Home sweet home

I am so happy to be home. I am an emotional wreck, will this happen every time I go to Kenya? I don't know. While I live my comfortable life there are images I have seen first hand that will never go away.

I pray that I don't become desensitized to the poverty in this world, here or abroad. Although I am far from perfect I pray that my life reflects my love for Christ and for others. I love being part of this home www.mercyhousekenya.org that brings hope to the hopeless and life when there otherwise would have been none. 

"...let your light so shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."        Matthew 5:16

Mercy House - Part 2

This is my second trip to Kenya this year....and it's crazy to think I'll have 2 trips to Africa by next summer! I have been up since 4am...slept well just not long enough! It is SO good to see the girls again. Since our last trip we have added one new girl and 4 babies have been born. As I interact with the girls I am amazed, they have hope and a future....to God be the glory. Today is a BIG day, four of our girls graduate....we are very excited and will head to the church hall this morning for a ceremony and to celebrate these girls and what God has done in their lives. I miss my family but am thankful to be here and be a par of it all.

Th is is Precious and her mom is one of the graduates today...she's spunky!

Our Adoption

We are currently waiting on paperwork (surprise surprise), our dossier is complete and will be in Ethiopia soon (great news).  I thought I'd share the answers to some questions that seem have been asked of us by quite a few people :) Maybe you're curious, maybe you don't care but here they are:

1. Why a boy? Well we think we're pretty good with boys ;) no seriously...we weren't particularly looking for another child it just happened and it so happened to be a boy that caught our eye.  I regularly look at the WACAP waiting children page and each time I looked he was still there. I showed Kurt his photo and asked if I could inquire about him and he said "sure". That was the beginning, through much prayer and talks we proceeded with the adoption of Berihu. We feel like his age (8 years, he'll be 9 in Jan) and where he fits in with our kiddos is a good fit for our family. It's hard to explain but we know our children and it just is.

2. Are you moving? No - adoption is expensive, first things first - we want him home! We'll be doubling up for a while, Braden/Berihu and Truitt/Blake will share rooms. We do hope to build on our property one day.

3. Why Ethiopia? We looked into domestic foster adoption (during that time I continued to see Berihu on the waiting website) and we decided this was best for our family. One of the things that caught our attention was that older children in orphanages "age out" often with no where to go (this happens in many countries). They are let go to fend for themselves, no family, little money, basic education, no job, no vocational training, no idea how to cook, manage money etc. Many end up living in khat houses or worse. Khat houses are places in Addis where young men can smoke marijuana, drink, and chew khat. These establishments often offer a place to sleep and some food for a low price because they make money on the addictive substances they sell. In order to get a job in Ethiopia, you need an ID card and for that you have to have a permanent residence and someone to vouch for you, to provide a “guarantee.” The person who provides the guarantee must also have an ID card and be willing to have some sort of legal connection to you. Because these young men don’t have either, they cannot get an ID card. Without an ID card, they cannot enroll in educational/vocational programs or apply for the majority of jobs. Girls are susceptible to that same issues and particularly vulnerable to trafficking and prostitution. The age at which children age out can vary from country to country and even vary from orphanage to orphanage within the same country but we have read as early as 14 years old. Can you imagine? No one to care for you, to love you, protect you...it's heart breaking.

 Here are a few facts about Ethiopia:

-The population is close to 70 million
-One third of the population survive on less than 1 USD a day
-Amharic is the national language (our son speaks Tigrinya)
-Children are orphaned as a result of extreme poverty, HIV/AIDS, and child abandonment
-There are approximately 5 million orphans in Ethiopia
-Malnutrition affects a large portion of the population
-Access to clean water and sanitation facilities are inadequate

4. Who are you adopting? Our son's name is Berihu and he lives in the Tigray region of Ethiopia (northernmost region). He was born on January 13, 2005, we think this is probably pretty accurate as he was raised much of his life by his family. He is a total orphan, meaning that both of his parents are deceased and has been living in the orphanage since June of 2012. We don't  have much information on his family, we hope to be able to meet and talk with his uncle when we travel. We are told this is where we will get his family information, if at all. I want to learn as much as we can for his sake, as one day these will all be distant memories for our sweet boy.

5. How much does it cost? Adoption is expensive. Costs vary but this adoption is estimated to cost between $35,000 and $40,000. Fortunately is isn't due all at once. We have been given a matching grant through our church using an organization called LifeSong for Orphans. If you would like to contribute to bringing our son home this is a tax deductible donation, information is below:
1.  Checks should be payable to “Lifesong for Orphans. In the memo, note “family account number” and “familyname” (Box #3940) to assure it goes to the correct account. Please mail to Lifesong for Orphans, PO Box 40,Gridley, IL 61744. 100% of this donation goes to our adoption.
2. To pay online go to www.lifesongfororphans.org/give/donate. Select “Give to an Adoptive Family” . Complete the online form and fill in “Family Account Number” and “Family Name” fields  (Box #3940)

LifeSong takes the all money donated in our name and uses it to pay the invoices we have sitting on our kitchen counter ;) 

6. Can I see his photo? If I run into you in person - you bet!! I can't share it online. He's precious...he really is and I'll show him off after we have our court date and he is officially ours!

