Life with Grace

noreply@blogger.com (Bill Legere) — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 05:31:44 PDT

Words of Wisdom

noreply@blogger.com (Bill Legere) — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 09:41:19 PST

"And the work of God is rarely dull, but it's not always necessarily what we think. Transformation is hard stuff. Seeking to bring about the kingdom of God -- caring for the poor, feeding the hungry, visiting prisoners, caring for the sick, renouncing demons in God's name -- you don't do that in a 15-minute lunch break."

- Enuma Okoro

A Valentine's Day Gift Idea for You

noreply@blogger.com (Bill Legere) — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 14:57:45 PST

The Foundation for Hope and Grace is pleased to offer these beautiful bracelets once again just in time for Valentine's Day. These sterling silver bracelets have three colored crystal beads in the center, as well as one at the end in the birthstone of our daughter, Grace, along with a heart charm. A wonderful reminder that she is the "heart" behind this foundation.

The cost of the bracelets is $35 along with $3.95 S&H if needed. If you are interested in purchasing one of these bracelets please contact us at: bill.legere.fhg@gmail.com

NEW partnership! Food for the Hungry - Ecuador

noreply@blogger.com (Bill Legere) — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 06:53:19 PST

We are pleased to announce a new partnership with Food for the Hungry in Ecuador. This organization is led by a dear friend of ours who is working to help his native land. Food for the hungry is providing meals and support to families with children who are struggling to get enough to eat. Please check out their website for more information: http://www.efrador.com/

We are accepting gifts to help fund this project. If you are interested in supporting food for the Hungry in Ecuador then please attach a note your check stating your intentions. Checks can be made out to "The Foundation for Hope and Grace". Our mailing address is as follows:

Foundation for Hope and Grace,
C/o Norman, Hanson& Detroy
100 Lisbon Street
PO box 7230
Lewiston, ME, 04243-7230

Ecuador Project Trip - Spring 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Bill Legere) — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 06:45:31 PST

I am so pleased to announce the spring dates for our ongoing project trip to Guayaquil, Ecuador. We have taken some time to plan out an appropriate time and believe that we have a plan in place!

The trip is part of the ongoing partnership between Foundation for Hope and Grace and Foundation Restoration. We are supporting an effort to reach out to high risk kids in the Mapisinge area of Guayaquil. This project is being developed on a self sustaining model that will allow the local leadership to continue on an ongoing basis. We are helping them finish a construction project that will house a private school whose profits will fund the after school program. The Building project is approximately 40-50% complete.

This trip will focus on the following priorities

1-Encourage the work of Foundation Restoration by providing labor, teaching and service.
2-Advance the construction of the school building.
3-Provide business leadership training to the school and the foundation
4-Provide a program for the children of the after school program that will provide education, encouragement and skill training.

The dates will be April 28th to May 7th. The cost will be $1700 per person and includes room, board and transportation. The team leaders will be Jason Landry and myself.

If you are interested then contact me via email or phone. We will begin having team meetings in the end of January.

Please prayerfully consider giving of yourself for the sake of helping others. This partnership is making a difference in the life of children in a poor and desperate place. We continue to believe that we can make a difference in giving a child hope in the future and protection from trafficking, exploitation, drugs and a life of crime by sharing with them the simple gift of love and grace. Please join us! If you are unable to travel then consider a financial gift to fund the project by giving a tax-deductible donation to the Foundation for Hope and Grace.

I hope to hear from you...
--
Bill

cell~207.312.0339
blog~http://life-with-grace.blogspot.com/

"He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?"
Micah 6:8

"Dad, why do you care about orphans?"

noreply@blogger.com (Bill Legere) — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 04:49:08 PST

This is a question that my wife and I have had to ask ourselves more frequently in recent months. Two of our daughters have begun asking why we care about orphans. The girls are nine and ten years old and are adopted from Romania. They are great kids and we have been together for eight years. Orphan care is not an infrequent topic of conversation in our home as we work to raise awareness and encourage others to consider the plight of the fatherless.

