ANNOUNCEMENT

 We are pleased to announce the addition of two new beautiful daughters, Rebecca Bethlehem and Kathryn Jerusalem.  That now makes us a family of eight.  We first met them in person on Sunday after our arrival late Saturday night.  All the kids were in the court yard so it was a bit chaotic that day and we could not really tell if they understood we were their new family.  They are both quiet and shy but as the week went on and we were given one on one time with them, they warmed up to us.  By Wednesday, Bethlehem was looking back to make sure I was following her to lunch and by Saturday she was possessive of us and pushed the other children away.  Jerusalem will take more bonding time since she is older.  She avoids eye contact but sneaks in quick peeks and then quickly looks away.  She loves to interact with the other older girls but did seem to enjoy spending time with us when they were in school.  David did the best job of engaging her in play.  It was difficult leaving them on Saturday.  We had someone explain that we were coming back so hopefully they understood.  They have a limited English vocabulary of maybe a few hundred words.

We had an amazing week in Ethiopia but are glad to be back home.  Both boys loved going to the care center and wanted to stay longer.  They also want to go back for a cute little boy they enjoyed playing with in games.  Surely God answered our prayers for the experience to sow seeds for missional hearts in them. Thank you again for your prayers during our trip.  I will post more about our week later.