Sunday and beyond - Part 5

God continued to show himself to me daily.  Just when I was loosing hope, He would provide again and again.  I've never felt God so near, never has He spoken so clearly, never have I waited so expectantly for Him to show up!

Moses and his story has been continually brought to me.  Moses felt sure he wasn't the one, felt unqualified, scared, unprepared.  But through that, God showed Himself qualified, mighty, and so prepared!  We teach Sunday school and our lesson that week, not suprisingly Moses.  God is the deliverer.  Exodus 14:14 has shown up over and over.  Carson's memory verse at school and Carson's memory verse at church!  Are you kidding me?!  I guess I need a lot of reminding.  :)

Other verses that have spoken to me:
1Thessalonians 5:24 - The one who calls you is faithful, and HE WILL DO IT. 
Psalm 112, Psalm 73, Psalm 34

And the amazing part is none of these verses were found by me.  God provided them all!!  All by different ways - my devotional, my friends and family, church lessons, kid's lessons, etc.  Isn't God good.  I would wake in the morning asking God to meet me that day.  To provide for me each moment, and He did and so much more!

Friday the 18th was just another day, I really didn't feel like we would hear anything until the next week.  I got a phone call at 1pm that day that the officials had been arrested and agreed to take the police to find our girls!  Praise God!  A weight was lifted...  He had delivered, while we were still.  :)

This picture isn't the best quality, but shows my utter joy to be with these precious girls...

Part 4

Friday night was a long night.  I had nightmares all night about the girls.  I dreamed they were found and then Mark and I went to get them and after Mark left (the original plan) the people that took them came back and beat me up and took the girls again.  I dreamed this over and over.  I woke up so discouraged.  I felt like even if the girls were found, what was to keep these evil people from doing it again and again.

I went to my bible, the best comfort.  I was prompted to read Isaiah 43 again.  It had so encouraged me on Friday...  Friday, I had only read through verse 7.  Saturday, I decided to read the rest of the chapter.

Again, God showed up, big time.  This day it was verse 13 that spoke to me:

¹³ Yes, and from ancient days I am he.
No one can deliver out of my hand.
   When I act, who can reverse it?” 

Only God can deliver!!  And when He acts it can't be reversed!!

I of course want you all to know, there were LOTS of tears these days.  I was so comforted and felt the Lord SO near, but I struggled so much with anxiety, fear, sadness, etc.  My children, that I had held in my arms had been kidnapped!

I also want to document here how held up we were by our family and friends.  My sister-in-law got me out of the house on Friday night, dear friends brought food and hung out with us Friday night, amazing friends took us out to eat Saturday night, and so many people prayed, sent us encouraging words and scripture. Someone even bought a birthday present for our son (his birthday was the 13th), because we weren't prepared.  I've also made a group of friends online that know exactly what we are going through, because they are too.  15 children from our agency have been held up in orphanages longer than necessary because of this mess.  These families have become friends, and I can't wait to meet them someday when all of our children are home.

the story - part 3

November 11, 2011, I was driving home from my friend's house, when I heard a devotional from Max Lucado about hard things that come into our lives.  He talked about how nothing happens to us outside of God's love for us and His protection of us.  Exactly what I needed to hear.  The scripture he quoted was Isaiah 43:2 When you pass through the waters,
   I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
   they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
   you will not be burned;
   the flames will not set you ablaze.

When I got home, I decided to read the rest of Isaiah 43 and was blown away.  I read through verse 7 and was particularly fond of the last 3 verses.  :)


Do not be afraid, for I am with you;
   I will bring your children from the east
   and gather you from the west.
⁶ I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
   and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring my sons from afar
   and my daughters from the ends of the earth—
⁷ everyone who is called by my name,
   whom I created for my glory,
   whom I formed and made.”

Does God care?  Absolutely!!  His word is alive and active.  Amazing...

 Zoe late October 2011

 Etta late October 2011

Also, have to interrupt this story to tell you the girls are in Addis, safe and sound, and will hopefully be submitted to Embassy soon!!  The rest of the story coming soon.  :)

waiting - Part 2

'Waiting is one of God's most powerful tools of grace. God doesn't just give us
grace for the wait. The wait itself is a gift of grace. You see, waiting is not
only about what you will receive at the end of the wait. Waiting is about what
you will be come as you wait.' ~Paul David Tripp

 Etta Ehitinesh

 Zoe Firehiwot

The quote above became mine.  Waiting has been so hard...  Especially since we met the girls in June and after we passed court in August and thought our time was soon.  It was not to be.  But because of it, we've become stronger.  God has held us so tightly and been so near!

