Involuntary Leave of Absence

So, it's been a few days (actually a couple of weeks) since I've updated our blog or even been able to. God just seems to really be trying to teach me something about waiting...and more importantly, RESTING...in HIM. And NOT DOING a THING. Ouch.

If you know me, I am a do-er. I absolutely hate sitting still. I hate NOT doing something. I'd much rather get up and be pro-active and get things moving! I've been that way my ENTIRE LIFE. (Yes, I am very much Type-A, which so necessitated me sharing my life with a very Type-B man!) But, alas, we are on an adoption journey, and we are entering the dreaded WAITING period. We lack only our I-171H form (the kids' visa approvals to enter the U.S. after adoption) to be able to submit our paperwork to Ethiopia. So, until we receive that from Immigration (which could be any day, or in a few weeks), we are sitting and waiting. OH, how I dread those two words. Blech.

[Caption for photo below: My totally laidback-knows-how-to-rest-while-both-sitting-and-waiting husband. God love'm.]

Meanwhile, we're also waiting waiting waiting for the orphanage director (at the orphanage where our three Ethiopian children are waiting waiting waiting) to sign an agreement with our agency so we can adopt these beautiful kids!

We're also waiting waiting waiting for the rest of the funds for our adoption to come in.

SO MUCH waiting. And, what do I normally do when I am in a waiting spell? Well, of course...I stay very busy! I don't sit. I don't rest. I don't lounge around. I stay so busy and active that I drive myself into the ground.

Well, this time, God decided I WILL LEARN TO REST EVEN IF HE HAS TO FORCE IT ON ME. Thing is, I haven't quite learned it yet. So, two weeks ago, I entered what is now 14 days of major physical pain. First, the dentist thought it was a tooth problem. Then the endodontist believed it must be TMJ. Then, the CT scan tech diagnosed it as a severe sinus infection. But, voila...It is none of the above. Instead, the oral surgeon has declared that I have a HOLE IN MY BONE in my sinus cavity! Yes, this is just as much fun as it sounds! I will see an ENT next week, who will coordinate with my oral surgeon and decide what to do from there.

BUT, seeing as next weekend (Sept 7th and 8th) is our second GINORMOUS adoption fundraiser yard sale, I will wait until after that weekend to schedule any procedures. In the meantime, I am living on pain meds (not my favorite thing to do) and WAITING.

I am kicking and screaming mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, and haven't quite agreed with God that I must learn to rest in Him. I know, I know, I know, I must. I just haven't quite relinquished full control even though everything for which we wait is SO BEYOND MY CONTROL.

You are now probably waiting for this blog to end, so I will not make you wait much longer. But, while I wait, will you please pray for me to learn how to truly REST in Him, and not in my own activism (though it certainly has its place in this process). Oh, how I cringe.

And, Oh, LORD. Please hasten the day. We are desperate for our children to come home to us!

Oh, and P.S. I really hate having my hands tied down. Please, God?

It's just not fair, God.

Less than 2 months ago, my son Brandon and I went to Ethiopia on a mission trip and met a sibling group in Ethiopia that we knew were ours to adopt...The kids are bright and such a joy, light beaming from their faces and eyes. Fast-forward just a few weeks...Another mission trip visits the orphanage and emails me a photo of the 3 children. My heart is broken and I can't bear to look at the photo for very long, as our Ethiopian children look sad and slightly broken. That doesn't surprise me, as that is what any orphan would feel, especially after such loss. God has given me a window into their pain, even if only to a minute degree. I made myself go back to sleep so as not to feel their pain. This is, in rough form, what my heart is saying:

The Orphans Cry Out

God, it’s so unfair
Why they have to languish there
Crying out for their moms and dads
Who will never hear their cries.

God, it’s so unfair
You tell us how much you care
But where is the justice
of a child with no home?
Where is the mercy
for an orphan’s cries?

God, it’s so unfair.
You call them treasures,
the orphans of the world,
How do you not come down in flesh to rescue them?
How do you not demand an end to their pain?
How do you bear to watch as they languish
and cry out for their moms and dads?
It breaks my human heart,
and I don't see how you do it.

It's just not fair.
No child deserves
to make an orphanage his "home,"
all the while longing for the embrace
of a mom and dad.

Where are your people, God?
Raise them up!
Raise them up NOW!
Raise up your people to be your justice.
For the orphans cry out.

Of course it's not ideal
that two barely 30-year-old parents
with 3 biological children
bring in 3 Ethiopian orphans
to add to their brood.
But GOD, it's not ideal
that three children
would lose their parents in the first place.

Ideal left the picture long ago.

God, RAISE UP YOUR PEOPLE!
The orphans are crying out. You hear them.
And we hear their crying.
To feel the pain of the orphan for a moment...
It's unbearable.
How you do it is no less than
unfathomable.

God, RAISE UP YOUR PEOPLE.
For the orphans cry out.

-August 17, 2007

Yes, I wrote a poem to my orange Saturn Vue.

Background info:

Back in early spring, as soon as we officially embarked on our adoption journey and stepped out in faith--financially and in every way, all you-know-what broke loose. Our "stuff" and finances began to come under serious attack. No surprise to us, but a battle it was. In April, Kirk's "reliable" car blew out its engine; the repair was more than the car was worth. A couple weeks later, I had unexpected dental work at $2200. Six weeks later, my favorite car in the world, an orange Saturn Vue, that I had driven for 2 1/2 years and had so much fun driving, blew out its transmission. The repair would be nearly the same as the car's value. Gratitude to God that others provided for the repairs and even gave us a free---yes, free!!!---Jeep. For the past few months, my Vue has been in various shops and is now repaired and waiting to come back to me, all the way from Mobile, Alabama. I don't feel strongly about "stuff" and never cared what kind of car I drove, but, sigh, I just loved my orange Vue. Knowing that I soon will be driving a, ahem, Suburban, I really miss my Vue! Next week my car will be back. And my time with it grows dim. Here is an ode to celebrate the good times we had and to mourn the future that will never be:

“Ode to my Orange Baby”

[aka “Why did your transmission commit suicide and leave me stranded and alone?”]