We recently completed the adoption of two more girls from Uganda. It was a process that we went through as a family while we spent 8 weeks in country. It raised a lot of questions and thoughts about their own lives as orphans who had been adopted. It was a great time to see them mature and allowed us to address many issues surrounding orphans, adoptions, sacrificial living and expressing the gospel in day to day life.

They have passed beyond the age when a superficial answer will do. They want to know "why" we care. I think it is fair for them to know "why"and I have devoted a lot of time thinking, studying and talking to them about "why" I care for orphans. We have shared with them the breadth and depth of the problem. We have tried to demonstrate the reality of life as an orphan as well as the sheer number of kids affected. We have taken them to their orphanage in Romania and to central Nigeria to take part in our family's effort to bring love to the fatherless.

Not just another good cause

We talk about our concern that "orphan care" could roll into another one of those good causes that we have become so accustomed to in our day of marketing and advertising. It has the potential to grab the hearts and minds of people based solely on its emotional story. It is certainly one of the more disheartening stories of our world when we mix it with photos and stories of forgotten children.

But my kids are not so easily sold. They want to know "why" it seems that orphan care is one of the more important parts of our family life. We want them to understand that this caring is about extending the love of Jesus into a world full of injustice where kids do not have a voice to overcome their tragedy.

We need to be moved to the core of our being. This is tragic and disturbing even on the most superficial level. I want my kids to be moved by the plight of the orphan. I just want them to be motivated by something that will sustain a response fueled by the gospel. I want this motivation to make caring for orphans something that grows out of love for their Saviour rather than enjoyment in being labeled a "good" person who cares for those poor orphans.

Motivation Matters

It matters why you do the things that you do. Motivation in the Christian walk matters in answering questions about "why". It is easy to say, "wow, you did a great job helping at the orphanage today!". This may be true but in the end it has to be framed upon something that defines the actions in light of God's call.

The question is what is that motivation really about; what does it mean to care for orphans? Is it about bringing God glory? Is it about worship? Is it doing good works? Is it all about living out my faith? Is it really a complicated question? It is about all of these things. I just think that it helps to understand our broken world and appreciate our call to bring love and justice to the weak as an expression of our faith.

Love fueled by grace and justice fueled by love

My answer lies in understanding love fueled by grace and justice fueled by love. I am especially motivated by the idea that we are to bring justice to the broken world around us. This call to justice includes widows, the poor, the weak and the stranger. To me, the care of the orphan is critical because they have the least capacity to advocate for themselves. Who is going to be their voice? I have to believe that the children of God have been called to be that voice that cries out for justice, that hand that wipes away the tears and that heart that brings hope for hopeless.

Orphans should be the recipients of our call to bring justice to a broken world

These kids did not ask for the life that they were given. We can work to bring justice to that life by fully engaging our gift of grace and expressing it in an active and sacrificial love...a love that seeks justice to the broken world around us by caring passionately about orphans.

Orphans are a reflection of sin in this broken world. They are a byproduct of the broken family and a shattered image of what God created. Our response to this broken world is to bring justice or "to make right" the broken world around us while we await the coming of a King who will heal this fractured world. We must love them enough to make a difference in the lives they live for the sake of the gospel.

My kids may not fully understand this idea of biblical justice but they are beginning to understand that we have a job to do. That job is to get ready for the coming of our King who will make all things right again. We are to prepare the way before him by bringing justice to the broken world around us. I care for orphans because I believe that God has placed them in our hands.

He has asked us to care for them by loving them, feeding them, clothing them and keeping them safe. This is the call of the body of Christ to the fatherless. It is wrapped up within the greater call of bringing justice to the broken world around us which should serve as a sound motivation for why we care about orphans.

Micah 6:8

He has told you, O man, what is good
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice and to love kindness and
to walk humbly with your God.

Words of Wisdom

noreply@blogger.com (Bill Legere) — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 08:07:52 PST

"There is no such thing as the right place, the right job, the right calling or ministry. I can be happy or unhappy in all situations. I am sure of it, because I have been … deciding to do this, that, or the other for the next five, ten, or twenty years is no great decision. Turning fully, unconditionally, and without fear to God is. Yet this awareness sets me free."

