I know your Able and I know you can JESUS!

 

 

 

Salem, everyone from Ethiopia. I have been here for a very long time. In this
post I wanted to share about how much I have felt God here and seen God here.
Being away from my family back in America has been so hard. Especially hard
since it's summer break. I have been here the entire summer. I have not seen
them swim in the pool or go to the zoo. I have missed almost all my Kuchman and
Gabe's baseball games. I have cried myself to sleep many nights . Every morning
around 5 am I get a FaceTime call from Lily. You see, Lily can't fall asleep
without her mommy. I sleep with her every night ( yes, don't Judge ha)! Lily is
my child that is an emotional child. I'm her safe zone. She has learned to be
comforted by FaceTiming me to fall asleep. She lays her head down while I watch
her sleep. She goes right to sleep knowing that her mommy is watching her. Even
if I'm a across the ocean.
You see in this time being here for so long, I have taken comfort like Lily does
with her mommy. I know Jesus is watching over me. He is by my side helping me
get through these trials. I'm honored to have Him in my corner.
You can not be in Ethiopia without seeing Jesus. He walks these streets with all
the kind hearted Ethiopian people. I have been told by many Ethiopians that I am
one of them. I am family. I miss my family back home but so many people here
filled the void. The Brooklyn Hotel owners and staff have made me feel
completely like family . They call me ETHIOPIAN ha!
They cry with me and pray with me. They are family. I will never forget how much
they have helped me get through this hard time. They even invited me to an
orthodox ceremony, where we shared bread and water together. A woman handed me a
glass of water, I drank the entire glass and handed it back to the woman because
she was waiting for the glass back. You see, I came in late to the ceremony and
she handed this glass of water to me right away. Little did I know that she
passed that same glass around to all 80 -100 people in the room and it came from
a bowl and pitcher. When I realized that, I thought to my self, OH NOOOOOOO, I
just drank an entire glass of tap water, aka parasite water. Instantly my face
got red and I started to freak out. You all remember how sick I was when I came
here in March when I brushed my teeth with the water.
So after the ceremony I told the owner of the hotel, Brook, about my worries
over the water. He said so calmly, "It's okay, it's holy water! You will be
fine!" I walked alway thinking, ya right!
He was right, it was holy water, and I'm just fine. You see with God's blessing
on things, everything good comes from it!
This is a good reminder for me as life is often filled with uncertainty. I was
so uncertain about this water and actually about staying In ETHIOPIA by myself.
I have things in my life which I fear will never change or come to an end. There
are other things which keep me up at night, wondering what will happen and when.
The unpredictability of life can keep me on edge, feeling anxious, and fearful.
With this adoption unpredictable is an understatement. I have never cried so
much in my life, but I have also never prayed so much in my life. Being here in
Ethiopia, I have become a lot closer to the Lord. I have learned to trust Him
fully. In the middle of a problem, it is easy to lose sight of God’s
faithfulness and His goodness. We often find ourselves focusing on our problems
when we are in them and we often forget everything else. But God has a purpose
in the struggle, and He is faithful, no matter what. I have seen that during my
time here.
Being here is not cheap and not working is a problem. I have stressed over
money but God has been faithful. He has laid it on my friend's heart to help us.
I'm overwhelmed and humbled by all your donations. I will be forever grateful.
Thank you from all of us!
God never said that life would be easy but we need to remember that He is
faithful, He is good and He keeps His promises: “Be strong and courageous. Do
not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you
wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)
We still need lots of prayers . There are only 2 court dates left ( next Tuesday
and Thursday) because of rainy season and then court is closed until October!
Please pray that God makes a way and moves that mountain. He can break all
chains.

 

 

I walk to this church on top of the mountain everyday. It's an Orthodox Church and absolutely beautiful!

Orthodox ceremony with my good friend Anne and her adorable daughter.

The bridge I walk over everyday

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IN OUR BONDAGE HE IS OUR FREEDOM

Salem from Ethiopia! I arrived in Ethiopia on June 16th. On my daughter's
birthday. I surprised them. The video will have you all in tears. I can't wait
to show it to my close friends and family. B went running to me and A stood up
and started clapping his hands. I was a mess, well we all were. I got her a cake
and we had a huge celebration. The nannies had the room all decorated. This was
her 1st birthday celebration ever. This was a day I'll never forget.

