Then Many...

It's been a LONG time.  It has felt like a long time too.

Sorry.

Life is hard.

I haven't updated everyone because there is really nothing to say.  From where we are sitting, it looks as though nothing has changed.  Just more waiting.

People ask us every single day..."Any news?"

My answer is always the same..."Nope...just keep praying."

I have done A LOT of praying.

I was thinking to myself earlier today..."when did I start to seek God every morning in prayer and read His Word?"  I couldn't really put my finger on the exact when...I got pretty serious about my relationship with God about 9 or 10 years ago but I did not make time for daily prayer and reading the Bible till a bit later.

I do now.

I wake up everyday, walk downstairs, and ask God to protect them.

And He has.

I ask God to perform miracles.

And He has.

It may look as though nothing has changed, but it has.

I know He is working.  I was praying a few weeks ago and asking God why they aren't here yet and just a bit after that I began doing my Bible study when I came upon the following scripture that I want to share with you....

"On him we have set our hope, that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers.  Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many."  2 Corinthians 1:10-11

Now, this scripture is out of a letter Paul wrote to the Corinthians and he is speaking of the hardships they faced during a missionary journey.  He realized that they could do nothing to help themselves, they simply had to rely on God.

We are in the same place.  We can do NOTHING to help ourselves or these two precious girls, we simply have to rely on God.

I felt the Lord speak to me through this scripture..."Then MANY will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of MANY."

I am asking MANY of our friends, family, acquaintances, and those traveling this same journey to lift these children in prayer to God...not just our children but the many orphans waiting on families to bring them home.  I know a lot of the people who know us pray for our children daily and I am forever grateful to you, but I am asking you to do more.  On Sunday, November 16th at sundown, we will begin fasting and praying for these children for 24 hours and we are asking you to join us.

Please pray that the exit visa suspension will be lifted.

I would love to know if you join us in this :-)

Do It Anyway

This trip has been so much different in so many ways.  Elysee (except for the first hour) started the week off happy and full of excitement but as the week went on she withdrew more and more.  I have no idea why. 

Maybe she was exhausted.

Maybe she knew that I was going to leave.

Maybe she missed her home.

This week, instead of crying and screaming, for the most part, she kind of froze.  She would shut down and stare off into space not wanting to talk or interact with anyone.  The good news is, during our last trip when she began to scream and cry or shut down, she wanted nothing to do with me, but this time, she only wanted me J  It was a good feeling to be able to hold her even if she wasn’t talking to me. 

Thursday evening she shut down again but she sat in my lap for over an hour taking stickers and putting them on my arms and hands.  She finally came out of it a little and brushed her teeth and went straight to bed.

 

On Friday morning, we all went to the pool.  Elysee has a love hate relationship with the pool but on this day she decided she wanted to get in her little blow up boat (thanks Erica!!!) and have someone push her around, so I ran back to the room and prayed as I put on my bathing suit that she would have a good time in the pool and not flip out J  When I got back, she let me pull her around for a bit and then she saw one of the other kids counting in English and jumping off the side of the pool so she asked me to put her on the side.  Then she did the coolest thing!  She counted to ten in English and jumped into my arms!  She did this about a thousand times over the next hour and I loved every single second of it!  At one point, one of the other ladies there tried to catch her because I had caught another little boy in my arms but she stopped and waited for me to give him to someone and then jumped to me!  I had so much fun and she was so happy!  Thank you God for this memory!

After the pool, we went back to the room for lunch and then I got out some paint and a brush and she and I sat outside of our room while she painted.

It started off really fun and then she tried to paint the table next to us and I told her not to and she looked at me like any other three year old would and painted it anyways.  I told her “no” and gently took the paint brush and paints and took them inside.  On the way in she began to hit me.  I walked all the way over to the sink and shut my eyes and began to pray.  I asked God to help her to make the right choice.  I asked God to give me wisdom in how to respond.  I asked God to give me joy no matter how she acted.  And I asked God to help me show her his love.  By this time, she was standing next to me hitting my leg over and over and I opened my eyes and looked down at her and I did something completely not natural for me.  I put my arms out to her and asked her to come to me and she stopped hitting me and jumped into my arms.  I was really quite surprised at her reaction and mine as well which was definitely from God.  I picked her up and took her outside and snuggled until she fell asleep in my arms.  I pray, if only for that moment in time, she understands that I love her even when she is hitting me.

 I finally had to wake her up because we only had about a half hour until both of the girls were going home and she just sat in my arms until they arrived.  I had worked it all out in my head how I would tell her in Lingala what was happening and in my head I never cried…but it was much different when I tried to say it to her.  I told her, “you are going to your house, I am going to my house, and I will be back to get you.”  Try saying those words to a three year old who is staring at you with big brown eyes looking completely confused.  I prayed and prayed for God to give me peace and he did.  I handed both of the girls over on Friday evening and yet again walked away having no idea when I will see either of them again.  This is hard.

A few weeks before my trip, I told God I was just plain angry with him.  I was mad that he has left us in this place of uncertainty.  I was mad that he has not brought our girls home yet.  I truly believe that God has the power to bring them home so I was angry that he had not.  It was a really hard time for me.  I’m not sure if I have ever been that angry at him or at anyone.  I screamed and cried and cried but God has done what he always does if we let him.  He has comforted me.

I was reminded that this has been and continues to be his plan…not mine.

In my heart I plan my course, but You determine my steps.  Proverbs 16:9

Part of the reason I feel like I was so mad was because God wasn’t working this all out the way I wanted in the time that I wanted him to.  I have to continue to remind myself that this is his plan.

I was reminded that his timing is perfect.

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:  a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot…a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance…  Ecclesiastes 3:1,2,4

God is the creator and sustainer of time.  Nothing is untimely to Him.   If I believe that, I have to trust him in every single moment. 

I was reminded that throughout this process he is molding me and teaching me to be more like him. 

I consider it pure joy whenever I face trials of many kinds.  Help me to know that the testing of my faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work in me so that I may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.  James 1:2-4

I was reminded that choosing joy in the midst of our circumstances and being thankful for his abundant grace are the keys to being joyful.  I am not happy about where we are in this process but I can choose to be joyful because of what Jesus has done for me.  I have so many things to be thankful for and once I was reminded of this, I began to see God working all around me. 