- Henri J.M. Nouwen

a side trip to Rwanda is more than just a "side"...

noreply@blogger.com (Bill Legere) — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 01:31:14 PDT

Do you remember what happened in Rwanda in 1994?

What were you doing while 1 million people were slaughtered in 100 days with clubs, machetes and spears?

How do you train a militia to kill 1000 people every 20 minutes?

How do the Belgians decide that nose size and head circumference define a persons "ethnicity" into two newly defined groups called Hutus and Tutsi's...no, these were not tribal designations, they were Belgian definitions in the 50's and 60's.

How does "the church" decide to support an idea that one group of people is intellectually dominant to another?

How do you describe standing in an area where 250,000 people are buried in a mass grave?

How do forget that such rabid tragedy occurred during our time on earth and under our watch?

Do you know that it happened in Kosovo, Cambodia, Germany...?

Do you ever think about evil and turn your mind from it because you are overwhelmed?

Do you wonder what point there is in asking these questions?

I am very thankful that I had the opportunity to travel to Rwanda to visit the Kigali memorial center to remember and learn about the horrific genocide that occurred during my life time. I was a student at the time and finishing my undergraduate degree. I honestly do not remember much of anything regarding Rwanda at that time. As time has passed I have developed an interest in human rights and it has led me to read and understand.

When we decided to adopt from Uganda, it became clear to me that I needed to go to the memorial. I could not fully explain it. Teresa must have known because she supported me without question. I started studying the history and was drawn to that place. Maybe I was drawn because I could relate to the feeling of losing a loved one and knew the intensity of pain that this causes. Maybe I just wanted to see how people could overcome such tragedy of such a massive scale. I only knew that I could not be this close and not go.

When the time came that we knew that my window of opportunity was open then we began making arrangements. I was surprised that both Sarah and Dee asked to go with me. I struggled with the idea that this subject matter might be to heavy for them but we had talked a lot about the reality of this tragedy. Teresa and I decided to let them go while she stayed in Kampala with the little girls.

It was a trip worth remembering on many levels. I think I misjudged many things about traveling there but thankfully not about the actual memorial. I forgot to bring enough money with me to pay for our return entry visa back into Uganda. I brought a MasterCard to pay for the hotel and found out that in Rwanda they only use visa. I did not realize that ATT does not have any agreements with Rwandan telecoms companies so my phone did not work...ugghhh. Needless to say, there was a lot of mental distraction for me in trying to figure out all the pieces. In the end they were only distractions. It all worked out and we had an amazing trip.

The genocide of Rwanda was not a culmination of hundreds of years of tribal infighting. It was the culmination of rabid decision making by colonial powers of a people over decades. The idea that the two opposing groups were always tense is false. The two opposing groups were defined by the Europeans. The division was fueled by propaganda. The stench of power and the allure of success fed a terrible culture. A culture where some were superior and other inferior. At the apex of this culture sprung a killing spree of unheralded proportion. In many ways, this was an attempt to exterminate a people. A militia trained by the government army was prepared and skilled in killing 1000 people every twenty minutes...that is efficiency of a grotesque manner.

Rwanda is now a beautiful country. Peaceful, clean and well organized. The memorial site sits upon the mass graves of 250,000 people. The museum has a wing devoted specifically to the lives of children who were killed and list their cause of death... machete to the head, pierced by a spear, burned alive.

I hope that we have not forgotten. I think most of us have. I wish that everyone could think for a moment about the possibility that this could happen again. I do not want my children to forget. I invited our driver to eat lunch with us. He willingly talked about the genocide. Not in detail but he alluded to the role in plays in the lives of all Rwandans. In the end, he felt that the country was healing. He said there was no more division of Hutu and Tutsi but that they are all Rwandans.

I am glad that I went and took my daughters.

thanks for listening,
Bill

An open letter our church family at EABC on Orphan Sunday...

noreply@blogger.com (Bill Legere) — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 00:59:29 PDT

Greetings to our church family at EABC from Kampala, Uganda!

We are sad to miss the opportunity to worship with you today as we emphasize the importance of caring for orphans. We are blessed to be in Kampala as we finalize the adoption of Anita and Hannah, ages one and three. These children have already proven to be a blessing to us and we are thankful for this opportunity to bring them into our family.

