Ready, Set, Go...

It started with a dream...a dream of three children in need of a dad and mom. We prayed and prayed, Jesus gave us confirmation and we stepped out and trusted, scared to pieces. The Lord was faithful and provided every step of the way!

Today we got our confirmation on our Embassy date in Ethiopia, February 2nd!! We are so excited. What once seemed impossible is right in front of us and is a reality. Only by God's grace are we able to adopt these three beautiful children. Only by God's grace were we able to raise the support needed to bring them to their forever home. Thank you Jesus, and thank you to all of you who prayed and donated!

Speaking of reality...we are going to have NINE children!!! Wow..that just hit me, again!

We have been so blessed on this journey, in more ways in one. Not only are Bryan and I going to Africa, our two children, Cadenn and Coral will be making the long trek with us. They are SO EXCITED!!

We are going to depart Phoenix on January 23 and head straight to Nairobi, Kenya where we will meet Pastor Cyrus. He is the pastor of a ministry our small group has just adopted through Remember the Poor. We have raised money for this ministry by fasting and having rice instead of a meal on our small group nights and we had a bake sale where we raised even more. We are so excited to be able to spend time in his village, getting to know the him and his wife better and meeting the orphans he has living with him. We will be in the highlands of Kenya for three days. From what I understand, there is no electricity and most of the houses are made of mud and hay...this will be an amazing trip that is for sure. We are not promising we will come back!!

After a short stay in Kenya, we are off to Addis Ababa, where we will meet up with our friends David and Erica!! Erica, made a trip to Ethiopia this time last year, where she spent time with our babies. She and two other friends, got to take pictures and love on our children for an hour or so. We have been praying that she would be able to see the kids, we didn't know that it would work out perfect! This is what you call full circle. The Lord orchestrated us being in Addis at the same time!! That blows me away.

Also, in Addis, we will be spending time with our new friends that run a ministry there called, Drawn From Water. If you have time, stop and visit their blog. They have so graciously invited us to stay with them in their home while in Addis, Praise God!! We are excited to serve along side of our friends (both sets).

February 1st we meet our children for the first time. Boy, I am excited and nervous all at the same time. I am just going to prepare myself to let the tears go, no sense in holding them back right? We have waited soo....long with many obstacles...He is faithful.

We will depart Addis on February 4th for home!!! We would LOVE to see you at the airport on our arrival to welcome our kids home!!

Please be praying for all of the details that must take place. Also please be praying for our kids and their siblings we are leaving behind. We will be gone on Cailee's birthday as well, so we will celebrate before we leave!! We will also be taking a lot of donations with us, so pray that they all arrive safely along with us. Also, pray for the ministries we will visit and the people we will encounter. Pray that they all encounter the Glory of God. The Lord is good and I know he has this whole thing in His hands. What a true blessing to be on this journey with you!!

We will be "trying" to update our blog while we are in Africa so stayed tuned!

One of the dorms in Kenya.

The children praying before they start their day.

Crops in Kenya.

And if you spend yourselves on behalf of the hungry, and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will shine in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.

Isaiah 58:10