Ethiopia

THIS IS A WEEK OLD, BUT INTERNET IS CRAZY. FINALLY A GOOD CONNECTION TO PUT THIS UP. MANY OF YOU HAVE ALREADY GOTTEN THIS ONE...SORRY!!

We feel like we have experienced a lifetime of memories and sensations in rapid succession in less than two weeks here under the African skies of Ethiopia. The girls did so well on the airplane rides – even the 8 hour flight from Chicago to Germany and the 6 hour flight from Germany to Ethiopia – in addition to all the waiting for those flights! They especially liked the international airplanes that had movies and cartoons that they could watch from their seat (they watched Disney cartoons and the movie “UP!” about three times a piece!)

It is staggering to think that we began flying early on Tuesday morning and then arrived in Ethiopia on Wednesday night at 7:10 pm Ethiopia time (I think about 10:30am American time). We went through security and customs with not too much waiting at the airport. The Lord was looking out for us because just after we got through there was at least three hundred people that arrived at the airport after us! Some of the friends that we met on the plane told us later that they had to wait three hours to make it through customs and the baggage area.

All eight pieces of our luggage came, which caused us to feel very loved by the Lord, especially when we saw that other SIM short term missionaries we met went two days without their luggage. A driver met us at the airport and took us to the SIM guesthouse. We stayed there from Wednesday night through Saturday morning. We enjoyed the food that the cook made (most of the time!) and really loved getting to meet the many different missionaries passing through on their way to other destinations from all over the world. For example, we met a group of three missionaries working in Asia who were visiting to see what potential ministry opportunities existed with Chinese unreached people groups living in Ethiopia. One family ministering in Northern Ethiopia had two Ethiopian girls and so the girls made friends with them very quickly. Perhaps the highlight of our time there was the little “playground” with swings and a slide. Daddy gave the girls many “underdogs” during that time and we tried to spot many different kinds of Ethiopian birds flying overhead or perched in the trees.

The hardest adjustment there was trying to adjust to a new sleep schedule. It is no fun waking up at 2am and then arguing with your body to go to sleep. Your mind says you should sleep, but your body disagrees. The loud Disco club that just happened to be near us outside, the early morning Muslim calls to prayer over the loud speakers, and the Ethiopian Orthodox church chanting over the loud speakers at various hours, did not help us sleep either. Allie just told me today again that she is tired of all the “songs” on the loud speakers – they wake her up!

We went to the Hope adoption transition home on Saturday. We really enjoyed playing with the babies and it was great to see how much the workers there cared for the children, but the sour milk smell was strong and almost all of the babies made your leg wet when they sat down on you. It made us very emotional. We briefly spoke to a case worker there, but she was new and didn’t know very much. We left and tried to get some errands done like getting a cell phone and then we moved into the SIM “Press” compound where about ten SIM families stay. By the way, when we say “compound,” we mean a gated area complete with a security guard that opens the gate for people to come in. It has a wall around the complete area with only one way in. Just about every place in Ethiopia is a compound.

The apartments here are very nice. We have two bedrooms (the girls have a bunkbed), a bathroom with a shower, and then a kitchen, dining, and living room area. The best thing about the Press compound is undoubtedly the children from the other SIM families (there is not a rotten one in the whole bunch!) The girls have especially connected with one family that has two girls the same age as ours. The compound is a complete circle with houses on the edges and a large play area in the middle with a soccer field, basketball courts, sandbox, and swings. It is very fun to watch all the kids laughing and playing. The girls have asked us a couple of times if we can live here! They both have adjusted so well (probably better than us). We have to shepherd them through the process of getting settled here because, on the one hand, they enjoy meeting new friends and our partaking in our various “adventures,” but on the other hand, they miss their friends and family. They are sometimes worried that their friends back home will forget all about them.

Monday, we went to the Hope Adoption Transition home and spoke to some case workers who knew our case. We spent a long time there. We got some information on our boys that seemed to make sense. We learned that the boys had a father and a mother. We learned that the father had lied on the files by claiming to be the uncle so that the boys could be adopted, but the courts figured out that he was lying, which had caused all the problems with the paperwork. We didn’t know how much of the information to trust and we have since that time wondered if the information about the boys not even being able to walk when they got there was even true. That is what is hard here – you don’t know what to believe or what to think. After finding out this information and being treated to the coffee ceremony (where they roast the coffee beans right in front of you and then serve you coffee and popcorn), they let us visit all the children in the transition home. We got to see them and sit with them as they sang together. It was such a memorable experience.