I have thought about the fact that someone may someday read a part of my writing on here and instead of being drawn towards adoption and orphan care they would run.  I pray that is never the case.  This process has been long and messy and really hard but there is not and has never been a moment I have wanted out of it.  If God is asking you to do something now or in the future that you are afraid to do or that you think is just too hard…do it anyways. 

Do it anyways…

Not because you owe him anything, which you do…you owe him everything.

Not because he will love you less, which he won’t…he can’t love you any less…he IS love.

Not because you have to earn your salvation, you definitely do not, that price has already been paid.

Do it anyways…because it is the coolest thing in the world to be right smack in the middle of his will for you watching a storm rage all around you but have his peace over you all at the same time. 

Adoption is really messy and really hard.  It is hard to love someone who kicks and screams and wants nothing more than to get away from you.  It is hard to show love to someone who is hitting you.  It would have been so much easier to not do this, but we made a choice, out of obedience to God, to love his children.  It is a choice to enter into messy, hard places but isn’t that what Jesus did for us?  Didn’t he come here and suffer and die for you and for me?  Isn’t that a little bit more than messy and hard?  When he asks you to do something you know is going to be messy or hard…do it anyways out of love for him and for what he has done for you and for no other reason.  

Lynsey

Ups and Downs

On Wednesday morning,  I woke up and got the coffee going and looked back over at Elysee’s bed and she was sitting up so I went over and sat down on her bed and she crawled right over in my lap…a great way to start the day! 

The day on Wednesday went pretty well…very few crying spells and mostly two very happy kiddos!  Elysee only cried about a minute when we came into the room for bed and then she asked me if she could change into her jammies J  She loves to change clothes…all day long!  She loves to pick them out, put them on, take them off, fold them…she just loves clothes!  She also loves socks and has to have them on at all times!  I brought some bows for both girls hair and Elysee has loved to pick them out and put them on both of them….she usually likes to have about 5-8 on at a time J  They are both eating very well and sleeping well too.  The baby has been getting up once a night to eat which has been wonderful!  I love getting to snuggle with her alone during the night J 

I have been praying over both of the girls when I get up in the middle of the night and it has been a very sweet time J  I love how God works in our heart over time and now I do not only pray that I can bring them home soon but I mostly pray that they will grow to be strong women of faith who love God and love to make him known no matter where they are.

Thursday morning, the first family had to leave to go home and so the first of the children were taken from the hotel back to the foster home.  Please pray for all of the families and children here and that God would give them the strength and peace to leave.  I cannot explain how hard this is to watch or to go through but I know that God sees our tears and hears our prayers and that he is with all of us in the place.  There are so many adoptive families here this week...many from our agency and many who have lived here for months with their kids they cannot take home yet.  I was lying in bed last night thinking about all of the prayers that are said within the walls of this hotel for these children and it made me smile.  I know that he hears us and I know that his timing is perfect…we just have to trust him.

After the first family left, many of the ladies went to an orphanage to take supplies and visit (including Elizabeth).  When the van left, Elysee immediately began to flip out…not just cry but seriously flip out!  She wailed and kicked and screamed.  I had no idea what to do so I took both of the girls into our room and tried to see if she wanted anything to eat but she did not.  She just kept screaming so after a few minutes, one of the cleaning men came in and held her and tried to talk to her but nothing was really helping.  She finally stopped crying but she was staring off into space and not talking to anyone.  He told me that she was tired and he left but I feel like it was much more than that.  I think she saw all of the cars and thought I was leaving or maybe she just thought someone was going to take her…I don’t know.  I tried to tell her I was not leaving yet but she wouldn’t listen.  I finally just picked her up and rocked her back and forth and prayed over her for about twenty minutes out loud and she finally calmed down.  I got out some smarties and got her to try them and once she did she started smiling and playing with me.  She finally ate lunch and then we went back outside and she was happy again.  It breaks my heart to see how scared she is and think there is nothing I can do about it but God has reminded me that he is the one that can heal her heart so that is what I am praying for. 

The baby has been very happy and cuddly…she did cry a bit last night before bed but I just took her outside and rocked her and she was out in less than ten minutes J 

I am so thankful for my time here with our girls.  I cannot even put into words the joy it brings me to see them growing and healthy and happy where they are.  Adam has told me that our kids at home are doing well too in my absence.  It tears my heart in two when I think about Eva and Eli at home without me…I miss them so much and then my heart breaks to think about leaving our girls here and going home…it is horrible to have your heart so attached to little ones on two different continents…I cannot wait for the day we are all in the same place J 

Elizabeth and I have another day with the girls before they go back.  Please pray that Elysee will not be scared and that we would end our week with joy in our hearts that we are together.  Please pray for God’s peace and comfort to pour out on us when we say goodbye.

Thank you for your prayers…he is listening and working for our good and his glory J

Lynsey

We're Here!!!

Elizabeth and I arrived on Monday afternoon, only a few hours behind schedule J  Papa Xavier was at the airport to meet us along with two other families so we waited and waited for our luggage and then took off to the hotel.  The drive was very exciting as always!  We had about ten minutes to unpack our things in our room before Elysee arrived.  I heard the van pull in and I ran out to see her!  Her reaction was about the worst I could have imagined.  She began crying immediately and clung to one of the ladies who brought her.  She would not come to me at all.  I immediately began crying even though I told myself I would not…it’s hard to see how scared she is.  The baby came a few minutes later and she was asleep so I grabbed her in my arms and began kissing her all over! 

She has grown so much!  About an hour or so after both girls arrived, Elysee began to warm up to me.  She asked me to take her to the pool and so we swam a bit and she was back to her old self!  She laughed and smiled and we had a wonderful night!  Elizabeth went out with a few others to the grocery store so we have plenty of food now J

I was so dreading bedtime and Elysee did cry for a bit before bed but she let me hold her and rock her until she fell asleep J  Elizabeth got the baby all ready for bed and she went right to sleep.  Then we went to bed around the same time…Elizabeth and I were exhausted! 

