Ugandan New Year Challenge

Happy New Year! Sorry I haven’t written in forever.  As you can tell, I’m new to this and really haven’t had much to say…As far as the adoption, we’ve all had our fingerprinting done, including Caitlin who had to be in North Fort Worth at 8:00am December 26th!  We are also very appreciative to David Ellis for taking what we hope is our last bit of paperwork to our lawyer, Peter, in Uganda.  Please pray for safe travels.

Celebrating God’s Beauty

Now to the Challenge…As most of you who know me are aware I’m fairly obsessed with running–not super fast, just running.  Several days a week and if I don’t…well, just ask my hubby or coworkers, it isn’t pretty!  I love running for the exercise, the solitude, the social aspects, the time of worship in God’s creation, the time of chatting with my sister, Lou, Chelsea, Caitlin, numerous friends, Snickers, Gus, the fact that you can run almost anywhere all you need is your shoes (and the perfect socks, shirt, shorts…but I digress).  I’ve run on the beach in Australia, across a University campus in Nigeria, across London Bridge, along the boardwalk in Charlotte, NC., and through the streets and backroads of various beautiful cities  and countrysides in The States.

No way I could keep up with these guys!

Therefore, I assumed I’d be able to run somewhere in Uganda.  I took my shoes and running attire, but after a couple of attempts to run around the grounds of Suubi, it became apparent that I was going to be taking a couple weeks off.  I couldn’t remember doing that, not for at least 15 years except for one 3-month injury and a week here and there after a marathon or half-marathon.  I wake up as any other running or exercise enthusiast knows, thinking of what path or distance to go.  I needed the reminder to think of time with God first and just relax a bit.

So, in preparation for what will be a minimum of 4 weeks in Uganda during our court process and Visa process I’ve decided to start a running streak and run every day at least 1 mile.  The Challenge for you, my friends and family?  Join me!!  “What?”  You ask.  “I hate running!  You’re crazy!  I can’t do that!”  That’s fine, you can commit to walk, ride a bike, anything you want!  It doesn’t have to be running and, if you’re like me and hate running in the cold, it can be on a treadmill or  walking around the mall, like Stan’s parents.  Just commit to doing something involving fitness every day until our court date, which we still don’t know yet.  AND–here’s the important part–commit to pray for the adoption.  Pray for our lawyer, Peter, the Suubi Project, our children in Uganda, and safety for our family in travel.  I figure if we’re all doing a running/fitness streak, we’ll pray even harder for a court date!  Lol.

Thank you guys so much for your concern and prayers.

Because He adopted us,

Laura

Ephesians 1:5 “He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will.”

Fingerprinting Time!

Hello everyone!  Sorry it’s been so long since I’ve posted.  It’s been another month of filing paperwork with our lawyer in Uganda, filing paperwork with Homeland Security here–sounds impressive. Lol.  We just got a letter recently that we need to go get our fingerprinting done in a couple of weeks.  I’m doing a bit of fundraising for the added expenses of clothes, room decor, etc. by selling beads made from magazines by the women in Uganda.  Here’s a photo of some of the ones I have for $10 each.  Great Fair Trade purchase and a great way to have a little piece of Uganda.

We have a lawyer in Uganda who’s working on our case to investigate the children’s case and to find witnesses.  When everything is investigated, our lawyer will get a court date.  Hopefully, we’ll get about a month’s notice because we’ll be there at least 4 weeks once we get there.  Stan will probably only stay a couple of weeks and I’ll be there until everything is resolved.  So…I’ll get a chance to bond with the kids…learn some Luganda… find my way around Kampala…read?  Met friends at the airport recently who are brought their little boy back.  So exciting!  Appreciate them and being able to watch their process start to finish!

When I asked my friends how the other children responded to Daniel being adopted, my friend said that our boy was so excited!  He knew he could be next!  Thank you guys for all the prayers.  We’ll let you know as soon as we get a court date:)

“Hello, Mom, how are you?”

Well, the response to my first blog post was amazing!  We’re so overwhelmed to have so many awesome comments of congratulations and commitments for prayer.  Since it was my first blog post I was super nervous!

As you may have noticed, there are a few things I cannot do on mass media–no photos of our kids or names.  Don’t worry, if you’re around me long at all, you’ll see them!  And…I’ll make up for it after we get them home:)

We’re Starting the Process!

So, as most of you know, Caitlin and I went to Uganda this summer to help run a bible school at the SUUBI PROJECT.  We had a great time playing with the kids and falling in love with the land and people of Uganda.  One morning out on the porch of the guest house I was reading my Bible and praying and I felt like God was saying, “How can you leave them here?” I really felt like he was saying that about a brother and sister in the orphanage and I started crying.  When I went in to tell Cheryl and Mindy, they were so excited.  I, on the other hand, felt so nervous!  What would Stan say?

When I first saw our sweet girl, who is probably 8 years old, it was the first day we were there and she came outside after finishing her homework, saw the boys playing soccer, and hopped right in!  A girl after a PE teacher’s heart!  She loves to be where the action is–dancing, jumping rope, eager to learn new things from the Americans!  Always willing to give a hug and a smile!

When I first saw our special boy, probably 9 years old, he was leading worship with the children at night before bed.  He was standing in the middle of the kids and singing at the top of his lungs in the most beautiful voice just praising the Lord!  Amazing!  I didn’t realize he was up for adoption.  I thought he was one of the house mom’s sons.  He’s already a “techie”, obsessed with my camera and phone.  He’s very protective of his sister and the other orphans and is always quick to volunteer to pray aloud.  I took a cute photo of him with three of the little kids in his lap:)

So…how was Stan going to take it?  I waited a few days to tell him…finally, I got up my nerve.  He just looked at me and said, “Well, you kept your promise, you didn’t come back wanting to adopt one, you want two!”  Lol.  Since Caitlin, our youngest, was leaving  for college at The University of Arkansas this Fall we joked I either wanted to adopt a child or get a new “empty-nester” puppy, so I got my new puppy, Gus, early in the summer!  But Stan did agree to pray about it.  That day after I talked to him, I read in James 1:6  “He who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.”  I felt such a peace that these kids were to be our kids.

Stan kept his promise and prayed, asked all his friends’ opinions, hoping for someone to tell him he was crazy…no luck.  Stan kept saying he was waiting for a sign from the Lord…a billboard with their names on it, anything, but no big signs.  Finally, late one night after school started, he quietly said, “Yes.  My answer is yes.”  He told me he’d been feeling for a couple of weeks that it was God’s will but waited a while to tell me. I cried and cried with relief!  We started the process the next day!

Up to this point, we’ve had our home study, taken a 10-hour online class on adoption, turned in lots of paperwork for the home study, and contacted a Ugandan lawyer. There are still many, many steps to go, but we’re on our way!  I’ll be updating more in the future and giving more bits and pieces of their incredible journey up to this point, but I wanted to get everyone possible praying as we begin the process.  Love you guys!

To donate to the Suubi Project, go to http://www.thesuubiproject.org

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