A Wonderful Exchange

Martin Luther gazed at Christ’s cross with steady joy and gloried in the fact that whoever trusts Christ can be assured of his love. He once wrote to a troubled friend, “Learn to know Christ and him crucified. Learn to sing to him, and say, ‘Lord Jesus, you are my righteousness, I am your sin. You have taken upon yourself what is mine and given me what is yours. You have become what you were not so that I might become what I was not.’” There has been an exchange, a great and wonderful exchange, whereby the Son of God has taken all our guilt in order to set upon us all his righteousness.

Deep, rich and full peace of conscience comes only when you know that your sins have been not simply disregarded but judged, judged to the full and paid for in full by the Son of God in your place.

J.I. Packer, Knowing Christianity (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1995), 79-81 

Seven

Today marks 7 months since our papers arrived in Ethiopia and 17 months since we started this process.

Lots of times I feel like there is nothing going on, no movement, no changes, just continual waiting. But, even as I was feeling this way recently, I was reminded that even when I feel like "nothing" is going on, God is doing a million things behind the scenes to bring the child that he has planned for us into our family.

I let this thought linger for awhile and considered how God's sovereignty is playing out in this situation:

On our side of the adoption:

• God ordained that we would apply for our adoption Thanksgiving weekend of 2009
• God set it in our hearts that we would adopt from Ethiopia through AWAA
• God determined that we would wait 2 months for the state to approve our home study and an additional 3 months to receive our immigration approval
• There were "delays" upon delays so that our final paperwork would not arrive until September 17, 2010 
• Today we are number 9 on the list

In Ethiopia:

• In some village a baby boy (or possibly a set of twins) was conceived
• From the point of conception (and even before) God predetermined that this child would one day be our son
• Somewhere, at some point, this baby was born (at least we think they have probably been born by this time- we won't know for sure until we receive our referral)
• Through I'm sure a very difficult set of circumstances, he was brought to a specific orphanage to become available for adoption through AWAA- not just any orphanage or any agency
• And today, he is number 9 on the list too (meaning he'll be the ninth baby available)

And all along, God has known exactly when and how this little child would come to join our family. None of this has been accidental. God has been at work moving us along through these past 17 months and 7500 miles away in Africa, God has been at work moving our child along so that he will be available when we get to the top of the list.

Have I said this before? It is a PRECIOUS thing to live under the sovereignty of God.

Spring Break Part #2

Sorry for the long delay between posts... it's track season- need I say more?!

So, back to spring break (feels so far away already!)...

Another highlight of the break was getting to meet Don for lunch one day. We went to one of my favorite spots near our house (only about a mile from our house and a mile from Don's work). The food is great and the restaurant is so cute!

Later that night, Don set up the crib that we got from one of his cousins (thank you!). It's fun to imagine what this room will look like as a nursery, though I'm determined not to do much with it until we get our referral.

As far as the time frame goes, things seem to be moving along. While there haven't been more referrals in the past couple of weeks, many families are getting court dates and are getting cleared for embassy. We are thankful to see progress at all levels!

Spring Break Part #1

Last week was my spring break and I LOVED it! The first few days were spent cleaning out closets and getting the house more organized (is it strange that I really love cleaning and organizing?!). I didn't take any pictures of that since I'm probably the only one that would find the before and after pictures exciting!


On Wednesday, I went down to the city to go shopping and have lunch with some friends (you have to go out to eat when you're in the city!).


First, we started at Roy's- one of my favorite furniture spots in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. Then, we headed to Peet's coffee in honor of Dan and Jen's honeymoon (they went there every day on their honeymoon in California).

We did a little shopping in that area and then headed to lunch at The Pasta Bowl... delicious!

After getting sufficiently stuffed, we walked around Lincoln Park and found a GREAT resale shop... so fun! I bought a fun little dress and a pair of designer jeans (Sevens, if you care to know).

Is it just me or do these jeans look short and wide? Or is it just the way I'm holding them? It must be that, right?! 

Then it was off to Molly's Cupcakes for a sweet little treat. The cupcakes were so delicious and we got to sit on swings while we were eating them... so fun!

Such a fun day!

A Few of My Favorite Things

My sister-in-law sent these to me the other day. We love these little girls (our nieces) so much I can hardly stand it... they are just about the sweetest things in the whole world!

Top Ten

Guess what I found out today? We're "unofficially" number 9 on the list for an infant boy! I almost cried when I saw that number. I've been on spring break this past week and haven't checked my email or my yahoo group information in about a week. When I looked at it today, we had moved 4 spaces last week alone. You'll probably remember that when I looked at this list back in October we were 17th. A week ago we were 13th, so the math is pretty easy on this one... almost 6 months to move 4 spaces and then 4 spaces within a week (actually it all happened within one day)- can you believe it?! I'm so thankful and starting to feel like there may be an end in sight!

