A morning of 2 Extremes!

This morning I (Adam) took Eyerusalem to visit the orphange that she came from before she was sent to the Transition house. I then took her to the Sheraton to withdraw some money from the bank there. Here are the stories from this morning.

Eyerusalem had been asking to visit her best friend at the old orphanage. Mahlet wanted nothing to do with going back there. I don't blame her, I think that she is afraid that she would get left. Even Eyerusalem kept looking for me when we were there to make sure that I was still close by. The orphange was on the far side of town, we were driving by one of the African Embassies, (whose President is in town) and about every 30' there was a guard with a rifle in their hands. We were driving slowly, looking for the right road, and all eyes were on us. It made me think that we were not really wanted around there:)

When we arrived, Eyerus was greeted like a hometown hero. She is getting out and getting to America! About 30 kids came and ran up to greet her, right away. Everywhere she walked an entourage of around 10 kids followed her. The orphanage is home to around 150-200 kids I guess. It is located on about 3 acres and has a lot of area for the kids to run around. The kids were all dressed appropriately, mattresses on all the beds and the place was well kept. There was new play equipment and a basketball court as well. One of the coolest things was the HUGE garden that they use to grow most of their food. They have 250 egg laying chickens. They had 5 Holstein milking cows, and a calf. They had a great system. All the waste was washed right into a few different tanks, then to the compost area and ultimately it is directed right into the garden. They even have classes for some of the older kids so that they can learn how to do things.

The hard part was when Eyerus showed me the room she lived in. We walked into a room that is just barely bigger than the average size living room. It was crammed with bunk beds. She then walked towards the wall to what I thought was a full size mirror. Only, it was not a mirror it was a hole in the wall with another room just like the first. There were 20 bunk beds in these two joined rooms, which means 40 beds, and pillows for 70 kids to sleep in. The beds were so crammed that you had to climb into them from the foot end, as there was not even walking space between them.

Mahlet stayed in a similar room for smaller kids, only their beds were a little bit smaller. Just off of the bedrooms were the dining rooms. These rooms were stuffed with kids watching some junk (adult soap operas) on TV. From the stories of my girls and seeing their habits, I think that this is a normal day long routine.

This orphanage is home to mostly girls between the ages of 8-16. Though, there are some younger kids. I felt like I had walked into a junior high camp for girls, only to realize that these kids are all orphaned. They are all hurt, scared, and longing for attention. It broke my heart.

Getting back in the car, we went to the Sheraton. Our car was not even allowed in the gate, as there is a HUGE African Union meeting there, with all of their Heads of State and delegates. The cars that were allowed in all were getting searched for bombs. We had to walk through a couple different security check points. Riflemen, stood by everywhere keeping a close eye on all the people. Once inside, Eyerusalem was astonished. Everyone was walking around in very fancy suits and their own entourages. We got a couple of chocolate treats from the bakery, for a ridiculous price by Ethiopian standards, and sat outside in a garden by a huge fountain eating them. We then went to this machine. I put a little plastic card into it, pushed a few buttons, and out came a wad of money! Eyerusalem was astonished! She could not believe that money could come out of this machine. She asked if she could put the card in, and more money would come out for her. "I don't think so dear:)" I replied. I still don't think that she gets the concept of the whole ATM thing yet.

I have been trying to spend some 1 on 1 time with each of the girls as I am getting ready to leave in 3 days. Eyerusalem lucked out on this one. The next one is going to get a little walk down the street for 50 cent french fries:)

We have been having a really hard time these last few days. We have been really under attack by the evil one. Last night, London developed a high fever and we were up most of the night. It is really hard for me to think of leaving when some of the kids are sick. It is also really hard for Heather to think of being by herself with a sick kid and trying to get to the hospital if needed.

Please pray that we will be able to withstand the attacks of the evil one, as they continue to come. We want to remain strong, steadfast and continue to give all glory to whom it belongs, our Lord Jesus Christ. Pray that the Holy Spirit will sustain us and give Heather the strength that she needs as I depart.

When it rains it pours!

