Tuesday, March 19, 2019

Babies on Their Backs

If you know any of our family’s story, you know that we seven years ago, we adopted a precious Ethiopian baby girl we named Addie.  Although legally she was ours, and in our hearts she was (and still is) ours, we were unable to bring her home due to a ruling in the Ethiopian courts.  It was a heart-wrenching path, to love a child and lose her, but as He always does, the Lord has brought beauty from ashes.  And he lovingly continues daily to redeem that which caused us so much pain and grief. 

On our second trip to Ethiopia, we were there to meet another sweet girl the Lord was kind enough to bless us with.  We were out and about in the bustling city of Addis Ababa, in a van filled with a couple of Ethiopians and about eight Americans.  We stopped for a moment- no not at a light (I’m pretty sure there may only be one in the entire city… google traffic in Addis Ababa sometime. I’m not entirely sure how we survived). As the trucks and cars and buses and pedestrians zoomed in and out and around one another, a small woman with a bundle on her back timidly approached our van window.  She came face to face with me.  I looked into her eyes and then noticed the bundle on her back more fully- it was a child. Immediately a million knives pierced my chest as I imagined for a moment Addie’s 17 year-old birth mom, with our sweet girl strapped to her back, approaching a van to beg for help.  I was a big ole mess- wrecked to my core.  This sin-filled world is so broken.  I ached for mamas like Addie’s- like this one I was nose-to-nose with.  The desperation in her eyes tattooed itself on my mind and heart, and He continued His work of breaking me.

The Lord was, in his love and grace, tearing me up, and then rebuilding me, transforming me, opening my eyes.  I have only seen but a glimpse of his heart for the least of these, and I can’t un-see it.  I really don’t want to.  One of my best friends, Jenny, once asked me, “What would the world look like if everyone had an Addie?”  I had to ask myself if the world looks any different because have an Addie- a child in deep need that I loved as my own? I pray constantly that, at least for a few, the world does in fact look differently because of my love for the Lord and this child I miss so intensely.  




Last week I was doing some buying for Addie’s Good(s) and came across some new notecards (pictured above) with artwork created by a teen mama named Elizabeth at the Rehema Transition House in Kenya ( a project of Mercy House Global).  I can say very certainly that no piece of art has ever gripped me so fully.  It was like I was reliving that moment in the van- that young desperate mother was looking directly into my eyes once again.  But this time it was different, because this beautiful painting represented new hope and lives changed.  The story of Addie’s mom doesn’t have to be the story of other young mamas.  There is something we can do to change it.  We can BUY the change.  Every purchase you make at Addie’s Goods helps to write a different story for a person in dire need- a story of dignity, love, and hope.

Tomorrow, our shelves will have these gorgeous note cards and one more super fun new product….

EASTER EGGS!!!!



These cute, fillable, felt eggs were crafted by the mothers at Street Hope in Kenya (another project of Mercy House Global).  Because they say it much better than I could, here is the description on their website of this great new product…

“Street Hope, the artisan group that created each and every felt Easter egg, is comprised of women from the street, who begged during the day, prostituted at night with babies strapped to their backs to survive -- all 16 were homeless before they began sewing sweet felt for us two years ago.
We have thousands and thousands of these felt eggs, hand sewn by the women of Street Hope and we are hoping hundreds of shoppers like you and dozens of churches will make this Easter one that empowers impoverished women in Jesus name. What better way to celebrate His Resurrection?”
 Y’all.  We have about 400 of these eggs at Addie's.  We have never before carried even close to that number of one product, but we feel that strongly about the lives these eggs are changing. If 25 of you buy 16 eggs each, all 400 will have a home this Easter.  We need you to get on board and fill your kiddos’ baskets with HOPE this year. Make plans now to stop by this week! 



Live life like you have an Addie. These are mamas and babies that are treasures to our Savior- let’s make sure they know that! May they strap on those precious babes on their backs and walk tall, knowing they are made in the image of God Himself.