If we had been home, we would have shared the passion that we have to care for orphans. I was pleased to see the recent article in the Sun Journal regarding adoption at EABC. It is great to see this shining example of the love of Jesus shared in our community.

I want to add some perspective to this article to our church body. Adoption is an amazing aspect of caring for orphans but we must not take our eye off the reality of the orphan crisis and the Biblical solution. I often tell people that adoption is amazing but it is not the solution to the global crisis impacting children. The solution to this crisis is the work of the body of Christ in bringing mercy, justice and compassion to the orphaned children of this world. The number of children with need far exceeds the number of children who will be blessed by adoption...we cannot forget those left in their native land.

This concept is based on God's ongoing call to his people to live righteously and to do justice. Throughout the old testament we are reminded that doing justice is an expression of living a righteous life . This righteous life is found in following the commands of God and the natural outflow of that life is a recognition that we are called to bring justice to those around us.

Jesus reminds us that those commands are prioritized in loving God and loving others as yourself. This simple extraction reminds us that we are the agents of change in the world around us. In ancient Israel, the prophets often chastised the Israelites for their oppression and neglect of the widow, orphan and sojourner. It was in times of turning away from God that his people began oppressing the weak and helpless.

We are God's people. These children are made in the image of the creator and deserve the justice that we are called to bring. We face a world that is full of children who never asked to be abandoned by their parents or society. They fall victim to neglect, oppression and are at risk of being trafficked into illicit slave labor and sex trade. This injustice brings pain and suffering to God's creation.

Adoption is a great act for many children but the need is much greater. Only a few may be able to adopt a child but every follower of Jesus should feel the need to bring justice to the world around us. I can think of no other element of society in greater need of a voice for justice than children who have been abandoned. We must not lose sight of why we care for orphans. It is more than another good cause...it is the call of a righteous God to his people that they should bring justice to the world around them!

Will the body of Christ rise up to bring them grace and hope? I can tell you that in traveling about Uganda there has been evidence that others want to bring orphans into their care. We witnessed several signs announcing an effort by Islamic groups to care for orphans. They call these sites the, "Islamic rehabilitation center for orphaned children". As a follower of Jesus are you comfortable with the Muslim raising the orphans of the world? What can you do this year to help bring the love of Jesus to orphans locally and globally? What did Jesus do for you?

Special edition of Banana count...

noreply@blogger.com (Bill Legere) — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 04:25:44 PDT

I wanted to post a picture of the lady that I buy banana's from. Her name is Joanne and she allowed me to photograph her this update. She is very sweet and kind to me. She gives me a fair price and makes sure that I have some bananas that are ripe now and a a second bunch that will be ready in a few days. Today, I had forgotten my bags so she went and found "the bag" guy and bought me a new one.

This market is quite large and there are probably 30 - 35 banana vendors. I have tried to be consistent with buying from the same people and it is fun to get to know them. I also shopped for other items today. I posted a picture below of my purchase for today. In addition to my bananas, I also purchased pineapple, tomatoes, peas and in the forefront is chapiati and mandezi bread...

My total tab for this morning trip was 18,000 Ugandan schillings...that is a whopping $8 US currency. It is so much cheaper to go to the outdoor market. There is also a "Shop Rite" supermarket down the street but there is much better quality and pricing where all the locals shop...I am not sure that I have seen any other white people there...hmmm

Today, I had an interesting visit. I took my camera for the first time. I try to be sensitive to photo opportunities. This is their home and work so I do not want to treat them like a side show. I took a few photos with the permission of the vendor or where you could not identify people directly. I was trying to take a photo of the meat market when a bunch of guys starting yelling...I thought I was in trouble!

Well, it turns out that what they wanted was to be in my picture. I spent 15 minutes with a bunch of Ugandan butchers talking about sports, America, my thoughts of Uganda, meat, soccer...it was very fun. One of the guys used my camera to take a few shots of us. They were some of the nicest guys I have met here. I thought for a moment that I had offended someone with my camera....thankfully not this time but

At some point I will have to eat at the markets food court. I just want to get to know what I am asking for a little more...There are a lot of pots with fish heads floating on the top and I hope to avoid that at this point. The local food is Matoke which is a plantain that is steamed before being topped with a sauce of either fish, beef or vegetable stew. I included a photo of the food court below!

