Let not your heart be troubled

Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know...I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. 

-John 14:1-4, 18

I have always loved the context in which Christ told His disciples, "Let not your heart be troubled." They had just found out that Jesus was going to be leaving them, how could their hearts not be troubled? It was at the point of potential heartache Christ told His disciples He would be preparing a place for them. Christ offered comfort as He presented the hope of glory.

Two weeks ago we heard from a dear friend in Ethiopia who was our driver while we were in country. He told us he had been able to visit our girls and asked them if there was a message they would like to send to their family. Kiah's message to us was, "Mom and Dad Come quickly." The restlessness we have felt reminds me of the context of this passage found in John. I can't help but imagine Christ's desire to be reunited with the church, His bride. The feast described in Revelation depicts great anticipation on both the bride and the grooms part. (Revelation 19) I can only imagine what it will be like when this day comes! It has been through our circumstances God has made this passage and many others come to life. Across the globe the church has cried out, "Father, come quickly." Yet, the Lord continues to tarry (wait). Their is still work to be done, and it is through Christ's bride, the church, that this work is to be carried out. The challenge as one waits, is to remain focused on the task at hand, to not get sidetracked from that which must be done. The Lord's patience in His return is not because He does not desire to be re-united with the church, but rather, "He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9) The Lord desires the feast described in Revelation 19 to include many more. He is not sitting by idle, but actively working in and through His people preparing for the day of His return. We too should not sit by idle, but participate in the preparation of this feast inviting the lost to know Christ.

There are many things that are being accomplished for our girls while we wait, rooms are prepped, car seats are bought, but the most important thing we are waiting for is citizenship. As we wait for our daughters to receive citizenship in the states, Christ waits for many more to find citizenship in heaven. This citizenship is permanent being established only through the person and the work of Jesus Christ. Waiting is not easy, yet for the believer waiting is always done while resting in the promises of Christ.

My message to my girls, is similar to Christ's message to His disciples, "Do not be troubled, we have so much room for you. We have a special place for you in our homes and hearts. We will come to get you soon and you will never be orphans again!!"

Adoption Video

Sing to God, sing in praise of his name,
    extol him who rides on the clouds;
    rejoice before him—his name is the Lord. A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,
    is God in his holy dwelling. 

 God sets the lonely in families,
    he leads out the prisoners with singing;

Psalm 68:4-6a

   
There are many things we would like to share with you, but it is impossible to adequately express all of our emotions and experiences. We would first like to share how faithful God has been to us through this whole process, and we are confident His faithfulness will be what carries us through the years ahead. His faithfulness has been seen through the support and prayers we have received from so many! His faithfulness has been seen in His timing, from the beginning! His faithfulness has been seen in the quick bonding we experienced with our girls! His faithfulness has been seen in the care Luke and Miah received while we were gone, and their strength as it was the longest we had been away from them! It is an understatement to say God is good! Yet, we find ourselves constantly sharing this truth, God is good!

Some stories from our trip (there are many more, we we would love to share with you in person if we get the chance):
We met our girls the Sunday before court and were able to spend about 3 1/2 hours with them in the morning and about 3 1/2 hours with them in the afternoon. It was awesome! When the girls walked into the room where we were waiting, they came right to us and gave us hugs and kisses. They sat on our lap and looked at us with sweet, curious faces. The rest of the week they were either on our laps or playing with us. It was incredible! They both called us mommy and daddy in Amharic, and they loved seeing pictures and videos on our phones of their brother and sister (Luke and Miah). The following day we were able to make our court appearance, which was less intimidating than I could have imagined! The judge was gracious and granted us custody of the girls at the end of our interview (the paperwork still had to be processed, but the verbal affirmation did our hearts good). We were allowed to see the girls every other day for a few hrs. This was a special and unique opportunity which we are so grateful for!

Mid-week, after watching many videos and pictures of Miah and Luke, Kiah asked us, "Can I go into the phone?" Our translator told her that she was going to live where the videos were taken, that it was her home and she could go there soon. You could see her little brain imagining what this meant. It was amazing to watch her imagine what her life will be like in our family. She called Luke and Miah her brother and sister and gave there pictures kisses frequently. Both of the girls loved wearing Tiffany's necklaces and when asked what they were wearing they replied, "It's my mommy's necklace." It was precious and priceless to see our girls so ready to accept us as their parents. We believe our prayers were answered as so many sleepless nights we would pray, "Lord allow us to grow in our daughters hearts as they have grown in ours." This prayer has been on all of our families hearts and minds. We saw and experienced the answers to this prayer! God is good!

We are praying and hoping we will be able to go back to get the girls in the next couple of months. When we received custody we were able to start the citizenship process for the girls. Until this gets done we will not be able to go back to bring them home. Every day we are away is harder and harder. We had tried to prepare ourselves for this break but the past couple weeks our hearts are divided. We do not, and will not, feel like we can settle in until all of our children are together in our home. We appreciate your continued prayers and support as we await the timing to go back. We trust the Lord will continue to provide all of our needs, knowing He is our great provider. We look forward to the day our girls get to meet all of our friends and family who prayed them home. We love you all and are glad that each of you are forever a part of our families story! Thank you!