Our agency decided to petition the judge to get our girls moved.  She did make several orders, but the southern government was not obeying and on November 11th we heard the hardest news yet.  Our girls had been taken to an undisclosed location by government officials in order to slow/stop our adoption.  I was heart broken.  I don't think I've ever cried so many tears...

The news came while we were shopping at Target for the girls, as we thought good news was coming (they were to be moved on the 10th).  The kids were all with me, and with my tears came theirs.  Carson was lying on the floor in the baby section sobbing.  Our hopes were dashed, we were so crushed.  All I could think to do was gather my three little ones right there in Target and pray.  By God's grace we made it out of the store and to a friends house to re-group.  I called Mark and my parents in the parking lot.

I talked to my friend who's adopted and also talked to a dear friend made through this process (that I've not yet gotten to meet in real life).  They were so kind.  The kids played with their friends and were able to forget the heart break for a little while.  

God met me right where I was.  The night before this happened, we had been contemplating what to do, and were even considering a trip to Ethiopia to help get this all figured out.  My sister-in-law had called me with a word.  She doesn't do this often, and she was nervous to do so, but felt she had to.

She read Exodus 14:13-14 to me:

Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. ¹⁴ The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

When she read it to me, I didn't know what it meant.  However, later, it had so much meaning.  The Lord would deliver them.  I was to be still...

The back story - part 1

Where to start... 

First of all let me show you the cuteness behind all of this:

Precious Etta (Ehitinesh) in the orange and Zoe (Firehiwot) in Dora.  :)  Evidentally a fav, as she's been in it twice in the few pictures we have of her!!

Etta is 6 and Zoe is 3.  This picture was taken in the Wolayta orphanage when we went to visit in June.  Etta is very outgoing.  She loves people and was hilarious.  Even though we didn't speak the same language, she was making us laugh, A LOT.  Zoe is pretty quiet and snuggled right into us.  I could have stayed there all day with her on my lap.

So, soon after we left them (we were there June 13th) the orphanage they were in was closed.  They were moved to another orphanage, without our agencies knowledge, and we had a scarey few days in early July, wondering if they would be found.  They were found, and were together with a few other Holt children at another orphanage in the same town.  They remained there for several months.  We found out in early August that we had passed court, and were so excited.  We hadn't passed in June due to some missing paperwork.  In early August, we assumed the girls would be moved to Addis any day (which is typical process) and that we would be going to get them within a few months.

Well, obviously this didn't happen.  We received picture updates once at the end of June, and they looked OK, but their hair was really messy...  My mama heart didn't think my girls were getting very well taken care of.

In late August we found out that the government in the south (where our girls are from) was resisting them being moved, and in fact told our agency they could not move them, despite the fact that we were their guardians!  Again, we wait.

Court closed for rainy season from early August until mid October, so we hoped with the court re-opening that we would hear something soon...

Going private...

Hey, to all 10 of you that read my blog.  :)  I decided that instead of thinking, I want to say that but really shouldn't, just in case, that I should make the blog private and then say it!!

Our case has turned into something more out of a suspense movie, and so...  private we go in 24 hours.



Comment here or send me an email at efish47@yahoo.com with your email to be added.

See you on the other side.  :)

My hope is in you

I haven't posted in forever...  Mostly nothing to say.  Nothing I wanted to say, anyway.  We are waiting, still.  But learning a lot in the wait.  Celebrating not being in control.  Working on other relationships, other tasks, keeping busy with the fall.  Wondering what God has in store.  Longing for our girls.

Lately worship music has been keeping my head in the right place.  When worries come (and believe me we've had so many) it reminds me where I need to go.  Yesterday my Bible study took me to the end of 1 Thes.  Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.  Wow, I needed that.  It's been going through my head all day.  God's word never ceases to amaze me.  God's word to me!!  Amazing...

Aaron Shust's song "My Hope is in You" is my anthem right now.  When life is hard, when your kids are stuck half way across the ocean, my hope is in HIM.  Because He alone is worthy...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RRZgr7wNDs

Listen and worship.