MERRY ETHIOPIAN CHRISTMAS!

Today the Orthodox church in Ethiopia celebrates Christmas.  After doing a little research, I discovered what appears to be a late celebration to us is because the Orthodox follow a calendar that was created during the reign of Julius Caesar, the Julian calendar.  Westerners follow the Gregorian calendar.  December 25th of the Julian calendar actually falls on January 7th of the Gregorian calendar.  So today is December 25th for our girls and we are wishing them a very Merry Ethiopian Christmas!  We wish that they could be with us for the celebration.  A nearby Ethiopian Orthodox church has a celebration open to the public.  We plan to attend in future years with our girls.

Another interesting bit of information is that the Ethiopian calendar is even different than the Julian and Gregorian calendar.  They have a year of 13 months and are 7-8 years behind our calendar based on a different calculation for the annunciation of the birth of Jesus.  So when our girls come here, they will be traveling forward in time; who said time travel was not possible!

We were hoping our paperwork would be submitted to Embassy this past Wednesday.  Our agency said because of the holidays, many people were off work and they were not able to get the passports and medical reports needed for submission.  So hopefully they will submit the paperwork this coming Wednesday and then we will wait for a date from the U.S. Embassy to return and pick up the girls.  We look forward to receiving pictures that a traveling family is taking for us this week.

I'm so thankful for all the family and friends that have come forward these past few weeks with clothes, a beautiful doll house, books, games and early learning resources.  You have truly blessed us!  We are now fully prepared to bring our girls home.

As I look back over the times of hardship and times of joy this past year, I remember God's promises and His faithfulness to keep each one.  I look forward to what the new year will bring because of His promise to me that "the best is yet to come."  Our lives are going to be so blessed by these two little girls.  It may be hard at times but God does not call us to a life of ease.  It is during the hard times of the past, that I have drawn closer to God and more dependent upon Him in my walk of faith.  The Bible says that Christ was perfected through His suffering.  I know that each trial faced in His strength brings me a tiny bit closer, although perfection will never be reached until heaven.  I also know because of God's faithfulness in the past, that I can walk forward in this new year; He will be holding my hand through all the ups and downs.  We've seen so many of His amazing works in our life this past year, both big and small.  We are assured that a future of walking in His will can only bring more blessing and wonders!  Happy New Year!