Greetings!

 

I am so sorry it has taken so long to get this update out to you all!  I cannot believe that it has been 3 weeks since we have been home with Bedilu!!  Honestly I don't know where the time has gone!

 

Our first week home was filled with moments of "revelations" for both Bedilu and us!  Bedilu made himself right at home!  He was in awe of the house!  He loved his bed!  He loved eating!  Boy can he eat!  While he was getting comfortable we were trying to catch up on sleep and get back on schedule! It only took about 3 nights before Bedilu seemed to settle in ..... he would get up once or twice to go

potty and then would want to "play"?.... we spent a few nights getting back to sleep and pretty soon he was right on track!

 

The next week wasn't so good for me... I got sick...  some sort of bacterial infection in my throat. I was even without my voice for 3 days!  I think it was something I picked up on the plane....The boys and Roger enjoyed that! =)... it definately took it's toll on us!   But by the following Friday I could talk again and then by the end of the weekend I was almost 100%!   Then Roger went back to work!
 Praise God for that timing!!

 

This past week has gone by so fast!  Our days just seem to flow one into the next!  I remember that when Sam and Jacob were little...  I loved how the world just seemed to go on and on... but our world just went along on its own.  Each day Bedilu makes huge strides in learning the English language...he is putting words together for sentences now... instead of Mom... look.... He now says  "Mom look at me!"  It is really amazing!  Friends had told us that it wouldn't take long and he would catch on! They were so right! 

 

In so many ways it seems like Bedilu has been here all of his life... He is so much like Sam and Jacob! He has a smile that is big and bright.....he has the biggest eyes..... and he loves to wrestle and will play any sport with a ball! If I had to describe him in one word it would be JOY!  He has brought so much joy to our house and to our lives!  He loves his brothers and all of their "stuff" LOL!

 

Bedilu loves to play outside and he has learned to ride a skateboard and a scooter already!  He seemsto be fearless!  OH boy...mom has gotten a few more gray hairs watching him!  He loves to count..he counts everything!  He sings in his native language...Amharic!  He sings while playing with his carsand when he is riding his skateboard!  Love listening to that!!!  LOVE IT!!

 

We have stuck pretty close to home with Bedilu.  He is very comfortable here with us and likes to be at home!  We have limited visitors so that we don't overwhelm him.  When we are out...like taking the boys to football practice he makes it very clear that he wants to go home... As soon as the boysget out of the van.. he says.... "mom, Bedilu mom house!".... I have taken him to the grocery store with me a couple of times... but other than that and football games we have been sticking close to home.

We haven't been to church with him yet... it will be a while for that...  he doesn't get scared in a crowd but he defiantely pulls back a little. 

 

I wish I could give you more of a picture of how amazing this whole journey has been!  I wish it could be easier to put it into words...  God has planned and ordered this journey for us and for Bedilu from the start.  Only by His grace have we come this far!  Bedilu has brought my heart to bursting!  He loves Jesus!  He kisses the bible with Jesus on it!  OH my heart just bursts with love

for this boy....this boy who will change our lives forever!

 

 

Every Day is a Gift!
Roger & Laurie Hebbe

YES... I Believe it's time for us to fly!!!

AMERICAN EMBASSY

ENTOTO STREET

P.O. BOX 1014

ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA

Dear  CWA                                                                                                                                                               07   Sep 2011

This office is ready to schedule an interview for the I-600 petition filed on behalf of the below applicants.

Family Name: HEBBE, BEDILU ROGER

Interview slots are available Monday and Wednesday at 9:00 am or Tuesday and Thursday at 1:00 pm. Please select your 3 preference dates and send us an e-mail. We will send you a confirmed appointment date after checking our available slots. Make sure you get our confirmed appointment date for parents to come for their appointment.

The fee for the visa interview is USD 404.00 per applicant. If the family is adopting more than one child, who are not siblings, there will be an additional fee of USD 720.00 for the I-600 petition. You may pay in local currency at the current rate of exchange.

