We’ll Take Two Please…
“Well... we have two now, so we just have to figure it out.”
It was one of those moments when I realized how much our kids are actually paying attention to us when trying to teach them about resilience. I had just bemoaned the fact that one would have been way easier than two. Emma immediately responded as above. I was simultaneously challenged and proud.
Two of what you may ask, well let’s rewind a bit.
At the end of November, the church we have been attending in Addis Ababa had a baby dedication service. Four families came forward. What was unique about this particular baby dedication is there was an American family who was fostering a little baby girl (a relatively new opportunity for foreigners to help care for malnourished infants as they await hopeful adoption by Ethiopian families) and an Ethiopian couple who had just adopted a precious baby boy. We prayed over them as a congregation. But a nagging thought was at the back of my mind…Rachel will want to foster, too (married nearly 13 years now; I like to think that I have a pretty good idea of what is going on in her head).
Well sure enough, later that week, Rachel received a message in her book club chat stating that additional foster families were needed for these malnourished infants. All of the foster babies that were in the first round of foreigner foster families have been adopted – amazing! Yet around 25 or so babies still needed help. She proceeded to come to me, with this big cheesy grin to make sure I was on board with it. We joke as a couple that she’s the gas and I’m the brakes, and if you know us, that’s a pretty good representation. Rachel will dive head first into any situation, whereas I like to analyze the pros and cons of situations and attempt to make a plan… and Rachel, well, she figures all of those details out on the fly. Take this “hypothetical” conversation for instance…
“R - Impromptu superbowl party??
L - Sure
R - Great! There are probably 50-60 people that we can invite!
L - What?! Whoa, pump the brakes... what are we gonna feed these people?!”
But together we always seem to make it work as you need both the gas and the brakes to drive the car. And don’t worry… it was a great Superbowl party!
Fostering
After many discussions and lots of prayer, we decided to volunteer to foster a baby. We also asked our kids to make sure they were onboard and spoke to Rachel’s parents as they would be helping a lot. Once everyone agreed, we proceeded to start the process to foster a baby.
So how did we end up with two instead of one? Well remember what I said about Rachel being the gas…in December she ran into the woman who runs the orphanage and has facilitated this fostering program. During the course of the discussion, she mentioned how many babies there are that desperately need love, attention, and care. Rachel’s mom was walking up at the time and mentioned how she too was so excited to help foster. The lady said “well with help like this you can take two babies!”… and of course my wife immediately agreed. Imagine the look of surprise on my face when she told me, rather nonchalantly, that we’re now getting two!
Well, paperwork in Ethiopia can be a lengthy process. Although we agreed to foster in early December, we did not receive the babies until January 22nd. We have E., a 6-month-old baby girl, and B., a 5-month-old baby boy (I will keep things relatively vague to protect their identity). It is incredible how much growth we have seen in just three weeks of being with them, but there is so much to do. They are, at minimum, probably 2-3 months delayed, both developmentally and physically. They are still so small (they both were 0.5% on the growth charts, but that’s at least up from the 0.0% or 0.1% from when they first arrived). But seeing their eyes light up with our voices and our kisses is amazing. Pray for our family as we navigate the sudden addition of “twins.” Our kids are still very much in transition and having mom and dad’s attention turned to two babies has been hard, but they have also been so helpful with the babies and loved on them too.
So are two harder than one? Most definitely (they have been tag-teaming nightly wake-up times). It is stretching us and pulling us beyond ourselves more than we thought we could do, but it has been good for our faith as it forced us to rely on Him to help us in the early morning hours and to “figure it out,” as Emma so eloquently put it. But we’re also thankful for this beautiful opportunity to love on the abandoned and the forgotten.
Praises
The whole family has Resident IDs! We will have to renew in July, but now we are official.
Things to Pray for:
Forever families for E and B: Ethiopia no longer allows foreign adoptions. Please pray for the Ethiopian families that will come along and treasure these precious babes as their own.
Rachel’s parents' visa: They are currently gathering their authenticated documents together. It’s a long process that could use some prayer to expedite it.
Tsehye: She is a super sweet woman who has been helping us out by cleaning, cooking Ethiopian food, and doing local shopping. Prayers are appreciated for us to find her another position when we move in four months.
Six months into cross-cultural life, we feel the stresses and pulls of life in our own ways. Pray for the kids as they prepare for another transition in four months. Pray for us, as their parents, to help them navigate these “big feelings” as we are walking in our own.
Lastly, if you could pray for health, that would be greatly appreciated. In the last three weeks, our whole family has been hit at various times with stomach bugs, cold/flu, and random sickness, and it’s been a drain on all of us.
If you have any prayer requests, we would love to hear from you. If you would like to set up a video chat, send us a message! You can contact us on WhatsApp or email us at LCRC@cobosethiopia.org.
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