Many of you know that I did not get on my return flight on my birthday. I
cancelled my flight and I have no idea when I will come home. I will be home
when God moves this mountain and breaks all chains so that our children can come
home.
This is the hardest thing I have ever done. I miss my family back home. It's so
hard when you have two families across the world from another. I miss Kuchman
saying " mom can you oil me up?" I miss sleeping with my baby girl. I miss
Gabe's baseball games and him saying " mom come in my room and talk to me!" I
miss Kaitlynn's clumsiness and the things that come out of her mouth, that Nick
and I look at each other and laugh about. Haha , sorry Kait! I miss hearing my
husband's truck pull in after he gets off work. I miss him hugging me and
telling me it's going to be okay when I fall apart. Falling apart has been a
daily thing here for me.
I have sobbed and pleaded in front of so many strangers. A taxi driver even
picked me up drove me around and prayed  for me because I was crying so hard
while walking by myself on the streets of Ethiopia.
God has given me so much courage. I walk to see my kids everyday. I'm very
comfortable here. I walk to get groceries by myself. I walk up to a church to
pray often. I love Ethiopia and the people here. I have even got to wash some
hair at the barber shop here. They love when I come and hang out. Oh how I miss
doing hair. I did give B her 1st haircut.
My dear friend Kelli took me on a weekend trip out of the city. I'm so grateful
she did this for me. The country side is absolutely breathtaking. I will post
when I get home. Africa is amazing. I fed a wild monkey out of the palm of my
hand. Ummmmmm ya, I don't think brave is a good word for that, I'm thinking
crazy is better. I rode in a boat to see the hippos and I may or may not have
freaked out when the boat got a little to close for comfort for me. Haha!
Of course I'm still the thrifty Val. I wash my clothes in the sink with a bar of
soap. My friend Kelli just gave me some laundry detergent so I don't have to
wash with the bar of soap anymore haha! I keep sniffing my clothes now. I eat in
my room most days. Ramen noodles and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches is what
I live off of. Oh I long for a home cooked meal.

When I told my son I was leaving on my birthday he cried. That moment I knew I
could not leave them. My 1st thought was how in the world can I stay here? How
can my husband manage 2 jobs and taking care of the children? Well he's rocking
it. He's amazing and strong. All of you know by now we have no family to help
us. I'm in awe at the help we have with just friends. We never even have to ask.
You guys just show up with meals and texts saying how can I help? Last weekend
Nick texted me saying Kait has to work Sunday so I'm going to have to take the
day off from work. I freaked out and said you have to save those days for when
it's time to come here. A couple hours later he texted me and said Kristen is
taking gabe to his game and the little ones are going with Kristen's parents for
the day. Then all the kids are eating supper and spending the night at Linda's. I'm in tears and
amazing by all of you. I'm so grateful!
Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

I can not give any details about our case. We would just like to ask all of you
for prayers. We firmly believe in the power of prayer. Everyday I write a
different prayer out for our children. We sit and hold hands with their special
momma( nanny). I say the prayers line by line and she translates for me. One day
I asked A what he wanted to do for the day. His answer was " pray mom!" I'm a
lucky momma to have kids who believe in, and love our Lord and Savior! I have had so
many families come up to me to say they have fallen in love with your kids, and
because of them we would be open to adopting an older child. My kids are a
reflection of Jesus! They are so sweet and kind.
We will wait on the Lord at this point. Waiting is so hard for me. I think in
this 2 1/2 year journey I'm getting better at waiting. Just a teeny bit better. 
I'm asking God to meet me where I'm at spirituality and take any doubts or fears
from me.
I'm asking God to allow me to be brave, when my mind is clouded. I know our
Lord's mighty hand protects us and delivers us.
I will praise our Lord in good times and bad times. I see God working in
Ethiopia. I know He has performed many miracles. I know He hears ours cries. He
alone is the all powerful and merciful God.
Our seasons change but our God stays the same. We know He will make a way. We
know He holds all the answers. In our bondage, He is our freedom. In our
weakness, He is the power! We know He is faithful. We know He will break all
chains. He will lift Satan's hand off our paperwork. He will perform a miracle!
We trust in Him!
Thank you all for praying for my family. For my kids and I in Ethiopia and
my husband and kids who miss me so much back home. I can't wait to share with
you all, God's miracle! Our children A and B!