Everyone woke up in great moods this morning!  Elizabeth and I were rested and the girls were all smiles!  We spent the morning playing in our room which was really great!  I made Elysee toast with Nutella and she ate four pieces!!!  Elizabeth went back to the grocery store today with a few others so one other lady and I had four kiddos in our room for lunch…they were a hoot!  Eating everything and into everything!!!  Elysee and one of the other little boys wrestled for about an hour…it made me laugh so hard thinking about the day we get to bring her home to wrestle Eli J 

We went swimming for a bit today and Elysee sat at the edge of the pool and dumped cup after cup of water on her head while laughing hysterically!  I was even able to get the baby in for a bit and she really liked it too J  After swimming we headed back to the room for a nap and Elysee cried for about an hour before she finally went to sleep.  She woke up in kind of a dazed state that she stayed in for about two hours but after dinner she began to smile and laugh again J  We celebrated one of the little boy’s birthdays tonight so everyone had cake which Elysee loved! 

Tonight was amazing!  I told Elysee we had to leave one of her friends rooms to come back to our room for bed.  She grabbed her Dora doll, waved goodbye, and walked out the door….then she began to scream!  She screamed while we walked back to the room and continued once we got inside.  Then about five minutes later she stopped, we picked out her jammies, played on the bed for a few minutes and I told her it was time to go to sleep and she laid down on her bed, I covered her up and she kissed me goodnight!  AMAZING!  I could not believe it! 

Elizabeth has been a HUGE help so far and I am so thankful for her willingness to come!  She has cooked, cleaned, shopped and played with both of the girls. 

Please continue to pray for the girls…the baby has had an upset stomach and both of the girls have a bit of a cold L

Well, that’s it for now… Thank God for a wonderful two days filled with smiles, hugs, kisses and snuggles! 

Lynsey

Lessons in Generosity

So Adam and I have a 2004 VW Jetta that has had some problems lately :-)  Adam was driving it home about a month ago and he could not take it out of 3rd gear so he drove all the way home through some neighborhoods praying that he would not get into a wreck seeing as how he could not stop and he could not go any faster!  He made it to our mechanic's where they worked on it and in the end decided that it needed a new clutch.  They called Adam and told him that the car was ready and the dollar amount of the bill and Adam called me to let me know.  I was not thrilled but... we had to have a car so Adam was going to pick it up that evening.  Adam said a little bit later that the mechanic called back and said that he felt bad about the amount of the bill so he was going to knock a couple hundred dollars off...

What?  Have you ever had this happen?  Who does that?!?

Then last week, Adam went outside to put air in one of the car tires because he has to do this every couple of weeks...for a time period we will not mention...don't judge....we've had more important things to pay for lately :-)  So he comes back inside and says...we have new tires on our car!  To say that I did not believe him would be an understatement!  I think I said something like..."we do not have new tires...how would we have new tires???"  It was kind of late so we both went out there with a flashlight and started looking at them and I still did not believe him.  I don't look at tires very often and I could not decide if they looked new or not :-)  Adam said that he knew they were new because they had tread on them!  lol!  So Adam took our car back to the mechanic's the other day to get it inspected...which by the way, it would not have passed if we did not have new tires...and the mechanic started laughing at him!  He said he really wanted to call Adam a few times to see if he had noticed yet!  So basically...they were working on our car and someone was there and said it looked like we needed new tires and they paid for them!

What?  Have you ever had this happen?  Who does that?!?

So God has been teaching me about generosity lately:-)  I was out early jogging one morning last week and I was praying while I was running and I asked God to help me be more generous.  I have experienced AMAZING generosity through God and his children over the last two years and I really wanted to see what he would do through me.  God immediately brought a person to mind and a dollar amount to send them.  I kind of chuckled and thought...well, I better go home and mail a check!  I ran home and told Adam that I felt like God told me to send this amount of money to this family and he said, "okay!"  So I wrote a card out and put a check in it and we put it in the mailbox.  I went about my day and had kind of forgot about it...until that evening when someone gave us the exact dollar amount that we had put in that card. 

What?  Have you ever had this happen?  Who does that!  

God does :-)

God is teaching me about generosity lately and it's been really cool :-)

Elizabeth and I are heading to the DR Congo on Sunday morning...it's finally here!  God has provided everything that we need and I am excited to see what he is going to do on this next trip!  Please join us in praying for...

Safe travels.
The girls to remember who I am and that we bond quickly.
God to lead us in where he wants us to go and what he wants us to do.
Our families back at home.
Great health.
USCIS approval and that we would be granted custody of the baby.
The visa suspension to be lifted.

Thank you to everyone who gave us formula and vitamins!  We can't wait to get it where it needs to go!!! 

Lynsey

Prayers

Please be in prayer today for the baby.  Our Agency called this morning to let us know that she has a fever and was being taken to the doctor.  We also received word over the weekend that Elysee has been sick as well.

I explained to Eva and Eli that the baby was sick this morning and asked if they would pray for her and they both immediately began to pray out loud to God :-)  Eva asked that God would help her to feel better and that he would heal her which I thought was very sweet but Eli's prayer was the COOLEST!  He just yelled as loud as he could, "Thank you God for helping sissy!"  His prayer was a reminder to me,

 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:6-7

Join us in praying for healing and protection for both girls and praise God for what he is going to do.

Lynsey

It's been a long time...

It's been a long time since our last update so here are a few things that have happened :-) 

Adam and I finally got home on April 30th from our trip to meet our girls.  Our trip home was an adventure...we took a few extra plane rides, a whole extra day and we had to get a ride from Dulles to Roanoke instead of flying but we arrived safe and sound and greeted two very excited kiddos...along with some very excited grandparents! 

Life has been pretty good since we returned.  I had a hard time adjusting to life here without our girls but God has given me his grace to get through this period right now and I am thankful.  We have received a lot of pictures and videos of the girls since we have been gone which has helped!  We still do not have any new news on the visa suspension...only that they are still planning to begin issuing visas later this year so we are still praying for that :-)

Adam and I had the opportunity to speak to approximately 90 people last Saturday night about meeting our girls and our experiences in the DR Congo.  It was a great night and I was so excited to share with so many people!!! 

