SPRING CLEANING??

I am totally motivated to start CLEANING OUT!  Are you??

We are having a HUGE yard sale with another family to raise money for our adoptions on May 6 and 7.  We would LOVE all the stuff that you are trying to get rid of!  We are making it EASY...we will come pick it up!  Big or small items, we don't care. We have access to a trailer to come and get the big things from you!

Please give me a call or email me and tell me when you want me to come and pick it up!

This will be a HUGE help in bringing these children home!!!   Thank you!!!!

A Little Encouragement

We haven't heard a TON of facts about everything that is going on with adoptions in Ethiopia, but what we have heard has been encouraging (that is a relative term..."more encouraging than our original fears" is what I should say!).

Tonight we got an email that said that MOWA (Ministry of Women's Affairs) is now going to allow 20 finalizations/day instead of 5.  They used to process 50/day, so there will still be a delay, but it is better than 5!

Through all of this, I have been reminded that God loves all of these children way more than I could even imagine loving them.  HE is protecting them, HE is providing for them, and so we are begging HIM to make a way to put them in families.  A couple of friends have reminded me of the spiritual warfare in it.  Satan wants nothing more than for these children to remain orphaned. Hungry. Lacking trust for anyone, including God. Hurting. Sick. And God wants to put the lonely in families!  He wants to heal their bodies and hearts!  He is using His children to do this, and the enemy wants a hand in it, too.

Where does this leave our hearts?

Honestly, (I know this isn't the case for everyone on an adoption journey) we have felt since the beginning of this journey that this is about a specific Crenshaw child (or possibly more) that we are fighting for.  Although we want to advocate for all orphans and love and serve them well, we believe that every step of this path has been towards a specific child.  Precious face and circumstances are unknown to us right now, but we are going to fight to bring him/her home.  We are going to persevere through whatever stands in our way and beg God to remove the barriers.  It actually empowers us in a way to press on even more.

I will update more when I know more!

And on to our March numbers....we got our new numbers today, too!  There is still movement, even in all of this craziness!
Girl List: 50
Boy List: 37
Siblings List: 26

Trusting and Expecting

What a roller coaster of a week!

Below is a statement about what is going on in the Ethiopian program.  It has been hard to process it all, not knowing what is truth, what are rumors, and what could eventually come to pass.  We have been waiting for word from our agency.  We have been wondering if and when we will get to meet and bring home our child.

Above everything, it has made me take God at His Word:  He cares for orphans.  It breaks my heart to know that there could be SO MANY orphans left with little food or medical care unnecessarily. We have been asking God to give our agency leaders, the leaders of the program in Ethiopia, and all of the agencies advocating for orphan wisdom in the action steps to take.  We are trusting Him to move on behalf of ALL of these little ones. We serve an amazing God, and we are trusting Him in a way we have never had to trust Him before...for our little one across the globe in the midst of all of these uncertainties.

WE NEED YOU TO HELP BE A VOICE FOR THESE MILLIONS OF ORPHANS!  And it is easy...

PLEASE read below and take a couple of seconds to sign the petition.  We need MANY more to sign it by the weekend!

March 7, 2011

Statement on the Pending Reduction of Intercountry Adoption in Ethiopia

Last week the Ethiopian Ministry of Women’s, Children’s and Youth Affairs announced their intention to reduce intercountry adoptions by 90% beginning March 10, 2011. The Ministry’s plan for a dramatic reduction is apparently based on two primary issues; 1) the assumption that corruption in intercountry adoption is systemic and rampant and 2) the Ministry’s resources should be focused on the children for whom intercountry adoption is not an option. Without further announcements by the Government of Ethiopia, it is our understanding that the Ministry’s plan will be initiated this week.

The Ministry’s plan is a tragic, unnecessary and disproportionate reaction to concerns of isolated abuses in the adoption process and fails to reflect the overwhelmingly positive, ethical and legal services provided to children and families through intercountry adoption. Rather than eliminate the right of Ethiopian children to a permanent family, we encourage the Ministry to accept the partnerships offered by governments, NGOs, and foundations. Such partnerships could increase the Ministry’s capacity to regulate service providers and further ensure ethical adoptions.

The Ministry’s plan, which calls for the processing of only five adoption cases per work day, will result not only in systemic and lasting damage to a large sector of social services, but will have an immediate impact on the lives and futures of children. Moving from over 4,000 adoptions per year to less than 500 will result in thousands of children languishing in under-regulated and poorly resourced institutions for years. For those children who are currently institutionalized and legally available for adoption, the Ministry’s plan will increase their time languishing in institutions for up to 7-years.

Joint Council respectfully urges the Ministry of Women’s, Children’s and Youth Affairs to reconsider their plan and to partner with governments, NGOs and foundations to achieve their goals and avoid the coming tragedy for children and families.

You Can Make A Difference...PLEASE:

• Click here to sign the petition now.
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