Friday, August 17, 2012

October 20th!!!


Thanks so much to all of you who have been praying for our family.  I really cannot express to you how much your prayers mean to us, and how awesome it is to know that the Lord is answering the prayers of His people.  Tuesday we got word that we got a court date.  October 8th will be the first hearing (that we are not present for) and then we will go to court on October 22nd- which means that if all goes according to plan, we will be meeting Addie on October 20th for the first time.  Yippee!!!

In all honesty, I struggled on Tuesday when we received the court date because I was hoping to go sooner, but by Wednesday, I had allowed Christ’s peace to take over, and my frustration was replaced with great anticipation.  I know many of you are praying because, at least currently, I feel utterly calm about the whole situation.  I am so ready to see her and hold her and kiss her and sing to her and be her mommy, but I am completely confident that the Lord is watching over her.  Please keep the prayers going.  We have a long 5 months or more ahead of us, and I will not stay sane without keeping my eyes focused on Him.  Pray that the initial October 8th hearing happens as planned and that it goes smoothly.

This afternoon Andrew, Lindsey, and I practiced the music for Sunday’s early service, and I wanted to share with you one of the songs we will be leading.  I was singing away, kind of in the zone, when I had to stop dead in my tracks, suddenly realizing the lyrics. 

Your Great Name by Krissy Nordhoff and Michael Neele

All the weak- find their strength, at the sound of your great name
Hungry souls- receive grace, at the sound of your great name
The fatherless- they find their rest, at the sound of your great name
Sick are healed-  the dead are raised, at the sound of your great name!

Jesus, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain for us,
Son of God and Man, You are high and lifted up,
And all the world will praise your great name!

Thank you, Jesus.  Your name alone will give rest to my girl.  Your name alone will heal us, deliver us, strengthen us, save us….



Monday, August 13, 2012

"As for you, O Lord, you will not restrain your mercy from me; your steadfast love and your faithfulness will ever preserve me!" Psalm 40:11


So, I guess you’ve figured out that we’re not in Ethiopia.  We have yet to receive a court date, so because of the court closing in the rainy season, it will probably be early October before we make our first trip.  Two months before we get to hold our sweet girl, and then at least three months after that before we get to bring her home.  Five months.  I really can’t sigh deeply enough.

This is just plain hard.  Knowing that the Lord is in control makes it easier, but not easy.  He never promised that our journey would be easy, but He assures us that He will always be with us, that He holds the future, that He loves us, and that He will strengthen us.  I have no idea how people go through this without Jesus.  My heart literally aches for my baby, but at the same time I have such peace in knowing that He not only has the timing under control, but He is watching over my girl.  I am clinging to Psalm 146:9- “He upholds the widow and the fatherless.”  He loves my girl even more than I do.

My girl.  Makes me grin just to say it.   Let me tell you the little bit that I know about her.   We have the blessing of having a couple pictures, (which we can share online after she is officially ours) and she is beautiful.  I know I’m biased because I am her mother, but really, she’s just absolutely adorable- has the biggest, brightest eyes I’ve ever seen. 

She is about four months old.  I write “about” because we don’t really know.  She was abandoned, found, and the police admitted her to an orphanage.  This is something I can’t quite wrap my brain around.  On one hand, the fact that she is an orphan is what makes it possible for her to be my child.  On the other hand, it is very difficult to swallow that my baby has already experienced tremendous loss at the start of her young life.  It makes my stomach turn to think about her lying helpless and alone.  And yet, I am absolutely floored by the mercy of our Father- He kept her from animals and evil men, and allowed a kind person to find her.  He preserved her health, and kept her safe.  He never left her- HE never abandoned her.  Thank you, Jesus. 

Her Ethiopian name, which we are keeping as her middle name, is Mihret (pronounced Mi-hi-ret), which means “mercy.”  When I call her by her full name, or write it on some form down the road, I will always remember the Lord’s mercy over her life.  I will also remember the Lord’s mercy over my life.  Her situation was pretty grim, but nothing compared to the situation from which the Lord delivered me.  My sin meant I was completely and utterly hopeless- not just for this life, but for eternity.  I had no future, no inheritance, and no name, but in His mercy He sent Jesus.  And I can say with complete certainty that through Jesus, I am now a child of God, free from condemnation, and full of hope for eternity with Him.  It is my deepest prayer that both of my girls will personally know this mercy some day.

Clearly, because of its special meaning, we love the name that some kind person gave her, but for many reasons we decided to keep it as her middle name instead of her first.  We are going to name her Adelaide Mihret Baker, and call her Addie.   Payton has not quite decided whether she will call her Adelaide or Addie, though.  It changes for her from day to day. J

Tonight, as I sat by Payton’s bed and sang “Great is thy Faithfulness,” I was so thankful that I could sing it and know again of its truth.  Payton interrupted me halfway through to ask why she and Addie would be sisters.  I paused, thinking, “Because our God is full of mercy,” but concluded that this answer would probably be slightly over her sweet little head.  So instead, I told her that they would be sisters because they shared a mommy and daddy.  “Oh.  Oh, yeah,” she said laughing.  “When she comes I will teach her how to read,” she stated, very excitedly.  I reminded her that she might want to learn herself, first.  She giggled again, and continued, “And I will teach her how to sing, and show her how much God loves her.” 

