hadassah for us and we praise him!!!! And we love the name, it has grown on us, it is so soft and beautiful. It just flows out of our mouths. When Matty prays for our daughter Hadassah Zafua my heart melts. We may call her Haddie? We just love our darling Hadassah...
Oh also is from a valley that sounds very much like Hadassah.

Referral!!!

We wanted to share our wonderful news. We received our referral yesterday April 17th 2007. I was so emotional and could hardly take it all in. After I got a grip with my heart full of pure joy the kids and I planned a surprise to tell my Matty who was at work.
We hiked up to the top of a mountain behind our house with a beautiful view of the Bear Tooth Mountains to plant our surprise. When Matt got home from work the kids enthusiastically asked him to go on a hike with us. Our kids are 4, 4, and 2, they were beside themselves with excitement about their baby sister and telling their papa. Matthew saw the gifts wrapped up with big bows on the rock and said “Oh Amanda it is our Monthaversary today and I did not do anything for you, I’m sorry I forgot. (We celebrate every month on the 17th the day of month we got married. We have been married for 93 months now.) So he opened the first gift. Inside was a letter from his baby girl. On the front it said “Hello papa! God has heard your prayers and answered it said my name is Zafua…” it went on to tell her story. My husband has an amazing smile, but this was the best smile ever. He opened the second box it had a beautiful pink dress and a card that said “So how old am I Papa? Mommy bought me this dress in size 12-18 months… how long until it fits me?” Matt guessed 3 months! He opened the card and it said “not for a long time, I am only 7 weeks old!” Matt was now smiling with tears running down his check and kissing the kids and I was videoing and sobbing in the microphone of the camera. The third box was wrapped extra special and it was a framed picture of our beautiful little girl. We all had a toast with sparking grape juice and talked about our baby. It was a great moment in our lives. The kids love our baby and have been carrying her framed picture everywhere they go. My heart is so full… How can you love this much once again…

The Process

Friday November 11, 2005 A Holy Discontent
"Religion that God our Father accepts is pure and faultless in this: to look after opphans and widows in their distress and keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

Matt and I went to the movie Oliver Twist. It was so painful for me to watch. I physically hurt while watching it. I am so torn up by the suffering of the children. I am bothered by the way the most vulnerable were exploited and taken advantage of. The movie ended and I could not dismiss it as a movie. There was too much reality. It was awful for orphans then and I feel in many ways it is worse now. Faces of children I cared for in Brazil, Tibet, and Nepal were playing through my mind as I looked out the window at the pure glistening snow on our drive home. Where are they now? Is someone caring for them? People come and go some loving and some evil- they are at their mercy. But God you are a God who executes justice for the orphan. The man that harms a little one will answer to you. God I want to be a part of your plan to rescue those you love. My life is yours. I could not talk, only pray to myself. Matt was quiet I knew he was thinking. He spoke first. He said that injustice rips him up inside he can’t stand it to hear about exploited children anymore without doing something. He told me about what he heard today on Focus on the Family about the Sudan, and Northern Uganda. So many children orphaned, starving and being exploited.
He told me he wants to adopt a child who is older child who would not be adopted. But with little children he felt that would not be wise. He said all I can think is we get a young child and then one more is spared from the pain and is safe with a mommy and papa. I want them to know Gods love so much is what Matt told me. When we got home tonight we sat in the car a long time, praying, quiet, and few words said to each other. I did not want the kids to see me, when I cry my eyes get all puffy and swell. I don’t know what happened tonight, but my spirit was deeply moved and I must pray. God speak to my heart show me what to do. I will pray for the children Father, I know you love them so much. Your heart must break over the sin of this world.


