BEAD PARTY

One of my favorite things to buy in Uganda is jewelry.  I have an obsession with all of the beautiful, handmade pieces and I would venture that at least 75% of all of the jewelry I wear comes from Uganda.  Uganda is now becoming well-known for its paper beads.  Women started making these beads from strips of magazine paper and the beads have created thousands of jobs for women who otherwise would have no way to provide for their families.  So, I decided to share my love of these paper beads with you. I am having a bead party next Thursday, January 6th.  The party will be come & go from 6-9pm at my house.  The necklaces, bracelets, and earrings will range from $5-$15 a piece and all proceeds will go to help fund the rest of this adoption.  Anyone is welcome, so invite a friend.  If you need to know my address, send me an email (melissabusby@hotmail.com). If you don't live in the Wichita area, I will post the leftovers online and you can have a chance to buy some too.  I look forward to seeing you there!



These are examples... the ones I have are buried in my room right now,
but these will give you an idea of what they look like.  I have a bunch of colors, sizes, and lengths. 



Long time no blog

Sorry, I've been a MIA the past week or so.  It's been a whirlwind.  I arrived home in Wichita late last Wednesday.  It was non-stop getting ready for Christmas and then on Monday we left to go to Oklahoma for a few days to do Christmas with Cody's family. It's been a great week of lots of family time, laughs, hugs, and yummy food. 

Mercy is doing well.  We've been able to Skype with her a couple of times and we get some sort of update about everyday.  We did figure out that it may be best for her to not see or hear me on Skype.  She's used to talking to Cody, Emma and Avery that way, but not me.  The first call ended in tears, so today I just sat off to the side and watched.  It was great to see her funny faces and hear her voice.  We are so grateful for Beth & Jeremy and Doug & Kathryn for taking such good care of our girl.

I booked my ticket tonight to leave on January 10th and arrive in UG on the 11th.  No official news to report from Uganda.  Nothing will likely happen until the court offices reopen on January 7th.  Please continue to pray for things to go quickly and smoothly for us in January.  As much as I've enjoyed being home, I still miss Mercy like crazy and I can't wait for all of my family to be together under one roof.  What a day that will be!

I'm not promising too many more blog posts while I am home.  Trying to spend as much time as possible with my family and also catching up on life.  Tonight I worked on the mail/school papers/misc. pile.  Oh my!

Not yet...

Well, I did get to meet with the judge today.  I didn't expect it to happen, so I am glad that I can at least say that it happened.  Unfortuately, it was not the outcome I was wanting.  He was not willing to take any further steps to move things along for us.  However, I did find out this afternoon about a possible alternative route to getting this all resolved.  All of the details are being worked out and it may be a long shot, so I won't share the details yet, but it could save us some further hassle and time.  But it does not appear that anything will be figured out for sure before everything closes down for Christmas. I still plan to fly out late tomorrow night.  Tomorrow will be busy with packing and preparations to leave Mercy.  And then once I get home, I know it will be a whirlwind of Christmas preparations and fun.  So, this may be my last update for a few days.  Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support.  May you all have a Blessed and Merry Christmas!

**If you have any desire to order a "Love Mercy" shirt for $15 send me an email ASAP (melissabusby@hotmail.com).  I am placing the order in the morning.  Look at these cute models, Abigail and Nolan.  Abigail came home from Uganda this summer.  Her family will welcome two more Ugandan cuties to their family early next year. Their mom, Heather, has been a huge encouragement to me.  Very grateful for her!

me vs. God...guess who wins?

So, God and I had it out during worship today. We arrived at church just as the music was starting. We found our spots and started singing. As soon as I opened my mouth I felt tears coming. For one, the past two Sundays I’ve only done Skype church (which was fabulous by the way), but it was great to be in a large body of believers singing with all of their hearts. Then all of the stress and emotion of the past few weeks just welled up. And then it was like each song was aimed at me… two songs in particular. The first was Chris Tomlin’s “Our God”. I printed the words below for you.
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Our God is greater, our God is stronger
God You are higher than any other
Our God is Healer, awesome in power
Our God, Our God…
Into the darkness you shine
Out of the ashes we Rise
There’s no One like You
None like You.

And if Our God is for us, then who could ever stop us
And if our God is with us, then what can stand against?
And if Our God is for us, then who could ever stop us
And if our God is with us, then what can stand against?
What can stand against?

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When I got to the lines about “If Our God is for us, then who could ever stop us” that’s when I started to lose it. I felt like God and I were arguing.

Me, “I know who can stop us… embassies, court registrars, judges.”

God, “I’ve got this and I’m not done yet.”

Me, “I feel like everything is standing against us right now.”

God, “It’s not going to last forever.”

And then I listened carefully to the rest of the song… “Our God is greater, our God is Stronger…”. And I started to feel some peace, but the tears kept falling. I couldn’t even sing… the words wouldn’t come out. Thankfully, next we sang a few songs in Luganda, which helped me recover a bit. Then we got to Hillsong’s “Mighty to Save”. Oh my! You may remember my post back from September, and how God used this song in a service then with me.
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Everyone needs compassion, love that's never failing

Let mercy fall on me

Everyone needs forgiveness, the kindness of a Savior

The hope of nations

Savior, He can move the mountains

My God is mighty to save, he is mighty to save

Forever, Author of Salvation

He rose and conquered the grave

Jesus conquered the grave

So take me as you find me, all my fears and failures

Fill my life again

I give my life to follow, everything I believe in

Now I surrender

Shine your light and let the whole world see

We're singing

For the glory of the risen king, Jesus

Shine your light and let the whole world see

We're singing

For the glory of the risen king

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As soon as it started, I thought, here we go again! And again my conversation with God began…

Me, “God can you really move the mountains? Then will you please move mine.”

