Two of my kiddos had well check visits with our wonderful pedicatrician last week. Ava was in rare bubbly form and from the moment she entered the waiting room she was in the face of other littles saying”Hi.” She is not shy, this one, and we are gonna have to watch her every move as she ages. She is little miss curious and lights up any ole space she enters. Several of the nurses had not yet met Ava. Fortunately, we have been quite healthy since she came home, so they were watching her every move. Our doctor, a close family friend, and I were beaming from ear to ear as we recalled the many milestones we have been through with each of my kids. After two kids I simply never saw myself with three and now I am the proud Momma of four. It makes me chuckle to know what we have been through and all that is yet to come as we raise up four people to the very best of our ability. Still I go back to the words that constantly echo in my head even in the middle of the crazy chaos that is our family {bring your ear plugs or a megaphone if you are gonna join us for dinner}. The words are actually a prayer, “Thank you God for not allowing us to miss this.” I mean what if we had missed this?
What if we had never met this sweet baby girl who is smart, charming, silly and so loving in one little brown eyed big haired bundle? What if we had called it a day knowing that we had our hands full with a challenging five year old at the time? What if the not knowing and fears had trumped the trust and the faith we needed to have in order to jump through the many hoops it requires to adopt?
During our appointment I was telling our doctor and staff how clear it is that we were sent to Ethiopia for far more than just our daughter. It’s crazy all the connections and the deep love and intense desire we feel to help in and connect to Ethiopia. God continues to connect the dots of other families, ministry partners, solutions and children who wait in Ethiopia. This journey is nothing short of miraculous and one only mighty God could orchestrate. Now nearly two years after seeing Ava’s little face in a picture for the very first time, we are saying yes again.
- Tadesse
This time the child is a teenager and many will call us completely mad for taking on such a challenge. Yes, it’s a wild idea but that is the best part! Things may go awry or be very challenging and we know that, but after meeting our dear Tadesse in the slums of Addis Ababa on our very first trip and watching him soar with the first opportunity he had to go to school, we want to give him the chance to continue to shine. Doors have opened, one after another, since I spent nearly a week with him during my trip this past February, and our hearts are so full and so ready to say yes once more. Adoption changed everything in us and through us and God has given us the courage and a yearning to do more. Our adoption of Ava lead us to a country where the opportunites are sparse and children of every age wish they had family who could love, comfort and provide for them.
Tadesse has been accepted at a nearby school and the school helped to create the Visa paperwork needed to move ahead with the process of praying that the governement will approve him coming here. It will look a lot like us sponsoring a foreign exchange student for a year or two of study. It will feel like we are bringing home another child who is nearly grown up, to join our family. Our kids actually think that we are adopting him and they can’t be bothered to understand the difference. It means shifting prioroties again and questioning how we will do as a family of seven but we are trustung God with those details. He will bring us through that which He has brought us to!
In June I will be headed back to Ethiopia to meet with the Government to share our hearts and Tadesse’s amazing story. We will discuss his outstanding character and why he deserves the opportunity to continue school. Many families and missionaries who have worked through the Project 61 organization, the one through which we were able to sponsor Tadesse to move out of the trash dump and into the boarding school, have connected with us to share their encouraging thoughts about who Tadesse is and what he does to inspire and mentor many of the younger students at the boarding school. I should mention that Tadesse will complete the boarding school in just four weeks at the very top of his class. Tadesse is a survivor and true champion of spreading kindness and love. He has seized the opportunity to become educated and now wants to study medicine so he might further help in his country some day. He has fallen in love with our family as his own and looks so forward to having siblings and two parents who cannot wait to nurture him. We feel the same.
Here is Tadesse wearing the Be the Change tshirt. His life has changed dramatically since being at boarding school for two years!
I share all this for several reasons…
First of all, when I return to Ethiopia in June if the government approves Tadesse’s Visa then he will be eligible to fly back with us to begin his new adventure. We want to make everyone aware just in case we have an even bigger family in tow!
Secondly, we are asking for prayers of support as our family moves through this process.
Lastly, we want to share with you an opportunity to be a part of Tadesse’s future and to help us bring him home. For so long Tadesse lived in the trash dump of Korah, alone, hungry, lost and surviving moment to moment.
This is how many people survive each day in Korah, Ethiopia. They dig through garbage for food and items to sell.
We pray that he will never have to return to such circumstances again. Many have been asking how they can be a part of Tadesse’s story, so we will be raising funds to support Tadesse’s airfare and private education for two years. Tadesse will be arriving with little more than the clothes on his back. We look so forward to providing for him, making one less orphan in the world. and we welcome anyone to come alongside us in creating a hope and a future for this precious boy! Click on the donate button if you wish to help.
Thank you for your open and listening heart. For us this has been a long journey and we are so thrilled to finally be sharing the deatails with you, friends, family and blog readers. We are open to any questions.
Peace and Grace in the week ahead,
Melanie
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