It seemed like a great idea. Our boys are in this tae kwon do program at a local church. It is the best deal in town, so it seemed like it would be fun for the girls to try it. They were gun hoe when we told them about it (not sure if they really know what it is). So here I am sitting in watching them learn how to kick, block and punch. 

Then I started to think about material we had studied prior to adopting the girls. I read some resources that suggested that some children might process their losses physically. “Umm… is this a good idea having the girls learn to kick, block and punch?” This could go down as one of those things to avoid when adopting. Stay tuned in to see how this works out.

 Really the girls are doing so well. Every day we hear new words from them as well as see signs they understand more what we are saying. It is amazing to witness. They are talking more and more and the sound level at home is rising. 

 Now if we can just get over jet lag.

Monday we celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. We learned that government offices overseas hold to this celebration as well, and so we did not get our Embassy appointment confirmed until Tuesday morning. As soon as we heard we had a confirmed meeting at the US Embassy on Monday at 9am in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia we booked our flights. We fly tomorrow (Friday January 20th).

Many details have come together for us to be freed up to travel including one of our best friends Judy Lewis, recently married and who has moved to Atlanta, planned to be in Orlando the very dates of our travels, who now will stay with our kids! Judy, has been with us on this adoption journey from the beginning, and it is a very sweet blessing she is able to be with us for the send off and will be here for our welcome home. This is incredible. Thank you Father.

We will return next Friday at 6p very tired (after more than 28 hours of flying) with two little girls, who up until now have never traveled more than maybe 40 mph in a car, and have only done that a couple times in their lives.

There will be much to process in the days that follow. Lisa and I will not have words the girls will understand to help them. We will be as present as we can for them, and walk the best we know how with them as they enter a very different world.

We covet your prayers. A heartfelt thanks to all who have walked with us to this point. We have needed you, your words and your prayers. We are so grateful.

We will post what we can as we go, but our first trip proved to be a challenge to find internet access. We will see if we can do better this time.

Off we go.

It was fun to celebrate Madison Sunday as we recounted 16 wonderful years watching her grow. What a gift she is to us!

One of the things she wanted was to paint her room a neutral gray. Now her plan is till fill her walls with artwork. You can see a few more photos here.

We host 10 winter conferences all across the USA at this time. I am in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis/Saint Paul) at our conference which is called TCX. They are developing the theme “Fused” which is the idea that we are bonded or welded to Christ. They are broadcasting the main sessions live. I will embed the viewer below.

I saw this video about the rise in interest and use of various social media services. It really is interesting. We as a ministry want to go where people are at so you will see more of this from un in the future. I am trying to figure it out myself. I blog, Tweet and Post at FaceBook. Recently I have been playing with a newer social media service called Path. It is the idea of one of the starters of Facebook who left and formed a new company. Path is the result. The interface is beautiful. Anyway, I thought you would find this interesting. This video is 2:45 long. Enjoy.

This video (just under 2 minutes) was commissioned by our ministry to say thank for partnering with us to help fulfill the Great Commission. Lisa and I are grateful to be part of this mission, and we so thankful for those that partner and work along side us. Together we are helping to fulfill the Great Commission.

Campus Crusade for Christ — Christmas Thank You from Masterworks on Vimeo.