We would love your prayers, specifically:
- Pray for the paperwork to get pushed through quickly so we can be assigned a court date.
- Pray for the Lord to prepare Berihu's heart as he will have big changes ahead - his home, his family, his friends, his country, his language, his food etc.
- Pray for our home - that we too would be prepared to bring him into our home. For a smooth transition for our family, especially our kiddos.
- Pray for Berihu and the Lord's protection over him in his orphanage. Pray for transition as well, as when we visit we will take him to the WACAP orphanage in Addis. He will stay here until we return to get him (5-7 weeks after court).

We are HUGE supporters of Compassion International and what they do to help families stay together. We believe keeping families together is the best option but unfortunately it isn't always possible for everyone. We live in a fallen world and as such there will always be orphans and needy people among us. Adoption isn't for every family but God has called us to care for the least of these - what does that look like for your family?

Proverbs 19:17 - "He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will reward him for what he has done"

Heading Home...

We left Ruidoso early the next morning and headed to Alpine, we decided to break up the drive by stopping at White Sands again. Last time we were there play time got cut short by the storm so the boys were pleased. We arrived in Alpine, swam at the hotel and then had dinner next door. We got up and had breakfast - this is one of our kids favorite things to do at the hotels - choose whatever they want for breakfast! The drive today would get us home but we decided to stop at Balmorhea again to swim for a bit. We had sunshine/heat this time which made it much better! Lunch in the car, movies, nap and we made it home about 8pm. We were thankful to be home safely and to have had such a great time together as a family.

Reese had more fun in the sand this time around...

 it was HOT!

the boys, chasing catfish...

Ruidoso

The next morning we got up and headed to Ruidoso. Unfortunately Braden woke up sick, he threw up on and off the whole way there :( We went to Ski Apache to ride the gondola. When we arrived he was feeling better (fresh air) and decided to ride up to the top with everyone. Once to the top Kurt, Truitt and Blake hiked up to the lookout point....we stayed put and Braden was sick again.
Braden, Reese and I rode the gondola down while the guys hiked down. We got to the car and had a snack and read a book. We were reading a great book, Running for My Life by Lopez Lomong. It was hard to put down! It is about a lost boy of Sudan and his life journey, how he was taken at the age of six, escaped his kidnappers only to end up in a refugee camp for 10 years. He tells how he came to the US and eventually became an Olymipc athlete - AH-mazing story. Anyway, we read a few chapters together (I read aloud a lot of this trip, it was fun) and just talked - it was nice other than the fact he felt so poorly. It started raining just as the guys made it down and we went to our hotel. Kurt and the kids went in search of a laundry mat and played putt putt while Braden and I stayed at the hotel. Thankfully Braden felt better the next day - a brand new kid. We did the Billy the Kid scenic route. It was ok, the kids weren't that into it but they entertain themselves so it was fine. We had a picnic in the small town of Lincoln, grabbed some ice cream and then headed back into town. We went to the putt putt place and did race cars and bumper boats. It was fun and we ended the day on the floor in the hotel room eating pizza and talking about our "favorite things" from our trip so far. Heart = full.

We found a nice green space for a picnic while walking in Lincoln

 Braden had that smile the WHOLE time. Reese/I and Kurt/Blake rode the second round, it was fun!

 Reese and I sat this one out...that water was cold! It was fun to watch :)

City of the Rocks and White Sands

Next day we were up and headed to City of the Rocks. The boys had a battle with cap guns, Reese and I putted around then we had a picnic. Afterwards we headed for White Sands and then on to Cloudcroft to eat and stay the night. It was much cooler there, very nice! It is odd to drive through desert like conditions and then next thing we know we're headed through a national forest on our way to Cloudcroft.

 scorpion

 White Sands...boys had a blast! Reese and I slid down a few times too.

 There was a storm headed our way but we played for an hour before it arrived

 Blake just before he had a mouth full of sand

the clean up :)

Guadalupe Mountains State Park

Our next day was hiking in Guadalupe Mts state park. We hiked Devil's Hall, 4.2 miles...lots of climbing rocks along the way. It was a pretty easy hike...everyone did fine. Once we hit the end of the trail we played hide and seek, had a picnic, rock climbed then headed back to the car. Next stop, Hueco Tanks State Park. Basically rock climbing, we hiked to the top. A full day of hiking and rock climbing....we were worn out! As we left the park we saw a tarantula in the road...and another on the side of the road so we stopped, of course ;)

 starting our hike

 not sure what this is - millipede?

