Prayer Needs

Trevor and I leave today for Ethiopia to bring Zerihun and Melaku home! So excited!!!

We have also had some encouraging developments in Meseret's situation this last week -- I have found a school that is willing to admit her here in town! So, if she can get a student visa, she can come here and study until she graduates from high school, and then go on to college.

In order to get a visa, she needs to get a passport, and to get a passport, she needs an ID card. I'm not really clear on how she gets this, but all I know is that the social worker has been talking to her older brother and older sister, who live in Addis, about helping her to get it (maybe she would have to live with them for a bit? -- not sure), and neither is willing to help her.

I don't know why this is, but while I'm there, I'm going to be trying to figure out how to help her get this ID card. I'll be meeting with the siblings as part of Zerihun's going-away family visit, so I can talk to them at that time, hopefully help them overcome whatever obstacles would keep them from helping.

Please pray for me for favor and open doors! Somehow while I'm there, I would really like to get all these arrangements taken care of, and make sure the process is well on its way for Meseret.

Thank you!

Traveling soon!

We heard back from the Embassy after the holiday, and they gave us the date of July 28th for our visa appointment. After we got that confirmed, I reserved our flights; we're leaving July 22nd (arriving in Addis the evening of July 23rd) and will arrive back in NC the night of July 31st.

I'm so happy that Trevor decided to go with me; that will be a big help, and great for him to get to know the boys and see what their home country is like. We are going several days earlier than our Embassy appointment to allow time to visit with the boys' relatives and do some sightseeing and shopping.

I am hoping we can spend a good bit of time with Meseret as well. I'm not sure if she's still in school right now, or out on break, but I hope she can come stay with us some. I'm still working on trying to find a way to bring her here; hoping that a local Christian school will be willing to admit her.

The director of the orphanage told me that the boys are so excited, counting down the days till we arrive. :) :) :) Me too!!

CLEARED!

We just got the email today that our case has been cleared by the Embassy, and we can travel to bring the boys home!!! Woohooo!! (and FINALLY!)

The earliest dates available for visa appointments at the Embassy are the week of July 25th, so hopefully we'll be able to travel that week, but we won't have it confirmed till after the holiday weekend. It will probably just be me traveling this time, since flights are so much more expensive now than they were in January; but Trevor may possibly go with me too, using his graduation money to travel to Africa for the first time (everyone else in our family has been except him :)).

We have almost got their room finished -- don't ask me why it's taken us so long :P -- but we recently had some of the kids' friends come and help them paint the room, and when James was visiting last weekend he and Lindsay worked on refinishing a dresser for the boys.

(Below are pictures, with Darren's edits added; he sent these pictures in letters to the boys, showing them what we've been doing to get their room ready.)