Goodbye Oasis!

I knew I wanted to have some time to say goodbye to the children at Oasis, but it was a little tricky to plan since I didn’t know when I would be leaving. Finally that last week, we just picked a day and made that the “Goodbye Party”. I had Harriet make some of her delicious cakes for the children and then I bought juice boxes them too.

We waited as the children came home from school. Some of the older ones don’t get home until about 5:30, so we had to wait around for awhile, but the children entertained us with lots of singing and dancing as we waited. I could sit and watch them sing and dance forever. I tried to get them to take a break a few times, but they said they were having fun and did not want to stop.


Even Baby Moses joined in the drumming.

 

Mercy joining in the fun.




We even got to see some "robot".

Finally most of the children had gathered and Pastor Robert showed up with even more surprises! A couple in Uganda volunteering at an orphanage heard about Oasis and wanted to help. They bought them some new mattresses, three new sets of triple bunk beds, and some other surprises. The kids were thrilled. It was fun to see their reactions.

Then I cut the cake and passed it out. I have no idea the last time that the kids had cake, but they devoured it. I could not cut fast enough. At first the mother in me wanted to make them slow down and only eat one small piece. Then I remembered what a special treat this was for them and how bland and sparse the normal diet is, so I let them dig in. I think both cakes were gone in about 5 minutes.



All Gone!

Then I said a few words to them and promised the children that I would continue to help them in the days ahead and that I would do my best to come back and see them again. I also promised to send more friends to visit them, so if you are going to Uganda and would like to stop by let me know. I also had some extra treats left behind by the Libraries of Love team, so they each got a pencil, sticker, and sucker . And as you can see from the photos, the Libraries of Love team also brought many “I Love VBS” shirts from my friend Kim’s church. So they proudly sported those for the occasion too.



Thumbs Up for Oasis.



Working on silly faces.

My friend, Billy, is working on getting deworming medicine and HIV screenings for all of the children. He’s also overseeing a few other projects there as well. I am working with my friend who initially sent me to Oasis and the board from “The Hope Venture”, the non-profit I am working with on this project, on long term plans for our relationship with Oasis. Pray for a clear direction and be on the lookout for more information on how you can help.

A few donations are still trickling in. My sister Stephanie’s children decided they wanted to help. They made bracelets and then sold them to people in their neighborhood. I think they’ve raised close to $100. I love to see kids that “get it” and are willing to work to help others. What a blessing!

Home Sweet Home!

Wow, thank you so much for all of the calls, emails, texts, and messages of congratulations.  It still does not seem real that Mercy and I are really home.  It's been amazing to all be together as a family of 5.  So far, except for some major toddler jet lag issues, things are going great.

I know many of you are very curious about how all of this went down... it's long and complicated, but here's the short and easy version...    A couple of months the US Embassy forwarded our case to the regional office for US immigration in Nairobi.  This is what they do with all unresolved visa cases.  We, with the help of our Washington DC lawyer, then submitted our response and argument to the Nairobi office as to why Mercy should receive a visa.  A little over a week ago we learned that they had officially approved Mercy for the visa.  We then had to wait as they forwarded their information back to the Embassy and then for the Embassy to actually process the visa.  We knew that this was all supposed to happen soon, but we did not have an exact timeline and with all of the crazy twists and turns of this story, we were advised to keep the news very tight-lipped until Mercy and I were through immigration and customs at the airport in the US.  And to be honest, I kept waiting for the bottom to fall out and for something bad to happen.  I picked up the visa on Friday and we flew out that night.  I don't think I took a deep breath until we did get through immigration.  I still cannot believe that we are home. 



This is her "Why are you making me do this Mom?" smile.



"Mom, really it's midnight, why are you making me smile?"

I hate that we didn't get to give a lot of warning of our homecoming, but I must admit that it was sort of fun to read of all of the shock and surprise over the news.  We got home around 5pm Saturday evening.  Poor Mercy fell asleep on the flight from Dallas and woke up just as we walked out to the crowd.  Can you imagine waking up to tons of people touching you, taking your picture and getting in your face?  Poor girl.  That's why she looks a bit shell shocked in the photos.  Even with short notice we had a great crowd at the airport.  It blows my mind that people would drop all of their weekend plans at the last minute to come meet us at the airport. It was so much fun!



Getting the text that we had landed

 



First sight of my girls

 

First kiss with my love



Sisters!



Daddy loving on his girl while she stared at her balloons!