I also have been meaning to update on the MOWA situation that I posted about earlier. Thankfully, there have been some really good things happening within Ethiopia and within MOWA (now MOWCYA) and within our agency in the past month. Many families are passing through court, getting referrals, and bringing their children home. We still anticipate some kind of delay, but most likely it won't be as bad as originally thought.  

We got this update a couple of weeks ago from our agency:

Within MOWA, there have been significant and positive personnel changes which have resulted in overall staff turnover and changes in the adoption unit. This unit is now called the Ministry of Women, Children and Youth Affairs (MOWCYA). We are hopeful and expectant that the new leadership will not only support processing an adequate number of favorable recommendation letters, but also implement policies that will best serve the children. Due to the staffing changes, we anticipate much transition over the next few weeks. However, we expect that once everyone is settled into their new positions, MOWCYA will work to process a higher number of recommendation letters than they currently are able to process. We have continued to receive optimistic feedback and have seen how the Ethiopian government is very committed to adoption.

Feeling thankful today and cautiously optimistic that it may not be too much longer until we can go get our little boy... the one I wonder about and pray for almost daily.

6 Mos DTE

Whishin' and hopin' and thinkin' and prayin'

Planning and dreamin' ...

A Lighter Note

Check out the adorable little outfit I picked up recently for the child we'll never have... I mean, for the child that God is preparing for us that will join our family at the perfect time.

See the kind of corrective action I have to do on my thinking almost daily?

A Good Word

Thank you, William Cowper, for this precious reminder today.

God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never failing skill
He treasures up His bright designs
And works His sov’reign will.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy and shall break
In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flow’r.

Blind unbelief is sure to err
And scan His work in vain;
God is His own interpreter,
And He will make it plain.


By William Cowper (emphasis mine)

Another Update

Posted from our agency today:

Updates on Ethiopia Adoption Process:



As government officials continue to meet in Ethiopia, please note some of the information currently being provided from the US Department of State as well as the National Council For Adoption regarding the current situation involving MOWA. Yesterday, the US Department of State noted the announcement MOWA made last week on their website. The full article can be found at: http://adoption.state.gov/news/ethiopia_alert.html. Additionally, the NCFA statement issued yesterday evening can be found below.


As noted by NCFA, we are also excited to highlight the positive reports we are hearing regarding meetings in Ethiopia this week and are hopeful they will result in the continuance of a higher number of favorable recommendation letters being written by MOWA for families in the court process. We know God can move mightily and are continuing to trust His hand over the Ethiopian adoption process. As an additional note of praise, we received favorable recommendation letters from MOWA today that resulted in families successfully passing court.


During this season we would ask for continued prayers for the Ethiopian adoption process.

NCFA Issues Statement Regarding Ethiopia Adoptions:

At the end of February 2011, the Ethiopian Ministry of Women, Children and Youth Affairs (MOWA) issued an unexpected directive indicating a dramatic reduction in the number of intercountry adoption cases to be processed by the Ministry. This directive is scheduled to go into effect by Wednesday, March 10, 2011.

In 2010, more than 2,500 Ethiopian children were adopted by American families. Should MOWA implement the recent directive as indicated, the number of adoptions from Ethiopia could fall as much as 90%, although the full impact of MOWA’s decision is unknown and cannot be predicted at this time.

This ruling follows a year of significant progress in improving and increasing transparency in the Ethiopian adoption process. Following several safeguards enacted last year, NCFA’s confidence in the Ethiopian adoption system has grown significantly. Additional protective measures may still be necessary, however, to increase global confidence in the process. MOWA’s recent decision appears to have surprised many Ethiopian government officials, as well as the Central Adoption Authorities in the U.S., Italy, and Spain. Many within the adoption community, including the U.S. Department of State (DOS) and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS), members of Congress, child welfare officials in many countries, and the National Council For Adoption (NCFA), have criticized the MOWA directive as unfair, unnecessary, and harmful to children in Ethiopian orphanages who await permanent families.

NCFA is grateful for the swift action taken by the U.S. Department of State, led by Special Advisor Ambassador Susan Jacobs, to communicate with Ethiopian adoption officials in an effort to reach a favorable resolution that will serve the best interests of abandoned and orphaned children in Ethiopia.


“We are encouraged by the advocacy taking place behind the scenes and hopeful that these collective efforts will bring clarity and an immediate adjustment to this unjust and unnecessary ruling, which has the potential to negatively impact so many vulnerable children,” said NCFA president and CEO Chuck Johnson.


Unconfirmed reports indicate that personnel changes within MOWA have resulted from the rogue handling of this decision, and because of this, NCFA is hopeful that new leadership will offer opportunities for better communication and a swift resolution to this looming crisis. NCFA respectfully calls on MOWA to amend its recent harmful directive and ensure that subsequent reforms reflect a comprehensive child welfare policy that retains the option of intercountry adoption for Ethiopian orphans while ensuring policies and procedures that serve the best interests of children.