Letter :)

We got our first letter from Melaku today! It is so sweet - the envelope had puppy stickers all over it :) - and he included a picture of himself playing soccer:

Dear Dad and Mom, Brothers and Sister,

How are you doing. I'm doing well. I love all Phillips family and I missed you. I'm waiting you're welcome to here Layla House.

I would like ask about when we will come. I and Zerihun are doing well. We like to play soccer. I'm really boring to stay here a long in Layla House.

Ethiopia is so very hot in the summer. I can't play soccer always. Please write again your letter. I write you a lot of letter too.

I miss and love you.

Melaku

Bye!! Bye!!

Court date!!!

We finally got our court date - January 17th! We're so excited - we get to travel and meet the boys and spend time with them, and officially adopt them in Ethiopia! They notified us a week ago, on Dec. 16, but I've been so busy making arrangements I haven't had time to post.

Alex is going to go with us, and Lindsay will fly up from Tanzania to meet us as well. We will leave here Jan. 14th, and arrive late the night of the 15th. The next day is a Sunday, and we'll go over to Layla House and see the boys for the first time! I can't wait! We can spend all day with them that day; during the week they'll be in school, so we can spend afternoons and evenings with them at Layla (though our court date is on Monday, so they will probably go with us to that). We'll be in Addis Ababa for 5 days, so we'll do some sightseeing as well.

After Darren and I leave, Alex will fly back to Tanzania with Lindsay and spend 2 weeks with her there, helping her with the orphanage and school and whatever she's doing. They will also visit Alex Juma, the boy we sponsor with Compassion, who lives just a couple of hours outside of Arusha, where Lindsay lives, which will be an awesome experience for them too.

Thank you so much for all of your prayers and support. We have been able to raise about half of the remainder of our adoption fees, and half of our trip fees, but we need the rest in the next 3 weeks, about $4000, so I really appreciate your continued prayers and agreement with us.

We certainly got an awesome Christmas present this year! :) And next year the boys will be with us. :) :) :)

What if that was your son?

God says, "That's MY son. And you're My body. I'm not there, except through you. Your hands, those are My hands. Your feet, those are My feet. I'm a father to the fatherless through My body. I rescue the weak and the vulnerable THROUGH YOU. And if you're not doing it, NO ONE IS."

Still waiting...

It's been over a month, and we are still waiting for our court date (impatiently, I might add!). We are hoping/believing for a January date. We are still working for and raising the rest of the funds we will need, and have had some more contributions come in. My aunt and uncle actually gave a donation for our adoption in the names of each of their three daughters and their families for Christmas; that was such a blessing. We also had an unexpected check come in the mail - our health insurance company (Blue Cross) sent us a refund check of almost two months' premiums! That went into the pot as well. :)

We did get a short update recently about the boys; a volunteer at Layla House spent some time with them, and sent us an email and pictures. This is from his email:

"I got to spend a *ton* of time with Melaku while I was at Layla. We met at lunch the first day and then I went to Math class with him and did some reading. After that, we spent a good amount of time together every day. He is a *fantastic* kid and very smart. In Math class, he had the problems written down and solved before the teacher had even finished explaining them. Being an engineer myself, I thought that was pretty cool. He is very excited to come home and join your family. We spent some time talking about North Carolina and he showed me the "book" you sent him. All in all, I can't say enough about him. He's just a great kid.

I met Zerihun on one of the last couple of days I was there. He, Melaku, and I played some soccer. Both of those kids are amazing soccer players. I weep for the American kids that they will play against :-) Zerihun is also a great kid. He spent some time teaching me how to play and found me every day after we met to chat.

Congratulations, you are getting some wonderful additions to your family."

It is so hard to wait to see them! But we know that God's timing is perfect.