We appreciate all the love and prayers of those who followed our journey.

Sunday night 5:p.m. at the First Church of God we will show some of our slides and share about our trip, we would love for you to share this time with us.

Blessings, Sam & Diane

Praise Jesus, we made it home!!!

We boarded our plane in Washington DC only to find weather in Chicago gave us an hour and half delay, which means we sat on the plane for that 1 hour and half before we took off. I would rather be safe than sorry.

We landed in Chicago, retrieved our luggage, found our shuttle and headed home.
We arrived back in Nappanee around 9:35 p.m. Monday evening with a warm welcome from our kids.

We shared a few experiences with them before a hot shower and a warm bed.

Thank you so much for all your love and prayers.
This concludes our first adventure to Ethiopia.

Many of you are asking, when will we be able to bring Bereket home.

We have been told our paper work should be submitted to the US Embassy in Nairobi Kenya a week after our court date, so please pray for expediency.

We have been told this process will take between 4 & 8 weeks.
As soon as we hear something we will let you know plans for our next adventure to Ethiopia.

Blessings, Sam & Diane

                            Playing a game of Checkers, I think Bereket won! 

Sunday afternoon was very difficult telling our son good-bye and that we would be back as soon as we can to bring him home.
We are praying the U.S. Embassy will work quickly for us and the other families who have gained legal custody of their children this past week.

We ate dinner at the guest house and then left for the airport.

The airport in Ethiopia is one INTERESTING experience, especially when you don't speak the language and English is hard to come by.

We can say we have been to Rome, well at least for an hour. Our plane landed in Rome to refuel at 3:00 a.m., I am very thankful for that.

We finally made it to Washington DC, 17 hours later on one plane, Eeeh!
All in all the ride went pretty well.

It took us almost two hours to get through customs, re-checking and security.

We are now waiting for our flight to Chicago.
At this point, we can't wait to get home.

Thank you again for your prayers and our safe & healthy travel so far.

Sam

Yesterday another family from the states joined us, it was awesome to see them bond with their little girl. They will be first time parents and it is so exciting to see them go through all the challenges of adoption.
Yesterday morning our group went shopping to some street shops. In order to be a successful shopper you need to know how to haggle for a good price and you need to learn when to say no as part of the haggling process. From our previous experience when you are willing to say no on your final price the vendor will seek you out and meet your bottom dollar. We bought a few Ethiopian treasures that we hope will be a part of Bereket's life.
Today we fly out and the emotions of leaving our son behind are already setting in. We never dreamed it would this hard to leave our son here. He is being well cared for, however we have bonded and he part of us. I have gotten a closer glimpse into the pain God the Father felt when he left His Son here on earth to rescue me!
This experience has shown me like no other experience the amazing love God has for me!

This morning we are preparing to go to church and experience the International Evangelical Church the children from the transition house attend. We are praying for our church family in Nappanee today. The cool thing is that here in Ethiopia we are 7 hours ahead of the time in Indiana and our prayers will be in preparation for God's blessing and Spirit to flow as you gather in His name!

Please pray for Bereket!
Pray the Embassy will move swiftly!
- We are told most Embassy visits, that is when we will be able to come back to get our son, takes about 4 - 8 weeks.
Pray for our travel safety and protection as we leave tonight.

Thank you for your prayers, it is obvious to us of God's favor because of you!

Blessings, Sam

Yesterday was one of the most emotional days I can remember for a long time. We had the privilege of meeting Bereket's father. We were able to spend about a half hour with him. He shared with us about Bereket's mom and her passing, he told us about when he was a little boy.
Diane and I sat with tears in our eyes as we heard from a man who loved his son so much he was willing to give him up so he could have a better life. When we were done talking with him he could not  tell us how much he appreciated us for adopting his son. I can't imagine what he was feeling.
We were able to exchange some pictures and he hugged us both so tight and so long it was unmistakable how much this man cared for his son.
After our visit with him he was given time to spend with is son, which most likely would be his last time to see him. As we pulled out of the Transition home in our van, every person in the van was crying as Bereket sat on his father's lap, talking and sharing love. It was an awesome sight to see Bereket blowing bubbles with a large wand, his dad looked on with a huge smile on his face.
Thank God for loving Father's!!!

Last night we had the opportunity to go to a tradition Ethiopian dinner. One of the staples in the Ethiopian culture is "Injera Bread". It is a sponge like flat bread with a sour-dough taste. A person uses their hands to tear off a piece and scoop up various meats, sauces, vegetables, cheeses, onions, etc....
From my perspective Ethiopian food is quite spicy.
The restaurant that served our meal also had live Ethiopian music and dancers, which was quite entertaining.

This evening our group of four families walked to a local restaurant called the "Zebra Grill."

Tomorrow morning we have the opportunity to go and do some shopping for souvenirs and in the afternoon we will be able to spend time with Bereket.

Blessings, Sam