Monday, March 28, 2011

Some bad news.... and some GREAT news!

Well today we got a phone call and it was one of those that started off with "I have some bad news.... but I have some good news too!" 

So the bad news is that our agency got some confusing information and Zoe Grace is NOT being moved from the orphanage she is in now to Addis Ababa. So that stinks. We were really excited about it, because we were hoping that we could get more pictures of her more often and so we could spend more time with her when we are in country. 

But the good news is  - WE GOT FILED IN COURT TODAY!!!! 

So we are very excited about that!!! I think I also heard from an adoption friend that another family who we have become friends with also got filed! So thank you to everyone who has been praying so hard, on behalf of us and them! 

We now sit back and wait for them to tell us when to show up! They say it can be somewhere between four to six weeks before we even get a date, but I know that God is bigger than any challenge, delay or wait that we have in front of us and he can make amazing things happen! So we will be praying that we get our court date very quickly!!! Please join us in praying for that! 

Until later - 

jw godwin  

Friday, March 25, 2011

She's on the move . . .

This may not seem like much of an update to everyone else, but to KC and I this is BIG news!!! We were called this morning and told that Zoe Grace was being moved from the orphanage in the small town that she is currently in, where she was born, which is several hours away from Ethiopia’s capital, to the capital city Addis Ababa into a new orphanage!!

That is HUGE news because of the following reasons:

1.) One of the reasons that we haven’t been able to get many updates and pictures of her over these past few months is because she has been so far away from where our agency’s office is located in Addis Ababa, it was difficult, as expected, for someone to just jump in their car and drive several hours away to take pictures of her and then to drive back. As much as we begged for them to do that, we understood that logistically it wasn’t possible. But now, it will be easier for them to go just a few blocks over and check on her for us!

2.) When we get to Ethiopia we (probably) won’t have to take a trip back to her village. If she were still there, then we would have to spend a large majority of the time that we could have spent with her in the car driving back and forth. So that in it self is a huge blessing! We will get more one on one time with her!!! (Which we can’t wait for!!)

3.) When other families go over, maybe some of them would be willing to stop by her orphanage as well to take pictures and video of her!! Mainly video, since in Ethiopia they are still on dial-up and I am sure it is difficult to send video over that. I even learned today that the town/government cuts off all the power randomly some days to conserve it. I think KC and I both would die without that.

So while it isn’t the news that we have been waiting for, like we have been filed in court or we have a court date, it IS still something that is awesome – and these days we get excited over ANYTHING!

Please continue to pray for our sweet Zoe Grace, as well as Olivia. Also, there are two other very special families that KC and I have become very close with, and they are in the same situation/place we are in. Both families also have a beautiful baby girl waiting on them in Ethiopia and they continue to keep the faith and know that something amazing will happen soon. We all know that it will!

Until later –

jw godwin

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Just an update -

I know that it isn’t much, but these days getting any kind of update on Zoe is a HUGE deal to us. Well we were told two things today – one good and one not so good, but not bad.

First, we were told that our agency has been told that Zoe is doing fine. She is healthy and is developing like any other little four-month-old baby would. That alone is a big relief for us. We haven’t heard any news about her since we received our referral, so we have been waiting anxiously.

The second bit of news is that somehow some of her paperwork has been mistranslated and it has to be redone before it can be submitted to the court. We didn’t share the news with anyone, but we were supposed to have been submitted back around the first week of March. I am glad that someone caught it before it was submitted though. I would have hated to have had it kicked out for errors like that and have to start that process over.

That’s all we have for now. Praying hard that everything moves on along…

Until later -
j.w. godwin

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

How do I say it....?

I am going to stand by what I said in my previous post & I will not comment on everything that is going on in Ethiopia.... but I will comment on how KC & I are dealing with it.

It's tough. I'm not gonna lie. It's really tough and it's extremely annoying. It bothers me that there is something going on that I either can't fix or that I don't know someone who might know someone who can't fix it either - - - - I don't like this feeling at all. 

I've been struggling lately with what to say. How to put across in words these emotions that I am having. For you who are adopting or have adopted, you get it - for those who aren't and haven't, I don't think you understand fully. 

KC & I were talking to some good friends of ours, Christen and Raleigh, on the car ride home from a Hillsong concert last week and it was explained pretty clearly then. They have the most adorable twins. They were born premature and had to stay in the NICU for quite a while. Thank God everything is going wonderful now, but at that moment, no one could feel what they were feeling, or could even relate, unless you had been through it yourself. It made me realize how lucky we were that Olivia was born full term and healthy. But as we talked about all of this, they admitted how they can't fully relate to how we are feeling, just like we couldn't relate fully to them.

