My Daughter and I had a Smoke Together on the Way to School this Morning . .

Actually . ..we didn't have much of a  choice since we were in the back seat of a taxi, headed towards Grace's school, and the driver was having his morning     smoke before breakfast!

THIS, is one of the things I WON'T MISS about Egypt.

Yesterday, while sitting to have dinner, Gracie asked,  
"Mommy, what are some of the things you look forward to in the States?" 

We took turns sharing our lists!

We DO have so much to look forward to and to be grateful for

 on the 'other side!'

 Certainly, there are many things we will miss about life in Egypt, as well.

• Our spectacular friends!

• Donkey carts selling veggies

• Occasional herds of goats walking    down our street

• Our cleaning helper and ironing man!!

• Flexibility of life, work, and rules

• Ministry among the poor

• Chatting with precious friends in the    office

• Beanos Cafe!!

 .  .  . to name a few things.

Likewise, I've been reflecting on things that I won't be missing -

The SOUNDS of night time Cairo: 
   noises that come all through the night and JOLT me out of my sleep such as -
   children screaming at the top of their lungs
   taxi drivers angrily shouting at each other
   packs of wild dogs howling
   motorcycles roaring by
   low flying planes
   wedding drums
   fireworks
   rapid gunfire
   gangs of boys fighting
   the incessant honking of car horns
   the call to prayer

I won't miss the frantic feeling experienced as I walk through the streets daily, or as we hop into yet another taxi with an unknown driver and attempt to trust him, or the feeling of constantly being completely out of control in almost every situation!

YET, I am finding that it takes MORE faith for me to trust the Lord in returning 'home,' than it did to trust Him for our move to Egypt.

In both transitions,    He remains faithful.

And, we are grateful for every one of our experiences here, and for God calling us and allowing us to be a part of HIS plan here in Egypt, for a time.
My sister reminded me of the words of one of her favorite authors just today, and I'll close with those 

"Don't be sad because it's

over,

 be happy because it happened." 

(Dr. Seuss)

STUFF

HOW DO YOU pack 
     an entire house full of 'stuff'
             into a few suitcases??
 The answer, as you can imagine, is 

                       You Don't.

Something's gotta give!

     Where our beautiful sky blue sofa set used to sit, now sit 7 suitcases, bulging from overweight and over-packing. 
     Over the past few weeks, we've had the JOY of realizing that our 'stuff' is JUST stuff, and while it was there for us for the time we needed to use it .. .it was not meant for us to keep forever, to cling to or hold onto with a firm grip.

Getting rid of our 'stuff' isn't as hard as we might initially think!

There is such JOY with releasing .. .letting go and selling, passing on  to others what was once precious and useful to us.
Lightening the load not only brings with it the essence of freedom and release, but the exhilaration of recognizing that all of your things are NOW gifts from The Lord, to others . . ..and the joy felt within the 'transition of stuff'  is beyond compare!!

     ALL great gifts have a forethought, a waiting period, and a special time to be given to that special person. Grace and I have piled our former possessions into corners, prayed, and waited to see what special people they are now meant for! 

There is such benefit in awaiting God's timing, His perfect timing ... for His gifts to be released. 

     Gracie's precious possessions now belong to two little girls who seem to live, and play in the streets outside of our building.
     The baby girl clothes that were brought here for Naomi, were really meant for my dear friends Leah and Andy, and their miracle baby girl!
We have watched as He has guided, and we have been the ones blessed to watch and be a part of HIS master plan!
  Through this time of transition, God has reminded me that all of HIS special gifts for His children are prepared, 

                    stored,

                           and ready to be released 

                                           in HIS perfect timing.

"Christian hands never clasp and He doesn't give gifts for gain 

because a gift can never stop being a gift - it is always meant to be given."

-Ann Voskamp 

(One Thousand Gifts)

My Green Grocer Wears a Dress and Speaks Many Languages

Food Garden

 . . . is our favorite veggie and fruit place on Rd 9 here in Maadi. Outside of the tiny entrance sits the  store's most luscious looking fruit, welcoming you to step inside the small passageway leading to what appears to be a tiny cave filled with a variety of fruit and veggies. 