Answers to a few of the big questions...

How did she do on the plane?  We had about 27 hours of travel time, but she did amazingly well.  She slept most of the first flight.  And she only cried for a bit on the second one when she was fighting sleep and upset that the flight attendent did not bring her ice cream first.  Note to flight attendents, when there are children on the flight, start passing out ice cream on that side of the plane first.  I had to get creative in my distractions and entertainment, but we survived and I don't think anyone around us hated us... so we were successful.

How is Mercy adjusting?  She is doing awesome.  On the way home from the airport she woke up a bit and started talking.  We got home and Emma and Avery took her to her room and then downstairs to see all of her toys.  She was thrilled.  After just a few minutes they were all laughing and jumping on Emma's bed.  She just fits right in.

How did she do in a car seat?  I can't believe so many of you thought she'd have a hard-time going from motorcycles and sitting on my lap to a car seat.  ha!  She really has done well.  Only one time she's asked to sit in my lap and I told her that she had to stay in her "special big girl seat".  It helps that she has sisters sitting next to her to entertain her the whole time.

How does she like Morley (the dog)?  She likes hime best from afar, but she's not terrified of him.  Today she pet him for the first time and then when I wasn't paying attention she put some lotion on his back.  Oh my, he may be in for it in the days ahead.  Poor old guy.

One of her favorite new things... air conditioning vents.  She discovered them yesterday at church and kept standing over it laughing.  Today I caught her sitting on the one in the kitchen several times saying, "Mommy, cold."  Of course, that 105 degree weather could have something to do with that too.

I am thoroughly enjoying everything.  The food tastes amazing, my shower is wonderful, my bed is fantastic, and time with my family all together is priceless.  I may have tons of laundry, appointments to make, 6 months of mail and papers to go through, but I am loving every minute of it.

After such a long battle it seems crazy that it's now over.  I saw God move in so many amazing and tangible ways especially in these past few weeks.  I need to take more time to write about it later, but for now I want you to know that God is good and He does answer our prayers.  Thousands of people around the world have prayed for us this past year.  God heard your prayers.  He provided for us each step of the way.  He comforted us.  He gave us strength.  And now He is bringing such immense joy to us and we give Him all of the glory.  When I met Mercy a little over two years ago, I knew that God told me she was my daughter.  I've clung to that promise each day of this journey.  Cody said it well, many months ago, when he told me that we didn't know when Mercy would be home, but we knew that she would.  We knew how the story would end, and that is what helped us get through each obstacle.

THE POST YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FOR!!!

Melissa and Mercy left Uganda yesterday! They land in Wichita at 5pm tonight. Melissa will tell the great story in the days ahead. God is to be praised for he has been good to us.

Psalm 66:5-6

Come and see what God has done, how awesome his works in man’s behalf! He turned the sea into dry land, they passed through the waters on foot – come, let us rejoice in him. 

Prayers Please

Can't go into detail, but asking for lots of prayers on our behalf for the next couple of days.  Thank you so much, dear friends.

Stripping Away My Idols

Long ago, back in the fall (seems like forever ago!), when I was living with the Howards, Beth made up a song called, “Stripping Away My Idols”. She would sing it every time God brought to mind all of the things/people/comforts/titles, etc. from America that she was missing. It would get stuck in my head and drive me crazy. The other day it came to mind out of nowhere, and it made me think of how true this statement has been for my life the past 10 months. I can hear Beth’s voice in my head belting it out and it makes me laugh, but the statement really holds a lot of truth. I can’t begin to figure out why God has led us on this path. There are a million little things I can point to and there are many things I’ve learned. I don’t know that I’ll ever look back and say, “Ok, this one things is THE reason why I had to live this long in Uganda and fight tooth and nail to get Mercy home. “ But one thing that I’ve learned is to depend on God more than ever, which is easier to do, when so many of my common idols are so far away.

Clothing… I’ve always cared about the way I look, and at times it’s been to a point of being unhealthy. I remember as a teenager spending nearly every dollar I earned on the latest clothes, shoes, or accessories. This is embarrassing, but I even kept a list of outfits that I’d worn trying to see how long I could go without wearing the same shirt twice. I was able to go way too long. Now I have a small stash in a closet here. The stash has changed some over the past few months, but it’s still the smallest amount of clothes I’ve ever lived with, which is still much more than the average Ugandan will ever own. I am grateful for each piece of clothing. God is stripping this idol.

