Cup Of Sorrow

I read a couple articles at BBC News today about Ethiopia's food shortage.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7438554.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7429594.stm

We talk so much about the price of food and gas in the US these days, and I confess amidst my complaints that none of my 11 children has skipped a meal. We in the US are so privileged and sheltered from the realities of life in the world that I think we must be intentional to seek out information about what is really going on.

The world has gotten much smaller these past few years, but only if we choose to pay attention and open our eyes.


'For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home.
I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.' Mat 25:35-36

Life in Pictures

A little glimpse of life at our house these days.

Jen Lemen

Last night I watched Hotel Rwanda for the first time. Wow.

This morning I was checking out blogs. Something I used to do on a regular basis, but with my new study schedule I rarely go there these days. Anyway, I found a new one that fanned long smoldering embers in my heart, and the most recent posts on that blog were about Rwanda. Hmmm...

Jen Lemen is the blogger, and while her story is about much more than just Rwanda, that is certainly a passion of hers. She just returned from Rwanda, and shares her stories of Goreth, Grace, Lillian, Innocent, Odette, Esther and others.

http://jenlemen.com/blog/

Go check it out, you won't be sorry. But don't just expect it to be a good read. It inspires tears, questions and action.

Worth It All

Wow. First post this year, and it is a stretch to even write anything. So many things going on to tell about, and I know there are people who wonder how we are doing, but I have had no desire to communicate with anyone about anything.

But, it is starting to feel like we are coming out of our post-adoption cocoon, or fog, or whatever works for you.

So many things have happened to us in the past 16 months - 6 new kids (only 3 new ones in the 18 months prior to that), new job in a new town that since the first of the year and for the next 18 months is nothing but study, an extra mortgage since original house in original town is still on the market...you get the picture.

So, where are we. Things are going very good. So much better than we anticipated with the last 4 who came home in Oct/Dec, but even "going good" with 4 new kids in the house, older kids, is just plain hard. So much to work through with each new child. They come broken - aren't we all - with their unique baggage and history and wounds and distrust, so x4 has really been all we could handle for a while.

And then there are all of the other things that get stirred up in the midst of the newness. Everyone else at home gets a little salt rubbed into their wounds in the process, so while some of it gets easier with experience and wisdom, there is just so much to deal with on every front.

Did we bite off more than we can chew? No, not more, but as much as we could chew for the past winter. There were many days where either of us would have said yes, too much, but God's grace is sufficient, and His mercy for us seemed to only have one of us at a time at wits end, so here we are, emerging. The very late and slow to emerge spring in Eastern Washington is just like our fog lifting, slow but sure. And a very welcome thing.

Through it all we made some pretty drastic changes in our lives. After the holidays we really felt like it was time to expand our schooling options, so at the beginning of the year we put 6 kids in public school, and with our oldest in running start at CBC there are now only 4 at home. What a huge change in every one's level of sanity.

We have 2 in middle school and 4 in elementary. Next year I think there will still be 4 or 5 at home, and one in HS, one in MS and some others in Elementary.

Rebekah is playing soccer on a club team, and she is loving every second of it. Terefu and Marta are both on the middle school track team and doing well in many events. The activity and time away from home burning some energy have been good for them all, and keep us running for practices and games.

Song has really done well here with his braille and mobility stuff, and he is doing amazingly well.

The rest of us are doing our stuff, mostly food preparation, and sorting out what being a family of 13 looks like, in this house atleast.

So to wrap it all up, the past 6 months has been a really stretching, growing time for us ALL. Watching these kids break off old junk and start the process of coming into who they are is amazing and faith building, and makes all of the tears and hurts worth it all. Just like Rita Springer says in her song Worth It All that has been playing endlessly at our house this winter.

I don't understand Your ways
Oh but I will give You my song
Give You all of my praise
You hold on to all my pain
With it You are pulling me closer
And pulling me into Your ways

Now around every corner
And up every mountain
I'm not looking for crowns
Or the water from fountains
I'm desperate in seeking, frantic believing
That the sight of Your face
Is all that I needI will say to You

It's gonna be worth it
It's gonna be worth it
It's gonna be worth it all
I believe this
It's gonna be worth it
It's gonna be worth it
It's gonna be worth it all

I believe this
You're gonna be worth it
You're gonna be worth it
You're gonna be worth it all
I believe this
You're gonna be worth it
You're gonna be worth it
You're gonna be worth it all
I believe this

Merry Christmas

Not being able to pull off a family picture this year, we went with a collage for our Christmas card photo this year.

