Coming Home

(this is actually written by a friend of Jen's)

Ben and Jen are on their way home! They will arrive in GR at 4:20 PM Friday afternoon. They welcome anyone that wishes to come to the airport. They are excited to get home! Pray that they have a good trip!

Awassa

Our trip to awasSa this weekend was so amazing. We were able to go with our social worker hAnna and her friend mahi. They are awesome girls. I just love this culture. I love the warmth and the friendliness of the people. On the way down to awAssa we got a truer pic of the landscape of Ethiopia looks like. These people are such hard workers. We saw kids that were probably 5 years old that driving their families cattle. This place is so beautiful. On Saturday after lunch we were able to meet massi birthmom. I can't describe what it is like to sit in a room And talk to the womAn who gave us this beautiful gift. It will be a moment that I will cherish forever.
On Sunday we woke up and were able to go and see th hippos and monkey. Ben fed the monkeys and one actually jumped on his shoulder. The funniest thing hAppened before we left for this Adventure there was this boy who was selling some spoons outside our hotel. The concierge told him to go awAy. The amazing thing is this boy followed our van by foot all the way to the monkey park by foot. Seriously hAve you ever worked so hard for a sale? We bought some spoons
On the way home Hanna stopped at a hut and asked the ladies if they would show us their home. Their hospitality is truly beyond hospitality. The womAn showed us where they cook and sleep. They even invited us to stay for coffee. I think I cried the rest of the trip from their kindneSS.
It is valentines day and we are headed to the orphanage to the farewell ceremony and to pick up our precious boy. He will from this day forward be in our arms.
We ask for some prayers today for bens mom. We just found our she was in a car accident on Friday. She is out of critical condition and in a lot of pain. Please pray that there is no more internal bleeding and that she will not be in so much pAin.

Update from Ethiopia

Things have been amazing. We arrived Thursday morning. We were greeted at the airport by our great friend Abel. It was so great to see him. It has been sooo long. We then came to the hotel and got cleaned up to go see massi. We were shocked when we went to the orphanage. He was waiting for us by the door. He ran out straight towards us and greeted us with a big hug and kiss. I think he is ready. The day at the orphanage he hung out with us the entire time. He is such an awesome kid. Yesterday we were able to go to the orphanage again. We also had our appt at bethany and then headed to birtukans house and had an amazing dinner. We are headed this morning to awassa to visit massis birth family. It is about a 6 hr trip each way. Monday we pick maSsi up and have our embassy appt.
Thank you all for your prayers. We are also celebrating today that the other 3 families got their clearance for travel.

Flying out of DC to Ethiopia

Last night we had a great night's sleep before we head out this morning to Ethiopia. We have a 15 hour flight ahead of us. We will arrive in Ethiopia at 7:35a Thursday which is 11:30p Wed night EST time. We will then go and see Massi at the orphanage. We are so excited and nervous to see him again. It has been 4 long months. We are wondering how he is going to react to seeing us again. Thankfully we will go and visit him a couple of times before he leaves the only place his has known for the past 11 months. Please continue to pray for us and our kids at home.
Another prayer request is for the 3 families that didn't get their travel calls yet. It is very difficult to see others go and get their kids and have to sit and wait for your call. These families are longing to also have the opportunity to go and be reunited with their children. This process is a very emotional process and when you finally get that call a huge weight is lifted off your shoulders. So please continue to pray for them until they get that call.

What an AMAZING day!

This has truly been the most amazing day. It actually started about a week ago. Last Tuesday we got information that said the embassy was going to clear us for travel. Anxiously we waited by the phone on Wednesday for the official word and then received info that they were requesting additional documents. On Thursday of last week those documents were submitted. We then decided to book tickets for Tuesday to fly out. We waited hoping the call would come Friday still no official call. Over the weekend we began to clean, line up family to take care of our kids, we packed our bags all with joy and the anticipation of leaving on Tuesday. Monday morning came and I for sure thought that we would get that news and we didn't. Ben kept saying it is going to be ok. We are going to still go and be with our boy while we wait. I had a little panic attack. I was so filled with fear. There have been so many delays in our case what if we are stuck there for a while. Then throughout the day I talk to my friend Juli and my mom. Juli gave me the verse in Deut 31:8 "The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. She was right. He is with us. Do not be scared He is there. We were going move forward on faith alone. After talking with her I called my mom and she said this is a real step of faith and get out of the boat. That is so true. I was so scared to leave but we did it. We got out of the boat and solely kept our eyes on Jesus. We made the decision to move forward not knowing what was going to happen and you know the most AMAZING thing. This morning our agency called to tell us that we have been OFFICIALLY cleared to travel by the embassy. They called 10 minutes before we had to leave. This is such a huge blessing. If we would have cancelled our tickets due to fear we wouldn't have been able to receive this news this morning with such intense joy and excitement.
So we are on our way to finally bring our little Massi home. We are overjoyed that soon our family will be together. We are so thankful and grateful to all of the friends and family that have been praying for us the past 4 months. Thank you for joining this journey with us. We will continue to post throughout our trip. Please continue to pray for us, Alek and Natalie and the transition for Massi. Thank you also to my family who will be loving on our kids while we are away.

Here we go!

we got the clearance from embassy this m/orning and we are on our way to get our son. we cant believe we will be with him in just a couple days. god is good. what an amazing faithfulness to se e us through. will arrive in ethiopia thursday morning and be able to see massi right away. we miss him so and cant wait to see that little guy. will post after arrival.

Busy Weeks

Well the last couple of weeks have been extremely busy. First I can't believe how much snow we have. I think that it is up to the kids' necks. They love it. I wonder what Massi is going to think of the snow. He has never seen even a snowflake before.

I have been trying to keep myself occupied with other things besides focusing on when we will be cleared from the US Embassy. I got a 1 day a week job, which I absolutely love. I am going to take piano lessons once the piano gets tuned and my dance class starts tomorrow. These are things that I have wanted to do for a while so I am happy that I am finally doing them. It truly helps the time pass.

We also just bought a travel trailer. We are so EXCITED. The kids are going to love camping. We have a couple trips already booked. I look forward to the memories that we will make.

So this week we should find out if we are cleared. The US Embassy traveled to the southern region last week to do their research. We are hoping and praying that we will get news either tomorrow or Tuesday. Our great friends Luke and Megan are finally on their way this week to pick up their little girl. We are so happy for them.

We will keep you posted. Thank you for your continued prayers on this journey.