There,  I can pick out, pay for and have sent to our door anything I desire. This option is wonderful for those of us with bad knees, who live at the top of buildings without elevators, although I can be sure if they promise to deliver before 30 minutes, I MIGHT be waiting for the next three hours for my stash to arrive!

The alternative is to call in my order as clearly as possible, and then be surprised at what actually turns UP at our door.

I believe last week I requested 3.5 kilos of cucumbers and a bunch of other things. I received that bunch of other things, along with only 1 kilo of cucumbers, three large bunches of green onions and three packages filled with garlic. (that were NOT requested)

         Close enough, I guess -

 But actually visiting this teeny Mom and Pop shop is a great experience because the man who runs it, and his family members who help, are always quite friendly and extremely generous to Gracie, and that makes it fun.  Upon entering, you will always find incense burning and prayers from the Quaran gently being played from the speakers. The owner, who does NOT appear to be eating much of what he sells ... is a typical veggie-man here in Egypt ( all considered to be mostly uneducated, working class folks) YET he deals with customers from around the world. I do not believe he's had a language lesson in his life .. however out of necessity he has impressively picked up an assortment of languages in order to make his sales work with all of his customers. I've heard him speak English, Arabic, French and Portuguese! (I think?)

   I have studied Arabic on and off for YEARS in various school settings, memorized lists of words, bought and studied numerous Arabic textbooks and have had private tutors, and still struggle to get a point across.

   Whenever I visit his shop without Gracie by my side, he always asks about her and sends me home with a yummy gift of bananas for her, or small package of some other fruit.

   Upon hearing that we were leaving Egypt for the States, he rounded up and handed me a massive bag of lemons saying, "These are for YOU to take back to your family, from me."

  This is one of the things that I will surely miss about Cairo!

The stores we visit daily are all small, and run by the same people who have always run them and always will. 

The faces never change, and we are known by the folks who serve us. 

 For me, it's true that - "Sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows your name, and they're always glad you came ..." 

(Cheers, in case you are wondering!)

Transitions

Friends,

Thanks for stopping by and viewing my blog.

 Life is full of unexpected twists n turns, and the only constant I've found is the certainty that things are always changing! 

     I will give you an adoption update and then dedicate my future blogging to the transitional thoughts and experiences I have daily, as I prepare to come home, from Egypt. Since an adoption is still in progress, there will continue to be adoption-journey thoughts as well.

     This blog was birthed to express the joys and challenges of the adoption journey. I connected with Naomi, whom we thought would join our family.  The adoption process was set into motion and much work was done, including a home study.  Before the home study, I'd sat with Naomi's uncle (my co-worker) a few times to make CERTAIN that her caretakers were intent on abandoning her to the necessary orphanage, so the process could start. I didn't feel it would be wise to invest money and time in the process if they were not truly serious about adoption.  Every meeting resulted in a resounding, "YES" to adoption and she was brought to the orphanage; pictures were taken and sent to us. They were placed on this blog and that is where we left off.

Soon after the home study was done, I received the unfortunate news  from Wasatch Adoption agency that Naomi's caretakers took her back  with them immediately after photographing her at the orphanage. It seems that they desired to be paid to take care of her until I came to get her. Their actions disqualified her from being adopted and I was advised to not proceed with her adoption.

Wasatch adoptions offered to place me on the top of their list for those waiting for a baby from Congo. While this option was exciting and Congo adoptions are quick . . I continued to pray about this, but I did not have any peace regarding proceeding with an adoption from Congo at that point.

     Rather, my thoughts turned back to Haiti, where my daughter is from, and where I had been hoping to adopt from again some day.

     For the past few months I've been continuing the paperwork required to proceed with a Haitian adoption through Reach Out to Haiti, using the same organization and same adoption facilitator that adopted Grace to me 10 years ago. Currently, Haitian adoptions are becoming quite tricky, and the process-much longer than before. However they are much less expensive than Congolese adoptions. In the "Giving" section of my blog, I will soon have the financial (Donate) section made to reflect the updated adoption costs for Haiti.

