Somewhere In Africa

There came a time in this process that we realized something.

Because of the age of child we will be adopting (3-5 years old), it came to mind one day that somewhere in Africa, we have a daughter. She's not not yet conceived. She's not waiting to be born. She is alive and she is somewhere in Ethiopia. We don't know if she's cold, if she's hungry, if she's hurting or loved. And that's hard. It makes things very real and very personal. It makes me look at every little girl (red or yellow, black or white) about that age and wonder.

And when I wonder, I'm often reminded of my own words to my friend Valerie (when she was wondering and worrying about her own little girls in Ethiopia). I told her one day, "as much as YOU love those little girls, HE loves them more". It sounded good at the time and I know that it's true but it sure takes on different meaning now.

Our paperwork is almost done. We have one online seminar to complete and two documents that we should have in our hands in the next day or two. Those two papers will complete our dossier and then it will leave our hands; bound for Ethiopia. Where our daughter is.

People sometimes wonder, "why Ethiopia"? And I could go on and on about why but, mostly, it's where God told us our daughter was/is. And He loves her more than we do. He knows her name and how many curly little hairs she has on her head.


EDITED TO ADD: By the way, He knows and loves Valerie (and Chris)'s girls too. And it seems that He may be arranging for them to be home for Thanksgiving (when we all thought it was a stretch that they'd be home for Christmas). Keep them in your prayers as they hear later this week if/when they are cleared for travel.