That is it for today... the girls need the laptop for school. Thanks for listening! Bill

ps...added 38 bananas to the last count not including my two bundles today...

A day trip by Sarah Legere, age ten

noreply@blogger.com (Bill Legere) — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 00:52:18 PDT

OK I know I haven't written a blog in a while. Everyone I talk to asks, "why haven't you written in a while?". OK, I'm sorry. I am going to write one now.

Everything is good. You know how I said Hannah hates dad, well I'm so wrong about that. She now thinks he is her life. She is doing very well. Anita has learned to walk. She also screams when she gets mad. It hurts my eardrums.

Last week we went to this place and it had a massive swimming pool. It was actually Olympic size swimming pool. It was awesome and there were seats in the pool so you could eat or drink in it. They also had a farm there with horses. We were going to go riding but there were too many little kids with us so we were going to wait until maybe after we got our court date.

We went to Jinja and went trail riding there instead. First, we went to see the Nile. We saw people strapped into kayaks go down the Nile. There were also some people white water rafting and they went down a waterfall. It was cool. Then we went to the bathroom which is like Nigeria. If you don't believe me ask Emily Landry. They had doors and toilet paper, but it was just a hole in the ground.

Then we saw this guy who couldn't use one leg so he had a walking stick. He is so cool. We saw him climb up a stick and he was banging his chest. Then his chest muscles went up and down and he put both feet behind his neck and layed down. Really, I thought that was gross! It disgusted me and I told Linda "that's really gross." She agreed.

OK, enough about the weird guy. After that we went on our trail ride and it was so cool. I will post some of my pics of my horse names Brown Sugar. I was the best trotter. I bet I could gallop. Dad's horse was "Sid". I would name him "Sid the Sloth". Dee's horse was named Awinda or something like that. We walked past the Nile, past the villages and past the road. OK, something really creepy...my horse and the guide's horse almost got into a fight because he put the lead rope on my horse while he was teaching me how to trot.

I got it down pretty well but when the guide tried to take it off his horse Otto, was kicking my horse so it started to panic. My horse was a couple inches from the guide because he was standing up and than I said, "Do you want me to get down?" He said, "No, I have it all under control." I really don't think he had it under control. Anyway, on the trail ride we saw goats, ducks, cows, little boys and girls and people riding boda bodas (motorcycles).

Finally, we got back and took the horses in and played with their dog. Have you ever seen "Marmaduke"? If so, the dog I'm talking about was that big!!!! It was a fun day but we were all very tired.

Sarah Legere

"Is the orphan my neighbor" by Dr Russell Moore

noreply@blogger.com (Bill Legere) — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 04:40:25 PDT

Is the Orphan My Neighbor?

from Moore to the Point by Russell D. Moore

Posted originally at Q Ideas.

I will never forget seeing her pull the measuring tape out of her purse as she talked about the skull of her child.

The woman, standing in an airport in Russia with my wife and me, was, like us, an American. She, like us, was in the former Soviet Union to pursue adoption. But she was worried. She had heard “horror stories” about fetal alcohol syndrome and various other nightmares. She said that the measuring tape was for gauging the size of the craniums of her potential children, to “make sure there’s nothing wrong with them.”

The reason I think about this conversation so much these days is because I am finding—more and more often—that one of the primary obstacles for Christians in advocating for the fatherless can be summed up right there in that measuring tape: the issue of fear. As much as we might not want to admit it, many of us don’t think much about orphans because, frankly, we’re scared of them.

Orphans are unpredictable. Often we don’t know where they’ve come from, what kind of genetic maladies and urges lie dormant somewhere in those genes. Moreover, in virtually every situation of fatherlessness, there is some kind of tragedy: a divorce, a suicide, a rape, a drug overdose, a disease, a drought, a civil war, and on and on. We’d rather not think about such things, and we’re afraid often of what kind of lasting mark they leave on their victims.

