Noemi’s court date is scheduled for tomorrow, the 30th, in Ethiopia. My heart feels a-flutter just thinking about how this day could change our lives. She will legally be ours when she passes court and I will be her mother at last. Forever. Finally. Given that Ethiopia is 8 hours ahead of us, her hearing will actually take place Monday night while we (try to) sleep. By the time we wake up tomorrow morning, it will be over. Assuming that Ethiopia’s rolling power outages do not get in the way of communication, we expect to find out from AAI tomorrow afternoon whether or not she passed.
Because Ethiopia receives the majority of its energy through hydro-powered sources, the severe drought is now affecting everyday functions across all of Ethiopia. For this reason, email/fax and copy machines are down and are slowing down the court processes. We must be patient. We pray for Ethiopia who is going without the very things we take for granted everyday—and still working tirelessly to get babies home to families as quickly as possible.
Donovan and I pray for Noemi to come home soon—for her to pass on Tuesday so that we can travel to meet her. But my greater prayer has to be that the babies who need to come home soonest will be those who pass and that God keeps his gentle hand on each one in the mean time.
In church on Sunday we read the following Prayer of Invocation as a congregation. This prayer was no coincidence. God’s work and timing is mysterious:
We gather together this day from places of drought where life is brittle and fragile, thirsting for hope.
We arrive at this day having known times of fertility when sun and rain have come together to grow beauty and life.
We pray, O God, to be washed by waves of grace as we worship and wander with You through this day. Amen.
Please pray with us for the people of Ethiopia who are desperately in need of nourishing rains. Please pray for Noemi and all of the other babies being heard in court this week, that they will be able be with their families soon. Please pray for us as we wait anxiously for news.
5 comments:
Many prayers for tomorrow's court date.
Do you know any families over there now? They usually hear the news first. They could email you as of lunch time in ET- about 3 or 4 in the morning where as you probably won't hear from AAI until after noon local time. Just a thought... I know that the hours of waiting for a court decision can be some of the longest ever and yes, even knowing news 12 hours earlier is a Godsend :)
blessings,
Emily
Yup--there is a family there now that we have already emailed with that very request! We weren't sure what information they might be privy to and if they would be able to let us know in advance? Hopefully...
I thought I would be calm b/c it hasn't rattled me until today, but now I feel like I'm going to puke. :) I don't know how anyone survives multiple court dates!?
Thanks for your thoughts and prayers!
oh wow!!! I'm so excited for you!!!! Will say a prayer right now!!!
EEK EEK EEK! Prayers and restful vibes going your way. I have a feeling sleep won't be happening any time soon...
I have been thinking about you and Noemi all day! I can't imagine the anticipation. What a lovely prayer you posted. I will say it again before I sleep. Lots of love to you Witmer's!
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