The Power of Mercy

It's amazing to see the power of one small baby.  Who knew a baby girl half way around the world could have such an impact on people whom she's never met.  Since sharing our story about Mercy, I have had numerous people talk to me about adoption.  A few told me that they've always considered adoption, but weren't sure.  So I've been able to encourage them.  Other people that were completely ignorant to the orphan crisis have had their eyes opened to the problem. 

Even still, God has used Mercy's story to draw one friend of mine to Him.  This friend told me that she's started praying for Mercy and that this is the first she's prayed in years.  She's feeling her faith renewed because of it.  Another friend is considering a major life change, which  may include moving to Africa.  She told that she feels strongly that somehow Mercy plays into her story. 

For me, God has used the plight of this one child to give me a passion for adoption.  Because of Mercy I've been able to have some interesting conversations with people about race and bigotry in our culture.  I've been able to talk about the beauty of different skin colors and hair types with my daughters.  I don't want them to be "color-blind", but rather lovers of color.  I want them to see that God glories in making us all unique. I've had friendships renewed because of Mercy.  I've had new ones form.  I've been blessed and encouraged by some of the people from whom I would have least expected it. 

I love that God chooses to use the least of these.  An orphaned baby girl who has nothing to her name and lives in a village in Uganda has had a profound impact on the lives of many.  So as I grow weary of the waiting, as my patience is strained, and I worry about the unknown, I need to remember God's mercy on me and my gift of Mercy.  I can't wait to see how God is going to use her in the days ahead.

Awesome!

I just had to share an awesome gift that we received today.  A few weeks ago on here I mentioned that I had started to pick up a few supplies that I know Cody and I will need for our trip to Uganda.  Shortly after that, I had a very sweet woman ask for a list of things we will need and she offered to pick up these things for us.  My first reaction was to say no and that we could just take care of it.  I am not always the best at receiving help.  Ask Cody he can verify that! =)  Then I reminded myself that she wouldn't ask this if she didn't really mean it and that if she wanted to bless us in this way I should let her.  This morning me she brought me a big bag, which will be great for toting things around in Uganda, full of supplies.  She said that she had the best time buying these things for us.  I was so excited I decided to take a picture of it all for you.  You may be wondering why I would be so excited about wipes, bug spray, and bandages.  Cody is pumped up for UNO and the coffee!  First of all, anyone who has been to Africa understands the importance of such items!  Secondly, I feel so loved that someone would take the time to do this for us.  She values our story enough to want to be a part of it.  She even sent me a note tonight asking for another list.  Thank you friend!

Mama Kits

Ever since Cody and I decided to adopt Mercy, I've thought about her mother and how horrible it is that she had to die giving birth to her.  I don't know the circumstances, her health history, or anything about her, but I would guess that had she lived elsewhere or received proper medical care would she have lived.  How many other women die needlessly every day giving birth?  Some statistics I found say that at least 15 women die every day in Uganda from pregnancy or childbirth complications.  Nearly 60% of women in Uganda give birth at home.  This is not a sterile, home-birth in a bathtub with soft music playing and a licensed midwife.  This is most likely in a mud hut with no sanitized instruments, no medications for mother or child, and no one with medical training. 

Several months ago I was reading on Katie's blog (again you really must check this out if you haven't already!) about birth kits she was making for women in the villages near her.  I thought this was a great idea and something I might like to help with in honor of Mercy, but wasn't sure of an easy way to go about it.

This week, I read on a blog about a fabulous couple in Colorado that is asking people to give money for "Mama Kits" instead of gifts for their child at their baby shower.  These "Mama Kits" contain many of the things needed for a safe birth.  This includes gauze, cotton, razor blades, tetracycline eye ointment, gloves, umbilical cord tie, soap, pamphlets, polythene sheeting, and a polythene bag for records.  All of this for only $10.  Then I figured out that the missionaries that will be distributing these kits in Uganda know my friends, Doug and Kathryn, and live in the same town with them.  What a small world!  So, if you would be interested in helping save the lives of mothers and babies in Uganda, go to the missionaries' blog here for all of the information and a bit more on the story.  What an easy way to truly impact the lives of mothers and babies in Uganda.

Good News!

Ok, not the best news ever, but still some good news to share!  Cody got his yellow fever shot this afternoon.  They got a shipment in yesterday.  So we are glad to have one more thing checked off of the list. Thanks for praying about this for us.

