Get Behind Me Satan!

We're in Addis! 

To begin this post, I must share the devotion I just read:

Leave outcomes up to Me.  Follow Me wherever I lead, without worrying about how it will all turn out.  Think of your life as an adventure, with Me as your Guide and Companion.  LIve in the now, concentrating on staying in step with Me.  When our path leads to a cliff, be willing to climb it with My help.  When we come to a resting place, take time to be refreshed in My presence.  Enjoy the rhythm of life lived close to Me.

You already know the ultimate destination of your journey:  your entrance into heaven.  So keep your focus on the path just before you, leaving outcomes up to Me.

"I am still confident of this:  I will see the gooness of the Lord in the land of the living.  Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord."  Psalm 27:13-14

"In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed.  In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling."  Ex. 15:13

This devotion is SO PERFECT for our family and our journey - both earthly and eternally.  Satan has fought our adoption all the way to our plane ride to Addis but GOD HAS MOVED MOUNTAINS and once again, Satan is defeated! 

This morning, when we arrived at the Nashville Airport, we were told by the United Airlines people that our luggage was too heavy and this would mean big bucks and that we should leave some things behind.  Well, that wasn't an option, so I explained why the abundance of items and she allowed us to step out of line and redistribute weight - thank you so much Madam!  Now the nice lady leaves to go on break and the woman who replaced her wasn't in the best mood - especially when she stated to us that our tickets had never been purchased.  I called our travel agent immediately and after a period of time, it was straightened out and we had boarding passes.  Whew....talk about doing some praying!!

Then, we had to say goodbye to Ashton.  This was horrible.  He did really well through prayer but when we had to walk through security and say a final goodbye, he started crying and was very upset.  He wrapped his little arms around my sister's neck and she cradled him in her arms - our hearts were absolutely broken.  I called and checked on him once we arrived in Washington D.C., and she said that he cried for a good while but that he is doing better now.  (By the way, Leigh, the tape recorder that has his prayers on it is on the chest of drawers in the guest bedroom.  Remind the tape to the front and be sure not to record over any of it because it also has Mom's voice on it!)

Well, we have to go to the Ethiopian Air check-in desk in D.C. and discover that the bad mood girl in Nashville screwed-up our tickets.  She had already checked Maura in, so now the baby didn't have a ticket to fly home on.  She also messed-up our information and we had to wait and wait and wait just to get the problem fixed so we would be able to board.  We had met-up with the Hutchesons in Nashville and in DC, more couples we met-up with more and they all came and went by us and were so supportive as we had to face yet another obstacle.  Once again, I cried out in my heart for Christ to squash Satan and put him behind us.  I'm telling you folks, our adoption journey has been just as much a spiritual battle as a physical one! 

After the Ethipian Air ticket mess was straightened out, we received a voice message from my sister that when she was checking my e-mails looking for news from the Embassy, she found out that the Embassy acknowledged both to America World and Senator Lamar Alexander's office receipt of our paperwork!  Praise God from who all blessings flow!!!!!!!!!

We ate supper together with the other traveling families and then waited to board the plane.  We had a relatively uneventful 6.5 hour flight to Rome for more gas and then, Satan tried to interefere again.  We had to sit on the runway for slightly over 3 hours due to problems with the plane!  It was fixed and we were back in the air.  We landed in Addis Ababa around 9:40 or so and then went to the guest house where we will be staying. 

Tomorrow, well actually today (Friday) as it's now 2:14 a.m. here, we are going to Julianna's grave.  This is going to be a very emotional day for us and we certainly covet your prayers.

Here are a few pictures:

Jason chilling-out on the plane.  I slept a good bit of the trip and he watched movies.

Addis Ababa Airport

We arrived!

All our luggage arrrived too!