"Sometimes I would like to ask God, why He allows poverty, famine and injustice in the world, when He could do something about it... but I'm afraid He might ask me the same question."
...and loving it. seriously.
it is so good...i knew it would be good. .. but i had no idea it would be this good!
we are tired and our house is a complete disaster but honestly, it doesn't matter.
because we are home.
all 5 of us.
ARE HOME.
in america.
can you tell?!
i still can't believe it.
so many thoughts are running through my mind and i will unload in the coming weeks as i continue to process but for now and probably the coming days....pictures will have to do. {i may be biased, but i am pretty sure they don't need any words to accompany them...they speak for themselves...and all of them say one word :: heavenly.}
I'm a friend of Sara and Andy's and I've been given the privilege and permission to post here tonight in Sara's place.
I could launch into a really long story here. I could tell you how I first became acquainted with Sara in September of 2010 when she and Andy stepped out in faith to host a fundraiser for our ministry. I could tell you how we maintained our stateside friendship for many months -- and then later spent time together in Uganda. I could tell you about the many ways their story has inspired me. I could tell you how their story has challenged and stretched my faith. I could even tell you about how they've made the most of their time in Uganda by serving and blessing our family's ministry... as well as countless others.
But the truth is, I could be anybody. Because the Ribben's family has literally touched thousands of lives over the last twelve months. They've blessed and inspired and challenged all of us. They've loved us and encouraged us, even from afar.
Their willingness to fight for their daughter and to give up everything for one, single child... well, they've made a serious dent in most of our hearts. They've taught us all a thing or two about faith. And they've demonstrated love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentless and self control... even in the midst of some incredibly trying circumstances.
Friends, now it's time to bless them back.
The rulings are done. The paperwork is complete. The visas and passports are in hand. Sara and the kids are scheduled to fly out of Uganda tomorrow night. But guess what? Their plane tickets expired... TODAY.
They missed their window by only 24 hours and had to purchase new plane tickets. And they were expensive. To the tune of $4300. The family also incurred a number of other expenses related to this short delay. For a total of about $6500.
And this is where we come in.
God's timing is perfect. Although He's never late, He's rarely early. It's clear to me that He intended for those tickets to expire because He had a greater, grander plan. And now we have a chance to be part of it.
If you'd like to contribute to the Ribben's expenses, including their plane tickets and other expenses incurred during these last two, unexpected months in Uganda, please donate by using the Paypal button in the sidebar.
There are no prizes or giveaways associated with this post. Except the satisfaction and joy that comes from being part of a big, fanstastic God story. Friends, please give and give generously -- let's bring em' home.
Please contact Shelly, Esty, Lara, Joy or Colleen with questions. Just comment anywhere on our blogs -- we'll see it.
after being denied legal guardianship 7.5 months ago.
after a long, process with the appeals court.
after 1 month of living apart from my sweet husband.
after 23 nights of putting the littles to sleep by myself.
after 13 days of knowing that my sweet girl is {officially} our daughter!!
after 1 week of wondering if we would have to move here for a few years because the wording on our ruling didn't comply with US visa standards. (we really wondered this for the past year.)
after spending 1 night {last week} wondering if moving our family to mexico was the best possible solution {more to come on that:)}.
after all this craziness...
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
..
..
WE ARE COMING HOME.
yes, we pick our visa up on friday
AND WILL HEAD TO THE AIRPORT FRIDAY NIGHT.
ohmygoodness. i can't even believe i just typed those words. we have been waiting for a long time to write. we have waited a long time to SHOUT IT FROM THE ROOFTOPS.
smile with us, cry with us, dance with us, SHOUT with us ...
rejoice with us this day friends.
because today we are praising God that we are coming home.
the day we have been waiting for is finally here. we will be given our ruling for our sweet nya-girl tomorrow. TOMORROW. ohmygoodness. i can't believe tomorrow. within 12 hours, we WILL know if nya is {legally} ours..
as this day approaches, my heart has been filled with every emotion possible. good and bad. it probably doesn't help that i am completely sleep deprived and my husband has been gone a week and a half. the littles haven't had a decent night sleep since before he was gone. and right now, 6 straight hours of sleep would be decent. i think last night i got 4 hours..sorry, this is not the reason for this post!
..every emotion possible..
the thought of actually being granted legal gaurdianship of nya seems so unreal at this point in time considering we have been waiting for 11 months...the thought of going home is exciting and terrifying all at once. i am thrilled at the thought of seeing friends and family and {finally} introducing n and b. but re-entering into life at "home" will be so different than what we are used to. i am anticipating the culture shock to be great..i mean it was hard going home in august and now our time in country has doubled.
and even though i am excited at the possibility of going home {this is what we have been waiting for..}, i am also sad to be leaving this country that has my heart. while longing to be "home", this has become our home. this is all our littlest littles know. and this is probably a great deal of o-boy's memory.
as we look to tomorrow, we are anxiously awaiting whatever God has in store. yes, we are hoping for a positive ruling {really hoping!!} but if there is one thing that we have learned during the past year, is that sometimes, our plans don't always look like God's. sometimes His plan is hard and messy but His plan is good. always best.
and quite honestly, i would much rather be in His plan than mine.
we spent the last 3.5 years adopting two precious children from uganda. it has been one crazy, unforgetable journey. stick around as i share about our year in Uganda, transitioning back 'home', international adoption, what keeps me up at night and everything in between..we are THAT family!
