Our Big News!!!

I know many of you know already, but we wanted to announce it just like any other couple would announce a new member coming into their family! 

It's taken far longer than we anticipated in getting to this point (kinda the story of our lives!!), but my dad always reminds me that this time of waiting is a time for growth, to become the parents we need to be, to grow us closer to Christ, for God to work things out with our kids, etc and so we try not to get bogged down in the wait (try!!) but instead look for Him to work. 

How far along are we? Well we are just about ready to submit our dossier to Burundi! It "should" take about a month for the dossier to be submitted and registered and then we'll begin the wait for a referral. We don't know how long that might take, but we know God is in control of this all and that's all that matters. 

Boy or a girl? Age? We don't know. We want to be surprised on gender :) We did ask to be matched with 5 yrs and younger!

Just one right? Nope we said we were open to siblings! We are praying (please join us) that God will give us siblings and bring our family home all at the same time. Yes this makes us nervous. Yes we might be slightly out of our minds. Yes we trust that what He has laid on our hearts, He will make us capable of! We are currently trying to raise funds in order to proceed with siblings. We need to raise $5000 by the end of the month. If you'd like to help us bring our kids home, we would cherish your support!!

Due date? We don't know yet. Like we said, we should be on the wait list for a referral in a month after our dossier is submitted. The referral time is different based upon what children are available and what kind of care you can and are willing to provide. It could be another year or more before we bring our kids home. 

All in all, please be praying with us in our journey! Pray that God would open doors for our kids and us to be united quickly. Pray that the right people will get our paperwork and work efficiently. Pray for our children to be safe during this process, that they are loved by those around them, have their needs met and are healthy. Pray for their biological family who will have to endure some crisis in order for our kids to need other parents. Pray that God will comfort them during this crisis, and even in the crisis, they will sense His love for them and for our kids. Pray also for Burundi, which has undergone some bit of violence last year. Ask for peace, for calm hearts and for the situations to be diffused. 

All in all, please pray for our adventure of bringing our kiddos home!

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Random thoughts

Here are some of my random thoughts over the past several weeks:

1. It's funny to me how I can feel so at home in two completely different places.

2. Driving back to K town felt like driving back home, but it's no longer our home.

3. Isn't it weird how random things that don't change can make you feel more comfortable, more settled? Like this door still standing after 8 months?

How this is still standing I have no idea!!

4. How can kids grow so much in 8 months?

5. Yassa is possibly one of my favorite foods….minus the chicken :)

6. Somehow my Senegalese dog, Zelli, is fatter than when we left. The only thing that can account for this is ceebu jen!

7. I still can't stand for my feet to be dirty before bed.

8. Short hair isn't as great as I thought it would be. I actually have to try harder to fix it than I did with long hair :(

9. Me + fabric market =Danger! Danger!!

10. Cold showers at the end of a hot day are better than just about anything!

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#happyreunions

Returning to our old town has been filled with #happyreunions. Normally I don’t speak in hashtags, but I’ve documented some of the joyousness of the last week on Instagram under this hashtag. But I’ll stop now referring to it now J

The greetings of our return have been anything from “You’ve come back!!! I missed you” to “I thought you left for good”. But the best three, the three that made me cry and touched my heart were the following: “My baby has come home.” ,“Our tiredness will stop now that you are back.” , “I missed you!! I’m truly truly your family now!”.  Oh and then there was the little 5 year old sitting on my lap with her head against my chest, sighing deeply saying, “Binta I missed you so much. I didn’t miss Ibrahiima, but I missed you.” She’s so ornery!!

Part of me feared that when we got back, people wouldn’t really be that happy to see us. That I hadn’t touched their lives like they touched mine. I was worried that I would be more happy to see them. And I was okay with that. My family and friends here have changed my life. They’ve opened my mind up to a whole new world, a  wondrous place I never knew….oh sorry Aladdin is playing in the background… But seriously they did open my mind. They allowed me into their lives, into their homes and we forged deep bonds because of that. They taught me how to cook here, taught me how to hand wash clothes, how to draw water from a well. They taught me how to live without feeling like I was missing anything. They made me depend on God more, without out them even knowing it. They made me trust in Him more. They made me refine and know the core of my theology. They helped me work through cultural misunderstandings with grace and forgiveness. They made me seek His face in every word I spoke.  Without them even knowing it, they helped me get closer to God.

