Almost Time

It's almost time to go meet Ellie. I couldn't sleep last night so I went to bed at 2:00 a.m. and was back up at 5:30 a.m. I'm not sure if it is excitement or jet lag. It might be a combination of the two. I spent the evening and morning in thanksgiving prayers to the God who has brought me here. There is no way that I can imagine my being here other than by His hand and I am so thankful that He chose our family to do this. I think of the stories in the Bible, particularly in the Old Testament where God would ask people to go to a land that was foreign to them and the stories of how He went before them. I used to think of them simply as stories of people I had nothing in common with, but now, I kind of feel like this "story" of mine is very similar to those of people like Hannah, Joseph and Noah -- infertility, praying for a child, being taken from my "birth" family to a foreign place that became home and then being reunited, having a promise made from God (Ellie) and then being here. Isn't He wonderful?

I'm excited about the ride over to Tokmok as I am dying to see the mountains. I'm interested to see how the people in Tokmok live. I'm so cognizant of the fact that we have been so blessed by God to live in the country we do and to have the conveniences that we do. My parents tell me that seeing the pictures of the lady washing the clothes by hand reminded them of how they grew up. Just as I was writing this, Joshua told me that there was another woman outside the window. As we looked, she was drawing water in a pail to take inside. I'm guessing, but maybe they don't have running water. This is JUST outside the hotel where we have all the conveniences of home -- television, blow dryer, electricity, running water, carpet, a bed and air conditioning. How is the world so inequitable? I wanted to bring Josh to see how other people in other countries live so he would be changed. I suppose I never knew that God would be changing me instead. My heart and life are forever changed just by the lives of the people I'm watching from my hotel window.

It's 7:00 here. We leave at 9:00 to go to the orphanage. I'll try to post scenery pix and the photos I can this evening. I'm not sure how many pictures we will be allowed to take and I'm very sensitive to looking like a "tourist" so I'll do what I can. My "girls" would be surprised to know that I'm really trying to "blend in" and not stir up any commotions. :-)