She's HOME!!

What a joyous time we had last weekend! Ella Yanet (and our sweet friends-who-are-more-like-family, David and Amy) came home from Ethiopia!

Minte carefully made her a beautiful sign, which says, "Welcome Yanet, Love Mintesinot." We stood eagerly waiting for awhile until they finally walked through the terminal. What a wonderful reunion it was! (If you look in the background of this photo you will see the first baby to come home, Sarah (Meskerem, "Mesky," and her dad.) It was SOOO cool to have the first and second children home from the Buckner orphanage, waiting to welcome the third. Wow!





It was so precious to see them see each other. Minte positively beamed as she came through the door in her mother's arms. I loved how they looked at each other! The eyes of both children have seen many things in recent months... God is doing a mighty work in each of their (and ALL of our) lives. Simply amazing!

Could she BE more adorable????

Minte became fast friends with Ella's grandfather, "Pop." Pop came over to us while we were waiting and reached out to grasp Minte's arm. He began to weep as he said, "Minte, I've been praying for you, son," pulling him into an embrace. Minte smiled so big! I can't tell you how that blessed me! Believe me, when people tell Minte they've been praying for him, he knows what they are saying... and he knows what that means. After he and Ella got to see each other, he turned to Bethany and said, "Minte pray for Ella."


When I say they became "fast friends" I mean that literally! Pop let Minte drive his motorized chair all around the terminal. What fun! Pop is Minte's kind of guy! Pop, I know you're reading this. We love you!! Thanks for blessing our little boy (and all of us) with your words and presence that day. What a privilege it was for us to share in the moment when you welcomed your sweet baby girl home.


It is always great to meet other Ethiopians when we are "out and about." We met this man first, who saw Minte holding the Amharic sign. They conversed in Amharic for awhile... lots of smiles and laughing!


Another woman heard them talking came over to introduce herself and talk to him, too. They had a nice conversation as well. Both of them were so happy when they heard his name! I have been so blessed by how the Ethiopian community here has welcomed and embraced him, and how they take the time to introduce themselves.

The boys enjoyed spending time with Garrett, who is waiting to go bring home his little sister, Ellie. We're praying for a court date SOON!!

When it was time to leave, the boys all had a HUGE hug. I'm tellin' ya, we're all like family now!

To see some awesome video and follow Ella's story, visit Around the World and 2 Kids. To follow Garrett's journey to his baby sister Ellie, visit Wade Whereabouts.

Sarah, Minte, Ella and Ellie still have friends at the orphanage who are eagerly waiting for a family. (In fact, there are currently more children than there are families in the program.) They've seen Sarah's, Minte's and now Yanet's families come and get them, and they are wondering when it will be their turn... when their families will be coming. A year ago right now, we hadn't even started the process, and now we have our precious son with us. God is so good! To find out more about Buckner's Ethiopia program and the waiting children, contact them through their website here. Your family could be the forever family for one of those amazing children. In fact, I'm confident that someone reading this is.

And when you get home, we'll be waiting at the airport.