God, we are yours. Lead us.

We weren't looking.

We don't need any more craziness.

We don't have a clue what to do.

We can't do this without you, God.

This is not our plan.

We don't have the resources for this.

We don't know if we can handle this emotionally.

Why God?  Why now?  Why us?
These have been my conversations and prayers with God this last week.  His response has been so clear, almost audible.  "Because you love me.  Because you are willing.  Because I use people just like you to complete my plan of redemption for others."  To think that God can use us is incredibly humbling.

It was a week ago that Eyerusalem came into the kitchen holding a picture from her past.  She got it when we visited her home in Gerji, almost a year ago now.  She came in crying, and needing to get something off her chest that was so incredibly heavy and difficult to bear.  Something I can't imagine my 12 year old has had to hold in and not think about.   We don't blame her by any means.  We completely understand.

The picture she was holding is of herself at age 5, washing clothes with her mother, father and another little girl, age 3 in a river.  We had asked about the other girl before and we were told that she was a friend.  Now, Eyerusalem wanted to tell us the truth, and that she - is - her - sister.  It is not Mahlet, she was a baby at the time as they are 4 years apart.  As we held her, crying, we began to ask questions and over the course of a couple days we have been able to put together some pieces.

Her name is Meeta.  At about the age of 5 she was kidnapped by some men who knew her father (deceased at the time).  They then sold her to another party.  Her mother tried to search for her for a year, sacrificing food at times to pay for flyers.  We don't know what has happened to her since but about 2-3 years ago, Eyerusalem and her mother saw her one day in the market.   Before anything could be done, she had been whisked into a car and was off again.  So we have reason to believe that she is still alive and is still living in the general area in Addis.

We are heartbroken, for both Meeta and Eyerusalem for carrying this grief with her and living through this.  Mahlet remembers playing with Meeta but not much else.

We don't know what we are doing.  But we need answers.  We trust that God brought this information to us at just the right time for a reason.  We don't know if we will be able to find her or do anything on her behalf but we must try.  We must do all that we can for now.  Even if it is just to bring closure for Eyerusalem and now ourselves.

A co-worker of mine told me that we should just sit back and believe that Meeta is in a good family and is doing well.  We can't play ignorant, nor do we want to.  We have a hole in our hearts now that must be filled.  I was reminded of the parable of the good Samaritan the other day.  The priest and the Levite walked by the wounded man and then the Samaritan came.  He was a hated enemy.  He didn't pretend that he wasn't needed.  He didn't ignore the problem.  He also didn't stop by the man, pray for him, and then leave, promising to keep him in his prayers that maybe God would help him.  No, he took action.
The Bible is full of action takers.  Not people sitting on the sideline watching, praying, wanting to stay in the ignorant bliss, and hoping not to do anything that would cost them too much.

In God's plan for redemption, we are His tools to accomplish His mighty task.  We know that God is, "Father of the fatherless, and protector of widows is God in His holy habitation." Psalms 68:5

We know that He is fully in control.  We trust in Him and His mighty wisdom.  We look for him for direction because we don't know where to go.  We also trust in His comfort because I know that this road that He is asking us to travel down will be a bumpy very difficult road to take.  It will be full of challenges and heartbreak, and we don't even know if there will be anything waiting for us at the end.

We ask for your prayers and support for Meeta, for Eyerusalem and for us as we embark on another journey.  May God be glorified through all we do.  And mark my words, if we find Meeta it will be a true miracle.  If we have the joy of bringing her home one day, it will be another true miracle that can only come from the God of miracles.