This week we decided instead of sitting around waiting anxiously to hear if our boy had passed court, and if our girls would be submitted to embassy, we would get away for a couple of days on a safari. We had a (mostly) fantastic time:) We saw tons of baboons, monkeys, crocodiles, oryx, and kudu. Tons of fun stories, which I will save for another post.

When we came home, we found out that we did not pass court for our boy. There was a confusion in the paperwork, and supposedly we will pass soon (although I'm not holding my breath:). We also found out that we were NOT submitted to embassy as we had hoped. This means that we will not be submitted until at least next Wednesday, Feb. 1st. SUCH A BUMMER! While it's a bummer to get delayed by a whole week, it was sort of a decision making week. Because the court process took MUCH longer than we expected, we decided awhile back that if we didn't get submitted by this week, then Adam would go home, since he will not be able to stay until the girls get cleared to go home. He is at the Lufthansa office right now, trying to get a flight out sometime early next week. We are hoping that in doing this, he will be able to save his vacation to return to ET to pick us up in 4-6 weeks. Also, we are praying that there will be overtime available for him to work so that we are able to completely fund our adoption. As with most things in life, it always seems to cost more than you anticipate:).

Just before we left for our safari, Adam had gone to the bank, so that we could pay for our driver, our hotel and our food. When Adam and I were packing for on Monday night, he showed me where he was putting our wad of cash in his backpack. I was leery about bringing so much money with us, but we didn't know exactly how much things would cost. Plus, we didn't feel comfortable leaving so much cash behind in our guest house when we would be gone for so long. When Adam went to get his money today to take with him to the lufthansa office, it was gone. We searched EVERYWHERE. But, it's gone.

I feel like satan is really trying to test us to see when we will "crack". Adam and I, while sick at the thought of losing so much money, are really trying to have a good attitude about it. If nothing else, for Eyerus. Poor Eyerus was carrying the backpack right before we believe our money was stolen. Even though we never once blamed her for losing the money, she somehow feels a little responsible. I assured her over and over, that it's just money, and we can always make more money. She feels so bad that we have lost so much money, as she really understands the value of money, and feels like even $5 is a huge amount.

I'm so bummed that we have lost so much money, but at the same time, I feel a surprising peace about the whole thing. I know that it's because so many of you are lifting us up in prayer. I just know that God is faithful. He has not left us! He is walking this road with us, and He will continue to provide, just like He has during our entire journey.

So even though Satan may think he is beating us down, I WILL NOT BE DEFEATED!!!! I know that God is on our side, and when HE is for us, NOTHING can be against us!!

PLEASE PRAY!!

Friends and Family,

we would covet your prayers this week!! Our boys case goes before the judge (again:) tonight as you are sleeping. PLEASE pray that we would PASS court for him!

We are also PRAYING that our girls case would be submitted to embassy on Wednesday January 25th. If we can get submitted to embassy, we could potentially come home mid February. If we do not get submitted to embassy this week, then it would not happen until January 31st. If this is the case, Adam will have to return home, and the girls and I will stay until we clear embassy. Once we clear embassy, Adam will return to ET to pick us up, and we will go home. This will probably be end of February or beginning of March.

I am LOVING this time that God has given us to attach with our girls. We have definitely made HUGE strides in getting to know them, their history, and attaching with them. But, we ALL REALLY want to get submitted to embassy this Wednesday, as we would LOVE to go home!!! London, Geneva, and Capri would love to go to "our real home" and Eyerusalem and Mahlet are SO excited to "go to America!" And Adam and I are ready to be home, and settling into a routine there.

Since we have all this "worry" on our plate the next couple of days (and there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING we can do but sit and wait and worry some more:) we have decided to take a mini vaca:) We will be heading out of town tomorrow to Awash national park, to go on a safari!! We are SO excited that we have an opportunity to do this. And, we are really looking forward to showing Eyerusalem and Mahlet some of their home country, as they have never been outside of Addis Ababa.

Thank You all for your prayers and Support!!!