About a month ago, our agency let us know that they are taking another group to the Congo in August and I wasn’t sure if we were supposed to go so Adam and I had been talking about it and we had decided that Adam really could not take off of work but we just couldn’t decide if I should go or not.  We really needed to let our agency know if we were going and we just could not make up our minds so finally it occurred to me, I should ask God if he thinks I should go J

One afternoon a few weeks ago, I sat down on the couch during nap time and I started praying asking him if I should go.  I asked him if it was wise to spend the money we had left to go back and see them knowing that we may have to pay foster care fees for awhile and I asked God to provide the money for the trip if he wanted me to go.  So right after I finished praying, it occurred to me that I had not gotten the mail for the day so I ran outside to get it and there was a card in our mailbox from a friend and I started opening it up as I walked back up the driveway and when I opened it, there was a really long note written in it that I did not even see because there was a check for $1,000 right on top!  I literally just stood in the middle of the driveway with my mouth hanging open.  She had written inside the card,

"I am not sure what your needs are but God does and he told me to give this to you :-)"
Talk about an answer to prayer!  That check was in our mailbox before I even asked him! 

So we told our agency I was in and I would be bringing someone with me…I had no idea who that someone would be but I knew God would tell me who so I started praying everyday…throughout the day, God tell me who to take with me and even more importantly, tell that person they need to go!  Well as the weeks went by, I asked a few people and they were unable to go so almost two weeks ago on a Sunday night, Adam and I sat down and talked about it.  I really had to know who was going because we had to send in our info to get visas or we weren’t going to be able to go so I do what I usually do when I don’t feel like God has answered my prayers…I take matters into my own hands and I start making a list!  I texted the first person on my list and I said, hey…do you want to go to the Congo with me?  So that person obviously wanted to pray about it so the next morning, I went to bible study just really down…I kept asking God why he wasn’t telling me who to take.  Well I sat down at the table with all the other ladies and the leader welcomes us and says, "Lynsey, do you have anything you want us to pray about," so I kind of fumbled a little from being put on the spot and then I told them I needed someone to go to the Congo with me and I explained all that it would entail and asked them to pray God would tell me who to take and tell that person they needed to go.  So we went on with Bible study and when it ended a friend, Elizabeth, walked up to me and said, "I think God is telling me I need to go with you!"  I was so excited!!!  So she talked it over with her husband and they agreed and I told her that the very first thing she needed to do on Tuesday was go get all her shots and get her passport expedited.  Well originally, weeks ago, I had told our agency that I was going to go the second week in August and I knew that Elizabeth could only go the first week so I needed to get my hotel reservation changed but when we talked to Papa Xavier at the hotel on Tuesday morning he said all the rooms were booked…we could not go the first week.  So I told Elizabeth that and Adam and I talked about it and we decided that we knew God asked me to go and we knew that he told Elizabeth to go with me so we were going to go ahead and spend the hundreds of dollars it would cost to get her shots and passport in faith that God would open up a spot.  I really wanted to see him do this.  Well Tuesday morning I was just sure he was going to perform a miracle but by Tuesday night I was doubting whether he was going to do it.  We had been able to talk to our agency reps who were planning the trip to see if maybe someone had decided not to go and they assured us there was no room.  Elizabeth and I talked about it for awhile that night and were both just upset.  We just could not understand why he would tell her to go and then not let us go.  And at one point, I looked at Elizabeth and I said, "well, it wouldn’t be a miracle if there were any rooms open."  Well I went to bed that night very upset and the next morning, Adam woke me up at 6am with his cell phone about an inch from my face saying "Look!  Look!"  And I said, I" can’t see it! Where are my glasses!" ha ha!  So I put my glasses on and he had an email from our agency saying…."there has been a cancellation…do you guys still want the room?"  How cool is that!!!!  Our God is ABLE !!!  We just have to ask him!

I am super excited to be heading back in a month!!!  I can't wait to see our girls!

I would love prayer for the following:
-That Elizabeth and I would receive our visas and that all of the travel would go smoothly.
-For both of us and the girls to remain healthy.
-That the girls would remember who I am and that they would begin to attach to me quickly.
-For God to provide his peace and patience for all of us during the trip.
-For God to open our eyes and ears to his plan for our next steps for ministry in the DR Congo. 

We will also be collecting powdered baby formula for the next few weeks to take back to the orphanages in Kinshasa.  Any brand would be wonderful! 

Thank you so much for your prayers and continued support!

Lynsey

Goodbye Girls (for now)

We have been having a great time the last two days!  There were a few rough moments but overall, things have been really great.  We have swam a few times but mostly Elysee wants to just play in the room with us.  She has turned into a clown!  She is really funny…doing just about anything to make us laugh.  She has started to help feed her sister and to try to calm her down during her rare fussy moments. 

Each day a few more friends have gone back to the foster home and each time she gets sad for a little bit but not for long.

 

We have just put both girls down for the night for the last time for a while.  We will say goodbye to both of them tomorrow morning.  I think Elysee will be happy to go back to see her friends and she is living in a really good place so although it will be sad to say goodbye, I am leaving her knowing that she is in good hands with lots of people she loves.  It will be very hard to say goodbye to the baby so please pray for peace for us.  Our flight leaves tomorrow and we should arrive in Roanoke on Tuesday night.  I am so sad to leave our kids here but very excited to see Eva and Eli J  I am very thankful for the abundant blessings the Lord has given us. 

Please pray for safe travels, good health and protection for both girls, and that we will be able to return very soon to bring them home. 

Bon Soir!

Lynsey

Thursday and Friday Adventures

We didn’t have internet last night so I am doing two days at once!

Thursday:

This morning started off better J  Both girls woke up and Elysee was smiling and she ate breakfast and played with us for a few hours before we went outside to meet up with her friends.  This is HUGE!  She played with the baby too which was really cute!  They had never met each other before this week so they are not used to each other either.  A little later we went to the pool and she did have a few rough moments but mostly she was all smiles letting her friends pull her around in a little boat.  When we started to come in for lunch she began to scream again and her sweet friend came over and told her to eat so she climbed up at the table and I put the computer in front of her with a picture of her and her friends swinging and she smiled and ate and talked to us for a while.  She does NOT like macaroni and cheese but loves chicken, boiled eggs and yogurt…lots and lots of yogurt!  One of the other moms offered for Elysee to take a nap with their children so that went really well this afternoon. 