T-shirts are on the way.  Ok, not to everyone, but I'm working on it.  I took the first batch to the post office today.  Geez, it's a lot to sort out.  My living room is a disaster right now all covered up with envelopes and t-shirts. (Note the photos below.  I laughed to myself when I just uploaded these and saw Avery's Cinderella shoe in the middle of the floor.  The story of my life... tripping over dress-up shoes.)  I should have all of the shirts for those that have paid in the mail by Monday at the latest.

I'd love some pictures of you all wearing your shirts, so if you think about it snap a pic and send it to me.  You will all be beautiful models!  Emma gives the shirts two thumbs up!

I have a few extra shirts from this round.  So if you'd like one let me know ASAP.  I have a Youth Large,  3 Adult Small, 2 Adult Large, and 1 Adult X-Large.

I'm taking orders for the next round of t-shirts.  So spread the word to your friends, co-workers, family, church, etc.  You can e-mail your orders to me at melissabusby@hotmail.com

As for the guardianship situation in Uganda, we are hearing good things.  Two families that are over there right now have court hearings on Monday morning and another has a visa meeting at the Embassy on Monday.  Pray that these go well and set a precedence for the rest of us.  I'll let you know as soon as I hear more substantial news.

Shirts are coming! Yellow Fever shots are not!

Mercy Shirts are here!  I will pick them up tomorrow afternoon.  I'll get them ready to deliver and/or ship the next couple of days.   If you have not yet paid for your shirt send me an e-mail and I'll get you my address (melissabusby@hotmail.com) or you can pay using PayPal.  Just go to PayPal. click on "send money", enter my email address and the amount.  Then at the bottom, click the "personal" tab and then gift or other.  This is a free way to send to us electronically and will save you a stamp. =)

You are my best advertisement... so please wear your shirts, share our story, and publicize our blog!  I'll be placing another order for shirts as soon as I have enough pre-orders, so spread the word.

I'm excited to say we've already raise more than $2400.  If you have any other fundraising ideas let me know!

One more prayer request for you...  Cody needs to get a yellow fever vaccine in order to travel into Uganda. I have already had mine.  Apparently, there is some sort of shortage on this vaccine right now.  Our health department said they are in high demand with a very limited supply.  They told me to call every day and see if they have received any more.  I've called for a week now to no avail.  So pray for this vaccine to arrive shortly.                              

Please continue to pray...

There is still no resolution about legal guardianship in Uganda.  I keep hoping that one day soon I'll get to type on here that it is all over, but for now I'm just asking you to continue to pray.  I know this is a confusing issue and hard to understand.  I don't even understand fully what the whole disagreement is about and the reasoning behind the two sides.  There are many layers to this whole thing. 

My attorney is hard at work along with other people of influence. They are pushing for a final meeting to happen this week and for a resolution to be reached.
I just ask you to pray for wisdom on all sides, for God to work on the hearts of those in power that they may have the best interests of the children in mind, and for this to work out quickly.  My heart breaks for the families that are stuck over there right now.  Many of them are taking this extra time to do mission and aid work, which is fantastic.  But they also have loved ones, including small children and spouses, here at home in the US anxiously awaiting their arrivals, and their extended stays are taking a toll on their emotions and also their finances.  So pray for them too.

Quick Update

Word is that the meeting with our attorney and other top officials went well yesterday, but they decided that they needed more time to address the issue.  So they have scheduled another meeting for next week.  Thanks for your continued prayers.

Why I love Uganda...

As I've mentioned before our friends Doug and Kathryn moved to Uganda to be missionaries last month.  My Girls in Action class at church (missions class for girls 1st-3rd grade) decided to become pen pals with their children.  My class came up with a whole list of questions that I e-mailed to Kathryn.  Somehow in her hectic schedule,  Kathryn asked each kid for their answers and sent them back to me.  I'm quite impressed! =)  Anyway, all of that to say, one of the kids' answers really resonated with me.  The question.. what are you most excited about now that your are a "MK" (missionary kid)?  The answer... "I get to make new friends and everyone is so happy here."  That last part is the what stuck with me.  They are so very happy!  I heard this same thing last summer during my trip.  I asked one of the teenagers travelling with us for her thoughts on the trip.  She said, "The people are always so happy. We aren't like that in America."