We also got to see an amazing parade. Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist is one of the biggest holidays in Ethiopia – rivaling Christmas in terms of the sheer excitement and festivities. We watched the parade and took lots of pictures! Members from the Orthodox church march through the streets with choirs singing and priests carrying copies of the Tabot (ten commandments). Apparently, we were a big attraction as well, because many people pointed and took pictures of us. I don’t think I will ever get used to getting stared at so much as we have the whole time that we have been here!

Thursday, we took a trip to the Southern countryside of Ethiopia in Dilla. I was a little nervous about going because I was still recovering from getting very sick for about 24 hours, but the Lord was very gracious to my body and gave me a full recovery. It is about a seven or eight hour trip depending on traffic. I wish I could describe the change in scenery throughout the trip. Imagine going from a bustling city of four million at about 8000 feet above sea level and then driving through what looks like the desert plains of the Serengeti, complete with termite mounds, Achacia trees, camels, and grass huts. The plains were filled with many Muslim mosques and various nomadic peoples. It was certainly quite a sight as cars swerve everywhere to miss hitting people and animals as they cross the roads at all times with their donkeys and carts or driving their herds of goats, sheep, or cattle. My favorite sight was the four or five times when a large donkey would just sit or stand in the middle of the road with no owners around, seemingly oblivious to the cars driving at breakneck speeds on both sides of them.

Then we arrived in the South in an area that looks like a jungle or a tropical rain forest with banana, mango, avocado, and coffee trees EVERYWHERE. We stayed at an SIM guesthouse and met the SIM missionaries there (Jonathan and Sara Oliver). The SIM compound holds a KHBC (a three year Bible school where students train for ministry at the diploma level). Gracie and Allie were scared of sleeping at first, but I think you will understand why in a second. The missionaries have a little boy, named Edward, who is 4. He started telling them stories that basically amounted to this: the woods are filled with hyenas (he would “howl” to get the point across), the rivers are filled with crocodiles, and the house was filled with termites and rats. It is hard to rattle Gracie’s cage, but he was successful!

I got to preach in their chapel on Friday morning and we fellowshipped with the missionary family throughout the day. They had kids about the same ages as our girls. We saw them throughout the day stockpiling avocados and mangos in their tree house, so I finally asked them what they were doing – and they said they were getting supplies so that they could withstand the invasion of the pirates. The family had an eye patch and some plastic swords laying around, so Daddy became the pirate and they fought against me until they tired me out. You should have seen how dirty and happy the kids were. We almost got stuck one time and I helped push the truck out of the mud and away from a very large sinkhole – then you should have seen how dirty I was (I was still happy too). Can you imagine how much we got stared at when we went to a restaurant? They acted like they had never seen Americans covered with mud!

Allie had her birthday while we were in Dilla. We put candles on strawberry wafers that Cara brought along. When it was all said and done, she told us it was her best birthday ever. It made sense, I never had a jungle birthday growing up! She was a dirty and happy five-year old girl.

Our driver and friend, Yosi, was able to meet the boys and their parents and hear their story. The father is a guard for the local MOWA compound and is also a coffee farmer. The family seemed to be in good financial circumstances as the father had two jobs and coffee farmers do very well in the South. The boys were in “ok” condition, but they were scared by visitors. Yosi thought that they were probably scared because they thought they were going to get taken away again). We decided not to see the boys and the parents and make the situation worse, because the father was fishing for money throughout the conversation with Yosi and we didn’t want to encourage him or others into thinking that they would be rewarded for giving their children up temporarily. We have a hard time understanding people giving up their boys like that when they could totally provide for them. We are certainly not happy with the father for putting them (and us) through that whole ordeal.

One of the missionaries here said that some families will give up their children for adoption so that they will have a chance to make it big and then they think that their children will take care of them afterwards. We thought about setting up an account with Compassion international for the boys, but after seeing the situation and doing a little research, we learned that the boys would only partially benefit from it. Again the father was fishing for money the whole time that our driver was talking to him and thus we thought it would not be best to reward the father for his actions and perpetuate what seems to be a shared mentality throughout that region. Yosi told us that many parents would try to give us their children if we came along with him. We still do not have a category in our minds or hearts for the situation or the shared mentality there, especially after seeing the situation for ourselves.