Sunday December 11th 2005- The Night God Spoke through our son:
It was a quiet evening last night. I have been sick with a fever so everything was very low key in our home. The TV got turned on by Remi, Matt and I were sitting on the couch; Dominic and Cecilia were playing blocks. The show that came on caught Dominic’s attention in such a strong way. It was a show on the plight of children in
Africa. They showed images of children with flies crawling on them, with bloated bellies as they waited in lines for food. They were telling the story of an orphan that was all alone in the world. Dominic was an inches from the screen turning his head side to side.
When he turned around he had the most grieved pained expression on his face. He crawled up on Matt’s lap. He said with so much confusion and wrinkled up eyes “babies hungry, have no food, babies have no mama no papa? WHY? Before Matt could explain something with no real answer- He looked straight at Matt and put his finger into his chest- “you papa” then he looked at me pushed his little pointer finger into my chest “you momma-BRING BABY HOME.” Matt and I were both humbled and quiet for a long time, but we both knew at that moment God had spoke to us through our child. For the previous few months we had not yet decided wither to adopt or have our fourth child biologically. The night before we had prayed together and left it that we would be waiting to hear from God and be in agreement before we did anything. I was so humbled by Dominic’s innocent heart and eyes that had never seen poverty, pain and an injustice that motivated him to change it. We were the solution in his eyes. Such an enormous tragedy that there are 143 million orphans in our world. I feel so small like what canwe do. I had selfishly wanted to be pregnant again and Matt felt that we are so blessed with 2 biological children and Dominic who is no different then our own flesh and blood and that there are so many children in our world with no one to call there own. Matt felt we needed to be faithful with the blessing of family that God has given us and open our heart to adopt again. Matt previously was thinking of adopting from Asia. I had not yet desired a specific place. I had been working through my passion for orphans and my love for being pregnant, nursing the whole experience. Getting up from the couch we knew something had happened in our living room so deep and would forever change us. The next day I got online to see if it was possible to adopt from Africa. I went to the State Dept. Web page to see legitimate agencies and countries. As I looked I began to see the plight of Children in Ethiopia. There are 4 and a half million orphans in Ethiopia due to poverty and illness. They face poor health conditions, food shortages and countless Ethiopians face a constant struggle to survive. Additionally the maternal mortality rate is very high in Ethiopia: 1 in 14 women will die in childbirth. I researched and found an agency with a very good reputation. Children’s Home Society of Minnesota. Matt and I prayed and agreed that in August 2006 when Remington turns 2 we will start the process. This is a complete step of faith. We very much felt like God has brought this to our awareness and we would act on it believing him to bring it to pass.
I Thessalonians 5:24 “Faithful is He who called you and HE will bring it to pass.

August 20, 2006
Remington our darling is now 2! We had decided that when he turned 2 we would start the process of adopting from Ethiopia. I have had the initial paper work done for months. We were really hoping to have saved more. Things have been tight. We do have enough saved to start the process. $150. Matt said to me today “I have no idea where the provision will come from, I feel like we are jumping off a diving board and believing God will catch us as we trust him. He said I can’t see how it is feasible, but I can see that little one in our family. I trust God will do it. Send the application.”
So we have been walking by faith. We have been praying lots, getting verse, giving and Matt has been working another job. God is so faithful to us every step of the way in our walk with Him. He is the God of more then enough. Matt always reminds me of how good God has been to us. He has blessed our lives in such amazing ways and he is faithful to us and this will be another testimony to His glory.

Friday September 22, 2006
Dominic has such a tender heart about the adoption. He woke me up early in the morning and said “Mommy when is our baby from Opia coming home- I just loven that baby.”
A few nights ago as we were praying Dominic told me, “Mommy lets pray for that baby in Opia’s mommy that she be brave.” My heart was so amazed he feels such love, sensitivity and empathy. It understands far more then I thought. How does he know I am not just always the mommy? His heart and way amazes me…

Tuesday October 17th, 2006
We had out Home Study with Diana today. I was rushing around doing last minute things. I was starting to feel bombarded with thought. We don’t have enough money to pay for the Home Study. I quickly thanked you Lord for the favor we found with Lutheran Social Services that they are charging us $1,000 instead of $1,800. God that is You alone. Thank you! I was done picking up when I walked into the living room and saw one of my three helpers had pulled books off the shelf. I started picking them up and I was so amazed to see the devotion by Joyce Meyers I have not see in so long. God has spoken to me several times through this book. I opened it to Oct. 17 and tears ran down my checks as I read the verse on the top of the page. The verse I wrote down for this entire process the day I mailed our initial paper work:
And my God shall liberally supply your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19
The devotion ended with the words I have been saying back to you for months Lord “ He is the God of more then enough.”
My heart was so filled with peace. Thanks for the Word Lord just the moment I needed to hear it.
Our Home Study went really well. The house felt so cozy and peaceful. It was a snowy day and the view was beautiful. Diana Tolsted who I did my internship with at LSS came. I really like her. The kids were so sweet; they played so nicely with their toys in the family room. Coming once in a while to show us their new dress up styles as they played. We sat at the table and visited. I made cookies, we had grapes, cheese and crackers also. As we sipped our tea we shared our hearts and the needed info for the home study. Matthew was very talkative which blessed me. This is a true passion in his heart. He threw me for a loop when Diana asked about the recommendation for the child placed in our family. She said “you were thinking a little girl right?”
Matt said “yes, I love little girls, Cecilia is the joy of my life, but I love little boys so much and our boys are so fun, so could you just put down we want 2! One of each, a brother and sister” We will see if we can with our kids so young we have to check with Children’s Home.