It’s been #happyreunions all around. Our reunions have been sweet and joyous exactly like I was hoping they would be.

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A new goat trail

We are moving.....if it’s possible to be looking forward to it and dreading it all at the same time, then that’s what’s going on…we’re moving…

While we were in the States, God moved in our lives in BIG ways. He showed us very clearly what He wanted for our next term. Even when I didn’t understand it, He still showed us through others what He wanted. And for that, I can say that we are excited to see what God has in store for us in our new location. We know that is where we are supposed to be, and so we are excited about the newness. Excited about making new friends, finding new villages, finding new places in a new market, making new dumb decisions…the whole lot. We are excited.

But at the same time we are dreading it. Our old town was great. We love it. It feels like home. Being able to walk out of the market and speak to anyone is great! Being able to go into an office and speak clearly is so helpful! Knowing where all the little hidden treasures are is comforting. Not having to make new friends for this introvert is a sigh of relief. Seeing people we have prayed for accept is an answered prayer! Seeing God work in huge ways is amazing!!  And now we have to leave….

I’m not going to lie. I’ve had a couple of moment this week of pure narcissism. If we were here, then this wouldn’t have happened like this. If we were here, then this would be happening. If we were here, then____________. But then I’m reminded: God doesn’t need me here. He’s made that clear. And things are happening the way that they are going to happen. God blesses me by allowing me to be a part of His work, but He doesn’t need me. He chooses me. He chooses others. And the work that He is doing will continue and grow, whether I am here or not.

And so I will only look forward, to our new town, to the new adventures that await us. Because looking back will only make you trip over the goat lying in the road.

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Outside my gate

This morning as I sit in my living room sipping my homemade pumpkin spice latte (yes even here I enjoy a little taste of fall!), the sounds just outside my gate door are filling my morning with smiles and a grateful heart.

The sounds of the goats and sheep as the rummage for food, bleating, baa-ing and crying for their babies to come and join them. Sometimes I have to get up and check and make sure it isn't a human kid that's crying or yelling. They meander around under our shade trees soaking up the cooler air and trying not to be scared off by the dogs just behind the door.

The sounds of the motos and taxis as they drive by, honking their horns to warn people or ask them to get out of their way, shouting greetings to people they know, reeving their engines to go just a bit faster, squeaky brakes over the bump, backfires. So many people always going somewhere. Walking, riding, driving. Always people going.

The sounds of my husband hard at work, banging away with the hammer, sawing some wood for some new backboards for the basketball team he's coaching. He's so dedicated, so creative, so loving. He's going to paint them blue and orange with white stars because the team is The Stars (only in French) :) He planned it all out last night, went and got the measurements, and left early this morning to get everything he needed in the market. Even though it's a bazillon degrees outside, he's pounding away. Oh how I love that man!

The sounds of the neighborhood kids playing as they do every morning under our shade trees. Laughing, crying, yelling at one another, laughing some more. Just being kids. Yelling greetings at us until we respond. Asking for "buud saapo" (50 cfa or about 5 cents). Asking for a bon bon. Then back to playing noisily. Some days we ask them to leave because they are really noisy, but today they can play. Today they can enjoy the shade and the cool wet sand and laugh to their hearts content.

The sounds of the rooster crowing loudly. Oh so loudly. Both near and in the distance. And the mother hen softly clucking to her baby chicks. Roosters at this time of day are fine, but 5 am is another matter :)

The sounds of the women stopping to greet one another on their way to market or home from market. Low, breathy, sometimes nasally greetings. How are you? How did you wake up? How's the family? How's the baby? How is the morning? Lots of greetings. Lots of friendships.

The sounds of the moms yelling for their kids. Binta! Come here! I need you to take this to someone. You need to stop playing and come back from down the road and come inside to get something that is practically right beside me :) It's about priorities and knowing your place in life. I love that! Why don't we do that in America?

The sounds of the light breeze passing through our shade trees. Leaves hitting one another, branches swaying, the breeze rustling and shaking loose some bright orange flowers making them drift slowly to the ground. Sigh.

The sounds of the birds that have come to roost in the trees and in the bougainvillea bushes. Tons of them making their nests, flitting around, chirping and singing sweet little songs to one another. Coming to sit on the window sill and singing to me their songs. Big sigh.

