Schedule and Stuff

Well, it's just about time! We fly out at about noon tomorrow and should be in Addis Ababa Sunday evening, Ethiopia time. Addis is 9 hours ahead of Denver time. We'll be flying for roughly 18 hours or so with stopovers in Washington DC and Rome, Italy. Unfortunately, the Rome stop is just for refueling, and we won't even get off the plane. Oh well. Maybe they'll serve us some good lasagna or something...

If all goes according to plan, we should be able to pick up little Kayla from the foster care home on Monday morning. From that point on, she's with us! We have an appointment with the US Embassy on Tuesday, for the purpose of getting a US visa for Kayla. If all goes well paperwork-wise, we will get on a plane to fly back on Thursday evening, arriving home Friday afternoon.

Getting Close

Only a few more days til we fly out for Ethiopia! Hard to believe it's finally time! It's been a long process with quite a few unexpected issues and delays, but God is good and has dealt well with us His children, as always. In fact, He's graciously allowed us to see the benefit of some of the frustrating delays. With our unexpected move to Colorado and some significant health issues in the family, we would not have been ready for little Kayla back in October/November of last year.

Packing is well underway. Gary's last day of work before the trip is today. Jamie's family arrives today. Paperwork is nearly complete. The many lists are showing lots of marked out items. Can't wait to go!

I was thinking about finances again today. Yeah, I like numbers - sorry. International adoption is a very expensive endeavor. It's been humbling to see how God has provided money in truly unexpected ways. Surely there is nothing on this earth that can limit Him in the slightest! We have received an economic stimulus, reimbursement from a doctor for overcharging, cash moving incentive from my job, big company bonus, significant rental deposit return from a stingy landlord, larger than expected federal and state income tax returns, approximately $500/month lower housing expenses due to our move. All totaling roughly $13,000. We will also get the $12,000 adoption tax credit on this year's taxes. Do the math. Amazing. Really amazing.

We do have a few prayer requests for any who would be willing to love us in this way...

- That our good God would continue to be honored in this process, and that we Gilchrists would have the wisdom and courage to make Him look good in the eyes of all who ask us about why we are doing what we are doing.
- For travel safety. There are many around the world who hate Americans and Christians. We really don't want to "make the news".
- Health, especially for Jamie.
- Grace for Bryant and Lana to do well while Mommy and Daddy are gone... and for Mommy and Daddy, who will probably be bawling as we drive off without them.
- Grace for little Kayla to adjust to us and learn to trust us.
- And last, but, well, probably least... Gary has been terrified from the beginning of the whole process of having a screaming kid for 20 hours of plane flights on the return trip... Please, Lord, make her sleep!!!

Is it good news???!!!

YES!!!!! Kayla's birth certificate came through so we are still traveling in 2 weeks! Thank you for your prayers! We were getting down to the wire and things were not looking good. God is so faithful! Thank you again for all your prayers!

Possible delay in travel!

Please be praying for us in the next few days, it looks like we could be running into another delay in our travel plans. Apparently because of being short staffed recently in Addis there have been delays in getting birth certificates issued. We cannot apply for a passport until we have Kayla's birth certificate so we may need to postpone our travel another 2 weeks. This would be incredibly difficult because we have already bought tickets and made arrangements for the children while we are away, not mention we are just longing to pick up our baby NOW! Please be praying that if this is God's will for our family that He would issue Kayla's birth certificate in time for us to travel on the 30th. We should know if we will not be able to travel by early next week, so we have the weekend to be praying!

Time to start packing!

We are only 26 days away from flying to pick up baby Kayla! We will be leaving on May 30th and hopefully be home by the following Friday. Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle Mark will be coming to stay with the kids while we are away which is such a blessing!

These are pictures of the girls' room, I am finally done painting. I have such a hard time finishing projects and this was especially difficult to stop, I was having too much fun!