Monday November 2006
Cecilia is so precious she is always talking about what to name the baby- her sister. On tonight we while we were praying at bed time we all shared what we want to pray about. I asked for the kids to pray with us that Jesus would provide the money we need for our baby from Ethiopia to come home.
Cecilia prayed so sweetly “Jesus its OK I am going to give all the money in my piggy bank, before I was going to give most, but now if I give all we have just enough to bring home my baby sister from Opia”

Remington is such a baby himself I don’t think he fully understands where Ethiopia is or that our baby is coming home from there.
The other day he got into some stuff I asked him where he got it from and he proudly said “Opia” with a smile.


Tuesday November 28, 2006
I am trusting in Jesus and believing God to bring our baby home. This morning I received the last of our dossier information. This is the final work that can be done only after our Home Study was approved. I had already submitted the majority but had about 10 more documents to get notarized. As I looked through the paper work I was filled with fear and as I read that we had to submit $7100 with our paper work in order for our paper work to go to Ethiopia and be put on the official list. It covers our child’s care, medical, all the process for our paper work to go through the court, and for our stay while in Ethiopia. We also have a $4,000 agency fee that is for the work Children’s Home does to get us through the process. I thought the $4,000 was due first then the $7,100, so I was overwhelmed. I began to cry and call out to you God. I got out my verses for this adoption and began to pray. I said God I will continue to seek you and all I have to give is my faith. I said to my mom when she called that this is about God’s grace that is why we adopt. It is for Him, it because of Him, it is His heart, His idea from the
Please strengthen my faith.
As I was praying Remington came to me and needed his diaper changed, so I took him upstairs I said “God you speak to me through worship music. I will put on a worship CD. I then felt God tell me to put in the children lullaby CD that was Cecilia’s. We have not listened to it in such a long time, but I found it with the CD’s on the changing table and put it on, I felt song 2. I changed Remi and continued to feel so desperate to hear from you Lord.
It was such a beautiful song. I want to sing this to our baby the day she is placed in our arms. The song made me cry. It was truly from You for us…
He Gave Me You – by Sierra
He knows the hairs upon our heads
Gave the moon its face
Most of all I praise Him for HIS GRACE
He gave me you- He gave me you
Opened up the heavens Angels brought you through
He gave me you- He gave me you
A MARICLE is what HIS LOVE will do
He gave me you
The songs talks about how God opened heaven angels brought her through. This is what I believe will truly happen Jesus. You are opening the heavens of your blessings to make a way for this baby to come to her family. Not just monetarily. But Lord I believe you to care for our child and her mother, those who care for her. I pray she will be in shadow of your wing. I pray you choose our baby, care for her, keep her, let your Holy Spirit hover over her. Let the angels surround her. Protect her, love her, and nurture her. She is Yours Lord, you will entrust us with her, and may we be faithful.
When it said “he gave the moon its face” I was amazed. Matthew’s favorite baby name is Kamara. It means moon in Swahili I thought God you are forming that babies face even now in her mothers womb. I was so blessed by Gods blessing to us in this song. ‘
Matt and I listened to the song over and over on our way home from Cody after going to visit his dad who just had knee surgery.

November 29th 2006
I am doing a Bible Study Believing God with such dear women sisters in Christ that I have just grown to love so much. We have done several Beth More Studies together. Each one had been so rich and good. They have been so wonderful to me and I love their hearts and perspectives on life. It has been so refreshing to my spirit to have fellowship with them.
My dear sisters prayed with me and it was so powerful! They are believing God with me and I felt so strengthened by the faith of my sisters. God I know you did something today while we were praying. I could feel your presence.
Today at my Bible study my sweet friend Sarah told me today that she is sending letters to her family about our adoption. I was so humbled. I was at a loss for words. I wanted to cry but I kept composed. I just could not believe it. I was so in awe that she even had the idea, the heart to do it. I am so thankful. I feel so overwhelmed by her kindness. I pray you return the blessing to her and the ones she loves Jesus.
God I trust you and I ask you to work your perfect will in our adoption. I know you are on the move.
Today we got our long awaited Home Study back from Lutheran Social Services. It had been a little of a frustration for me how long we had to wait. It was simply a update to our first with for Colombia. I know your timing is perfect and I am seeing even with the finances that your timing is now for things to be moving. I got the HS in the mail box on my way home from Bible Study in Absorkee. We needed to get it authenticated at the Secretary of States Office in Helena. This was the last document we were waiting for our dossier. Matt said he would drive it to Roscoe now in hopes of getting it off today still. Matt and I both are hoping to mail everything on Monday. I called the office in Helena and was so blessed by my conversation with a women named Della. She told me that she remembered when we had come to her office 3 years ago with a cute little baby and was amazed we were going to Colombia and getting another baby. She see’s hundreds of families and people needing documents authenticated and she remember us. We had a nice little visit and I told her we were sending documents today hoping they would get to her by Friday but really hoped even tomorrow. I asked her how long the process takes and she said 10-14 days. She asked me to mail a picture of Dominic so I did. I gave her my # and my email and got hers in case she had any questions. It was a blessed contact and we are praying for your favor Lord. When Matty came home he told me that the post man said he would drive our letter to Red Lodge on his way home from work because he had already sent the mail out for the day. What a blessing of favor