For three years’ time I did long for you
Pineth did I for your orangish hue
I desired so to come and possesseth you
And loveth you, oh Saturn Vue

For two years and half a dozen months
We were bosom buddies, you and I
Oh, many travels and fun times had we
But those are days gone by…

One day your sounds did alarmeth me
You would not budge or move
I felt so lost and alone, my orange love.
But your love for me you dare not prove

Why, Oh, Why did thou betrayst me.
Why did you leave me so
Why did thou not stay with me
I have been so lonely, lo.

Please return and stay awhile
My time with you ticks by
For in a while and far too soon
The driver of a bus shall be I.

-Heidi R. Weimer, happy mother to 3, soon-to-be happy (crazy?) mother to S-I-X!!!
August 16, 2007

Waiting...Like a pregnant lady.

I've been through 3 pregnancies. Three LOOOOOONG pregnancies. I never had a baby come earlier than the due date (though I was never a big fan of due dates...they are quite arbitrary...Sometime Google the guy who decided 40 weeks was to be the exact length of a pregnancy...Totally arbitrary...But I digress...) My first baby was 4 days "late;" my daughter 9 loooooong days "late;" and Justice just a couple of days after the due date. With every pregnancy I put my foot down to my doctor and refused to be induced. I have always firmly believed that God has an appointed time to bring about that which He has promised. He will birth the fulfillment of the promise. He will bring it to pass when He intends to bring it to pass. I don't want to get in the way. Even in the face of seemingly good advice from doctors, I trusted that God would surely bring to pass what He began. We are believing that for our adoption "pregnancy" as well.

I know how to wait. I don't enjoy it, but I can do it. Perhaps it's because I figured out early on how to pass time while waiting...Stay busy! Busy I can do. Busy I love. Waiting while sitting on my hands, I can't. So I stay busy...writing, reading, and spreading the word in our fundraising...

Today my amazing friend Evelyn posted this passage from Scripture to her blog. It is so right on for us these days!

Habakkuk 2:2-3 (English Standard Version)

[The Righteous Shall Live by His Faith]

And the LORD answered me: "Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it. For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.

We are claiming these verses and truly attempting to live them out in our faith every single day of this adoption journey. In so many aspects of this adoption journey, we are waiting:

• Waiting...for our adoption agency to sign an agreement with the orphanage where our three Ethiopian kids live for now
• Waiting...for my doctor's letter to arrive in my mailbox, notarized and complete
• Waiting...for our life insurance letter to be written and notarized
• Waiting...for our I-171H form to come back form Immigration so that we can submit our dossier to Ethiopia
• Waiting...for God to raise up more people around us to join us on this journey, both in prayer and in provision
• Waiting...for the remaining $20,000 to come through so that we can pay our dues and be on our way!

We wait. We wait. We wait.

In the meantime, we share our story, live our faith, and rest in knowing that
God is bringing our 3 children home to us.

We wait. And He will bring it. He can do no less.

[Check out our adoption journey video by following the link to the upper left. Also, be sure to check the blog below about our cookbooks!]

Thanks for waiting patiently with us. What treasures are in store!

Fingerprinted, at last!

Kirk and I had our fingerprint appointment today at the Nashville Immigration office. A fairly easy procedure and now SO much closer to our kids! Now we just sit and wait for our I-171H approval (visa) to be mailed to us, a process which typically takes 4-5 weeks here in Tennessee. Here's hoping to a quick return!

Also, thanks to all of the great responses for our cookbooks! We have sold about 200, so we have about 360 left to sell. We still need your help! And in massive amounts! Please continue to pass the word to everyone you know. We are finding the response from strangers so overwhelming!

Check out the blog below for more information. And, please check out our adoption web site and adoption journey video (links on the left).

Blessings to everyone who reads this!

Adoption Fundraiser Cookbooks are HERE!!!

...and they oh-so-totally rock.

Our 567 "Journey to Home" cookbooks are finally here!

We are asking for a donation of at least $12 per book ($2 more per book if you need it shipped to you), but of course we will accept a donation of any size. All of the proceeds from the sales of the cookbooks will go directly to our adoption account. We are expecting the cookbook sales to make a decent dent toward the $25,000 we still need to raise for our adoption to be complete.

Please Please Please spread the word (forward this to your friends, family, neighbors, co-workers!)!!!

The cookbooks make great gifts for friends, neighbors, showers, grandparents, parents, sisters, teachers, co-workers, clients, etc. You can even buy several and save them for Christmas gifts!

Please let us know the preliminary number of books you wish to buy, and please ask your friends to do the same! Or, if you would like to take a stash with you to work, school, playgroup, Bible study, gym, etc. to let others buy, please let me know and we would be happy to get several books to you.

If you already let me know how many cookbooks you want and you live nearby, I will be getting those to you ASAP. If you need cookbooks mailed to you, please email us at heidiandkirk@blessingsfromethiopia.com and we can get the information from you.

We will mail the books to you as soon as we receive your check.

Thanks so much!!!

Blessings & peace and bon appetit,
heidi & kirk