Television… Both homes that I have lived in during the past 10 months do not have a television. I have learned to deal with it. I’ve learned that I don’t have to be up on the latest series. I have no clue what’s happened on American Idol this year… and it’s ok. It’s funny how easy it is to get away from these things when you aren’t seeing the commercials for them every day. I do miss watching the news every morning, but God is stripping away this idol.

Home…. I like my house. I like the things in it. I know how I like things to run. I know my house rules. I know just where to find things (probably not any more!). But instead I’ve lived in someone else’s house for 10 months. This has been a huge blessing… HUGE. But it’s also learning to live in someone else’s world. I must make do with what I have before me. I don’t need all of the “stuff” in my house to make it through the day. The idol of stuff and comforts of home is getting stripped away.

Control… this is a big one for me. I like to know what’s going to happen and when. I like to plan the details. I like to be in charge. And guess what, at this point, I am pretty much in charge or in control of nothing. My fate lies entirely in the hands of others and I must work/live on their timetable. This one is hard for me, but I’ve learned that it can be done because God is ultimately in charge. When I try to take too much control, it becomes my idol and things get messed up. Another thing the Lord is stripping away.

Friends… I have great friends. Friends from all over the US and I’m used to having them just a phone call or drive away. I’ve always had just the person to call for each crisis, funny moment, or piece of advice. My friends can be my comfort zone. I am blessed in getting to talk to them through email, Facebook, and the occasional Skype visit, but it’s not the same. I miss my friends. But guess what, God’s made me get out of my comfort zone and make new friends. Many of which I would not normally have met-- people from all over the world. But more importantly, God’s made me turn to Him in my time of need more than to my friends. When your friends are not around or when they are in the wrong time zone you learn to turn to God first. Stripping away my idols!

Family… this is probably the biggest idol for me. I don’t know how many times I’ve sat in church or a bible study and we’ve discussed “idols” and husband and children have always been on the list. I’ve always thought, but God would never ask me to get rid of them or put them aside. So I’m ok on this one. But am I really? Do I really trust God to take care of my family without me? Would I really give up a year of life with Emma and Avery just to follow God’s will? Can I really sacrifice my husband and best friend for God? Will I be willing to love and serve God no matter the outcome of this adoption? These are all things I’ve struggled with the last 10 months. I know God wants families to be together. I know that husbands and wives are meant to live together. I know that God sets the orphans in families. But I think that God has also wanted to show me that I must put Him first… even before my kids and my husband. I can still serve Him, even when my heart aches for my family to be united. I can trust Him, even when my family is being attacked. He loves me, and I must entrust my family to Him. Stripped.

I don’t share these things to bring any attention to myself. I really have not done anything that noteworthy, but God has done a tremendous work. It’s been painful. It’s brought up lots of things about myself that I did not want to face. Will I do whatever God asks even if it hurts, even if it doesn’t make sense, even when I am criticized? Some days I have answered this question better than others, but I’ve learned that it must be a day to day decision. Today I choose to follow.

Moments with Mercy

Just a few laughs for you about my girl. To say she is an active two-year old may be an understatement.  She seriously keeps me on my toes.  She's fast.  Like really fast.  And as soon as your are the least bit distracted she is gone... climbing up the stairs to the neighbor's house, heading to the guard's room to visit, going next door to play with her friend, or climbing (maybe scaling is a better word) anything around. 

Yes, that's my daughter running around the compound with no pants or diaper on.  Oops!

The other day I filled a basin with water, put her in her swimsuit, and then gave her some toy cups and things to play with.  This is her heaven.  Pouring and splashing are her specialty.  The trouble, when I brought her inside I forgot to empty the basin.  Hours later, she escaped and where should I find her... sitting in the basin with all of her clothes on.  Thank goodness we didn't need to go anywhere.

Last night I told her that in a few minutes she was going to take a shower.  Then I was finishing up talking to Billy about some Oasis business when we heard the water and Mercy saying, "hot, hot".  She'd gone into the bathroom, turned on the shower, and was standing there soaking wet with her clothes on.  Oh my!  And don't worry, she says anything above lukewarm is hot, so she wasn't burned or anything. 

She showed off her smarts the other day for the "Libraries of Love" team.  I mentioned in my last post that they brought treats for Oasis, but they also brought things for me and Mercy.   They brought all kinds of goodies.  Mercy loved it and quickly gobbled up several of them, including mini-Oreos.   With no demonstration, she instinctively knew to pull the cookies apart and lick out the middle.  That's my girl!