Thursday November 30, 2006
Today I was so blessed I received an email from Della at the Secretary of States Office. She said what a darling Dominic was and that she put his picture up on the bulletin board. She said she had received my documents that morning and had already authenticated them and they had already been mailed back to me. I was in awe once again!!! Tlak about your favor being better then life! God you blessed us. Our desire to send everything Monday will happen- we believe!

December 2, 2006
Lord it is 3:00 AM and all I can do is lay in my bed in awe of YOU!!! You are the ONE TRUE God and there is NO other. God I feel your love for our baby and for us. Thank you Jesus for hearing our prayers and bringing such hope and faith to our hearts. God it is all about your GLORY!!! I love you Father. Thank you for your love. We knew you would catch us as we dove into the unknown of this and you have been a faithful loving God. Lord how do I praise you enough? “The Lord has done great things for us and we are glad.” God I delight in your presence. You are in this room even now with me. I feel you, I love you Lord. You are my God. God what you are doing in our lives is huge. It is Your heart for Your children being manifested. It is not just about our adoption, but about your heart for orphans. God if your people will say “yes” Lord you come rushing in to bring it to completion. God how much you love the fatherless. Thank you God for putting the lonely in families. I pray more children will be adopted in the years to come then ever. Reveal your glory Lord. Let your Kingdom come your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. God I feel your love it is so strong. Thank you… God I want to care about what you care about. God thank you for helping me overcome my fear and unbelief that I may know sit here with you and experience the joy of obedience. God trusting you is so sure. You are the sure thing in my life! God you are a loving merciful God and you execute justice for the orphan. I see it is not us, God it is that we have touched a cord in your heart. Oh Lord how deeply you love the children. You are a
father to the fatherless. Thank you God. May I sing of your love forever. God I want a glimpse of your heart. I am yours God. My life its your. God I just surrender to your will in my life. God thank you for Matthew my husband. God you have put part of your heart in him. He passionately cares for children, bit his heart goes further her has a righteous holy disgust for the suffering of children in our world. Thank you for his tenacity to believe you and never waiver in unbelief that you would provide. God you heard my cries to strengthen my faith. You did. You have given me a godly man who loves you with all of his pure heart Jesus- thank you, thank you. God it is his passion to do this that has truly spurred me on and then your sweet spirit met me in such a powerful way. God all I can say is I love you and your favor is better then life. Jesus life is not about our comfort zones or logic it is a walk of faith. You say that to live without faith is sin. God I see why. Your ways Lord are righteous and good. God my life is short on this earth may I be faithful with the treasures you have given me, may my spirit be compliant and teachable to you. God I want to walk you with. I think of my daring Dominic as we drove home from Red Lodge a few weeks ago who said “I want to walk with God.” Lord, hear his heart. May all of our children walk with you and may the nations know the glory of you Lord by their love and obedience to you. God I want a family passionate about you. Thank you Jesus for leading me from the time I was a child. I will have no greater joy in my life then to hear my children walk in truth.
God I know you have a destiny for each one our children. Thank you Lord for trusting me with them, may I be faithful. On they are so tender so precious. Keep them pure and simple before you. Keep them from the evils of this world. May they walk with Jesus. May your favor rest upon them ALL of their days. Thank you for the destiny for each one. May your will be done. Draw them close to you.