The sounds of my life all around me. The life that God has led me to. The life that I am eternally grateful for. The life that I love. The life that I'm supposed to have right now, right here.

Today I will rest and enjoy these sounds just outside my gate.

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In public

When we first moved into our neighborhood there was a young lady, "Julie" who always seemed to be in the middle of everyone else. She was the leader, the boss, the bully. Anytime the kids got to out of control, she was the one who put them in their place. And she was constantly seeking my attention, trying to talk to me, teaching me and hanging with me.

Over the last three years she's grown up into that phase where it's uncool to talk to adults, even toubaakoos (white people). So when she sees me she ignores me or teases me. It makes me laugh because I know that more than anything she wants to hang out again. When no one else is around (which is rare!) she comes over to talk, to paint nails and braid my hair. But in public we are strangers now.

So imagine my surprise when she stopped as she walked past me, ignoring me, and said "Hey Binta. My sister had a baby. Come see." In front of her friends and in public! 

We went, greeted the family and got to hold this precious new life (who looks kind of like a mouse :) ) and spend some time in public with Julie and her family. Yesterday was the baby naming ceremony and when we went over Julie came and sat down next to me and told me all about how she's now playing basketball. But when her friends walked in she immediately went back to ignoring me :)

Teenagers (shaking my head)! I think they're the same everywhere !

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5 things you may or may not want to know about me

First off here's an update from my previous post about our friend Cassius!

Rainy season is here in full force, which means that the amount of time we have to do ministry is somewhat limited. I recently saw a “6 Things You Might Like to Know About Me” by a fabulous fellow blogger and thought since nothing exciting happened this week other than my makeup being stolen (insert tears and heartache here) I might share some fun things with you. So here’s my 5 things you probably didn’t know about me (and sorry to bore you if you did)!

1. I am an uber SYTYCD fan: For those of you that aren’t fans, first of all you’re missing out. Secondly it’s So You Think You Can Dance. Because we live overseas, I can watch all the episodes in a row and not have to wait a week or two for a new episode. So I tend to wait until the season is over and watch the season in a couple weeks or more or less :) I’m also convinced that somewhere in this body is a fantastic dancer just crying to get out, but every time I let it out it’s not so fantastic. I tried to convince my teammates in 2011 to participate in the National Dance Day with a flash mob in the market here. I had no takers :(

2. I’m pretty adventurous. When we first moved here, B and I would drive down these random dirt roads, out of the city and just explore. We were invited to a lot of villages that way. I’ve explored the bazaars in Marrakech, traversed the streets of Vienna, wandered around Rome and Venice, and trekked through the streets and alleys of Prague. Mostly without maps or knowing where I was going.

On a swinging bridge in Morocco that had lots of holes!!

I will try pretty much anything once (not meats) and have rarely found something I didn’t like. But my favorite thing to do where we are is wander down the random dirt roads/paths. You meet some of the best people that way!!


3. I love love love women’s hair in this country. I wish they wore it naturally instead of in braids, but no matter what it’s always gorgeous.

Click here to check out the amazing Nigerian dress!

I wish that white Midwestern girls could pull off an Afro (yes I said it. I don’t know what else to call it and I’m deeply sorry if that word offends anyone. Please nicely tell me of a different word and I’ll use that!) because I would totally rock that!

4. I was paparazzi for a day! One of the days we were in Prague, a friend and I spotted Jensen Ackles from the show Supernatural and I think he was on a soap opera and we followed him around for a bit, got some pictures and then tried to figure out where he was staying.

Jensen Ackles in the flesh!

It was my only real celebrity sighting and I never thought I would respond that way, but I did. AndI’m not ashamed. He even smiled at me! Insert 12 year old girl scream here!

5. I’m pretty goofy when you get to know me. I think most people think I’m a serious kind of person, but just ask my husband. I’m not. My favorite Christmas movie is Elf. I much prefer comedies to drama. Goofy faces, funny voices and hilarious movie line are reserved for those closest to me.

Headlock!

So you know you’re in when I bust out the Napoleon Dynamite lines and speak in a very bad British accent.



So those are just some random thoughts about myself! What is something random that most people wouldn’t know about you?

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