Adam kept both of the kids while I went to the foster care home this evening with a few other parents.  In his words, one of the other moms that stayed behind had a squirt gun and she ran around squirting the kids while Adam showed them where to run and get away J  Their little legs were no match for the adults and the toddlers were completely soaked!  Soon after that, several, equally soaked, diaper clad toddlers J  It was a lot of fun and Adam had a good night bonding with Elysee while playing with her friends.  Some of the other moms that stayed behind made dinner and Adam, Elysee and the baby ate in another couples room.  It was quite an event - feeding three toddlers that do not speak your language!  The highlights were the little boy better known as the comedian, stuffing his face with a fist full of pasta and shaking his head vigorously…picture long pieces of spaghetti hanging out of a 2 year olds mouth swinging back and forth while he laughed!  And Elysee declaring she was finished by emptying the remains of her plate of fried fish on her head!  He he!  The end result was full kids, a big mess and a several spouses who were thrilled to see the van of parents pull in! 

I had a good evening traveling to the foster home where Elysee currently lives.  I rode in a van with four other parents, two ladies from our agency and one Congolese driver.  We drove into the nicest part of Kinsasha which is where the foster home is located.  It was huge by Congolese standards!  There are five bedrooms and four bathrooms for 30 kids right now.  When we pulled into the compound, all of the children and the workers were out front singing and dancing welcoming us!  It was the sweetest thing!  We went in for a tour and I got to see where Elysee sleeps and meet all of her little friends J  Once we were through with the tour, they put on very loud music and all the kids and nannies danced and sang and man, can they dance!  I can’t wait to see Elysee dance to some African music!  We also gave each of the kids there a bag of Easter eggs with candy and a toy and they were thrilled!  They immediately began eating all of the candy J  This was a wonderful opportunity!  I got to take tons of pictures and video of where Elysee lives, her friends who live with her  and her caretakers so she can have them forever. 

After we left the foster home, we went to the grocery store which was my first experience with buying food here, Adam whet last time.  It was a pretty nice grocery store with lots and lots of choices!  Everything was VERY expensive though.

When I got back to the room, we brought Elysee into the room kicking and screaming again for a shower and I decided to go and get Papa Samuel who was in another room (he lives at the foster house, and is the house manager) to get him to calm her down and sure enough, all he had to do was walk in the bathroom, speak very sternly to her to stop and she was quiet for the rest of the night!  After the shower, she did not want to get out of the shower so we let her stay in there for a really long time and she eventually came out on her own and got dressed.  She sat in the floor and played with her doll and a toothbrush until almost 10:00 and then Adam asked her if she wanted to go to sleep and she got up and got in bed.  NO TEARS J  Praise God!

The baby is wonderful!  We feed her a bottle at night after her bath and she goes right to bed.  She usually wakes up twice to eat which I think is pretty normal and then usually goes right back to sleep.  Sometimes we have to walk her around but that is it!  It has been wonderful getting to see all of her giggles and coos!  She is precious and loves to cuddle!

Friday:

This morning everyone was great!  Everyone got up all smiles!  Elysee would not eat but she was really happy and we played for a bit together before I had to get showered and ready to head to the orphanage that our baby currently lives in.  I rode with two of our Agency workers, two other moms and the same Congolese driver (Pablo).  We drove to a very different part of town.  We spent about two hours at the orphanage.  I am serious when I say, I will never be the same.  Please pray that the baby’s court process goes smooth and quick so she can be moved to live with Elysee at the foster home. 

When I got back to the hotel, it was Adam’s turn to go and visit the foster home so he could see where Elysee lives J  The baby and I and Elysee all hung out in our room together J  Elysee did not want to go to the pool with her friends!!!  She wanted to stay in the room and play with me!  I was thrilled!  We colored, played with stickers, sang songs, read books…it was great!  When Adam got back, we skyped with Eva, Eli and Grandma.  It went really well and the kids got to say hi to each other which was fun.

Later we had an egg hunt with the kids at the hotel which was GREAT!  They had never done that before but after they realized there was candy in the eggs they were really excited!  Elysee ate most of her candy tonight and then brought her bag in and put it on a shelf so she could find it in the morning J 

Bath and bed went great tonight with no tears from either kiddo!  Thanks for all the prayers…they are definitely working! 

The first couple in our group will be leaving tomorrow and saying goodbye to their kids.  Pray for them please.  One of their kids is the little boy that Elysee loves so much so pray for peace for her as well when he leaves.

Lynsey

Keep Praying!

Oh my have the last 36 hours been hard..sigh…

Yesterday afternoon, Elysee just started to really not like us.  I don’t know any other way to explain it.  She would not come to Adam or I.  She would hug and laugh with others but not us….I cannot even explain the feeling in my heart when she cried when I tried to pick her up.  My heart truly hurt.

At one point, she was screaming and crying in our room, screaming the same thing over and over and I just prayed for her and asked God to help.  I finally realized what she was screaming sounded a lot like a little boy’s name that was staying in another room with his parents from our Agency so I took her over and sure enough…all he did was touch her face and say her name and she instantly calmed down.  This was the first time I really thought through that these kids are her family.  Lord, thank you that she has friends she loves. 

We have made wonderful friends on this trip and I am so thankful for them.  I was swinging Elysee outside while she was screaming and I was trying to calm her…unsuccessfully and one of the mom’s came out and said, “Remember, God sets the lonely in families and he is here.”  Lord, thank you for our new friends. 

There are four other families here from our Agency, each with two kids.  We all ate together last night and when it was time for us to give the baby and bottle and Elysee a bath, we headed back to our room and Elysee immediately began to cry.  We gave her a bath for the first time (well really a shower)and she screamed all the way through it.  Then I lotioned her and put her jammies on and she continued to scream.  Then I sat on her bed, holding her in my arms while she screamed for over an hour.  I started to think I couldn’t do this, that I wasn’t strong enough but I knew that was not from God so I began to repeat scripture over and over.  I kept telling myself that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  I prayed and prayed…at first for God to pour out his comfort and peace on her soul and calm her.  Then a little later, just that he would make her fall asleepJ   Then, I began to sob because I truly felt like God was letting me see a glimpse of what it is like for her.  She was so alone and scared.  Lord, thank you for allowing me to truly see her pain.

