Pastor Jason...Thank You!

This past Sunday at church I couldn't wait to tell Pastor Jason about what he did to us. I looked everywhere, but didn't find him until the last minute before service started. And although I hate being late to sit down and missing any of the Worship Singing and Band, this was worth it. I reminded him of his sermon a month ago (I can't believe it's only been a month since this adoption thing has been on my mind), and how he spoke of his Haitian adoption. I went on to tell him that because of his willingness to speak on the subject, we are adopting "two" little girls from Ethiopia. All because of his talking about it. I know it had kinda been on my mind, but had he not spoke on the subject, it would never have been prodded into the front area of my brain!!

He seemed really pleased to hear that. He said he got the chills on his arm as we told him...yep! So did I when he told me (and the whole church) about what HE was doing. I wonder how many other people have had this on their minds too? How many others went home from church that day and thought of the possibilities that would reward them should they step out of the "safety net" of God's safe place. Being a Christian should consist of some risk. My husband reminded me that 11 of the apostles were killed because of what they stood for. Our "risk" by no means compares to the apostles, but it is just a reminder that if we live our life very safe, perhaps we aren't taking enough risks? Something to think about.

Pastor Jason also reminded us of something he said last month on that Sunday, October 21st. He said that he was told by someone he knew who'd already adopted more than one, that "The greatest gift you can give an adopted child from a foreign country was a sibling." Either at the same time or later. Thinking about our family now, really makes me think. When the girls are alone in their room, confused, doubtful, scared...they will always have each other. They will have their bond of coming from an amazing country that will always be a part of them. The little amount of past they will have there will never be forgotten. A country so full of hurt, yet so much beauty. Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee....and I loooOOOve my coffee!! Part of the Ethiopian culture is their "Coffee Ceremony". It's what they do whether they live in a hut or a house. It is a ritual and it is their tradition. It has so much history with churches and ruins that date back to the 1600's.

Here is a little history...well, a lot of history actually!

History of Ethiopia Evolution of Hominids Prehistory Punt (3rd millennium BC–1st m. BC) D'mt (8th century BC–7th century BC) Proto-Aksum (5th c. BC–1st c. BC) Aksum (1st c. BC–10th c. AD) Gudit (10th century AD) Zagwe Dynasty (10th or 11th c.–1268) First Solomonic period (1270–1527) Great Oromo migration (1522–17th c.) Invasion of Gragn (1527–1543) Ottoman Invasion (1557–17th c.) Gondarine dynasty (1606–1755) Zemene Mesafint (1755–1855) Modernization (1855–1936) Italian occupation (1936–1941) 1940s in Ethiopia 1950s in Ethiopia 1960s in Ethiopia Eritrean War of Independence (1961–1991) Ethiopian Civil War (1974–1991) 1990s in Ethiopia Eritrean-Ethiopian War (1998–2000) 2000s in Ethiopia