I love that Ugandans are so happy.  Now I know that not all of them are happy and no one is happy all of the time, but they do find joy in simple things.  Their culture encourages people to be grateful, to be content and to be flexible.  As for us, I think sometimes all our stuff, our technology and demanding schedules creates discontent among us. We can not handle it if the power goes out for 30 minutes.  We are exasperated if we have to wait another 3 minutes in line at the grocery store. We grow jealous of our neighbor's new car even though ours works just fine.  I want to be happy and content and love life just because God has granted me another day.

I love the hospitality of Ugandans.  They are so gracious, polite, and giving.  They will go out of their way to make you comfortable and welcome.  I can hear them now saying over and over, "You are most welcome!"  And they really meant it.  This has made me really think about how I treat visitors.  Am I willing to go out of my way to greet someone?  Ugandans will.  Do I offer my best and consider the needs of others? Ugandans do.  They throw parties and ceremonies to welcome "honored guests".  They offer the best food and drinks for others and then go without themselves.

I love their smiles and laughs.  They are infectious and they have such a great sense of humor.  Few things can match the joy in your heart when you see that big grin break out across a child's face.

I love the way they dance.  Oh how I long to move as they do.  I have no moves, or rhythm, or skills, but it sure is fun to try and when I do try it gets the Ugandans laughing! =)

I love that they are always willing to share what they have with others.  They do not cling to their possessions like we do.  One of the most profound moments I had in Uganda was sitting in a church service on a wooden bench in a room with a tin roof and a dirt floor.  The pastor was reading announcements and told everyone they were going to do some mission work in a much poorer village.  He asked for clothing donations and then he asked, "If you have two outfits you can wear to church, why not give donate one so someone else can have something to wear?"  And the people all nodded and I knew that many of them would donate their other set of clothes.  Wow, I have a whole closet full, many of which I never wear or don't fit.  These people were giving sacrifically to help those less fortunate while many of them did not have electricity, running water, or enough food to eat. 

I love that I have made friends in Uganda that I consider part of my family.  Pastor Okumu and his wife, Sarah and his children are dear friends in ministry and life.

I love that everything is green and lush.  I love the mountains, tea fields, waterfalls, and wildlife.  I love that it's a tropical climate.  It's not that hot there.. not like what you think "Africa Hot" would be like.  But don't tell anyone.  I want people to think I'm really suffering...ha!  Now don't get me wrong, it's definitely warm and the lack of air conditioning and the humidity are a challenge, but there have been many days when I was there and it was actually hotter back home in Kansas.

I love that they can carry more on their heads than I could ever carry in my arms. 

A few other things I love about Uganda...  ground nuts, fresh pineapple and bananas, chapatis, samosas, and "Krest" bitter lemon soda.  What can I say, I'm a girl that loves good food!

These are just a few reasons.  I'm sure more will follow in the days to come.

Things are moving along!

I was so excited this morning to have an e-mail from our attorney and an update from Lifeline on the situation.  There is no official news from the courts yet, but we are told that things continue to look positive.    You can read the entire post from Lifeline here.  Basically, they hear that things are moving in a positive direction and there are discussions of changing the wordings for the guardianships or maybe even waiving the 3-year waiting period for adoption.  That, however, is far from from being official and may only apply to medical emergencies or special needs children.

Our attorney sent me a brief rundown of all of the meetings he has been a part of in the last week.  My goodness, he's been busy!  He expects some sort of ruling tomorrow from the judge over the Family Division of the courts.  There was also a meeting today for lawmakers and our attorney was leading a workshop on the "Children's Act" which includes guardianship and adoption regulations.  Many of those involved in this situation were attending the meeting and he hoped they could discuss the issue at that time.  He asked us to continue to pray for him and all involved.

Patience

Once again the Lord is teaching me patience.   I wish I had some big news to report to you about the situation in Uganda.  But I do not.  I have not heard an official report since Wednesday, so I guess we just need to keep praying and trust that everyone is working their best to resolve the situation.  Anyone who knows me very well, knows that I like to be in control of things and that I like to be "in the know".  I think is part of why I loved working in TV news.  I loved being the first to know when that big, breaking news story crossed the wire or hit the police scanners.  So it is hard for me to be in a situation that I really have no control over and that I can't get much information about, and that's happening on the other side of the world.  So I pray, read, and remember that God is in control.  And I dwell on the fact that God is refining me and teaching me once again about patience. 