When communicating with this office, please provide agency name, child’s full name and case number exactly as shown in this letter.

US Embassy

Adoption Unit

 

Our answers...from the Embassy in Addis Abba
Good news and one step closer!

Dear Hebbe Family,

Thank you for your email regarding your adoption of Bedilu.

On August 16, 2011  we received additional documents regarding your case. We will contact you with the information how to proceed as soon as we review the documents.

Sincerely

//AF//
Adoption Unit

U.S. Embassy

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Privacy/PII

This email is UNCLASSIFIED.

From: roger hebbe [mailto:acts16.31@sbcglobal.net]
Sent: Tuesday, August 16, 2011 1:33 PM
To: Addis, Adoption
Subject: Hebbe Family,

Good Morning,

We were wondering about the status of our adoption case.

Our information is

  Family, Child name: - Hebbe, Bedilu Roger

                Case number: - ADD2010676021

We last heard on Wednesday, August 10th that all of our

documents were submitted to the Embassy and that

all requests were satisfied.  

We want to be sure that we haven't

missed something on our end here in the states!  We do

appreciate your time and your work load.

Thank you for your help.

Precious friends!

This is what we know as of 10am Monday morning...

 

They have our letter in Addis...they are translating it now...

they hope to submit it to the Embassy tomorrow! 

I added the email from Sue to the bottom of this email...

 

Please join us in praying for the following! 

• Pray that the letter is acceptable to the Embassy, as there have been "issues" with how the letters have been written.
• Pray for the staff to be able to plead our case
• Pray for a quick turn around in the dates available for our Embassy appt.
• Pray for Bedilu as he waits for us!  I hope when they "know" they will tell him that we are coming!
• Pray for peace in our hearts if~........
• Pray for all of the other families caught in this place....and those who's hearts are longing for their child to come home! (several friends!)

Thanks so much for the prayers...we know the Father hears and He is faithful!

Deuteronomy 7:9

New Living Translation (NLT)

⁹ Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who love him and obey his commands.

love
laurie

Yes, we talked with Addis today.  They said they had your letter, it was in translation and they hoped to submit it tomorrow to the Embassy and they hoped that the Embassy accepts what the police wrote.  I pray the clerk who reviews the letter accepts it.

There seems to be a disparity between what the new staff at the Embassy wants to see and what the police (in many regions) are writing.  The police don’t want to change the way they’ve always done the letter.  Some regions have now refused to rewrite documents for the orphanages (hence the Embassy).

Dear Friends and Family

I have been holding off on sending out an update on our adoption in hopes of some travel news….but as of today, June 2, 2011 we are still waiting.  I have talked with quite a few people over the past few months….most of them all in just disbelief about why…how….it could be taking so long to get this little guy home.  Trust me when I say that we have tried to come up with the answers that ease people’s hearts and answers that seem fair.  The truth is that it really all makes sense when you look at it with the right perspective! God’s perspective!  Isaiah 55:8-11

The Message (MSG)

 ^8-11"I don't think the way you think.
   The way you work isn't the way I work."
         God's Decree.
"For as the sky soars high above earth,
   so the way I work surpasses the way you work,
   and the way I think is beyond the way you think.
Just as rain and snow descend from the skies
   and don't go back until they've watered the earth,
Doing their work of making things grow and blossom,
   producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry,
So will the words that come out of my mouth
   not come back empty-handed.
They'll do the work I sent them to do,
   they'll complete the assignment I gave them.

That is where we choose to rest!  In fact, it is the only place where things do make sense…..  I would like to try to share my heart with you all!

If you remember we went in November of 2010 to meet our little guy and attend court.  We fell in love from the start…way back in July but when we saw him our hearts were connected!  We became a larger family that week in Ethiopia!  Court went smoothly and we were set to come back for our Embassy approval.  While we were there we saw things happen so fast and seamlessly for so many other families that we set our minds and hearts on being back to Ethiopia in December 2010, if not then for sure in January of 2011.  Everything else went so quickly and we just believed that this wouldn’t be any different.  