We drove back to Addis on Saturday. Some of the highlights of the trip were going to lake Awassa and feeding the monkeys there (very carefully!). The girls loved how they would come up and take pieces of bananas right out of their hands. You should have heard them giggle and squeal. We also enjoyed buying mangoes, pineapples, and strawberries from local farmers along the roadside. Every farmer sells their produce along the roads and they hold it out to you as you drive by. In the South, they were selling drinks, produce, baskets, lottery tickets, and even a legal mind-altering drug called Chad or Cat. On the desert plains they were selling charcoal, wood, onions, potatoes, and we even saw a someone selling a very large python skin.

Sunday, we went to church at the International Evangelical Church. It was a taste of heaven to see a truly international group of believers from every tribe and tongue from India, Australia, Africa, different parts of Europe and America worshipping together. People from Australia, England, S. Korea, India, America and Ethiopians etc, all worshipping together!

Tomorrow I start teaching at the college. I am truly looking forward to getting to know the students.

Note from Cara:

Where do I start? As Jason described, so much has happened so quickly. You see pictures in a book or newsletter, but you never truly understand missionary work or living in a different culture until you can see, feel and smell the difference. You also get stared at a lot. My feisty side has been tempted to occasionally make funny faces at them to see what they would do! The culture is very warm and they love to see “white” children. Their staring is not considered rude, just curious. My biggest stress has been providing meals for my family. Imagine trying to shop here and not getting what you need. My skills for throwing things together, has been put to the max and trying to be creative with my ingredients. I miss my kitchen and the spices most of all. I feel like the Lord is using this time in our lives to strip us down of all our comforts and find our true identity and comfort in HIM ALONE. I am independent and you can’t be that way here. You have to ask for help. Since we don’t have a vehicle I ask for rides a lot to grocery stores and “tag along”. I have had to work through some expectations and put them before the Lord’s feet and know He is perfect and good in ALL things.

The Lord has helped us get through the disappointment of the boys. My heart is heavy and sad, but I trust in Him. It has helped to talk to fellow missionaries around here about the culture and the state of poverty here. One lady said that 90% of the children should be adopted here because of their poverty. That is hard to swallow. We were quickly reminded though that the Lord loves Ethiopia too and has great plans for her country. We revisited our reasons for adopting again. Even though Teketel and Mussie’s situation was not good, it wasn’t as bad as other children. Other children don’t have parents and don’t have food for their mouths. We want to meet a need, not take away children from their parents.

This week we are hoping to get in a “routine”…if you can call living here our normal routine!! J I will start the girl’s school, Jason will start at ETC and we are hoping to meet with the workers and attorneys at the transition home to communicate our disappointment for the lack of truth and wanting to start over with a clean slate and work with them in regards to being matched with new children. Even some of the details they gave us last week were false (like that the boys couldn’t walk when they came to the transition home). They also said if we were willing to wait, that the adoption could still be possible. I am not sure what kind of methods they were looking into, but legally if they have two parents they can’t be adopted. I am slowly realizing the gift of being able to find out the truth about the boys. We would have always wondered and now we have a peace of mind knowing we did everything humanly possible for them. I am trusting that the Lord will heal our broken hearts over Teketel and Mussie and enlarge our hearts for new children. I know He will. When you can physically see them and touch them, it will be easy. That is my prayer. We are still hoping to bring home children in June. We will see if that is possible.

Please continue to pray for our time here. Thank you to many of you that made it possible for us financially to come here. I never cease to give God thanks for that gift and for your prayers too…we feel them. I am still curious how the Lord will use us here. I know I have learned many valuable lessons already. How important it is to pray for the missionaries. They are not super humans and need specific and intentional prayers. Since we are “temporarily missionaries”, I will be able to understand at a deeper level what they are going through (at least the initial adjustments). It is hard. I didn’t know how hard, but the Lord’s strength is endless and His love secure.