Mahlet's Ups and Downs

Well, we have had our girls for over two weeks now. Things are going pretty well. We have definitely had some struggles, but overall we are so happy that they are fitting in with our family so well. They are already swapping clothes and helping each other decide what to wear each morning. It's hilarious. Clothes are everywhere, and it reminds me of five girl friends at summer camp! So fun. My favorite is seeing Adams expression when he walks in the room :)

So I started thinking that it might be kinda fun to sorta spotlight each of our girls, and how they are doing since we have taken custody of them. I am going to start with Mahlet, since she has changed the most so far.

When we first saw her picture it was heart breaking. She wasn't smiling and her whole body language just screamed "I am angry! I am hurting, and I cannot even pretend to be happy because I am so sad." In the last couple of weeks, Mahlet has really begun to turn away from that angry, sad girl that she once was. Sure, she still has bad days, or difficult moments, but she is starting to be more of a normal kid.

She especially LOVES to be held. She loves it when I rock her, or tickle her, or give her kisses. She comes to our bed each morning for some snuggle time:). Overall she has been doing really well, which is why we were surprised yesterday when she had one meltdown after another. That morning, she was happy and in good spirits. Then we went to the Transition Home to visit our boy, and after getting home it was like she was mad and quiet all the time, similar to when we first brought her home. When we looked back on our day, I began wondering if maybe the reason she was so angry was because we had visited the transition home. The first time we went back to the Transition Home after bringing the girls home, she started screaming and crying and saying she didn't want to go. When we had Eyerusalem translate why, it was because Mahlet thought that we were taking her back, like we were trying to "return" her or something! Break. My. Heart. I cannot even tell you how horrible I felt! Eventually we explained to her that we were going to the Transition Home for the Christmas party, and to see our boy. She was okay with that explanation and we moved past it.

Last night as Adam and I debriefed our day, I really started feeling like most of yesterdays meltdowns were a result of our visit in the transition home. Adam suggested we really pay attention to the next time we go for a visit, and see if a pattern develops. I hated the thought of putting her through that if she really hated going back to the transition home. This morning, when Mahlet asked if we were going to the transition home, I got the feeling that she was asking, not because she wanted to go, but because she wanted to make sure we were NOT going. I had one of the staff in our guest house translate for me to ask her if she liked going to the transition home. I didn't even need anybody to translate her response. Her body stiffened, and her lips started quivering as the puddles in her eyes began to spill over. I immediately scooped her up and held her as she sobbed. I spent several minutes holding her and reassuring her that everything would be okay, that we love her, and that we would not go back (hopefully she will not need to go back for any paperwork reasons).

I think from now on, I will go visit our boy either by myself, or with one or two of the kids, and Adam will stay at home with Mahlet and the other girls.

Getting submitted here is a process

These last couple of weeks, we have had one main goal. That is to get our girls submitted to the US embassy as quickly as possible so that they could receive their visas to come back to the US with us.

This process involves a ton of silliness. It is the stringent US rules that are forced into an Ethiopian way of doing things. This causes quite a mess and the long wait to even get submitted to the embassy after passing court.

First, you have to wait a couple of days for the court decree to be published. Though at times it could be done quicker, it is customary for it to take about 2-3 days.

Second, the court decree has to be taken to an office so that "official" birth certificates could be issued. This again takes between a couple of days and a week to accomplish. It actually went relatively fast for us considering that it was done over the Christmas holiday.

Third, you then need to take the birth certificate to the Ethiopian Immigration office to get passports done. The passports take 3 days to process. Going to the Immigration office was quite an experience. There were about 1000 people standing in a long single file line, pushed so tightly together that there was no personal space on your front or back. It took a while to realize that this line was ALL women. There was no line for men, and this was just the line to go through the security to get into the front gate. After being escorted by our agency right through the gate, we went into the office where hundreds more waited their turn. After a cordial exchange with the officers and our agency rep, we were whisked directly in front of all those waited and assisted. I really felt bad, but at the same time was happy that we were not going to have to be there for the next 8 hours. I asked why it was only women there, but I already knew the answer. It is very customary for young women in Addis to go work as a house servant in the middle East some where. We have met numerous people whose wives, or fiances, or sisters are living in the middle East working on a three year contract until they return hoping to use the money earned and establish a better life here.