 Hueco Tanks...hiking to the top

 the boys then went on to the tippie top, Reese and I stayed put

Tarantula

New Mexico

We drove to New Mexico for our family vacation this summer. That might sound like a nightmare but our kids do really well in the car so roads trips aren't all that bad. Our trip was broken up along the way as we made stops along the way in different towns (we didn't just stay in on place), so that helped too.  Our first stop was in Balmorhea, Texas. It is the world's largest spring fed pool...it was chilly the morning we went because the storms passed through but they still had fun swimming (with Dad!). Actually there were some catfish in the pool and the boys chased them around most of the time. The water is crystal clear and 72 degrees year round, beautiful. Afterwards we made our way to Carlsbad and went through Carlsbad Caverns. We ate dinner and stuck around to see the bats leave the cave that evening. Our first night in a hotel went well...the kids love staying in hotels :)

Blake going off the high dive. He actually went in straight - no belly flops.

 Reese barely getting in, this was about as far as she went.

 We hiked down the natural entrance of the cave and took the elevator up

Summer

We have had  a nice summer so far...just relaxing and enjoying not being on a schedule (for the most part). Typically I have about 4-6 boys in my house in the afternoons.....it's LOUD but I try remind myself that it is also GOOD. Thankful for my loud, happy kiddos ;) A few photos from the first half of summer.

Playing with friends

 one black eye

 hanging with my boys at the lake

visiting with family

 celebrated Granddad's 70th birthday 

Our Family is Growing

The Box family is growing, we are in the process of adopting from Ethiopia. We hope to bring our son home early next year. We don't have a lot of details to share but he is 8 years old and well, really that's it :) We have completed our home study and are in the immigration "steps"....in other words - we are waiting.  As we get more updates on our adoption process I'll post...you know, for all 5 of my peeps who read this ;)

Summer is here!

The week school let out we went up to Crystal Beach with some friends. We stayed Friday night and did the beach the WHOLE day on Saturday. It was fun....the kids were busy the whole time. It was really nice to have a house to shower and clean up at before heading home Saturday evening. It's so fun to watch all our kids get along (that's a lot of getting along y'all - 12 kids!). Couple friends...they're the best.

 Reese and Emery

 Loving the beach

 Reese with Daddy

 Busy building cities for the hermit crabs (and other finds)

 The crew

 We took the ferry home....we saw several dolphins and ships and the kids loved it....so did I.

Kenya - Part 2

I have been home for 4 weeks now. We finished up our last 2 days in Kenya with Jerry (our pastor) and John (our worship pastor) at the Mercy House.  This trip full to the brim with tasks and we accomplished everything on our list and more. I got spend time getting to know these wonderful girls, so sweet. It was heart warming to see them treat each other as sisters, helping each other out when needed. Not once did I see soemone walk past a baby that was crying or someone that needed something -  no matter who it was they always helped, like a family. It was as it should be...God is good, He takes what was broken and He heals, He restores. It's a beautiful thing to witness. I am so thankful to be a part of Mercy House and to get to see this home and these girls first hand.
 I am home, I am humbled, I am changed and I am thankful for so.many.things.

Kenya

We left Friday night at 8pm and arrived here on Sunday morning at 4am....that was a LONG trip. We came to Maureen's apartment and slept for a few hours, then got up and headed to Rehema (Mercy) House. So a quick catch up:

Sunday: we went and picked up the girls and house mother and we all went to church. Church here lasted 2 hours (in service) and that's a "short" service! The music was wonderful but by the time the preacher got up and started talking I was SO TIRED....had a really hard time staying awake. I might have even pullled a NaNa during prayer time ;) Afterwards we went back to the house for lunch, toured the house, visited with the girls and just did a few things around the house before heading back to the apartment. The babies were not real keen on us "white ladies"(muzungu) this first day thankfully a few of them have warmed up to us.

All the girls and babies

 

 Monday: We are currently in negotiations on a home, about 30 minutes from our current home. This means MH would own the home and be out from under the landlord who is continuing to raise rent and even raised the deposit after 2 years of being in the home (which is well maintained). Say what?! I don't think I have ever heard of asking for more deposit money. SO we got up bright and early to miss traffic and went to see the house. The owner is moving back to Uganda and is a wonderful woman. The home is so neat...I love it. It is smaller but has enough rooms to house all of our girls and will be wonderful. Afterwards we headed to the home, had lunch, did individual portraits of the babies in their new outfits, portraits of the girls, I worked with Deborah on some sewing items and watched some monkies who came into the yard to eat the guava :)

 Baby Maureen

 Me and Precious. She was snuggling because she was more scared of the monkies then of me :)

 

Today: This morning we got up early to head into the city center to buy fabric. This took about 45 minutes with traffic. We came back tot he apartment to get our bags (we left them at home...didn't want to be a target) then headed to Rehema house. This took 3 hours!! It was crazy...it has been raining for about a month on a daily basis and it is flooding roads, filling huge potholes....it was a mess. On the bright side it was good company :) When we got to the house Maureen's mom and Oliver were there....we had lunch, did some sewing and then Maureen got engaged!! It was great - Kristen did the video and I photographed it, I was so happy this happened while we were here. Traffic home wasn't as bad but it took about 45 minutes....so all in all about 5 hours in transport - ugh. Houston traffic has nothing on Kenya!

 





We got bored in traffic....so Kristen decided to see how deep the ditch was :) 



A happy ending to our day!