The Ethiopian government is in the process of changing the adoption process.  This has slowed down the timelines for so many people.  We figured that since we passed court we wouldn’t be impaired by the changes taking place.  However, the US Embassy is requiring new changes as well. That is where we get stuck.  The Embassy has requested a more detailed letter from the local police in Soddo, where Bedilu (Levi) was found.  This is completely understandable as they want to avoid any chance of corruption and be sure that abandoned children are really just that.  This will be a requirement that in the future will be met before court.  As our agency attempts to get the letter the zonal government started inspections of all NGO’s (non government organizations) and they will not allow the release of any official documents until the inspections are complete and a letter of approval is issued.  That started in January.  They continue today!  That is what we are waiting for…..one letter…..one piece of paper…from our human perspective.  But God has a different way of seeing things….

Throughout the past 6 months the Father has been faithful, mighty, loving, comforting, healing and present in our lives!  My state of mind over these past months briefly summed up…

December~  Oh how amazing is this little boy…and God’s plan for all of us….waiting but walking on air! 

January~  Well for sure we should travel back this month!  Everything is in place!                                  

February~ Face to the floor….weeping daily…..why God why?!  I know you started this…why….God?  

 March~ OH Father!  You are the one with the plan!  NOT my will but yours be done!! Isaiah Chapter 46 

 April~ We trust in your promises oh God!  You are the sovereign God! We wait in eager anticipation ! Psalm 139!

May~  Walking in faith daily! God calling us to really look at what we do in response to his work in our lives…..what we Do says more about what we believe about God than what we Say does!                                        

June~ Here we are….Knowing that the God who began this journey will finish it and bring all things together when it is best…and when it is time!  We long for this boy to be in our home…but would not trade the deeper dependence and intimate understanding of God this waiting has brought us!

^{Isaiah 46:8-11 The Message}                                                                                                                                                                             "Think about this. Wrap your minds around it.
   This is serious business, rebels. Take it to heart.
Remember your history,
   your long and rich history.
I am God, the only God you've had or ever will have—
   incomparable, irreplaceable—
From the very beginning
   telling you what the ending will be,
All along letting you in
   on what is going to happen,
Assuring you, 'I'm in this for the long haul,
   I'll do exactly what I set out to do,'
Calling that eagle, Cyrus, out of the east,
   from a far country the man I chose to help me.
I've said it, and I'll most certainly do it.
   I've planned it, so it's as good as done.

I know that it is all under control and I know that there are days that are harder than others.  I know that God loves all of us!  He is the Father…..He loves with a perfect love…He loves with comfort and He knows exactly what we need…and when we should have it!

We humbly ask for your continued prayers!  Prayers for Levi, prayers for movement in the Ethiopian government, prayers for all of the families caught in the “in-between” of the changes, prayers for our journey to honor the Father and glorify HIM…..all of this is for HIM, and prayers for all those who care for the orphans and widows in Ethiopia and the world!

Hey all of you coffee drinkers!! This is for you! We have started a new fundraiser to help with our ongoing adoption costs.  It is called Just Love Coffee.  I actually have recently started to drink coffee….and this is a great idea.  Click or paste  this link   http://www.justlovecoffee.com/TheHebbes                                                                              you can order coffee~ different kinds, and part of the proceeds help to support our adoption and part go to ongoing efforts to support the orphans in Ethiopia!  I love it because you actually get something while helping the cause of the orphan as well, in more ways than one!  

We love you all and your prayers are the most precious gift to us.  I am continually touched and humbled by people telling me about Levi’s picture on their fridge and the prayers of the little ones on behalf of Levi!

With much love,

Laurie and Roger

January 30, 2011

Dear friends and family!

Just a little update on the adoption journey!

We want to thank you all for all of the prayer and support you have given us about our adoption.  It has definitely been a much longer wait than we anticipated.  When we left Bedilu (Levi) in November, we really expected to be going back to Ethiopia to bring him home by the end December if not sooner.  Well here we are approaching February and we are still waiting.

