What has REALLY been going on.....

I could give you a million reasons for the EXTREME lack of updates since our trip to Africa and they could all be very valid but I haven't shared much because I wasn't ready and wasn't sure how much to share and frankly the situation changed by the day. I am over all of that now and want to fill you in the best I can so I can then do more posts about the time we spent there.

On the first day we were in Africa we felt like we had found our child. I can't really explain it but we both felt like that. We were taken hours out of the city with reps from our attorneys office and met a probation officer ( like a social worker or CPS in the US) because she had 1 orphanage and 2 children in foster care for us to visit. I wont go into all of the details but we first went to the orphanage and left with very heavy hearts, it was the first orphanage I had ever been in. We then went to the foster homes. The little girl we immediately connected with was at the first one. We were assured all of these children were ready to be adopted. We walked almost a half mile off a dirt road thru corn, goats,and cows just to get to her. We spent time with her, took pictures with her, and then conveyed our feelings to the PO, attorney, and attorney assistant that was with us. Things seemed to be progressing for us to spend more time with her.

then. everything. changed.

Weird emotions started flying ( not by us) , we had to hand her back and leave. We were originally told we would know something in 2 weeks, a couple of days later everything seemed fine. We visited the other orphanages and then had to come home. VERY heavy hearted. Once again things seemed to turn our way. At one point it was a very real expectation to have her home by Thanksgiving or Christmas Then (yep you guessed it) they turned the other way. We were then told to wait 3 months. This. is . not. making. sense. We continued to fight and prayed hard. We then decided to take advantage of some help that had been offered to us as this was beginning to become more and more yucky feeling. We did and sure enough the situation is just not going to be. To say we are/were heartbroken is an understatement BUT we have a peace. We DO NOT under any circumstance want to be a part of anything that is not kosher.

So we have turned the little girl over to the Lord and are waiting on an email or call for the child God has in store for our family. Are we disappointed? Yes. Are we frustrated? Yes. Do we KNOW we are doing the right thing? Yes.

And so we wait and wait some more. We should be getting good at this by now. We are ok. We know that there is a reason and we fully trust the Lord. When we can't see His plan we are trusting in His hand.

Thanks for all of your support. More updates soon. Cant wait for the one about the day we spent in a village with some Uganda friends.

Where do I start?

Thank you! Thank You! Overwhelmed would be a good start! Here is what we had the privilege of carrying with us to Uganda...in addition to our personal luggage which couldn't be much. :) Oh my goodness there were and are going to be SO many children blessed because of you. 2 and 1/2 of these were filled by our friends and family and the other 1 and 1/2 were filled for /by George and Christie Magera of Ekubo Ministries. www.ekuboministries.org

We were also given money and we bought formula but when it became obvious that we couldn't take anymore formula we took the money and converted it to Uganda shillings and bought rice, beans and sugar and took them to 4 different orphanages. Food is very expensive there and it is extra hard for them to be able to buy enough food to feed the children. They all were VERY thankful. We carried formula with us but we tried to be way more invisible delivering the food.

In this first picture below, Bryan is watching them weigh the food at the store. In the last one, Bryan and Steven (our driver and friend) are trying to make a fast drop off.

Our trip was simply amazing and I have so many things to tell you and it won't all be in this post! I will tell you that I loved Uganda. From the minute we got there it just felt right. I can't wait to go back and take the kids AND we are hoping it will be soon. We only had electricity 1 day at our guesthouse and had to take cold showers but it was really fine except that by Thursday my computer wasn't charged and our phones were about out of battery too. We left most mornings before 8 and didn't get back to the room for the night until about 10:30 so we even missed the couple of hours in the evening that the generator was running. I think I am going to have to give a day by day run down .... maybe this week.

I don't have any "real" adoption news to share on my blog yet but I am asking that you please pray for our family and for our Ugandan child as we believe God is orchestrating a beautiful story.

Thank you for following our journey and for praying for us. We are truly blessed by you.

Headed to Africa ---- Need Formula

So I need to update my background to my blog from Ethiopia to Uganda. I never think about this until I log on here myself. I will add that to my list of things to do. Speaking of a list...my list has been pretty long lately. Bryan and I are headed to Uganda in less than 2 weeks! Yes it is rather soon, and since I have nothing that is needed for that trip I have been a busy bee preparing for it. Lots of shopping and document preparation.