While visiting with the ladies, Mercy refused to talk.  She acts shy around new people.  They finally got her giggling, but not talking.  I knew what I was in for on the way home... she talked the whole way.  It was like she'd bottled it all up from the past two hours and she let it loose.  The boda driver finally said, "She sure does make a lot of noise."  ha!!

And remember a couple of weeks ago when the first "Libraries of Love" team was here.  My friend, Debbie, on that team is a child development specialist and works for a program called "Parents as Teachers" in our school district.  Debbie knows that I always want to know about development things, so she brought all of the evaluations, fact sheets, and enrollment forms for me.  Mercy may be the only child internationally registered for PAT in the Mulvane District.  I love that Debbie knows me well enough to know I would want to know these things.  We laughed a few times while answering some of the questions.   I refused to answer questions like, "Does your child always ride in a proper car seat?", "Does your child wear a helmet and pads while riding a bicycle? (they don't mean motorcycles, right??), "Does your child receive regular medical checkups?".  Oh my, I don't have to answer these questions while in Africa.  I'll be happy to answer them later.  But the good news... Mercy is doing great and is right on track developmentally, which is amazing considering the baby I found last August when I came.

For the 4th of July, we went to a celebration hosted by the US Embassy and the American Club in Kampala.  It was a lot of fun.  They had hamburgers and hot dogs, entertainment of all kinds, little games for the kids, and face painting.  Mercy and I have seen face painting several other places, but she's always been to scared to get it done. Not this time.  When I asked her is she wanted her face painted, she confidently said, "Yes" (sounds like yesh).  There was quite the line so I told the guy to do a fast butterfly, which meant a half of one, but it sure was cute and she was very proud.  The evening ended with a fireworks show.  Mercy was petrified and refused to even look at them.  But I thought they were beautiful and they made me feel like I was back in the good ol' USA... for a brief moment.

Please continue to pray for us.  We are waiting for progress and praying for more patience.

"Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God." Psalm 20:7
"Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." Psalm 17:14

More Help for Oasis

In the past week or so we've been busily working on things at Oasis of Life.  My friend, Billy, is working with me on this project.  He's been a huge help and it's always good to get the input and opinions of my Ugandan friends.  We've been working on getting all of the school supplies, sorting out shoes that did not fit, getting quotes on repairs to the plumbing and then for adding water and electricity at the boys' house.  We've also been working on a comprehensive list of all of the children, ages, grade, and school they attend. 

Then yesterday we got to bring our dear friends out to Oasis.  This group from Illinois is the part of "Libraries of Love".  I've mentioned some of these women before on here.  They've been some of our biggest adoption supporters and I'm so grateful for them.  When they heard about Oasis they knew they wanted to come for a visit.  Their leader, Debbie, asked me a week or so before they left if I needed her to bring me anything. I told her that if they had extra space that it would be great if they could gather up some used backpacks for the children at Oasis.  Virtually all of the children needed a bag.  The ones you buy new here are poorly made and don't last long.  You can buy used bags that are sturdier, but they are pretty expensive.  I had bought bags for the secondary students last week because some of the children had been sent home from school for not having a bag.  But I still needed bags for the primary school children.  Wow, Debbie and the group came through in a big way.  They ordered 48 brand-new bags for the kids.  They even thought to bring fabric markers with them to write their names on them.  The children were thrilled!  I'm pretty sure a few of them may have slept with their bags still on.

Here is another cool story of God's provision.  Debbie said several months ago someone gave her a giant bag of cloth diapers to give to whomever.  Debbie packed them in her bag a few weeks ago and figured they'd find someone to give them to.  Then I emailed her and asked for the backpacks.... and cloth diapers.  Lo and behold, she told me she already had them packed and was wondering who God was saving them for.  Now we know.  The caretakers were very glad to receive these diapers and so am I.  Now I can hold babies with little fear of getting wet.

The ladies also brought some balls and jump ropes, beanie babies, and some other treats.  And best of all they got to love on the kids.  I think these guys knew some grandma-types when they saw them.  They curled right up in their laps to take a nap.  Or maybe it was all of that singing and dancing that wore them out.  Oh, do these kids have some dance moves!  I must get video of them. Too cute.



This is Billy Paul (not to be confused with Billy), he is not a grandma, but isn't he cute with the sleeping little one?

 Thank you so much for your love and support for the children of Oasis.  They are very grateful and so am I.