Today, we got up and she would not eat.  I took her outside and we met up in a room with some of her friends and she finally began to smile and eat.  A little later we went to the pool and I tried and tried to get her to play with me, smile at me, really anything but she wouldn’t.  Then I tried to hand her a cup and for whatever reason, she threw herself on the ground and began to scream.  I had no idea what to do but then a lady walked over that had come from Elysee’s foster home and she picked her up and talked to her for a few seconds in Lingala then put her in my lap and she was fine.  It was the first time all day she had let me touch her J  Lord, thank you for Mama Linda being there.

One of the other mom’s did talk Elysee into getting in the pool and we had a really great time!  She let me hold her a little and then she let Adam play with her…I was so excited!  Then we ate lunch with some of her friends and when it was time for nap we headed to our room and she began to cry again.  She started yelling the little boy’s name over and over again so we went and got him and he came into our room, looked at her and said, “Elysee!  Lala!”  (sleep!) and she immediately calmed down and got in bed J  Lord, thank you for a friend to calm her.

Tonight we went swimming again and then headed back to the room to take a bath and she started screaming again.  I immediately turned on the praise music and Adam started bathing her.  She continued to scream.  We got her lotioned up and put her jammies on and she continued to scream.  Adam took her over to see the little boy next door and she calmed down until Adam brought her back to the room.   I was bathing the baby and getting her ready for bed so Adam sat down on her bed and held her and told her he loved her over and over in Lingala.  She cried and cried so Adam and I decided I should go and see if Debra from our Agency was here, we thought maybe she could calm her but she was not in her room so I headed back and I could hear her screaming from outside.  I walked in and she started screaming, “Mama! Mama! Mama!” and I looked at her and put my arms out and she reached for me J  I held her in my arms and she immediately stopped!  I cannot explain the joy I felt in my heart...I told her I loved her over and over in Lingala until she fell asleep on me and then I laid her in bed.  Lord, thank you for this little step…

Thanks for praying for us…we know God is doing great things here and we are so thankful he has answered our prayers to be His hands and feet here this week.

We Made It!!!

We made it!  We arrived last night around 6pm which was just a little bit later than planned.  We met Xavier from the hotel right when we walked through border control with a big smile and a friendly handshake!  It did take quite a while to get our luggage but the process wasn’t too bad and we began the drive to the hotel around 7:30 which was about 30 minutes from the airport.  The drive was interesting….it was dark and raining and the driver was honking the horn constantly and slamming on the brakes.  He even rolled down his window to yell at a few people J  Adam and I were both surprised by the amount of people on the side of the roads…they were everywhere! 

We got to the hotel right about 8pm and our contacts from our agency and four other couples with their kids met us outside and gave us a very warm welcome.  I of course was so excited I am not sure I even said hello to all of them before I asked if Elysee was there and one of the ladies said we have a little surprise and there they were!  Both of them!  They were barely awake since it was past their bedtime but we got to hold them and kiss them…it was definitely one of the best moments in my life.  It felt exactly the same as when I held Eva and Eli for the first time J 

We went into our hotel room and did not even lay Elysee down on her bed before she was asleep!  The night went pretty good.  We didn’t have a bed for the baby so she slept in between Adam and I which I was really nervous about and then Elysee was laying next to us on a twin bed and she was all over the place and just about fell out of bed a few times so I was up a lot putting her back in the middle of the bed.  The baby only woke up once to eat and then it took her awhile to go back to sleep but she didn’t cry J  She just played.

This morning we woke Elysee up at 7 because they said she usually gets up to eat at 6 and she was so tired that she fell asleep at the table sitting up…literally…Adam caught her before she fell over!  So we put her back to bed for about an hour and then she got up and was a little happier J  She ate a piece of toast and a granola bar for breakfast and played patty cake with me for a bit.

Adam went to the grocery store which he said was a lot like a CVS combined with a grocery store and got us some food for the week.  When he got back we decided to take the girls over to swim but Elysee was not having that!  I am sure she had never seen a pool before and even though all her friends were in there, she did not want to get in so we went back to the room to make lunch and she started to cry and cry and cry.  She was screaming the same word over and over.  I can’t even explain to you what this did to my heart!  I had no idea what she was saying so after a bit, I walked her over the office to see if Xavier from the airport was there and he was and he immediately took her in his arms and said…we be back… and he took off with her to find one of the ladies that works at the hotel and they calmed her right down.  They carried her back to our room and got her some M&M’s and talked to her for a bit about us being her mama and papa and how we loved her and we had food for her and she was going to have fun with us…and then she sat in my arms clinging to me while she ate a peanut butter sandwich, a banana, some yogurt and a granola bar!  Then I climbed in bed with her and she fell asleep holding my hand and the Tiana doll we brought her J 

The baby is full of giggles and toothless grins!  She is eating and sleeping well so far and seems to be a really happy baby.

Please pray that God would give both of them a sense of peace with us.  Elysee seems to be a little scared but that is probably normal.  She has lived in 5 places in her three years of life with multiple new caregivers and we are just two more to her right now that she does not know.  Pray the Lord would bond us quickly and give us a love for each other that only he can give. 

Continue to pray for Eva and Eli too…Susan said they are doing well but Eva was a little upset last night because she didn’t get to say goodbye to us on Skype…our connection kept failing.  And silly as it may seem, pray that our internet works enough to call them every day J

Thank you for your prayers!

Lynsey

Brussels

Good Morning!  Adam and I are sitting in the Brussels airport waiting to board our last flight of the weekend!  We should be in Kinshasa around 5:45 this evening (12:45pm EST) and then we are headed to the hotel to meet Elysee!  I cannot wait!

Yesterday, our flight from Washington to Brussels was pretty good…we were both able to get a few hours of sleep in J  When we got to Brussels, we checked in our hotel and headed out to see a bit of the city.  We had a really fun day!  We ate Belgian Waffles and Belgian Frites.  We also bought some Belgian chocolate to take back to the room and have been eating it since then!  I told Eva we would bring her some back but I think we are going to have to buy some more on our way back through next week J  We went to the Grand Place & the cathedral both of which were very beautiful. 