Sorry for such a long update. We tried to give details so you could slightly see through our eyes what it’s like here. FYI, we have wireless internet, but the connection is so problematic……soooo frustrating. I see some of you on Skype, but haven’t figured out that connection either. So we gave a long update, because we don’t know when the access will be up again. TIE or TIA is what you say when things are so foreign and frustrating as internet. TIE= “this is Ethiopia” and TIA= “this is Africa.” And then you try to laugh, because if you don’t learn that lesson, you will always cry. What a great opportunity to see the creativity of God’s creation and his love for the nations. Believe me, the “American way” is not the only way. Just one more thing, one of the missionaries was telling us that one of the “down country” stores had started carrying Mars choc. bars. Then after about a month, they were gone. When she asked where they were, the storeowner complained that he could never keep them in stock and people were always buying them up, so he quit selling them…TIA!! Food is like that around here. Things come and go and it’s hard to know when they will come back. For example, there used to always be baking soda here for years, now for the last year, it’s been gone….TIA!! Everything is cheaply made down here, so pipes are always breaking and household things falling apart (know from first hand experience)…TIA. And then you laugh…or at least try! J

2 Cor. 2:14-15: “But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being save and among those who are perishing.” I’ve been reading a helpful book by Karen Pearce (given from Preston to Jason to me…if anyone runs into them, please thank them for me). I especially have appreciated the part of trying not to “do” things for the Lord, but to be so full of Him and spending time in His presence that we will be a sweet aroma of Christ to others around us. A lesson for us all, I believe!

We miss you all and love you deeply,

The Meyers

End of the Year Questions

Yesterday I read a great post and wanted to share it with you. I will be taking these questions with me on the plane and hopefully it will help me to reorganize and refocus my priorities. I like to stop several times a year and reflect where I am at. It helps me to see where I have deviated and also let the Lord show me areas in my life that need attention. Needless to say this past year I have neglected this more than usual.

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The beginning of a new year is an ideal time to stop, look up, and get our bearings. To that end, here are some questions to ask prayerfully in the presence of God.

1. What’s one thing you could do this year to increase your enjoyment of God?
2. What’s the most humanly impossible thing you will ask God to do this year?
3. What’s the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your family life this year?
4. In which spiritual discipline do you most want to make progress this year, and what will you do about it?
5. What is the single biggest time-waster in your life, and what will you do about it this year?
6. What is the most helpful new way you could strengthen your church?
7. For whose salvation will you pray most fervently this year?
8. What’s the most important way you will, by God’s grace, try to make this year different from last year?
9. What one thing could you do to improve your prayer life this year?
10. What single thing that you plan to do this year will matter most in ten years? In eternity?

Whitney writes:

The value of many of these questions is not in their profundity, but in the simple fact that they bring an issue or commitment into focus. For example, just by articulating which person you most want to encourage this year is more likely to help you remember to encourage that person than if you hadn’t considered the question.

Whitney also offers an additional 21 questions to help us “consider our ways.”

Read the whole article here.

HT: Justin Taylor

Walking by Faith

I am sorry I haven't made any updates to the boy's situation. There is not a whole lot to tell. All efforts were blocked and we do have some limited information that I am hesitant to divulge online for fear that it would hurt our case. I am hoping that we can share more of the pieces of this story when we get over there.

I know I keep saying this, but your prayers are so appreciated and felt. Things are soon approaching for our leave date. I am a little overwhelmed and relieved at the same time for some forward movement. We continue to pray that our desires would be secondary to what the Lord's will is for us and for Jonathan and David. Nothing is too big or difficult for the Lord and we are leaning on Him and trusting that He knows best and ultimately that He is in perfect control. I quake at the thought of me being in control. I would mess everything up....so we rest in HIM and wait.

Today I read Isaiah 53
53:5-7 says "Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned - everyone- to His own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth."

This was just a small portion of a glorious text. I sat there weeping and realizing that the Lord bore the full wrath of His Father and He bore the weight of the world's sins on His shoulders. How little is my pain and suffering compared to Jesus'. I rejoice in these struggles if to only be close to my Savior and to fellowship with Him. Though we had never thought this adoption journey would lead us down this path, we rejoice and thank Him through it all. In our weakness His strength is evident and our heart's desire and prayer is that no matter what the end of this story is, the Lord will get all the credit and praise. His ways are not our own, but we rest in His perfect sovereignty and plan, even if we don't fully understand or comprehend it.

