He is a good, good Father

Last night, we went to the Saturday night service at our church. Samuel wanted to go to "Big Church" with me and James, so we agreed to let him join us. I held him during some of the worship service so he could see the band.  One of the songs that our worship pastor lead us in was "Good, Good Father."

Here are some of the words if you're not familiar with the song:

You're a good good Father. It's who You are, it's who You are, it's who You are
And I'm loved by You It's who I am, it's who I am, it's who I am

As I stood there, singing with Samuel in my arms, I smiled with gratitude. There was a season in our adoption story when I was so grief stricken that trying to sing that song would have sucked the air out of my lungs and left tears streaming down my face.  Doubt. doubt. doubt. It didn't feel like He was a good Father. I didn't feel like I was loved by Him. "I do believe; help my unbelief!" from Mark 9:24 became the cry of my heart.

And now, He has blessed us with the children we longed for.

This popped up in my Facebook memories last night.

I looked at the date, and my mind went back to the tragic news that we had recieved a few days prior. The little Ethiopian babe that we had longed to bring home, was going to be leaving the world soon. Her health was utterly failing. She left this world just after Thanksgiving, only a few weeks later.  My heart was crushed that Sunday, five years ago. I remember praying and weeping with two of our pastors after church. One of whom was an adoptee himself and the other an adoptive father. I remember wondering where God was.  I was grateful -and still am- for the body of Christ who grieved with us, and prayed for us - especially when I had no words to pray. One of the pastors who prayed with us that Sunday was Stephen Miller. (If you aren't familiar with his music, go check it out. It is gospel saturated.) He shared a quote on Facebook yesterday from Spurgeon's Morning and Evening that tied in well with what I had been remembering.

"Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands."

Isaiah 49:16

What can be more astounding than the unfounded doubts and fears of God's favoured people? The Lord's loving word of rebuke should make us blush; he cries, "How can I have forgotten thee, when I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands? How darest thou doubt my constant remembrance, when the memorial is set upon my very flesh?" O unbelief, how strange a marvel thou art! We know not which most to wonder at, the faithfulness of God or the unbelief of his people. He keeps his promise a thousand times, and yet the next trial makes us doubt him. He never faileth . . . and yet we are as continually vexed with anxieties, molested with suspicions, and disturbed with fears, as if our God were the mirage of the desert.  Heaven and earth may well be astonished that rebels should obtain so great a nearness to the heart of infinite love as to be written upon the palms of his hands. "I have graven thee." It does not say, "Thy name." The name is there, but that is not all: "I have graven thee." See the fullness of this! I have graven thy person, thine image, thy case, thy circumstances, thy sins, thy temptations, thy weaknesses, thy wants, thy works; I have graven thee, everything about thee, all that concerns thee; I have put thee altogether there. Wilt thou ever say again that thy God hath forsaken thee when he has graven thee upon his own palms?

In the midst of sorrow, grief, and loss our hope lies in the Risen One who bears the wounds that were necessary us to be adopted into the family of God. He is ever with the rebels that he redeemed. His ear ever listen to our prayers and pleas. He is always faithful to the ones He spilled His life for.

A Day at Yezelalem Minch

This post is a little overdue, but I wanted to share a few more pictures of our trip to Ethiopia.  Our last day there, we visited a ministry called Yezelalem Minch. (YM) It is an organization that facilitates child sponsorships, provides job skill training for widows and helps families with nutritional support.  On Saturdays, they have a feeding program where children and adults who are part of their ministry can receive a free, wholesome meal. Before the meal was served, James and I had some gifts to deliver to a couple of kids that are sponsored by friends of ours.

The meal is served by widows, and this is an source of income for them. They are paid by YM to prepare and serve the food.

The kids loved attention and wanted us to play with them.

I had some candy that I had brought to pass out to the kids. They all lined up after their meal for candy. This was about like starting a riot. The adults who were supervising the chaos had little sticks that they used to keep the kids in line.

All the kids wanted to see their photo after we took it. This was fun.  One perk of digital photography!

This is a wonderful organization that is changing the lives of the children and adults in it's care.

Learn a little Amharic

Amharic is the national language of Ethiopia. Since we are leaving for Ethiopia very soon, I wanted to try to learn a few more words and phrases in Amharic.  I found several YouTube videos that I thought were rather helpful.  You are shown the word in Amharic script, and then transliterated into Roman letters, and the word in English.  The pronunciation is given at two different speeds.  Here are a few of the videos:






There are several more videos like these.  Just go to YouTube and search for Amharic.  I've also been using a smart phone app called "You Talk Amharic," which has been helpful.  The app cost about 10 dollars, and it available for iphones and androids.

