This morning we received word that the CWA office in Ethiopia received both Samuel and Caleb's birth certificates!!! That means we are officially headed over to Ethiopia on Saturday, July 11th!!!! It is literally only 2 1/2 weeks away!!!!
Our trip itinerary looks like this:
Friday, July 10th we'll head over to Seattle since our flight leaves 7:30 am on Saturday.
Saturday we will depart from Seattle, make a stop in Washington DC, and then make the almost 16 hour trip to Addis Ababa after one stop in Rome to refuel. We will arrive in Addis around 7 pm Sunday night.
Prayerfully, we can get a good night sleep on Sunday night and then we will head to the foster home to pick up the boys Monday morning and fill out some paperwork.
Tuesday is our date at the Embassy (to fill out more paperwork!), Wednesday is a "down day" at the Ethiopian Guest House we will be staying at, and Thursday morning we should get their visas.
We leave on the 10 pm flight out of Addis on Thursday, do everything we did coming backwards :) and, Lord willing, arrive back in Seattle on Friday around 3:30 pm.
Friends from church will watch the kids and then more of our dear friends will drive our crew down to Seattle on Friday so they can all meet us at the airport and then we can drive home as a family! :) One big, tired, happy family!:)
We still have a lot of paperwork to fill out before we go and I am really looking forward to going shopping for some of the items the orphanages need. Some of you have asked if you could help out with that... I listed the items on a previous post, or you can send a check and I can go purchase things and give them whatever money we didn't spend. I know that the "cash" will go a long way in Ethiopia too!
There are still some things that we need to get for the boys, but we have slowly been working on that for the last couple of weeks so it does not feel overwhelming. My biggest dilemma is what to bring for snacks on the airplane ride home...not to mention entertainment on the "forever" 16 hour flight! I am sure most of the food is going to seem strange to them, but I still know how much snacks can help pass the time, at least for me it does...tee-hee.:)
As always we would covet your prayers...and we thank you so much for walking this road with us, for weeping with us and for rejoicing with us...I know it truly is only the beginning!!!
"What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me? I shall lift up the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord." Psalm 116:12-13
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Also, if you need backup sitters for the kids...let me know! We can make a "double batch" this time :)
I'm so excited for you...and can't WAIT to meet those new sons of yours!
May God continue to go before you and smooth the road as you deligently pursue His plan for your lives.