Why? you ask. Well we are going to meet with our attorney. We really feel like we are suppose to sit across the desk from him and look him in the eye and talk to him about our documents and what is important to us. Also since we are going independent we have to do all of the research and learning for ourselves. I have had great correspondence from our attorney but the language translation has me scratching my head and pulling out a dictionary from time to time. I am sure his English is right it just doesn't translate to Texan very well sometimes. ;) I am looking very forward to being in Uganda and Bryan can't wait to go back. We do not have to make this trip it is not a requirement in this process. We do feel very confident that need to GO. We will also be visiting some babies homes and orphanages as well as a couple of ministries. We will basically be rocking babies, playing with kiddos and just serving where we are needed We will meet with directors in those places to try to share our heart with them and what God has placed on our hearts. There is a possibility that we might as a result get to meet our child(ren) while we are there. We DO NOT get to "pick" a child while we are there. That would be illegal or at least unethical and besides that we don't want to do any "picking"! We are totally wanting God to do that for us. Bryan and I are praying that we leave "our" plans here and that we are totally open and receptive to God's plan for us and that He gives us discernment for each part of the trip. I am not looking forward to leaving Cole and Averie. We NEVER leave our kids. Cole is 3 and he has only spent 2-3 nights away from us and that was with my parents! They will be with all 3 sets of our parents and some of that time will be here at our house. I am positive that it will be much harder on me than them. I am working out ways to stay in touch with them. I can tell you with ALL of my heart that there is nothing short of a direct call from my Father that would cause me to leave them to go that far.

Here is what we need from you:

1. Prayers - for safe travel, for discernment, for us to KNOW what we are suppose to do, for us to leave our agendas here and get on that airplane totally open to what God has for us!, for our children to have peace, to be safe , for our families who will be taking care of the kids, and for our health as well as the kids, and for our hearts to continue to be broken for what breaks HIS!

2. FORMULA: We have been told by numerous sources that there is such a need for formula in the orphanages and villages. It is so hard for me to understand but there are a lot of babies/toddlers that do not have any source of nutrition. It has been brought to my attention also by Christie Magera of Ekubo Ministries that works in Bugabo village that there is a HUGE need in the villages as well. If a woman who is HIV + gives birth and doesn't have formula and hasn't been on meds then she has no choice but to breastfeed, thus putting her child in danger of HIV. SOOOO we plan to take a TON for formula with us to these places. We are each allowed 100 pounds before we have to pay so we would like to give up 100 pounds for formula and would LOVE to have so much formula come in that we have to arrange to pay for another bag. So if you live local you can call or email me and I will meet you to pick up formula, if you live away and would like to ship it let me know and I will send you my address or if you would rather give money and I will do the shopping ....... ALL of this would be such a blessing. AND I know some of you might have contacts like doctors with lots of samples or you might have lots of coupons, etc that would be awesome. Just know you would be a huge blessing. We are so honored to be able to be the haulers of the formula. BUT we need to act QUICK! We don't have much time...


Matthew 25: 35-40

'For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go visit you?'

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

We are so honored to have your support and prayers during this time!

Help my friend Lara..... and possibly win an awesome camera

Hi Friends,
I wanted to share with you a special adoption shower for my friend Lara and her family. Some of her friends have put this together to help her raise the last funds needed to bring her son home. Lara is the main person, besides God of course and he used her, that my family can blame for our latest changes in direction ( I jokingly say blame..... I am forever grateful!). She has blogged about some tough stuff that has really opened my eyes. She and her husband have also been on a waitlist in Ethiopia before they started the Uganda process. AND that is not all... since we have officially moved over to Uganda she has been a HUGE support. She has helped me with almost everything....just ask her how many of my questions she has answered. LOL. Maybe soon we can carry on a 2 way conversation..... instead of a question and answer session. :)

God doesn't call everyone to adopt but He does call everyone to orphan care and here is an opportunity to help get one more child into their forever family. PLUS there is a smoking awesome camera being raffled off and you get 1 ticket for every $15 donation. Don't underestimate the power of $15, please if you feel so led go support this awesome family.

Click the link below. (In case it doesnt work, I am still learning...go to www.thefarmerswifetellsall.com



The Farmer's Wife Tells All: We Now Interrupt This Regularly Scheduled Blog... ...: "If you came here today looking for a funny and inspirational post from Lara, you are out of luck...because we regret to inform you that this..."