Sewing to meet a Need

 This might be a post with a little "TMI" for the guys out there, unless you work in the medical field, so feel free to stop reading now.  I've started a new sewing project.  Andrea at Babe of my Heart inspired me to do this.  GO read her post, if you have time.  It will tug at your heartstrings!  Until my trip to Haiti last year, it never crossed my mind what women in less than fortunate circumstances did when they got their period each month.  Lets face it, feminine hygiene products are something that no one here enjoys shopping for.  I've see more than one woman who has been embarrassed to buy those items.  I saw women in Haiti who were in such need of those items that they were willing to steal them.  I've heard of women using old mops and newspaper when they did not have access to pads or tampons.  I can't imagine having no other choice than newspaper.  It tugs at my heart as a pharmacist. . .newspaper is far from sanitary & it puts the women at a high risk for infection.  So, I decided to do a little something to help.  I'm making reusable pads that can be washed reused.  We are going to donate them when we got to Ethiopia.  I'd love to have some of you join me in this project too!  The pattern and instructions that I used can be found at Ask Pauline.  Refer to her website if you need more detailed instructions that what I gave.  Her pattern is also available for no charge.  I made one last night, and I hope to make some more this weekend.  This is pretty easy.  I'm not much of a seamstress, so if I can make these I think most anyone who knows how to operate a sewing machine can make these.

Here's what I used:

100% cotton batting (Don't use polyester because it is not as absorbent.)
1 yard of flannel
1 yard of Rip-Stop water-resistant fabric
1 old towel
sew-on snaps

I bought the supplies at Hancock's.  I spent about $35, and the batting was the most expensive item.  I got one package of crib-size batting and it was about $15.  

Cut out the batting, towel piece, and the top and bottom.  The top will be from the flannel and the bottom will be from the Rip-Stop.

towel

flannel

Rip-Stop

 Layer together the flannel, batting and towel.  Sew a zig-zag stitch down the middle.

Sew a zig-zag stitch around the outer edge of the towel and batting.

Pin the Rip-Stop to the side with the flannel.

 Place the pad on the sewing machine with the towel side up.  Sew a straight stitch around the majority of the edge - wings too.  You need to leave about a one inch opening so you can turn the pad right-side-out.

 Turn the pad right-side out and sew a straight stitch all the way around it outside of it.  You can close up the opening by doing this, if you care careful.

 Sew on the snaps.

 This is the backside.

It snaps closed into a handy little pouch.

More Ethiopian Coffee

In an older post I wrote about Ethiopian coffee, and I really enjoyed it.  I found another variety of it at Starbucks, and I tried it this morning.  I thought it was very good, but is it stronger than the first kind I tried.  This had a more robust flavor, similar to a dark roast coffee.  If you aren't a fan of dark roasts, you won't care for this.  Next time I make this coffee, I will probably make it a little more dilute that I did today. 

Ethiopian Coffee

One thing I've learned about since we've been working through our adoption paperwork and educating ourselves about Ethiopia is their coffee.  Ethiopia is where coffee was first cultivated.  According to national folklore, the origin of coffee is firmly rooted in Ethiopia's history. Their most popular legend concerns the goat herder from Kaffa, where the plants still grow wild in the forest hills. After discovering his goats to be excited, almost dancing on their hind legs, he noticed a few mangled branches of the coffee plant which was hung with bright red berries. He tried the berries himself and rushed home to his wife who told him that he must tell the monks. The monks tossed the sinful drug into the flames, an action soon to be followed by the smell we are all so familiar with now. They crushed the beans, raked them out of the fire, and distilled the stimulating substance in boiling water. Within minutes the monastery filled with the heavenly aroma of roasting beans, and the other monks gathered to investigate. After sitting up all night, they found a renewed energy to their holy devotions.

There is a local coffee shop called Kaldi's here in the STL area that sells Ethiopian coffee.  We thought it would be a fun gift for our parents at Christmas, so we got them a small bag of beans and a coffee grinder.  We got the same for ourselves - or for me rather, since James doesn't care for coffee.  It is very good.  It had no bitter taste, no bite.  I usually end up dumping a lot of flavored creamer in coffee to hide the bitterness, but I don't need it with this coffee.  I like to put just a small amount of milk in it.  It smells so good too! Kaldi's does sell bags of these bean online.  A 12 ounce bag of whole beans is $9.49.

Christmas Traditions in Ethiopia

I was curious about Christmas is celebrated in Ethiopia.  I found the following information at World of Christmas

Ethiopian Christmas is known as Ganna. It is celebrated on 7th of January. Christmas celebrations take place both in ancient churches carved from solid volcanic rock and modern churches designed in three concentric circles. Men and boys are made to sit separately from girls and women and the choir sings from the outside circle. Candles are given to people as they enter the church. They light the candles, then walk three times around the church and stand throughout the mass, which may take as long as three hours.