God, “Be patient.”

Me, “God, I’m scared and frustrated and my patience is gone.”

God, “Let me fill you.”

Then there is the line “Now I surrender…”. I felt like God really wanted to know if I was going to surrender all of this stuff to him… my fears, failures, worries, and then the biggie.. Mercy. Wow, that’s a hard one. But sometimes I forget that God loves Mercy more than I do and I need to trust in His plan for her life. He’s brought her this far, so I need to let Him continue. “Shine your light and let the whole world see… for the Glory of the risen king.”

Me, “But I don’t really want to shine my light right now. Don’t you remember… I don’t want to be the example? I’d much rather pout in the corner, Lord.”

God, “But I gave you the light and I want it to shine. It’s for my glory, not yours. Your version of failure or defeat and mine are different. Remember that no matter the outcome, I am God and I love you.”

And then I relented and sang, as well as I could through my tears.

Tomorrow I will try one last time to get my meeting with the judge. Then we’ll make our contingency plans for our next steps to take in January. I’ve booked a ticket for me to leave late Tuesday and arrive home Wednesday night. I am very much looking forward to spending some time resting and loving on Cody, Emma and Avery. And I know Mercy will be in great hands until I return.

Not Today

Just a brief update.  I may try to write more later, but I wanted those of you not on my Facebook to know.  Just as I was leaving to go to the meeting, I got a call that the man was not going to be in the office the rest of the day.  Nothing else could be done today.  I will go tomorrow and consult with my attorney once again and see if there is really any chance for a meeting on Monday or not.  From there I will most likely go book my ticket home for early next week.  Thank you so much for your continued love and support.  Your love for my family blows me away.  The thought that so many of you set your alarms to pray for me, truly is mind-blowing... brings me to tears just thinking about it.

For Such a Time as This...

Ok, I’m not Queen Esther, but tomorrow I do have to go before a very important person who could decide Mercy’s fate and resolve all of this. This is my last chance before the Christmas holiday to get anything done. And perhaps I do feel a bit like Esther. I’m not prepared for this. I did not sign up to become the poster-child of International Adoption Nightmares. I didn’t want to be made an example by all parties involved. I did not want to be “inspirational” to all of you. I just wanted to bring a new baby girl into my family. That first time I held Mercy in my arms when she was three weeks old I knew she was to be part of our family. That is all I set out to do. I guess if God had told me all of the rest of this stuff beforehand I would have second-guessed this calling. It’s almost laughable now, how simple it all seemed back then. But God did choose this path for us. He has me here for a reason. We’re in this specific situation for a reason. And I believe I have this meeting tomorrow for a reason. I do not know the outcome, and I’ve learned by now that things do not always happen as I would plan, but I know God has a plan.

So I’m once again asking each of you to pray.

• First of all, pray for this meeting to happen and for this man to see me. As anyone who’s followed my journey knows, no meeting or plan is a given in Africa until it actually takes place.

• Pray for him to allow me to speak freely and for me to have the rights words to say.

• Pray for him to have mercy on us and agree to help.

• Pray for him to act swiftly.

• Pray for my heart and Cody’s if things do not go as we wish.

This meeting is to take place around 12:30pm, which is 3:30am CST… again TIA (this is Africa), so this is an approximate time.

I have had many people tell me the last few weeks how strong I am and how inspiring our family is to so many. This is humbling. I do not feel inspiring or even strong. I’m just asking the Lord to help me get through each day. I have had plenty of really bad days. I cry, I complain, and I pout… and so does Cody. I ask God, “Why me, how much longer, what’s the point?” over and over. All I can say is that He’s continually reminding me to have perspective on my situation. He reminds me that I don’t need to know the whole plan. He’s reminding me that He never said Christianity would be an easy life and I’ve learned a dependence on God that I’ve never known before. So each time my hopes come crashing down, I have a meltdown and then I gather myself back up, pray for strength and wisdom, and keep putting one foot in front of the other. That’s all I can do.

I don’t know what tomorrow holds. I have a speck of hope. I know God is capable and can do anything He chooses. I don’t know if this meeting is the beginning my Christmas miracle to come home with Mercy, but it could be. I do know that whatever happens, God is still God and He still loves my family more than anyone else. And as a friend reminded me today, “Do not be anxious about anything , but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7

Waiting Game

We’re still waiting around here. My lawyer says there is still hope for something to happen this week, but the way things have gone so far, I’m finding it hard to believe. Each day we are told, "Maybe tomorrow."  The waiting and living life in limbo is tough.

Thank you for your prayers. They’ve helped me to get through another roller coaster week. This has been a tough one. The closer we get to Christmas the more I want to be home, but the more impossible it seems for Mercy to go with me. Emma and Avery have class parties and school projects that I’d love to be attending. I feel like I’ve already missed so much. I’m trying to finish up my shopping online. So grateful for the internet!  Can't believe Christmas is next week.  Wow!

Emma summed it all up for me this week. She told me yesterday morning on the phone, “At first Mommy I was sad you were gone, then I was mad that you couldn’t come home yet, now I’m just tired.” Me too Em… Mommy is tired and longing to see you and love on you. So ready for our family of 5 to all be together.