The caption ought to be, "Whew! What a year!", followed by a deep sigh.

Thanks to God for His grace for us all.

The rest of the trip - part 2

Friday is going away party day at Layla, and that was the big focus for the day.

LOTS of emotions, last visits with new little friends, and kids who are suddenly facing the reality of their hopes and dreams - leaving Ethiopia. What a day.

UNO at the airport - not a bad thing with hours of delay and layovers.

And at the end of that long emotional day you get to the airport to begin your trip home. Then, only 34 hours later, you get the coveted airport homecoming picture with aunties and kids in pj's.

The rest of the trip - part 1

This is taking such an agonizingly long amount of time that I am just going to post the remaining pictures and throw in a comment or 2 before we forget what happened.

Wednesday afternoon we had our embassy appointment, and spent time at Layla afterwards.

Thursday we went to AHOPE in the morning so we could see Sidisse, then went to visit an Orthodox church - one of Terefu's requests for our trip.

Then we had a great lunch at FinFin, did some shopping, and went to Layla for a while so Terefu could get her hair braided.

I don't have to say it, but I will - KONJO!

In the evening we picked up Denise and headed to AHOPE to throw a pizza party for the kids.

Denise captured the pizza purchase on her blog, so I won't go into our frustrations with buying mass pizza in Addis, but the kids loved it, and there is nothing like hearing many little children smacking away at pizza.
Ivy joined us at AHOPE and we all had a great time loving on the kids, spending time with friends, and longing for a day when these little ones don't have to be in this place.

Rebekah is Home

Trying to catch up on things around here. I think addind 6 kids in a year has us a little on our heels from time to time, and this blog is obviously one of the casualties. Not that big of a sacrifice though...

One week ago today I took Marta, Terefu, Samuel and Josiah to Seattle, where we spent the night with Rich & Julie Hehn. We had a great visit with their wonderful family, and I have gross pictures of Rich's ankle and a hilarious short video of Julie that I am sworn to never post so I have to honor that.

Then on Monday we went to Sea-Tac to meet Rebekah's plane from DC. Susan from AAI escorted her home, and we are finally a home with all 11 of our children in it.

Her plane was a couple hours late due to the wind storm that hit Seattle that day, so we got in a visit at the Seattle Science Center while we waited.

It was great to see her and hold her, and her reunion with Sammy and the rest of us that know her was good too. Her trip was really good, and Susan said it was her best escort experience to date - Rebekah is invited to go with her next time she needs to escort little ones home. They brought a baby as far as DC, and Rebekah did a great job of taking care of the little one so Susan says she is always welcome to travel with her.

We then drove 4 more hours home, and again it was an uneventful trip. Lots of talking and laughing, and finally sleeping for all but me.

Now we are all settling in as a family of 13. Lisa says this is like throwing a bunch of sharp knives in a drawer, working the sharp edges off each other over time. By God's grace it will be a short time.

There have been some emotional times, but not very many and they were all handled so well by the kids. Oh what a difference it makes when they just let their emotions out in tears rather than spewing anger at the rest of us.

Surely there is more to come, gentle tears and spewing, but that is all part of this process we are in of taking off sharp edges.

Wednesday Morning

This is really lame. We have been home 5 weeks and I am just on Wednesday of our trip. Yep, really lame.

Oh well.

Wednesday is Embassy day if you are going with AAI, so that is what was planned for the afternoon. Gail came by the guest house early to finish paperwork, and we filled the morning with a trip to Opportunity House, which is AAI's new house for most of their special needs kids. Most of these kids were at Layla on my last trips, and I wanted to make sure we got over there to see them all.

The kids were of course wonderful, and we all had fun playing with them, praying for them, visiting and saying goodbye to friends, and visiting the house mothers.

Then we found the kitchen and I finally got to do what I have been wondering about for such a long time - making injera. The mothers in the kitchen were great, and let me watch/help. My try at pouring the batter turned out a little on the ugly side (pretty lumpy) but I am still proud.

We finished the morning with lunch at Layla, which is still my favorite thing to do - sharing a meal with all of those kids. Breaking injera together is what God intended for us, and it is so easy to see why.