Those of us who know Christ ought to recognize that fear is often a deterrent to justice, a deterrent that has been indicted, crucified, and buried in the triumph of Jesus. In Jesus’ story of the so-called “good Samaritan,” after all, Jesus presents us with a man who “fell among robbers” and was beaten, nearly to death (Lk. 10:30). With little commentary on why, Jesus tells us, simply, that two passers-by, both religious officials, moved on to the other side, to avoid the wounded man (Lk. 10:31-32).

While many have speculated that there might have been theological reasons behind their neglect (the fear of becoming ceremonially unclean from touching a corpse), the most compelling reason I’ve ever heard was from Martin Luther King, Jr., who wondered whether the passers-by were simply afraid.
After all, there were no streetlights on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho—the setting of this story. There was no police force. A man beaten by terrorists is a good signal that the evildoers are still about, perhaps hiding in the caves along the roadside, lying in wait for their next victim. Moving on along, quickly and quietly, probably just seemed like prudence.

But Jesus never was one for justification by prudence alone. He praised a Samaritan—a reviled outcast from the official religious structures—for the compassion he demonstrated toward this man. And the compassion Jesus commended—and commanded from us in imitation—wasn’t mere charity. The Samaritan didn’t simply help the beaten man; he gave him his own animal, set him up in an inn, and paid for all his expenses for his ongoing care (Lk. 10:34-35). Any Israelite hearing this account would have seen immediately what was going on. The Samaritan was treating the beaten man like family.
Right now, there is a crisis of fatherlessness all around the world. Chances are, in your community, the foster care system is bulging with children, moving from home to home to home, with no rootedness or permanence in sight.

Right now, as you read this, children are “aging out” of orphanages around the world. Many of them will spiral downward into the hopelessness of drug addiction, prostitution, or suicide. Children in the Third World are languishing in group-homes, because both parents have died from disease or have been slaughtered in war. The curse is afoot, and it leaves orphans in its wake.

Not every Christian is called to adopt or to foster children. And not every family is equipped to serve every possible scenario of special needs that come along with particular children. Orphan care isn’t easy. Families who care for the least of these must count the cost, and be willing to offer up whatever sacrifice is needed to carry through with their commitments to the children who enter into their lives.
But, while not all of us are called to adopt, the Christian Scriptures tell us that all of us are called to care “widows and orphans in their distress” (Jas. 1:27). All of us are to be conformed to the mission of our Father God, a mission that includes justice for the fatherless (Exod. 22:22; Deut. 10:18; Ps. 10:18; Prov. 23:10-11; Isa. 1:17; Jer. 7:6; Zech. 7:10). As we are conformed to the image of Christ, we share with him his welcoming of the oppressed, the abandoned, the marginalized; we recognize his face in the “least of these,” his little brother and sisters (Matt. 25:40).

The followers of Jesus should fill in the gap left by a contemporary Western consumer culture that extends even to the conception and adoption of children. Who better than those who have been welcomed by Christ to care for the most feared and least sought after of the world’s orphans? After all, who are we, as those who are the invited to Jesus’ wedding feast? We are “the poor and the crippled and the blind and the lame” (Lk. 14:21). Since that is the case, Jesus tells us, we are to model the same kind of risk-taking, unconditional love (Lk. 14:12), the kind that casts out fear.

Yes, orphan care can be risky. Justice for the fatherless will sap far more from us than just the time it takes to advocate. These kids need to be reared, to be taught, to be hugged, to be heard. Children who have been traumatized often need more than we ever expect to give. It is easier to ignore those cries. But love of any kind is risky.

The Gospel means it’s worth it to love, even to the point of shedding your own blood. After all, that’s what made a family for ex-orphans like us.

Posted originally at Q Ideas.

Check out Teresa's blog about our daughter Hannah!

noreply@blogger.com (Bill Legere) — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 02:18:42 PDT

Please check out Teresa's blog that she posted to today about our daughter Hannah!