On A Mission

The last few days have had another full range of emotions. The verse that keeps running through my head is this: "The steadfast love of the Lord never changes. His mercies are new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness." When things keep changing and stresses keep coming, the Lord's love is always steady. His truth never changes. His grace is always sufficient for that particular moment. I try not to think beyond today, because I know that the Lord hasn't given me the allotted graced for those days ahead. He only gives me the perfect amount this moment. I shudder and almost cry thinking what it would be like to go through hardships and life without the Lord. All the untruthfulness and confusion that we have experienced has made me even more thankful for the Truth of His Word that NEVER changes and is the foundation to our lives and in all the craziness we feel.

We have a christian driver and interpreter that is working for us in Ethiopia. He has helped several families in the past and we were blessed to come across the right people to get the connection to him. He visited the transition home yesterday and they told him that the boys were back with their father. After talking to the person that is connecting us, we decided that the only way we will know the truth is to find out for ourselves.
So as of this morning we received this email: On A mission. Our "helper" in Ethiopia is driving 6 hours one way to their regional orphanage to try to find out what is happening.

So my plea is this...please pray for our helper and please pray that the truth will come to light. I don't know if the transition home is helping him with info in regards to where the boys are located, but we are confident that the Lord will help him. I am praying that the Lord will prepare our hearts for whatever we hear. Believe me, I have cried my tears and at some level I am not sure how I will feel if I know they are with their father. We will still want to meet them regardless of where they are at.

Jason gently reminded me yesterday that we want to adopt children who desperately need a family. If the boys are able to go back to their family and are taken care of, that is our greatest desire for them. It's about their well-being not ours!

Also yesterday we found out that most of our funds are in for our trip!! Again, more tears shed with thankfulness for the Lord's provisions and clear hand upon this journey that He has called us to. Thank you all who gave to our trip. We thank the Lord that He moved through you to bless us.

Thank You all For Your Prayers

Things are starting to wind up pretty quickly. I can't believe we are literally a few weeks from going to Ethiopia. Time seems to be a blur in my eyes and I literally have to will myself to slow down and enjoy each day's blessings.

Thank you all for your prayers for us during this past year and this past week for our boys and our transition of moving to Ethiopia for awhile. What a joy and privilege it is to be used by our Lord. This journey has been hard, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. He has taught me so much about myself and HIM and trusting in Him alone....mm, you would think that would be an easy lesson!! :)

The latest update we have is nothing....we tried to find out an explanation as to why the boys are no longer up for adoption and back with their family(especially after we had heard encouraging news a couple months ago). After talking to others, our instincts do have some grounding. The opinion is that they may be with their family, but probably not. We really don't know what is happening. We are so ready to go over there and find out what is truly happening. I am frustrated by the lack of communication and help we are getting from the people that are supposed to be doing this stuff!! We feel very alone in this endeavour.

The Lord has brought some people into our path that are and will help us out in Ethiopia to find out what the truth is. Please continue to pray. In all honesty, this last piece of news was hard, but hardly surprises us because we keep having one obstacle after another. We know we are doing the right thing and are at peace with pursuing these boys to the very end of whatever the Lord has for them and us.

This past week, I kept wanting to know what the last chapter would be in this book of our adoption. It hasn't seem to reach the climax yet! :) At some point everything has to start fitting together somehow.

So we continue to trust the Lord and wait and pray that His will be done and knowing full well He is capable to move mountains.

Something Doesn't Add Up.

So we got another update today. Shimeliss told Hope adoption which told Lisa that our boys are no longer available for adoption and that they are back with their family. Shimeliss had mentioned that he had already told Lisa that, which he hadn't. SOMETHING DOESN'T ADD UP. We have been offered new referrals and new children TWICE and since the boys are back in their regional orphanage again, they have no jurisdiction over them. My fear is that this may just another way for them to get us to move on?
If they are back with their families again, great, I can deal with that and are would be happy that they are with some sort of family. But something in my spirit doesn't feel right. I can't put my finger on it. Our updates have hardly ever seemed to add up and sometimes been contradicting. I have no reason to trust them, even though I want to.
PLEASE PRAY FOR US, we need wisdom. I feel so trapped, angry, devastated and in tears. I can't let this rest until we have more details, because of course, we didn't get any of those.

Merry Christmas

I posted this video last year and again I find myself praying for our sons this Christmas season that the Lord would hold them close and all the other orphans in this world that don't get to experience a family's love. I pray that the Lord would hold each of them closely to His side and that they would experience His peace and love midst pain and confusion.

Gracie Reading to Allie

Gracie loves to read and her goal has been to read to Allie. She always asks Allie if she wants a book read to her. So proud of our girl!!