This is what we do know!  Our paperwork and documents were submitted to the Embassy on December 28, 2010.  There was about a week of downtime because of the holiday.  Then the week of January 10^th the Embassy requested a “more detailed police report”.  That is apparently what we are waiting for.  They want more details that speak to how the police found him.

It is hard to explain what the “waiting” is like…..  It is a constant sense of anticipation.  Some days are easier than others.  Some have more tears than others.  Each day for me it means a surrender of my own expectations and my own agenda and claiming the Will of the Lord! Most days my heart is consumed with wanting to just go get him!  At the same time….I wouldn’t want to step one foot out of God’s will for our family! In his goodness and love, God gives us grace each day to sustain us!  We don’t understand why it has to take so long…. And we don’t always get to know the why for sure.  Regardless, we know that what the Lord does, He does well!  He continues to put the pieces of this together!  We trust and rest in the promises of the Lord!

Here are a few scriptures that have been set before us! We will keep you posted!

Love Laurie & Roger

Deuteronomy 33:12About Benjamin he said: “Let the beloved of the LORD rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the LORD loves rests between his shoulders.”

2 Samuel 7:28
Sovereign LORD, you are God! Your covenant is trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant

 Psalm 62:8
Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.

And then this song…..I love the words!  A great praise to our God who loves us!

 

Give me eyes to see                         

Give me grace to see Beyond this moment here. To believe that there Is nothing left to fear. That You alone are high above it all.                                               For You my God, are greater still.

More of who You are
May what I behold,
still my anxious heart.
Take what I have known
And break it all apart
For You my God, are greater still.

CHORUS
No sky contains,                            

And there is nothing That can ever separate us. There is nothing that can ever separate us from Your love. No life, no death, of this I am convinced. You my God, are greater still.

No doubt restrains,
All You are,
The greatness of our God.
I spend my life to know,
And I'm far from close
To all You are,
The greatness of our God.


And no words can say, or song convey,
all You are the greatness of our God.
I spend my life to know,
And I'm far from close
to all You are,
the greatness of our God.

Wisdom...

from a dear friend .... encouragement in the Wait!

WAIT

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried;

Quietly, patiently, lovingly, God replied.

I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate,

And the Master so gently said, “Wait.”

“Wait? You say wait?” my indignant reply.

“Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!”

Is your hand shortened?  Or have you not heard?

By faith I have asked, and I’m claiming your Word.

My future and all to which I relate

Hangs in the balance, and you tell me to Wait?”

I’m needing a ‘yes’, a go-ahead sign.

Or even a ‘no’, to which I’ll resign.

You promised, dear Lord, that if we believe,

We need but to ask, and we shall receive.

Lord, I’ve been asking, and this is my cry:

I’m weary of asking!  I need a reply.

Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate,

As my Master replied again, “Wait.”

So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut,

And grumbled to God, “So, I’m waiting…for what?”

He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes met with mine…

And he tenderly said “I could give you a sign.

I could shake the heavens and darken the sun.

I could raise the dead and cause mountains to run.

I could give all you seek and pleased you would be.

You’d have what you want, but you wouldn’t know Me.

You’d not know the depth of My love for each saint.

You’d not know the power that I give to the faint.

You’d not learn to see through clouds of despair;

You’d not learn to trust just by knowing I’m there.

You’d not know the joy of resting in Me

When darkness and silence are all you can see.

You’d never experience the fullness of love

When the peace of My spirit descends live a dove.

You would know that I give, and I save, for a start,

But you’d not know the depth of the beat of My heart.

The glow of My comfort late into the night,

The faith that I give when you walk without sight.

The depth that’s beyond getting just what you ask

From an infinite God who makes what you have last.

You’d never know should your pain quickly flee,

What it means that My grace is sufficient for thee.

Yes, your dearest dreams overnight would come true,

But, oh, the loss, if you missed what I’m doing in you.

So, be silent, my child, and in time you will see

That the greatest of gifts is to truly know Me.

And though oft My answers seem terribly late,

My most precious answer of all is still…. ”Wait.”