Wedding weekend

Rob's sister was married this weekend.  Igor was in the wedding.  Here are a few pictures.



Holding the ring

Ring delivered



Great MeMe and Igor



Henry & Christy



Children who need a sponsor

We have several children who need a sponsor.  Many of these children at Grace Baptist Church are single or double orphans. They may live with a relative who can provide shelter but not food or clothing because of extreme poverty. There is also food shortages in parts of Ethiopia. Kombolocha is located North East of Addis Ababa. According to the Famine Early Warning map, Kombolcha is dealing with moderate to high food insecurities.
We can make a difference in these children's lives. $34 per month ensures that a desperately poor and hungry child will have one meal every day, clothing, basic medical care, education and Christian discipleship. If you would like to sponsor a child or receive more information, please email me- mblueberry.madamblueberry@gmail.com
Here are some of the precious children we were with last week who need a sponsor

Rabiya is in 8th grade.  She lives with her grandmother.  She enjoys singing and music. Rabiya is now sponsored!!!
 

Miftah is 11 years old, he lives with his mother and loves sports.  Rob really connected with this boy. Miftah is now sponsored.

Abubeker is 11 years old and lives with his mother.  He is very curious and enjoys sports.  Abubeker is now sponsored!!  If you would like to sponsor a child or receive more information, please email me- mblueberry.madamblueberry@gmail.com

Kombolcha

I cannot believe we are home!  A week ago today we were handing out care packages to children at Grace Baptist Church in Kombolcha.  The children were so excited to see us, spend time with us, to "talk" to us. 
There were several things we noticed about the children.  First, they were delighted to see us.  They wanted hugs, they wanted to touch us, they wanted to connect with us. 

They loved playing with the jump ropes and soccer balls we brought. Thank you sponsor families who helped purchase these items!!

We had a wonderful time with the children.
As we spent time with the children we noticed that underneath the joy, there was a need for some basic items:
proper footwear

and proper clothing:

Our current fundraising event is with Sami- her blog is little goody2-shoes.  Sami has raised half the amount needed for the 175 children in the sponsorship program.  She is 12 years old and making a HUGE impact.  Check out her blog and her necklaces!  She's currently hosting a giveaway- it's free to enter. 

We passed court

Today we went to court for our daughter!  WE PASSED!!
We are pleased to announce the newest addition to our family -our beautiful daughter - Merone

Court today!

At 9 AM in Addis - 2AM East coast time we will have a court appointment to adopt our daughter!  We are praying for good news.

Kombolcha

We have returned from Kombolcha.  We had a great trip.
We were able to appreciate the breathtaking views as we crossed over the mountains.

When we arrived at the church  we were greeted by 300 children.  Hundreds of little hands extended to shake our hands.  "Hello.  What is your name?"  That's it, that's all the English they know.  They had been practicing in anticipation of arrival!  So, after hundreds of handshakes and saying, "My name is Candy," we were able to pass out jump ropes and the soccer balls.  the children were so excited!!

The next day we handed out care packages!  I have pictures of each child receiving their care package.  They were so excited to receive cards and pictures.  They loved the stickers.  They also loved putting them all over their faces.   When we return I will send you photos of your sponsor child.

Ethiopia

We have arrived!!  AWAA picked us up this morning from the airport.  They said we could meet our daughter today.  We were surprised because we thought our first meeting would be Monday.
Baby girl is cute, she loves cuddles and baby dolls.  We were told she has had a rough transition to the transition house but that was not evident today.  We were prepared to be met with rejection.  We were delighted that she let us hold her.  She loved holding in to our family picture. 
Igor- she loves to point at you in the photos I brought!!! 
Henry she holds onto your picture.  Boys- you are going to love her.

Tomorrow we leave for Kombolcha. 
Please pray for a safe journey, and complete healing from my stomach bug. 
We have been told MOWA is only writing 5 letters a day right now- we may not pass court without this letter.  Please pray the letter would be written for our court date - May 18

Ethiopia here we come!!

We are packed and ready to go!  We've had quite a week of trials and hiccups but we are ready. 

The first part of our trip will in Kombolcha where our church and other families sponsor children through Children's Hope Chest.  We have your care packages, jump ropes, soccer balls and more packed for the children.  We pray they will be a blessing to the children.  With the help of the One Child Campaign and private donors we were also able to purchase a guitar for the discipler assigned to Kombolcha.  The children will learn bible songs and verses to music!  Hundreds of children will be blessed by this purchase!

On the second half of our trip we will meet our daughter!  We cannot wait to finally be with her.  We will go to court to gain custody of her on May 18.
Please pray for our children and Rob's parents who will be caring for them.  Also for our meeting with our daughter.  We would love it if you would pray that MOWCYA (it's similar to social services in the US) will write a favorable opinion letter to the judge and it will be on the judge's desk the day of court!  We cannot pass court without a MOWCYA letter.
Thank you all for your support and prayers.  I hope our next post will be from Ethiopia!

Care Packages are arriving!

Next week we will be in Ethiopia!!  Sponsor families are sending us care packages for the children at Grace Baptist Church in Kombolcha, Ethiopia.  Rob and I are so honored to be handing out care packages on behalf of sponsors.  Everyday UPS and USPS delivers boxes and envelopes!!
Here is one of the care packages we received today!

Thank you sponsor families for all the care packages!  The children will delight in them!