Wow.  Maybe God’s mercy isn’t so over her head. 

I am just so thankful.  Can’t say much more than that.

Monday, August 6, 2012

Do you Like Roller Coasters? Welcome Aboard!


Hello Friends! 

Welcome to the Baker Family Roller coaster. 

Wednesday, August 1. 
We got awesome news this day.  We reached spot #3 on the wait list for a referral.  Payton and I were walking into the church office when Billy called with the news.  I think several people on Third Street must have thought I was a bit loony (not an unusual finding there, I must add J) as I looked at my daughter and yelled,  “We’re number three!  We’re number three!” 

Thursday, August 2. 
That afternoon I got on Facebook just briefly and noticed an update from West Sands, the partner of our adoption agency.  They had given out six referrals that day.  Now my first thought was, “What?! Why not us?!”  Then I reminded myself that West Sands also does adoptions through China, or it could be that they gave referrals for older children instead of babies.  I was fighting personal disappointment with joy because six more children would have forever families.  Someone commented on the status and asked if they could get any details of the referrals so that the rest of us would know how it affected us.  So, every five minutes or so, I was checking to see if West Sands had answered the question.  Maybe these referrals had moved us to the number one spot.

We pulled out of the driveway to go get some dinner and were turning out of our neighborhood when my phone rang with an unfamiliar number.  I answered, cautiously hopeful that this might just be Lesley from Lifeline (our agency).  Indeed, it was.

Drum roll, please!.........

WE GOT A REFERRAL!!!!! An absolutely beautiful four-month-old baby girl is waiting for us in Ethiopia.  Thank you, Jesus!!!! 

We told Payton that she was going to have a baby sister, and she said with awe and absolute joy, “Oh!  I wanted a sister!”  The tears were flowing freely as this moment that we had waited on for 22 months had finally come.  We sped back home to open an email from Lesley that would allow us to see her face for the first time.  (This did not thrill Payton, who was ready for dinner. J) 

Billy and I stood arm in arm, anxiously waiting for the picture to appear.  And then there she was- a perfect, wide-eyed, beautiful baby girl.  Oh, how I loved her from the first instant.  Lesley gave us some info about her background- she was abandoned, found, and brought to the orphanage.  She said that she would give us a day or so to think about it, and make sure that we wanted to accept this referral, but there was no question for Billy or me.  That was our daughter. 

I’ll tell you more about her (what little I know) in my next blog, but first I want to take you on the next hill of the roller coaster. 

Lesley told us that Thursday evening that the Ethiopian courts would be closing in the middle of August, and that they were going to work diligently to try to get us a court date before the closure.  If not, we would not go for our first trip (you have to go twice to Ethiopia, bringing your child home the second trip) until the end of September or beginning of October.  This meant we could go in the next couple of weeks to meet our sweet girl- way faster than usual.  That was so exciting to hear.

Friday, August 3.
Billy went to take some papers over to Lifeline.  While he was there Lesley got an email from West Sands saying we could possibly leave for Ethiopia as early as Thursday, August 9!  Thursday!  Less than a week away.  Okay, we have a few things to do before we leave the country for a week, so this news was super exciting and also sent my blood pressure through the roof.  She told us that we would not know for sure about traveling until Monday came. 

Today, Monday, August 6.
So Monday has come and (almost) gone.  No court date yet.  We had a travel webinar tonight with West Sands and they were hopeful that we might have good news tomorrow, but of course, they could make no promises.  If we go this weekend, we could possibly bring our daughter home before Christmas.  If we do not get a court date next week, it appears as though we will not go for our first trip until the beginning of October.  Ugh. 

I’m constantly reminding myself of what I’ve written on this blog multiple times.  His timing is perfect.  He knows.  He has a plan. However, despite this knowledge, it was a rough day.  It seems as though despite waiting for 22 months, I still have not completely perfected the art of patience.  Maybe I’ll be closer by the end of it all. 

Little blessings helped today, though.  Tonight when we signed on to the webinar we saw the face of a friend we worked Crossings with 12 years ago.  How cool is that?  He and his wife will probably be in Ethiopia meeting their child with us.  Those of you who have gone through an adoption know how special it is to walk this journey with friends, so it was just awesome to find out we will be there together. 

Then tonight, when I asked Payton what she wanted to pray for, her immediate response was, “my little sister.”  Thank you, Jesus.  Oh, how you have blessed us.

So, tomorrow I will probably have another day filled with nausea, and I will probably jump and run every time the phone rings.    We so hope that it is a day that is an up on this roller coaster.  Please pray that Lord willing, we get good news, and if it is not His plan for us to go next week, pray that we will remember that He is in control, and that He is watching over our precious girl. 

We are praising Him with all that we are for His goodness.  Roller coasters in life are made bearable when the One who designs them is the One who you trust- not only are they bearable, but they are remarkable and always manage to bring Him glory.  He is faithful and loving and such a good Father- I hope you can see that in our story.  Can’t wait to tell you more…

Blessings,
Jodi