While You Were Sleeping

Why We Are Going To Ethiopia

Dear Family and Friends,

Many of you know that we are in the process of adopting two boys from Ethiopia. Some of you have also heard of the Lord's leading in our next step of faith: the Meyer family is moving to Ethiopia for next semester (January through June). We will be working under the leadership of SIM (Serving in Mission). SIM is an interdenominational mission organization whose main focus is to glorify God by evangelizing, ministering, discipling, and establishing national churches that fulfill the Great Commission. My main ministry opportunity in Ethiopia will be teaching the Gospels at the Evangelical Theological College in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. We would love to explain how the Lord has worked in our hearts to lead us to this exciting decision.

We began to be confronted with the idea of moving to Ethiopia as we meditated on the meaning of the gospel. It all started when one of our agency workers recommended that we seek a referral for a new child because of certain difficulties in the adoption process with our two boys. Those words were unthinkable and unsettling, but the situation brought the gospel into clear focus. We owe our salvation to the relentless, loving, patient pursuit of God. God in Christ took a "whatever it takes" approach to redeem and rescue us when we were helpless sinners. Therefore, we long for our relentless, loving, patient advocacy for these boys to serve as a model of the gospel.

Having resolved that we were not going to give up on them because God never gave up on us, we considered how we could expend every effort and use up every option at our disposal. The gospel surprised us again with its challenging, yet compelling beauty. The glory of the incarnation is that Jesus left heaven to come to earth and dwell among us in order to bring us into God's family. Suddenly, the distance did not seem so great between Louisiana and Ethiopia. The "sacrifice" seemed surprisingly small to leave the comforts of America for Ethiopia when we compared them to Christ's loving act of leaving the glories of heaven for the hardships he faced on earth. We are gladly bringing our family to the boys rather than waiting to bring the boys to our family.

Our time in Ethiopia is now about so much more than the adoption of our two boys. We have a chance to proclaim the true gospel. One of the problems in Ethiopia is a false teaching that Jesus is part God and part man, not fully God and fully man as the Bible teaches. It is no coincidence, but providence that they assigned me to teach a class on the Gospels! We long to see the Ethiopians worship Christ in His full glory because He alone is worthy of their praise. "Let the peoples praise you, O God, let all the peoples praise you" (Ps 67:3). Our prayer is not to be seen or to be admired as we take this step. Our prayer is for Christ to be seen and admired in all the stunning beauty of His majesty. O how we long to see Him more clearly and proclaim His glory more faithfully and passionately in and through this mission. It has the potential to be the biggest catalyst for spiritual growth that we have ever experienced together as a family.

My main purpose for writing this letter is to enlist an army of prayer warriors for prayer support for our ministry in Ethiopia. We are also beginning the process of fund raising. We will need to raise $19,504 to cover flight costs, medical insurance, and living expenses while in Ethiopia. The financial support for this trip must be raised before we can leave the U.S. on January 11. If the Lord leads you to partner with us financially, you may return your gift with our STA#33929 on the enclosed response card to the SIM office. SIM will send you a tax-deductible receipt for your gift. Please know that this is not a "we will mention prayer in passing, but we really hope you give money" kind of letter. We pray that the Lord will lead you as He sees fit. We pray that He will raise up many to give cheerfully to this cause, but our greatest need is for many more to intercede for us faithfully before the throne of grace because His grace is our greatest need. We know that apart from Him we can do nothing (John 15:5).

Yours in the greatest cause,

The Meyer family

202 Iris Park Drive
Pineville, LA 71360
318-542-2823

SIM information

P. O. Box 7900

Charlotte, NC 28241

704-587-1518

Running A Half-Marathon

Yesterday I did something I thought I'd never do. I ran a half-marathon, 13.1 miles. I couldn't have done it without the accountability and encouragement of my running partners, who are 10x better than me. I aspire to run like them someday!! I ran my personal best, which shocked even myself. I finished in 2 hours 11 min. The funny part was that I actually placed second in my age catagory. My response was complete shock. It was a smaller race and there must not have been a lot in my class. I told Jason that the Lord had a sense of humor, making my first race one that I place. I am sure that will be the last time!! Here a few pictures from yesterday. It rained that day, so I was wet. The rain actually made it more refreshing when we ran.
From left to right. Anna Magee(she was the one that I ran with until mile 10..I couldn't have done as well as I did without her). Carine Mattix(she was my 5 am running partner...she is an awesome running and encourager) Brenda Pierson(LC biology professor that ran sometime with us on the weekends). Jon(LC student that is a cross country runner that on a whim decided to run the half-marathon and had never run that far in his life. His time: 1 hour 45 min!! Puke!! ;)

Photography Mania

cheek to cheek with my princesses!!

