GOOD NEWS!!!

Thank you for your continued prayers and support.  We received our court assignment today!  Our court date is December 6th!!  The birth family court date (date a remaining family member transfers rights to us) is on November 24, Thanksgiving.  While it will be a sad, emotional time for them, we will have thankful hearts for the two precious gifts that they are giving to us.  We hope to meet a member of the birth family when we travel for court.  I doubt that we will be able to travel to the Sidama region where the girls are from due to its distance from Addis, the capital.

Our girls' father died in 1/2010 and their mother in 5/2010.  Their grandfather, age 86, was unable to care for them and brought them to an orphanage on 9/21/2010.  By the time we will be able to bring them home (hopefully January or February) they will have been in orphan care for 1.5 years.

Our agency told us that 3 other families will be traveling at the same time and one is from our town!  We will receive contact information for the other families soon.  December 6th is a week of school for the boys but I will be contacting their teachers to see if they can make up work over the Christmas break.  Time to book our travel!

Last year, November 7th was Orphan Sunday at our church and the day we both decided to embark on our journey of adoption.  December 6th was a day of "closed doors" for us.  Our agency informed us that we could not pursue a China adoption due to our medical history of skin cancer.  But God new the plans He had for us in Ethiopia and we rejoice that this year December 6th will be a day of "open doors" and happiness.

Psalm 136:1-3
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods.  His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords.  His love endures forever.


Psalm 136:8
The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me;
your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.