    Right now, my Dossier (mound of notarized, necessary paperwork for a Haitian adoption) is being translated into French, after which I will have it Authenticated in Annapolis and then sent to Haiti.

I am waiting also for I-600a approval to adopt, from the US Government.
There are so many uncertainties with adoption. .. so many challenges and constant changes in the laws of the various lands people adopt from. 

We ask for your prayers for God's mercy, that He will bless and guide and provide, and bring another child "HOME" to our family.
You are invited to keep reading these blog entries, which will be little reflections of Cairo. . .. trying to find the humor in the chaos of my daily life, and our transition back  "Home" to the States.

God bless you and your family, and grant you a Wonderful, Merry Christmas!

With Love,

Nancy

      

S E A S O N S

                                     For everything there is a season, 

and a time for every matter under heaven:

Ecclesiastes 3:1 

A Time to Seek and a Time to Lose-

I had the unfortunate news that I am unable to adopt Naomi, the little sweety from Congo that I've created this blog about.

 It appears that her caretakers allowed to her be brought to the orphanage for a day .. long enough for her photographs to be taken and sent to us, and then took her back.We did not know this reality until a week or two later, and so she is not truly an 'abandoned' child and can no longer be classified as an orphan.Please pray for her uncle, my co-worker, who is very upset about this turn of events and who will most likely now never be able to meet his niece.

Many investments have been made in the adoption process; much work has been done, and the home study is complete, so after much counsel and prayer I've decided to turn the adoption back to Haiti and let the process take it's needed time. 

Please pray for upcoming changes with adoption requirements in Haiti;
 for Barb Walker, the amazing lady who runs "Reach Out to Haiti"- for it to maintain it's permit to do adoptions 
and for this process in general.
Obviously, my blog will be under reconstruction but please do continue to visit it and read the adoption journey thoughts posted. 

With the estimated 153,000,000 orphans waiting, world-wide, for loving, forever families to come get them . . .I proceed with faith, 
                                                       and by His grace, 

with hope of bringing at least one more HOME.

Please pray . . for wisdom, favor, patience and financial support.
The Lord always knows the name of this little one that we now journey to rescue!

With Much Love and Thanks for joining me on this journey!

Nancy

Progress

"How is the adoption progressing?"

I hear these words often from excited, faith-filled friends.

I respond by sharing what I know.

                                                               I know . . .

The investments already made . .

Paperwork for the home study  -  Complete
Social Worker has come and gone.  Home study - DONE!
Naomi is in the orphanage that will be her home until she's adopted.
Six Months of orphanage care  -  Paid For
Her blood tests  -  Paid For
Application to partner with Wasatch-Completed and Paid For

Applications for grants to pay for adoption-printed out and in the works . .

Prayer, Fastings .. .MUST continue!

I DO NOT KNOW the outcome, but move F O R W A R D,   in faith.

     Yes, this is progress

                                                          I know that there is .. 

1 precious little girl, waiting for a forever home.
1 small family, anxious to provide that forever home, and love, nurture, care

                                                                    I ALSO know . . .

He is a great BIG God, who is  a "Father to the Fatherless" and who reminds us that 

"Religion that is pure and undefiled before Him, is to visit orphans and widows in their affliction .."

                                                                                                (James 1:27)

Is there anybody reading this blog who has been on this journey?

Of . . . wonder, uncertainty, elation, apprehension, joy, fear, speculation,

and sometimes grief?

Please journey with me in faith, in prayer.

 Leave your comments, your thoughts, your advice . . .

                                                        Until we Bring Her Home.

 

   "Dear Lord, I do not ask that Thou shouldst give me some high work of Thine, 
       some noble calling or some wondrous task.

Give me a little hand

     to hold in mine."

(Anonymous) 

Meet Naomi

     Almost 8 months old

           

Just today, entered into the ZAPE orphanage

run by those working with the Wasatch Organization.

 

She is beautiful and precious in His sight!

    We are overwhelmed with love for her. . .

Please, continue to pray for this adoption process !

Thank you,

Nancy and Gracie