Enjoying the pumpkin patch and collecting mini pumpkins!!

Beautiful fall weather and doing a little hiking. We had to find walking sticks!!

Behind Jason and the girls is huge cane plants. The girls had fun exploring the woods!

posing in front of a cool mushroom. Have yet to find out what it was. Lots of flowers and berries too. The girls thought each find was a treasure and gushed with excitement. Trying to take picture shots in my mind of all these memories.

The following pictures were taken when the girls dressed up for a little tea time with mommy. I thought they looked too cute to pass up. K...just a proud mama!! :)

Allie thinking that vacuuming is a blast!! What a goof-ball.

A Shimmer of Hope?????

Some good friends of ours, the Stutzman's are adopting three siblings from Ethiopia. Jake the father has gone over there due to problems with the progress of their case. While he was over there, he was able to ask about our case. They told him that the situation with the boy's father had been resolved and that as soon as someone can travel to the region, that they can come back to the transition home. We were estactic to receive this news, but also very cautious. We have gotten wrong information in the past and don't want to set our hopes in this too much. So we continue to pray with fervor that the Lord will continue to put His hand upon our case. We see this as another sign that it will be very good for our case if we were over there. It seems that if they can put a face and family with the case that it may help things possible move more quickly.
We never give up hope that the Lord will work in mighty ways!!

BTW....tomorrow is Orphan Sunday.

A challenge: Satan does not want to see orphans or broken children united with families. Please pray, support, or encourage someone who is or has adopted and be prayerful if the Lord is leading you in this direction. It is a mandate in the Bible to care for widows and orphans!!

Life's Inconveniences

this from an out-of-print book, The Life and Letters
of Janet Erskine Stuart. (Says one who was her assistant for some years),

"She delighted in seeing her plan upset by unexpected events, saying that
it gave her great comfort, and that she looked on such things as an
assurance that God was watching over her stewardship, was securing the
accomplishment of His will, and working out His own designs. Whether she
traced the secondary causes to the prayer of a child, to the imperfection
of an individual, to obstacles arising from misunderstandings, or to
interference of outside agencies, she was joyfully and graciously ready to
recognize the indication of God's ruling hand, and to allow herself to be
guided by it."

Morning Reading

Isaiah 30:15
"In returning and rest you shall be saved;
in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.
(but Jerusalem was unwilling)

30:18-21
"Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you,
and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.
For the LORD is a God of justice;
blessed are all those who wait for him.

....He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as he hears it, he answers you. And though the LORD give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, 'This is the way, walk in it,' when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left."

I have been reading through Isaiah. It amazing how God's word is ALWAYS relevant in our lives. I am thanking God for his promises and fresh new grace and mercy for today only!!

Soberly Resolved

Our adoption updates have been few and far between. Our case seems to be stuck in limbo and no one seems to know the specifics of what is being done to move the case forward.

This morning we were given more discouraging news. They think our case could go on indefinitely and some of these cases have been going for two years!! The advice that was given to us again was to be matched with new children. Jason and I are at a loss of what to do because we feel connected to these two precious boys. We don't want a new referral. This seems to solidify even more that we are needing to go to Ethiopia next year. We were waiting to make it official, but at this point Jason and I are planning to live in Ethiopia from Jan-June. He would teach at a Bible college and hopefully while over there we can figure out what is happening with our case and possibly our presence would move it along quicker. I feel like we are missing some major pieces to the puzzle and us going over there will help us understand more what is happening and possibly bring in some extra resources to get the job done. If we don't adopt these boys, they will probably stay at an orphanage indefinitely as long as they live.

Our tenacity and determination is still there. I think we are a little sobered to the task that lies ahead us. The Lord is in control and He is and will be getting all the glory through this whole process. We could not be or do what we are doing without the strength of the Lord!!