Grand Place

Manneken Pis - He He!

 Waffles :-)

Cathedral

We were able to Skype with Eva and Eli last night and they both seemed to be doing really well!  They were getting ready to have an Easter egg hunt with our family and were very excited. 

Please continue to pray for safety, peace for all six of us and for our time with our girls this week.

Thank you!

Lynsey

We Can't Wait!!!!!!

The last two months have been a whirlwind of activity!  We booked our flights, started preparing for our trip, finished up tax season, finished preschool...sigh...it has been exciting, busy and very stressful! 

Tax season ended (for me) last Saturday so my mom and I quickly cleaned our house which hadn't been done in...well...let's just say awhile :-)  Adam and I began packing and packing and packing.  We received over 100 pounds of supplies to take to the orphanage that our baby is living in right now.  We received lots of medicine, vitamins, antibiotic ointment and formula that we will deliver some time next week as well as $820 to purchase food for the orphanage when we get there. THANK YOU to everyone who made these donations possible!  We are in a state of constant amazement at the generosity of our friends and family!

We are just about completely packed and are ready to leave in about 53 hours...but who's counting?!? he he!

This week has been a roller coaster of emotions for me. 

Eight years ago this Saturday, April 19th, we got the phone call that my dad had passed away in an accident.  This remains to be the hardest day of my life.  I can remember that call like it happened last night and still brings overwhelming sadness to my heart when I think of it.  I so wish he were here to see me as a wife and mother...to see my kids :-)  I know he would love playing with Eli, they both have an extreme love for cars!  And I know he would be amazed at our little Eva....how she can be exactly like me in some ways and not at all in others.  He would laugh that I ended up with a strong-willed little girl and I know he would tell me that it is only fair that I have to raise a child with the same qualities that he did!  I wish he would one day meet Elysee and her little sister. 

When I booked our flights on this day, I thought that maybe it wouldn't be a great day to leave.  It's always an emotional day for my family and I just wasn't sure but it worked out that this was the day we needed to leave so that was that.  I have thought about it a lot this week and I have decided that this was another blessing from God.  April 19th is always such a sad day for me but, this will be the year that the Lord blesses us with great happiness on this day!  It will forever be the day we left to go and meet two of our children for the first time!  The week that followed my father's passing was a week filled with horrible sadness and many, many tears but next week will be filled with lots of joy!  Oh how I love that the Lord has done this for me! 

I was also a little sad that we are not going to be here on Easter Sunday to worship our Lord with our friends and family and especially our kiddos but I am thankful that the Lord has reminded me this week of why we entered this adoption journey to begin with....

We are doing this because of his great love for us! 

We are doing this because we want to be Jesus' hands and feet on this earth to these two little girls. 

We are doing this because he asked us to and what could be a more fitting form of worship for Easter Sunday than to physically go and visit them! 

So now we are just ready!  I cannot wait to be there and to hold them in my arms...finally! 

We would like to ask you for some specific prayer requests :-)  Please pray for peace for Eva and Eli while we are gone.  Eva has had a few sad moments but is mostly excited about the fun she will have with her Grandma, PopPop and Nana!  Eli on the other hand has been a bit sad the last few days so please pray that God would give him peace.  Please pray for safety and peace for Adam and I and for a wonderful week with our daughters.  Pray for bonding between the four of us and pray for energy for Adam and I!  It has been awhile since we have taken care of a 4 month old and a three year old!  he he!  Please continue to pray for the paperwork we need to start the court processes for the baby...we are only waiting on one more document and pray for a favorable determination from USCIS for Elysee.  Most importantly, please pray that we would keep our focus on God this week....that he would open our eyes and our hearts to see his people as he sees them and that he would guide our actions to show his love to everyone we meet. 

Thank you so much for your continued support of our family on this journey. 

Lynsey

Long Awaited News...

I am so excited to share with everyone our long awaited news!!! 

A few months ago, Adam and I received all of Elysee's translated court documents giving us custody of her in the DRC and telling us that her name changed to Elysee Stultz :-)  Adam and I both sat down on the couch that night and read through all of the documents detailing what they were able to find out about her past and in all of the information one line read...."she is an only child." 

It was really a bittersweet moment.  We were excited to finally get all of the documents and to have custody of her but it was very sad learning all that we did about her past and, I will be honest, I really had been praying for siblings and it did not look like this was going to work out the way that I wanted it to.

The next morning, I was sitting in a Bible study when I got a text message from Adam and it said, "She has a half-sister."  Well I literally gasped!  One of my dear friends was sitting next to me and asked if it was okay and I showed her the text message and then both of us just started crying.  I quickly texted him back and asked, "How old is she?"  And Adam replied, "Born last night :-)."

Fast forward three and a half months and we finally have a referral for another little girl!

We are working very quickly to try and get everything together that we need to accept her referral.  We found out on Thursday night at 8:30 pm and we were getting our fingerprints done the next morning at 10:30 :-)  All the documents are in the mail so please pray that we will get quick responses on everything that we need. 

We leave in 20 days to go meet our little girls and I could not be more excited!  Yay!  A family of SIX!!! 

We will also be visiting an orphanage and are colleting some items to take with us so if you would like to donate anything, please let us know and we would be happy to pick it up!

These are the items they need:

·         Baby formula – powder, any brand/type

·         Children's Tylenol, Advil, or generic pain reliever

·         Children's cold, cough, and allergy medicine – Benedryl, Tussin, Dimetap, generics

·         Antibiotic Ointment

·         Children's multivitamins – no gummies please

·         Crib sheets

Thank you for your continued prayers and support! 

 

Lynsey

Encouragement

We have had a rough couple of weeks in the Stultz home. 

We have ALL been sick, some of us multiple times!

We do not have the paperwork we are supposed to turn in tomorrow to USCIS.

We got a medical bill in the mail from our agency for our daughter and she has been sick twice and I was not there to hold her....oh how this hurt my heart.

This has been a pretty low point for me.  About ten days ago we were coming to the end of the period where we needed to get the paperwork into translation or we were not going to meet the deadline and I was expecting God to work a miracle and he didn't.  I was very frustrated. 