The reason I told you that is to say it's difficult to explain exactly how someone feels in this situation. I called my mom to talk to her about it and the emotional roller coaster seems to kick into high gear - just like with almost everyone else. I get the answer "everything happens in God's time." Which I understand, but being human, is it bad that I think, "I am tired of that! I don't want to hear that anymore!!! I want things to change and I want to be able to go get Zoe Grace right now!" Then when I do think that, I feel very convicted, because who am I to push God? What do I think I can do about God's time line? Then the sadness sets in. That feeling of hopelessness, that it is all out of your hands. I know that you are to give it ALL over to God - but it is so hard not to worry and stress over it. Then the frustration sets in, because you sometimes just feel like you are beating your head into a wall. It seems like you are making the same movements over and over and over again, waiting for a different result. Actually, I think Albert Einstein defined that as insanity. I'm sure some of you might finish reading this and tell me that I need to see a therapist because of my emotional instability, but it's just SO frustrating. And I know that there are others out there who feel the same way, and I want to say how grateful I am to all of the other parents who I have become friends with. 

Well tonight I was doing a little studying and a song that I've heard a million times came on Pandora and it really hit me. So I thought I would share it with everyone. I'm sure many of you have heard it and know the words, like me, but tonight I really listened to the words instead of just singing along. 


Mercy Me - Word of God Speak

I'm finding myself at a loss for words
And the funny thing is it's okay
The last thing I need is to be heard
But to hear what You would say

[CHORUS]
Word of God speak
Would You pour down like rain
Washing my eyes to see
Your majesty
To be still and know
That You're in this place
Please let me stay and rest
In Your holiness 
Word of God speak

I'm finding myself in the midst of You
Beyond the music, beyond the noise
All that I need is to be with You
And in the quiet hear Your voice

[REPEAT CHORUS 2x]

I'm finding myself at a loss for words
And the funny thing is it's okay.





Some may say that it is just a coincidence, I on the other hand believe that moments like that are reminders from God. Maybe it's the part of me that holds on to the fact that God will not forsaken us, that he wants to see us happy and praising him.... 

So please continue to believe and pray that everything will happen as it is suppose to on God's time line, but that it is somewhere towards the top of the list. 

Until the next time. 

j.w. godwin

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Okay. Okay. We will blog about it -

There have been a TON of people e-mailing, calling and texting us about these current ‘issues’ that are taking place in Ethiopia. Yes we have heard the rumors and no we have no interest in commenting on them beyond what I am going to post here.

It says in Ephesians 4:29 “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” I don’t think any of us right now ‘passing on’ information that we may have heard from someone or that we may have read from some blog or some email that we may have seen from some agency that doesn’t have anything to do with you or your agency is helpful. I do however believe that all of this has everyone’s emotions on high alert, including mine and KC’s, and I think that the smallest thing, especially in the adoption world/BLOG world could start a fire of emotions and endless forwards and messages to each other. On that note, KC & I are forever grateful to everyone who has emailed and gotten in touch with us and we know that everyone is just trying to help everyone else stay informed, and that is not what I am talking about. What I am saying here is that those who are passing information along just to be passing something on, or those who don’t have any factual information that something is indeed happening or taking place should not attempt to ‘inform’ others until they know for certain – which means their agency told them directly – and then it is normally only applicable to those of you in the same agency. So while I am not meaning to come across harsh in this post, or ungrateful for all of the concern, but for those out there who haven’t been through this process or who are going through it but maybe aren’t as far into it as some of us other people, please try to refrain from ‘passing on’ info. I do know from some friends that there are still plenty of wonderful things going on in Ethiopia right now. There were some people who were given their court dates just yesterday. Not us unfortunately, but we know that it WILL happen, we are just continuing to pray and keep the faith that God’s will be done in the time table that he wants it done.

Again, whoever is reading this blog, PLEASE know that it is not a lashing out post, it is merely a post to remind everyone that I am just a dad waiting every day, praying faithfully, to receive a phone call, or an e-mail, or a carrier pigeon, or a message in a bottle, I really don’t care, just something from our caseworker telling us that our paperwork has been completed and what our court date is. Every time I am told that something else might or might not be happening it gives me a hollow feeling in the pit of my stomach because all I can think of is the second most precious face in the world who’s picture is on my desk right beside her big sisters and it almost makes me physically sick because I can not do anything about it – except pray.

So before you decide to post something or pass something along, think for a second how this will affect others in the process. Would you want to know what you are about to share…

I am from a BIG family, I have three sisters and five brothers, and I remember several times growing up when my mom would tell us that if we just sit down and stop talking over each other we would be able to understand the instructions and what is going on a lot better. Maybe we should all heed that advice right now, but instead of sitting down to be quiet we should hit our knees and pray for guidance and a resolution to anything that may or may not be taking place – and if for nothing else at least pray for strength and comfort for KC, myself, and the other parents out there who are literally one or two steps away from being able to go meet our babies.

Until later -

j.w. godwin