Traditional Christmas dish includes Injera, a sourdough pancake like bread, which serves as both plate and fork along with Doro Wat, a spicy chicken stew served in ornamented baskets. Giving gifts is not a big deal in Ethiopia and children usually receive clothes as presents. On Christmas Eve, people remain outdoors and pray and chant all night. In the morning, a colorful procession marches to the nearby hilltop headed by three young men with whips to keep everybody in line, where a service is held. After the prayers, priests bless the bread and wine and distribute it to everybody. People dance, play games and feast for the rest of the day.

Ethiopian Holidays

I just learned that both my birthday and James' birthday fall on Ethiopian holidays.  James' birthday falls Enkutatash, their New Year and my birthday is the same day as Timket, or Epiphany.

I found the following information at the British Ethiopian Embassy's website.

The Ethiopian New Year falls in September at the end of the big rains. The sun comes out to shine all day long creating an atmosphere of dazzling clarity and fresh clean air. The highlands turn to gold as the Meskel daisies burst out in all their splendor. Ethiopian children clad in brand new clothes dance through the villages giving bouquets of flowers and painted pictures to each household.

September 11th is both New Year's Day and the Feast of St. John the Baptist. The day is called Enkutatash meaning the "gift of jewels." When the famous Queen of Sheba returned from her expensive jaunt to visit King Solomon in Jerusalem, her chiefs welcomed her back by replenishing her treasury with enku or jewels. The spring festival has been celebrated since these early times and as the rains come to their abrupt end, dancing and singing can be heard at every village in the green countryside. After dark on New Year's Eve people light fires outside their houses. 

The main religious celebration takes place at the 14th-century Kostete Yohannes church in the city of Gaynt within the Gondar Region. Three days of prayers, psalms, and hymns, sermons, and massive colorful processions mark the advent of the New Year. Closer to Addis Ababa, the Raguel Church, on top of the Entoto Mountain north of the city, has the largest and most spectacular religious celebration. But Enkutatash is not exclusively a religious holiday, and the little girls singing and dancing in pretty new dresses among the flowers in the fields convey the message of springtime and renewed life. Today's Enkutatash is also the season for exchanging formal New Year greetings and cards among the urban sophisticated in lieu of the traditional bouquet of flowers.

Timket, or Epiphany falls on January 19th, just two weeks after the Ethiopian Christmas. It is actually a three-day affair, beginning on the Eve of Timkat with dramatic and colorful processions. The following morning the great day itself, Christ's baptism in the Jordan River by John the Baptist is commemorated. The third day is devoted to the Feast of St. Michael, the archangel, one of Ethiopia's most popular saints.  Since October and the end of the rains, the country has been drying up steadily. The sun blazes down from a clear blue sky and the Festival of Timkat always takes place in glorious weather.  Enormous effort is put into the occasion. Tej and tella (Ethiopian mead and beer) are brewed, special bread is baked, and the fat-tailed African sheep are fattened for slaughter.Gifts are prepared for the children and new clothes purchased or old mended and laundered.

Everyone men, women, and children appear resplendent for the three-day celebration. Dressed in the dazzling white of the traditional dress, the locals provide a dramatic contrast to the jewel colors of the ceremonial velvets and satins of the priests' robes and sequined velvet umbrellas.

On the eve of the 18 January, Ketera, the priests remove the tabots from each church and bless the water of the pool or river where the next days celebration will take place. It is the tabot (symbolizing the Ark of the Covenant containing the Ten Commandments) rather than the church building which is consecrated, and it is accorded extreme reverence. Not to be desecrated by the gaze of the layman, the engraved wooden or stone slab is carried under layers of rich cloth.  In Addis Ababa, many churches bring their tabots to Jan Meda (the horse racing course of imperial day) accompanied by priests bearing prayer sticks and sistra, the ringing of bells and blowing of trumpets, and swinging bronze censors from which wisps of incense smoke escape into the evening air. The tabots rest in their special tent in the meadow, each hoisting a proud banner depicting the church's saint in front.

The priests pray throughout the long cold night and mass is performed around 2:00 a.m. Huge crowds of people camp out, eating and drinking by the light of flickering fires and torches. Towards dawn the patriarch dips a golden cross and extinguishes a burning consecrated candle in the altar. Then he sprinkles water on the assembled congregation in commemoration of Christ's baptism. Many of the more fervent leap fully dressed into the water to renew their vows.

Following the baptism the tabots start back to their respective churches, while feasting, singing and dancing continue at Jan Meda. The procession winds through town again as the horsemen cavort alongside, their mounts handsomely decorated with red tassels, embroidered saddlecloths, and silver bridles. The elders march solemnly, accompanied by singing leaping priests and young men, while the beating of staffs and prayer sticks recalls the ancient rites of the Old Testament.