Christmas Decorating

Its finally starting to look like Christmas at the Williams house!




We'll give you one guess what we REALLY want for Christmas.....

(if you didn't say "referral" then you should spend a little more time checking out our blog!)

TOMS

What could be better than a new pair of cute shoes?!? ....a new pair of cute shoes that allows a child in Africa the opportunity to get a new pair of shoes AND clean water!!

Mike completely surprised me yesterday with these new TOMS shoes (and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE THEM!!):

If you aren't familiar with TOMS, for every pair of shoes sold they donate a pair of shoes to a child in need. The shoes that Mike bought me are the special edition Charity Water design, and each pair sold will also contribute to digging clean water wells in rural Ethiopia. So, if you have any Christmas gifts left to buy..TOMS are super cute and a wonderful cause!

Ethiopian Feast...Sort Of

What do you do when you're driving yourself crazy waiting for the phone to ring....cook! I promised Mike an Ethiopian feast this week to include all of our favorites...doro wat (spicy chicken stew), Misir Wat (red lentils), Kik Alicha (split peas), Dinchi Alicha (spiced potatoes) and Injera (bread..aka eating utensil). I know now that this was a little too ambitious for my first Ethiopian cooking experience, so the red lentils got cut quickly and the Ethiopian feast turned into a few Ethiopian dishes.

I knew that Ethiopian cooking was a long complex process, but I had no idea! My cooking actually started two days before our planned dinner. I had to make Nitter Kibeh, which is a spiced clarified butter that is the base for every Ethiopian dish.

Preparing the Nitter Kibeh (and yes, I'm styling in Mike's Colts sweatshirt)



It took a little over two hours to prepare, but it was completely worth it! What could be better than butter with garlic, ginger, onion, cardamom, fenugreek, cinnamon and turmeric?? I wanted to eat it with a spoon!



And please don't be impressed by my use of spice names. I had no clue what most of them were but my wonderful husband surprised me with an Ethiopian spice kit earlier this year, so I had everything I needed!



I did my best to multi-task with everything going on, but I'm thankful that Mike was there to jump in when I needed a third hand to stir.



And finally, four and a half hours later, the finished product:



So what did I learn in all of this? Well, I learned that split peas need to cook longer than four and a half hours, that potatoes should cook a lot less than four and a half hours, that, while I make a pitiful injera, I do make a pretty awesome doro wat (if I do say so myself), but most importantly...I have a lot more respect for anyone who cooks Ethiopian food on a regular basis!

5-Months

This is a post I was really hoping that I wouldn't need to write, but here it is...we've been waiting 5-months for a referral today. There hasn't been any activity this month (no referrals, no assigned court dates, no embassy appointments), so we're still #2 on our agency's list.

We're hopeful for some news by the end of November, but December or January seems more likely. Although its taking longer than we had thought, we still feel so blessed that God has allowed us to continue on this journey and we look forward with GREAT anticipation to the day when we get to see our Little One's face for the first time.

Watoto Children's Choir

Its no secret that Mike and I both fell in love with Uganda when we were there last year, so we were excited to hear that a children's choir from Uganda was performing at a church in Evansville. We couldn't pass up the opportunity to see their performance!

Each member of the choir was a child who had been orphaned due to HIV/AIDS, war, or disease. The only thing more amazing than the music was the stories that these children shared about the hope they've found through Christ and the new life they've been given by the Watato Village ministry.

Hearing these kids sing took us right back to Uganda. All of a sudden I could smell the red clay dirt again and feel the African sun on my face. Uganda didn't feel so distant anymore, and for that I am grateful. I am also grateful for ministries like Watato that are radically changing lives in Africa, and to these kids for sharing their talent and their testimony with us.

Here are a few pictures of the Watato Children's Choir:








Oh, and my favorite song was called "African Lullaby", and I found a youtube link to the Choir performing it (warning...high potential for tears!)




For more information about what Watato is doing in Uganda and opportunities for you to get involved go to: wwww.watato.com

Ethiopian Cultural Festival

It is such a blessing to have an Ethiopian church within driving distance, and an even greater blessing that they have a specific ministry for adoptive families! I've blogged about Grace Ethiopian Church in Indianapolis before, but I can't say enough about how wonderful and welcoming they are. On Saturday, they held an Ethiopian cultural festival for adoptive families -- an evening full of singing, dancing, cultural displays..oh, and the most amazing Ethiopian food! We had a great time meeting other adoptive families, and reconnecting with families we haven't seen in a few months. A lot of our little F.T.I.A cuties were there too (we love those kids!). Here are a few pictures from the festival:

Pastor Yosef and his daughter (isn't she adorable?!?)




This is one serious drum....



These women could move (they were also the women who spent two weeks making our meal which was incredible...at one point I really wanted to lick my plate; however I did show restraint for fear of offending those around me)



We're looking forward to the next event...and I've heard it might be an Ethiopian cooking class for adoptive moms. Yummmmmmm

Orphan Sunday

The first Sunday in November is recognized as Orphan Sunday -- a day set aside to remember and pray for the 173 million orphans in the world. God tells us in Psalms that "He sets the lonely in families", and we praise Him for that. So today, on orphan Sunday, we thought we would share ten ways that EVERY person can care for orphans:

1. PRAY for them!!
2. SPEAK up for them -- become a court appointed special advocate (CASA)for a child in foster care
3. PROVIDE for their needs -- donate financially to a reputable organization, or organize a drive to collect items for children in foster care
4. SUPPORT those who support then -- mow, babysit or organize meals for foster families or give financially to help a family cover adoption expenses
5. PROTECT them from harm -- Become a foster parent or an emergency foster parent
6. VISIT them where they are -- Go on a mission trip to an orphanage or take dinner to a foster group-home
7. GIVE sacrificially to them -- support orphan care organizations on a regular basis
8. ENCOURAGE them -- Sponsor a child and encourage them through your letters
9. ADOPT THEM -- give a child a home through international, domestic or foster care adoption
10. MOBILIZE your church for them -- be a catalyst in your church for starting a sustained orphan ministry

I can't take credit for this list. It was passed out this morning at our church, and we think its wonderful. As a family, we feel called to adopt. We recognize that adoption isn't something that God lays on every family's heart, but we are ALL called to support orphans (James 1:27, Psalms 68:5-6, Deuteronomy 24:19, Isaiah 1:17, Proverbs 31: 8-9, Matthew 18:5). Is there something on this list that you can commit to?