Parenting with Grace

Tim Kellers new Book is coming soon! Check out the first chapter of "How God's grace makes us just"...a must read!

noreply@blogger.com (Bill Legere) — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 04:33:11 PDT

At the end of each of my emails, there is a verse that has great meaning to me. That verse is the most basic reminder to me of what I believe my life should entail. It is a profound reminder to me of the way that Jesus has asked me to live. It is a reminder that the whole of scripture points to a consistent theme and that we are called to live our lives in a manner that reflects that focus. That focus is on living within the gospel to the point that we reflect the gospel to the world around us. That reflection is seen in acts oflove, mercy, compassion and justice to the weak and needy of the world. A life that lives beyond self for the sake of others. A life that Jesus lived in his days as an example to us.

He has told you, O man, what is good;
        and what does the LORD require of you
    but to do justice, and to love kindness,
        and to walk humbly with your God?

Micah 6:8 is that verse. It reminds us to walk humbly. To DO justice. To LOVE kindness. Humility, justice, love and kindness are the focus of the law of God.

This focus has the opportunity to take broken people filled with the hope of Jesus and radically changing the landscape around us. The fabric of our cities, the state of our poor and the lives of our orphans and vulnerable children have the most hope in a people of God who follow this simple command. It is only in our weakness that we seek this humility with our walk. We then have the mindset that allows us to do justice in a manner that does not seek attention to ourselves. It is only then that we give love and kindness to others as a sacrifice to ourselves. It is only in the light of Jesus and his sacrifice that we can see the power of Micah 6:8.

There are two new resources to help us think about Micah 6:8. I have linked the title of this blog to a new book by Tim Keller. It focuses on this idea that we are called to DO justice. It is an action that we need to pursue. You can read the first chapter to get a sense of what this book is going to be like. I love this topic of Justice and how it applies to the life of the church...

I also was forwarded a nice article by my sister in-law, Barbara Jackson, from Charles Swindoll. I copied it below.

Keep It Simple
by Charles R. Swindoll

Micah 6:6-8

Micah isn't exactly a household word. Too bad. Though obscure, the ancient prophet had his stuff together. Eclipsed by the much more famous Isaiah, who ministered among the elite, Micah took God's message to the streets.

Micah had a deep suspicion of phony religion. He saw greed in the hearts of the leaders of the kingdom of Judah, which prompted him to warn the common folk not to be deceived by religious pretense among nobility. In true prophetic style, Micah comforted the afflicted and afflicted the comfortable. He condemned sin. He exposed performance-based piety. He championed the cause of the oppressed. He predicted the fall of the nation. And he did it all at the risk of his own life.

But Micah didn't just denounce and attack, leaving everyone aware of the things he despised but none of the things he believed. Like rays of brilliant sunlight piercing charcoal-colored clouds after a storm, the prophet saved his best words for a positive message to the people, and I am pleased to say that he did it with simplicity: "With what shall I come to the LORD and bow myself before the God on high? Shall I come to Him with burnt offerings, with yearling calves? Does the LORD take delight in thousands of rams, in ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I present my firstborn for my rebellious acts, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?" (Mic. 6:6-7).

Micah's words state exactly what many, to this day, wonder about pleasing God. Teachers and preachers have made it so sacrificial . . . so complicated . . . so extremely difficult. To them, God is virtually impossible to please. Therefore, religion has become a series of long, drawn-out, deeply painful acts designed to appease this peeved Deity in the sky who takes delight in watching us squirm.

Micah erases the things on the entire list, replacing the complicated possibilities with one of the finest definitions of simple faith: "He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" (Mic. 6:8).

God does not look for big-time, external displays. He does not require slick public performances.

What is required? Slow down and read the list aloud: to do justice . . . to love kindness . . . and to walk humbly with your God. Period.

Faith is not a long series of religious performances or a pile of pious things.
All God asks for is simple faith.

Banana Count update..

noreply@blogger.com (Bill Legere) — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 08:08:43 PDT

I found a very impressive banana website today! Please check out the chiquita.com. It is a very nice site with lots of good information. We continue on our ravenous consumption of banana's. I have established a nice relationship with one of the banana vendors at the market. I hope to get some photos of the market so that you can see the broad selection.