To be truthfully honest, it's been hard again lately. So many changes and uncertainties are lying ahead of us. I feel sometimes that it is a lonely road to travel. Every day is a fight to rest in the sovereignty of God and every day to rest fully and completely in His hands. Jason and I want the Lord to use us as He sees fit. This is about Him. This whole adoption has less to do about us and more to do with the Lord and the orphans in this world that need a family and a chance to hear the gospel.

At this point we will not be accepting a new referral or new children.

Our prayer is this: "Lord, be with these two precious boys. Hold them close to your bosom. Protect them and sustain them. Give us strength God, we so desperately need you. We feel weak.....but You are strong in our weakness. Help us to finish well. Let everything we say and do bring honor and glory to You, O God. No matter the outcome, you are perfect and good and Holy and we rest in Your perfect understanding of the adoption process. We rest in You."

Our Daddy is Cool!!

I know it is not Father's Day or Jason's birthday, but I am so thankful and undeserving of such a wonderful husband and father who adore his girls and prays diligently for the arrival of his sons. The last couple weeks I have tried to capture things that are dear to my heart and wanted to brag on my husband for a little bit.

Ever since the girls were babies, Jason has always put his girls to bed and had a sweet time of tucking them in, reading to them and blessing and praying for them every night of their lives, except when he is gone. He has always done catechism with them, bible verse memory or now lately has added reading through the Bible and acting out certain parts. The girls always remind him if he has forgotten something!! :)

We were in Minneapolis last weekend and brought back a stuffed animal for each girl. A moose for Gracie which she named "Boom" and a black bear for Allie which she named "Rocky". I am not sure why we bought them more stuffed animals, but they seemed to love them. I have no further comment about this video....just plain silliness!! :)

Family Verse

So a few posts back I had shared a song that speaks appropriately to where the Lord has placed us in our lives. Today I wanted to share with you our family verse that we had chosen way back when our girls were first born. Every time I read it or mediate on it, it fills my heart with hope and utter joy for my Savior. So here it is; may it encourage your heart as well.

"Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor? Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid? For from Him and Through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever." ~Amen~

Random Videos

I love this video. Their laughter is very contagious!!




Gracie(#2 jersey & long ponytail) is playing soccer this season and here was a little excerpt of her game. You can hear her little sister cheering her on!!

Allie's soccer team. She is the #2 jersey and she makes a goal in the beginning of the video. The other team didn't show up, so the parents played the kiddos. It was really fun for everyone...even the parents!!

The girls have taken to doing their own personal movies. Here is Allie's along with some 4 year old commentary! (sorry about the vacuuming in the background. It's always interesting what your kids are doing when you are busy in the back doing something.)

Gracie's movie with her own commentary.

Thank you all for your continued prayers and support for us during this time. We planning towards moving to Ethiopia in Jan-June. Jason is getting an opportunity to teach at the Ethiopian Bible College there. More details to come and quite the story how God has moved our hearts to go to Ethiopia for the spring semester. We have no preconceived notions that it will help our adoption, but hopefully our presence can count for something. God has done a great work to get our hearts to get to this point....anyway will fill in more of the plans later!

Another Disconnected Piece of Information

It seems like our updates come in torrents!! This afternoon after inquiring about a DNA test, we found out that they did indeed know that this man is the boy's father(wondering why they told us wrong info earlier). The problem now is that he has voiced doubt about the adoption and so the MOWA in the southern region(which is like equivalent to our social workers here) is investigating as to whether or not he can even provide for the boys. We are really confused if he doesn't want us to adopt them or if he genuinely wants them back. All they said was that he was having doubts.....that can be interpreted a lot of different ways.

My big concern still is that these boys are in limbo and that they are back at this orphanage again, where we have no idea as to whether or not they are getting good care. I have always prayed that no matter what happens that they would get to be with a family, either us or their biological family. We just did not want to see them stuck in an orphanage the rest of their lives.

To be honest, we do not know how to process this information or how long all this will take. I am feeling very numb and at loss of words on how to even pray other than O Lord, please move this along for the sake of our precious boys. I am still going to call them ours until the end, no matter what direction it takes. I have no doubt that the Lord has led us to them and all this has happened for a purpose and reason in our lives and theirs. I am just weary and tired and I know that the Holy Spirit takes the groanings of our hearts and takes them to the Father.

Thank you all for your prayers and support....they mean more than you will ever know.

RRR...RESTING in God with RELENTLESS love and a RESOLVE to bring home Jonathan and David.(or whatever is best for them)