After the passports are completed, you can then go and get a medical appointment. We did this today. We got a call at 8:30 this morning when we were eating breakfast, not dressed or ready to go yet and were told that the passports were ready and we could go get the medicals done. However, we were told that we should really be there at 9:00:) So we quickly got ready, had our driver come early and left. The medicals are all done at a hospital clinic. The girls did great. Everything got done that needed to get done this morning. The clinic is on the far side of the city. Our girls had to get a TB test done. So I asked about this and asked if they could just get a chest X-ray since, that is quicker and in all likelyhood, they have been exposed to TB and therefore will test positive anyways, making the X-ray required in a couple of days. This was an outrageous request. There was no possible way that this could be done. Then I was told that we would not likely have time to get the TB test done anyways. I thought that this was because it was quickly approaching lunch time, so I offered to by lunch, and then we could get the TB test done. I was then told that the TB tests are only offered from 11am-12pm and they are done at a different building. :) (Even though there are TB tests done at the clinic we were in, I saw them.) The TB tests have to be done at the office of Migration, for it to be considered good. Luckily, as we were waiting for our lab results, the nurse suggested that we had 25 minutes and we could try to get to the Migration office. This other office is 20 minutes away. Thankfully, our normally slow and cautious driver (He has only hit one goat:) realized the time crunch and got us there with a couple of minutes to spare. With the TB test done, we went back to the first clinic to finish our work there.

I go back on Thursday with the girls to get the TB test checked. I asked what paperwork I needed, and was told that I did not need anything!? What!? They apparently will remember them as they check it.

Finally, after this is all completed hopefully we will be submitted to the embassy this next Wed. I have to continue to remind myself that we are in Ethiopia and that the American way of doing things here does not work.

It is crazy to think that after being gone about 7 hours, all I really accomplished was getting most of the medical stuff done and going out to lunch.

We continue to trust in God's perfect plan and His timing. We are having a great time here and are so happy that we have taken custody of our girls.

Finding Routine Here in Ethiopia

Sorry it has been so long since we have written on our blog. For some reason, the internet here, does not let us (or anyone else as we have discovered) access our blog. Apparently, after a month, the site is working.

So much has happened since we last posted, so I will start from the beginning, and try not to be too lengthyJ

On January 4^th, we passed court for our girls, and immediately took custody of them! Their names are Eyerusalem, age 11 and Mahlet, age 7. We did not pass for our boy b/c he has a different birth father, and so his case is completely different. His case was supposed to go to court again on Jan. 9^th, but we found out that the courts were closed on the 9^th. We are trying to find it comical that they would issue us a court date on a day that they were closed. The Ethiopian Christmas was Saturday the 7^th, so they took Monday as a Holiday (which makes sense, but wouldn’t you think that they would know this and not schedule cases for that day!?! Life in EthiopiaJ!!

Since Saturday was Christmas, we did a lot of celebrating. Thursday, the Transition Home that our girls (and our boy still) were in threw a big Christmas party. The kids did a play of the Nativity story, and Eyerusalem played the part of Mary! She did an awesome job, and we are so proudJ Mahlet sang in the choir, and she did fabulous as well. They tried to have our boy play the part of baby Jesus, but he didn’t recognize his big sister in her costume, and completely freaked out! It was so cool to be able to be here to see them perform in this. They had cookies, popcorn, candy, soda, and a video for the kids. It was a very fun evening.

On Christmas Eve we went to the church in Kora that we have been visiting for a big Christmas party. Adam bought a sheep to serve as the meal, and they invited all the kids from the church and the neighborhood. This is usually the only time during the year that these kids get meat. They licked the bones clean. Literally, there was nothing left! It was great to be a part of this experience.

On Christmas, we let the kids open their little presents that we had brought for them. Then, we ordered a cake for after lunch. We had a great day hanging around our guesthouse.