I believe that my God is in control of EVERYTHING. 

He created EVERYTHING. 

He owns EVERYTHING. 

He can see EVERYTHING. 

And I was very frustrated because I know that he can provide the paperwork we need but for whatever reason he chose not to and this was really upsetting to me. 

I took my eyes off of Jesus and started to focus on all my circumstances and this is where I began to fall apart.  I started to focus on what we didn't have instead of the crazy amount of blessings we do have.  I started to focus on my plan instead of His. 

I sat on the couch with Adam after we purchased our tickets to travel to the DRC and told him I wasn't sure that was a very wise decision.  I knew that I needed to go and visit her because I don't know when she will ever come home but we are also at the end of our financial resources and so I started adding up all the things that we are going to need to pay for with the adoption as this journey keeps going and going and Adam just said, "stop."  He asked me,

"Do you still believe that God has called us to do this?"   

and I said, "Yes."

and he said,  "then don't worry about it.  He will take care of it."

Now I have seen God work miracle after miracle through this process but for whatever reason, I chose to not focus on that but to focus on my current circumstances and I began to worry.  I prayed that God would give me some encouragement and he did :-)

That week, we received four very unexpected checks totaling $1,201!  God reminded me again that he sees our circumstances and he is working! 

Then I received four cards in the mail from four different people.  The interesting thing about these four cards was who they were from.  These are people that I do not talk to all the time.  Two of them, I see on a pretty regular basis but the other two I may talk to every few months and God chose to lay on their hearts that I needed encouragement all in the same week!  I have decided to hang these cards where I can see them every day to remind me that God does see me and he does hear me and he has sent me wonderful friends to be his hands and feet on this earth. 

This past week has gotten better.  Maybe it was because we were all well or maybe because we were able to get an extension from USCIS (Praise God!) but I think it has more to do with my focus.  I can see that most of my discouragement comes from my expectations not being met and this is where the problem starts.  I have my plan in my head and when God doesn't work according to my plan, then I get upset.  Where in the Bible do I see that God is supposed to act according to my plan?  NOWHERE!  My plan does not look like his plan because he knows everything and I do not! 

The last couple of weeks has really tested my faith. 

Hebrews 11:1 says, "Faith means being sure of the things we hope for and knowing that something is real even if we do not see it."

I believe that God was asking me to have faith in him even when I can't see him doing anything because I know that he is!  I know that he is working all things for my good and his glory! 

James 1:2-4 says "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴ Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

Oh how I pray that I can learn to rejoice in the midst of trials instead of focusing on my circumstances.  I am thankful that the Lord has chosen to increase my faith and I pray that I would allow him to mold me everyday to look more and more like the person he wants me to be. 

We were able to get an extension from USCIS through April 14th.  We were told this is the maximum extension that is allowed so please be in prayer that God will provide all that we need to bring her home. 

I want to say THANK YOU to all of my friends who have prayed for us...we are receiving encouragement from the Lord through you! 

Leaving On A Jet Plane...

That's right!  We are... leaving, on a jet plane, don't know when we'll be back again...

oh never mind about the last part, we do know when we'll be back :-) 

Adam and I are heading to the DR Congo on April 19th through the 29th to visit (not bring home) our little girl!  We are super excited about spending a week hugging and loving on her...not so excited about leaving Eva and Eli here, but we know that they will be in great hands with the grand-parents. 

We don't have a ton of details yet except that we have booked our flights and I am counting down the days until we meet her!  We do know we will be using the majority of our suitcase space to take items to a couple of orphanages in Kinshasa so for those of you who may be interested in donating items, I will post a list of needed items soon. 

We still do not have the required documents to deliver to USCIS on March 3rd so please continue to pray that the Lord will provide everything we need to bring her home and that the DR Congo will lift the suspension of exit visas. 

Trusting in Him,
Lynsey

"God Makes a Way"

On Wednesday morning, Adam came downstairs during my prayer time and interrupted me to show me an e-mail from one of our adoption agency workers, Debra,  who is currently in Kinshasa.  The e-mail was very exciting news and a long awaited answer to prayer ….I will be able to share a little more soon, I hope J  I praised the Lord for his faithfulness and love for his children and was just overwhelmed with joy! 

Then about thirty minutes later, Adam went outside to get the mail that we had neglected to get the previous day and there was a “Request for Evidence” letter from the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services.  This letter detailed that we need ten more documents from the DR Congo regarding our daughter’s adoption and orphan status.  All ten of these documents need to be obtained, translated into English and mailed to USCIS by March 3^rd or the letter states her adoption will be denied.  I immediately began to pray because I felt like this was going to be impossible!  We have learned over the last twenty months that “African time” is much different than “American time” and I just felt like the time frame was going to be impossible to meet.  Well, Adam took the letter to work to scan and send to our adoption agency and I stayed at home with the kids.  I sat down on the couch with them and Eva wanted to pick out her Bible story from her “Jesus Storybook Bible” for the morning so she flipped to a story in the Old Testament and asked me to read it.  I looked down at the Bible and began to smile when I saw she picked the story entitled, “God makes a way.”  This is the story of God parting the Red Sea from Exodus 14-15.  We got to the part in the story where God’s people are on the shore, in front of the sea, and Pharaoh’s army is behind them and they have nowhere to go and the story says…

“…they did the only thing there was left to do – PANIC!

“We’re going to die!” They shrieked. 

“Don’t be afraid!” Moses said. 

“But there’s nothing we can do!” they screamed.

 “God knows you can’t do anything!” Moses said.  “God will do it for you.  Trust him.  And watch!” 

I did the same thing they did and I heard God tell me the same thing Moses told them…trust and watch. 

Adam called a little bit later to tell me that he had e-mailed the letter to Debra in the DR Congo and she said that our attorney was with her and he was going to get started on obtaining the documents today! 

I thank God for many things…first that we received a bit of encouraging news before the bad news J  I am thankful that Debra is in the DR Congo and could get the information to our attorney immediately!  And I am thankful that God gave me his peace through a story I have read many times before but needed to hear again yesterday morning. 

God knows that we need these documents to bring her home and I know that he is the only one who can make this happen.  Please join us in praying that God will provide everything we need to bring her home. 

Lynsey