Keep praying!

Not a whole lot of news to report, but I wanted to give you some kind of update and encourage you to keep praying.  This is the latest official word here from Lifeline.  Basically, the Ugandan courts put a hold on  issuing any more court dates for guardianship cases.  This really is not a surprise, just a reaction to the Embassy's decision to not issue any visas for the time being.  There have been numerous meetings in the past couple of days and more will follow in the next few days.  Things are looking positive.  Please just keep praying for wisdom and patience for all involved.

Cody and I are moving forward with things on our end.  I'm getting a large batch of documents notarized this week.  This should be the end of all of our paperwork... for now! =)  I'm sending in our immigration papers and then mailing our dossier to our attorney.  I've even started stocking up on a few of the items we'll need for our trip.  I bought a bottle of Off Deep Woods and a couple of boxes of Wet Ones yesterday!

Thank you to all of you that ordered t-shirts.  Cody and I are still overwhelmed by all of your love and support.  We ordered 168 shirts!!  My big goal was for 100, so you blew me away!  The shirts should be in by the 23rd at the latest and I'll get them sent off as soon as possible.  If there is enough interest I'll submit another order next month.

Please Pray!

Well, there has been some major drama this week in the world of Ugandan Adoption.  I have not posted anything about it on here because I was waiting to get some more reliable and confirmed information.  The internet is a wonderful thing, but sometimes it can also lead to confusion and misinformation. 

Here is the issue in a nutshell... officials from the US Embassy met with with Ugandan Ministry officials to clarify and discuss the guardianship court rulings.  You can only legally adopt in Uganda after a 3 year guardianship period served in Uganda.  Families have been instead obtaining legal guardianship with permission to travel to the US and then completing the adoptions in the US.  Some of the court rulings have stated that the child will be adopted in the US, but many others have not.  Some of the Ugandan judges prefer for the guardianship period be served in the US and then the adoptions completed in Uganda in three years.  However, that is against US law and therefore an immigrant visa can not be granted by the embassy under those conditions.  The issues run deeper that just that, but that's a basic explanation.  The good thing in all of this... this stems from efforts on both the Ugandan and US side to protect the children and make sure that everything is done in the most ethical way.

Please pray for a resolution to be agreed upon quickly.  Several of the lawyers in Uganda are working on briefs this weekend to try to persuade the judges to allow a change in the wording of the rulings.   Pray for the families in the country right now in the middle of all of this confusion.  Pray for patience, respect and wisdom from all sides.

If you are interested in all of the ins and outs of the situation you can read more here. Lifeline is one of the very few adoption agencies operating in Uganda and they have a full explanation posted.

Cody and I feel confident that this will be worked out.  We know this does not come as a surprise to God and that He called us on this journey for a reason.  Adoption is never easy and there are always unexpected bumps in the road.  We just keeping praying that this bumpy road leads us to Mercy.

Good times!

Great news!!  We got our FBI clearance in the mail today!  We should be able to send in our immigration papers this next week.  Nice to see some progress.

Also, last night we got the chance to meet a family that adopted a little boy from Uganda this time last year.  They are friends of friends and they were so gracious to meet us half way between our towns for dinner.  It was great to hear their story and how God brought them to this child.  It was also great to hear how well their son has adapted to life in Kansas and how well he's fit in with their other children.  They also had some great practical advice and it's nice to know we can call or e-mail them anytime in the future with questions.  We have been blessed to get connected with some great people to help us walk through this process.

T-Shirts, Get your t-shirts!

Thank you so much to the many of you that have ordered t-shirts.  I'm glad to say that we have enough orders to get the price break we wanted. Woo hoo!  I am taking t-shirt orders until Saturday.  So if there is any chance that you want one, please let me know ASAP. You can pay for the shirts anytime in the next 2 weeks.  You can look at the original post on the shirts for the ways to pay.

Sign up for e-mail updates!

I love figuring out this whole blog-thing!  You can now sign-up to get e-mail updates of new blog posts.   Just sign up on the top-right side of this page.  That way you won't have to remember to check back every day or so. =)

Great Devotion!

My sweet friend, Wendy, forwarded me a copy of a devotion she read this morning.  It focuses on our adoption verse, Micah 6:8.  You can read it here, as they say it in a much more profound way than I could and it's just another great reminder of our call to action as Christians.