For the most part things are going really well. We have definitely seen everybody’s true colorsJ. There have been a few tantrums and meltdowns, but with five kids, this will be more than normal, I am sure. We have started doing a little school with the girls as well. I am more than sure that from the outside, it looks pretty funny. We brought some schoolbooks, Pre K for London and Geneva, Kindergarten for Mahlet, and 1^st grade for Eyerusalem. With the amount of English that they know, these seem to be pretty accurate. We bring them to our dining room table, and everybody sits around working on their books. Adam and I are reading instructions for each of them, and it’s basically craziness. A good craziness though. Mahlet is really showing improvement in just a few days. For someone who said she didn’t like school, she is often the last one at the table, still working!

Another thing that takes up a good chunk of our days several times a week is laundry. While the guesthouse will do our laundry, for a relatively cheap price, when staying for an extended period, (and with 7 people) it would be quite expensive. So, Adam bought a couple of buckets for six bucks and we spend an hour and a half every other day doing our laundry. It’s labor intensive, but worth the savings. Plus, I have 5 happy helpers, who just love to get in, get wet, and scrub clothesJ

All in all, our lives have slowed down considerably, and we are really enjoying the time to simply be with our kids and get to know them. Since I don’t have any cooking or cleaning to do, I have time to really read my Bible, pray, and spend time playing with my kids! I’ve even been able to practice doing Eyerusalem and Mahlet’s hair. It’s been a wonderful opportunity to attach to our girls, here in their home country. Thank you all for your continued prayers!

Top Ten Favorite things about the Cheney's Christmas in Ethiopia:

1. We awoke to homemade cinnamon rolls fresh out of the oven! They were DELICIOUS:), especially since I (Heather) didn't have to make them, or do the dishes:)

2. The staff made us homemade cookies, which were fabulous. I am attributing the cookies extra fabulousness to the fact that they had PURE cane sugar in them. You could actually SEE the sugar granules in the cookies. SO good!

3. Getting the girls Christmas pictures taken out on the street in front of somebody's blue door. This super sweet little girl came over and stood there watching us. At first I thought maybe we were taking pictures in front of her house. But no, she was just wondering why on earth these silly Americans would want their pictures taken in front of this random house with a blue door.

4. The church in the Kora village. The poorest people I have EVER seen, yet they have SUCH a love for Christ! This was a humbling experience for me. I think too many days at home I tend to feel sorry for myself. I begin comparing myself and what I (don't) have with everyone else around me. I complain that my shoes are too old and too beat up, etc., etc., etc. But you know what? At church this morning, I was wearing the same clothes and shoes that I often wear to church at home, and nobody noticed or cared. In fact, I didn't even notice or care. You know why? Because every other person at church this morning wasn't worried about the clothes on their back. They could have (justifiably) been worried about where their next meal would come from, but even that seemed to take a back seat while they worshiped our almighty God.

5. Watching Capri LOVE on the babies at church. Poor Capri gets hugged and kissed everywhere we go. It's like she is this thing that people just cannot keep their hands off of. They just want to know what she feels like. Whether we are going to church, to the market, to the Transition Home to see our kids, or even here at our Guest House. She is the one everyone (men women and children alike) wants to give a squeeze to. She HATES it, but has learned to tolerate it, without much fussing:). At church though, she got to give some hugs away to the babies.

6. Listening to squeals of laughter from London, Geneva, and Capri as they played with the staff here at the Guest House. They have really warmed up to some of the people that work here. It's so cute to see our girls outside playing soccer with the guards:).

7. Seeing our kids light up as we got to the Transition Home today for our visit. We had a really great day with them. We even picked out middle names for at least two of our kids:) Our oldest picked her own, (but we really like it) and she LOVES it! SO cute:) We are trying to come up with city middle names for our younger two...

8. Finally getting Words With Friends downloaded onto our ipad:) I know, such a trivial little thing, but still, something to help the time go by...

9. Going out to dinner and getting to pick whatever I wanted to eat.

10. Watching Adam drink his "milkshake" that he ordered. First of all, he ordered chocolate, it was vanilla. Second of all, it wasn't an American milkshake (loaded with ice cream:) it was milk shaken (with some vanilla flavoring added to it:). So, basically Adam ordered himself a glass of milk to go with his dinner (and he doesn't even like milk:)...

Hope you all had as great of a Christmas as we did!

Blessings to Everyone!