Purposeful Waiting - Timeline Update!

I talked with our case manager today, and she gave me an update on our waiting...it's only kinda good news so Brian and I wanted you to know so you can keep on praying!!!

BTW: Time in Ethiopia is whack!!

The News:

• Hard News: They had a RECORD amount of dossiers submitted in May & June. They are still receiving referrals for their June submissions. Hard for those families to wait!!
• Good News: They expect to give referrals for July-August dossier submissions quickly. They didn't have many of those.
  
• Kinda Good News: 5-7 more months before referral [which is 1-2 months longer]...BECAUSE they are doing some paperwork previously done AFTER the referral BEFORE the referral now.
  
• Maybe Good News: Therefore, they are projecting 3-6 months from referral until we travel to pick up the Little Ethiopian Diaz's. Previously, they projected a solid 6 months.
  

We'll see what happens but let's keep praying for an expedited referral!

Our case manager is so great. She took the opportunity on the phone today to remind us of some truth in the waiting...

• God has a purpose in our waiting [if we haven't learned this already than we have a problem]. It's not delayed waiting. He never wastes our waiting. This is NOT lost time. God's finding a way to use our waiting and/or redeem it.
  
• If we would get the referral when we want, then God wouldn't accomplish what he wants for us. That's so true even if we would've gotten pregnant when we wanted to. He's so intentional it makes me nauseous.
• He wants the best for us and the best for our child. So the waiting is about transforming us and our home to be the best scenario for us AND them.
• When we get our little ones, we won't even remember the wait. This one brings me to tears every time!
  

Brian has had a sense for a while that this waiting is important for us and we need more time before they come home. [I hate it when he's right.] So I pray that we will be diligent in our waiting and looking for ways that God is making it purposeful in our lives and the Little Diaz's.

Joy

I received this quote from a friend I've never met named Andrea. We share infertility stories...

Joy is something that confronts my circumstances and occurs in spite of sadness, difficulty, or loss. It is an attitude I adopt in spite of how things go. Joy is a posture, a position; it’s the deep assurance I have, that the God who loves me is in control. Joy doesn’t happen to me one day and avoid me the next. Joy is the result of a choice, a choice I have to make every day. It’s a choice based on the knowledge that I belong to God, who is my Refuge. And nothing, not even death, can take God away from me.

Fil Anderson

Thoughts? Reflections?

Today it's Ganna!

Merry Christmas to our babies!!! Today is Ganna, which is Christmas in Ethiopia. Ganna is on January 7th instead of our traditional December 25th.

Here's a quick look into their tradition [linked above]:
Ethiopia is one of the oldest nations in Africa. It still follows the ancient Julian calendar, so Ethiopians celebrate Christmas on January 7. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church's celebration of Christ's birth is called Ganna. It is a day when families attend church.

©2006 Publications International, Ltd.

The day before Ganna, people fast all day. The next morning at dawn, everyone dresses in white. Most Ethiopians don a traditional shamma, a thin, white cotton wrap with brightly colored stripes across the ends. The shamma is worn somewhat like a toga. Urban Ethiopians might put on white Western garb. Then everyone goes to the early mass at four o'clock in the morning. In a celebration that takes place several days later, the priests will dress in turbans and red and white robes as they carry beautifully embroidered fringed umbrellas. Most Ethiopians who live outside the modern capital city, Addis Ababa, live in round mud-plastered houses with cone-shaped roofs of thatched straw. In areas where stone is plentiful, the houses may be rectangular stone houses. The churches in Ethiopia echo the shape of the houses. In many parts of the country there are ancient churches carved out of solid volcanic rock. Modern churches are built in three concentric circles.

In a modern church, the choir assembles in the outer circle. Each person entering the church is given a candle. The congregation walks around the church three times in a solemn procession, holding the flickering candles. Then they gather in the second circle to stand throughout the long mass, with the men and boys separated from the women and girls. The center circle is the holiest space in the church, where the priest serves Holy Communion.

Around the time of Ganna, the men and boys play a game that is also called ganna. It is somewhat like hockey, played with a curved stick and a round wooden ball.

The foods enjoyed during the Christmas season include wat, a thick, spicy stew of meat, vegetables, and sometimes eggs as well. The wat is served from a beautifully decorated watertight basket onto a "plate" of injera, which is flat sourdough bread. Pieces of injera are used as an edible spoon to scoop up the wat.

Twelve days after Ganna, on January 19, Ethiopians begin the three-day celebration called Timkat, which commemorates the baptism of Christ. The children walk to church services in a procession. They wear the crowns and robes of the church youth groups they belong to. The grown-ups wear the shamma. The priests will now wear their red and white robes and carry embroidered fringed umbrellas.

The music of Ethiopian instruments makes the Timkat procession a very festive event. The sistrum is a percussion instrument with tinkling metal disks. A long, T-shaped prayer stick called a makamiya taps out the walking beat and also serves as a support for the priest during the long church service that follows. Church officials called dabtaras study hard to learn the musical chants, melekets, for the ceremony.

Ethiopian men play another sport called yeferas guks. They ride on horseback and throw ceremonial lances at each other.

Ganna and Timkat are not occasions for giving gifts in Ethiopia. If a child receives any gift at all, it is usually a small gift of clothing. Religious observances, feasting, and games are the focus of the season.