OK Lord how do I even write what all took place yesterday. In the morning my dear mom called and told me her and my dad are going to send $1,000 for our adoption. Thank you God. They are so loving and supportive. They have shared each step of the way and been so full of joy and encouragement. They already love you little baby. I talked with sweet Sally this morning. She is in Cody with Joe. I just shared with her the God story of what has been taking place. She is so wonderful. She has a beautiful loving heart. She is so encouraging and already loves you baby girl. She is praying for our baby. I have such a treasure in her for my mother in law. I was taken back and had a hard time finding words when she so willing said just send it in Monday. She said we can pay them back. At that point we had the $3000 from the bonus, $1000 from saving, and $1000 from my parents. So we still needed $2,100. She told us she would write a check Sunday for what is left. God how do you bless us in such loving ways. Thank you for our families who support us with prayer, love and sacrifice their own to do this with us. Bless them in return Lord. May we bless them Lord. When Matt came home I shared this with him. He was so thankful, he said God is not done. I think my parents will not have to write a check for that much. He wants to have a little debt as possible because of the burden to pay it back with other bills we are obligated to. I agreed and continued to just praise you and believe it is still Friday we have until Monday. The kids are so happy. I have been sharing each step with them. I tell them the stories and even little Remi praise the Lord with me. Cecilia is so thoughtful and tender. She is very tuned into what is taking place. I love her heart. She gets the biggest smile when we talk about answered prayer. She said today “God bringing our baby from Opia home!”
Tonight I went to the Christmas stroll to work in the MOPS(mothers of preschoolers) booth. My heart was so in awe of you as I looked at the falling snow. I saw your grace and mercy falling on us. Thank you Lord. I have cried more in the last week because of your presence. It is not just the financial provision. It is like a tidal wave of love. I have believed that as I seek you first and righteousness all these things would be added onto us. Day after day you have heard me say this as I clean, play drive, do anything. I have believed you. At times I got fearful but your Word kept me going. It is like after a drought and waiting trusting, hoping, and believing your showering your love and blessing. Thank you Lord. We continually pray "Lord may we be the anwser to a mothers prayer in Ethiopia."


December 2, 2006
This morning at breakfast the kids and I were talking about all God has done. Dominic shouted out “God is awesome”
Cecilia said “God made our baby, and he made us and he takes care of us.”
They are so excited about what God is doing. So am I. Thank you Lord for hearing thier childlike prayers. You are good.

Cecilia told me that she wanted to get her piggy bank out and get her money for our baby. It was so sweet. She took out all her money and lined it all up. She actually had a lot of money in her piggy bank from Great Grandma’s for B-day, Valentines etc. She choose to give $12.73 of her money. I tried to put a few $1 back and she said no momma that is what I am giving to Jesus for my sister. Dominic and Remi also went through their piggy banks. They each gave so sweetly. We talked about when we get money there are 3 things to do with it. We give to Jesus first, then save, then we can spend a little. They all picked up on that so quickly. We made little construction paper purses and wallets. We made 2 each. One for the baby’s money to go to the bank, and one to buy a sucker at the Christmas Stoll in Red Lodge. They were so excited. Cecilia wanted to write on her purse “To my baby sister from Opia, I love you. I am your big sister, Jesus is bringing you home.”
Dominic wrote “To baby in Opia, I am your big brother, I love you, you will come home soon and I will teach you to play soccer and you can make a goal.”
Remi, colored a sweet picture and taped his little wallet up good. He was singing and saying “Opia baby” while he did it with a sweei little voice.
Thank you Lord. I love you forever.

Monday December 4th, 2006 THE MIRACULOUS DAY
Matt and I had said this would be the day we would mail our whole dossier to Children’s Home Society of Minnesota. Amy came to watch the kids while I went to the ranch to make 3 copies of everything and do a last few documents. Matt was working with Meade at the ranch pulling horse shoes. I prayed on the way home in awe of how You Lord have shown yourself so loving and faithful. As I drove I felt a touch of “oh so much still has to happen before we mail this.” Mom was mailing my check book that we needed to even write the check we did not yet have all the funds for. I had left it in her purse over Thanksgiving. She had mailed it on Saturday so it was very iffy that it would arrive today. I played the song “He Gave Me You” again and just praised you and thanked you that it was all about your grace and nothing I could do to make it happen. Right as I was rounding the corner by Johnson’s I felt such peace that you were with me and working out everything for our little one to come home. It is you alone that can provide. I feel such rest and trust when I focus on you Lord.
When I got home I had to make lunch for everyone. I was way to excited to eat so while everyone eat I went to separate my documents and look them over one more time. I was looking at the fee schedule and thought OK I need to put our checks with this.
In the mail was every penny we needed!!! God is amazing! Matthew's bonus that was 6 months late came. It was truly a miracle!!!! Gifts from friends that just happend to come that day. We were so overwhelmed and all 5 praising God!!! We sent our dossier in on December 4th. We are officially waiting.