Our countdown has not slowed. Anita is like an banaholic who needs a banana in her hand within two minutes of awakening in the morning. It can be quite a sight if she does not get that banana in her hand. She has redefined the idea of "feed the beast"! We have settled into eating the larger bananas since they taste better and are more affordable. The smaller ones have a nicer texture and firmness but seem a little less sweet. The trick is keeping enough on hand...

So...the updated banana count is

Large bananas - 108

small bananas - 48

I have included some more nutrition facts and a few books that you might want to check out about the banana industry. I must preface this by saying that I have not been able to read these book myself yet. They are not readily available here in Uganda... It should also be noted that there is a very fun game called "bananagrams" that I am told is quite fun.

There is also a few nice recipes on the chiquita site noted above...don't miss out!

In my next banana update, I hope to talk more about the local banana/plantain recipe that is the staple of the Ugandan diet called Matoke.

the waiting game....

noreply@blogger.com (Bill Legere) — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 23:30:34 PDT

Today marks four weeks since we left home. In that time we have experienced a the joy of a rapid guardianship process as well as the frustration of another. We are in limbo at this point. Anita is done but Hannah is not started. I think that is the hardest part. We are in constant state of waiting for bits of news to give us some inclination of where Hannah's case is going. It is not that we do not have any information but rather that we get some information and plan followed shortly thereafter by a change in plan...uggghhh

On a more positive note...

We have enjoyed the opportunity to connect as a new family. What a difference three weeks makes. It is hard to believe that three weeks ago this past Tuesday we added a one year old and a three old to our family on the same day. We have spent that time living in an apartment in the middle of Kampala trying to make a day to day routine. It is amazing how some things have changed in that short period of time.

DEFINE the rules...

We had some great advice in our first adoption about how to make the initial transition to adding new children to your family. The advice centered on the idea that adopting will place the child in a state of chaos. The routines and structure of institutional life will be difficult to replicate and this will appear to be chaos to the child. There will be much uncertainty and the child will wonder where they fit in and what the rules are. The advice was simple and easy to translate into every day life. Focus on defining the rules of the family.

You have to LOVE them but not necesarily LIKE them...

One may argue that all you need is love but we have found that love includes discipline and guidance early on. It is hard work and makes for an exhausting first couple of weeks. The truth is that it gives the child a jump start on being part of the family. Her advice was valuable because there are times when you just want everyone to be happy and relaxed but the truth is that the child will only feel that when they are comfortable within the boundaries of the family. During this time there will be moments when you have to remember that you are called to love them but may not "like" them...it is ok...liking will come!

Love includes discipline....

This has been our focus for the first three weeks. Not a lot of travel. Not a lot of adventure but plenty of everyday life. Eating meals together. Getting nap time and bedtime routines down. Focusing on how we treat each other as a family. There can be quite a conflict between how that works in an institution and how that works in a family. There is discipline which is challenging when there is a language barrier but it is discipline focused on love. We have found that disapproving looks and time outs are universal. We have also found that temper tantrums come early and often but resolve quickly if handled well right in the beginning (especially with toddlers)!

IT is worth it to love a child...

So at this point, we are venturing out more. The idea of getting on a plane for 12 hours does not scare us a much. Nap time and bedtime routines are good and we are all getting rest. Meal time began with everyone eating on the floor with our fingers to the point that we all sit at the table and use silverware (except for Anita who is still using her fingers while she holds her fork in the other hand!). Most of Hannah's experience with meal time was on the floor at her orphanage with bowls and fingers...

So it is the waiting game for us. We are frustrated with the process but not the children. They are all doing well. We are grateful for the prayers and encouragement. It will be much easier when we have an actual date that we believe is firm. The hardest part is not knowing...

A few specific prayer request...

1- Pray for wisdom. Our return home airline tickets are for October 22. It is highly unlikely that we will be ready to fly home by then. The challenge is choosing another return date. It is cheap to change the tickets the first time but if we need to change them again then it is really expensive. Pray that we have the wisdom to know when that return date should be.

2- Pray for a date. There are many moving parts and right now we seem to be on the downside of everyone one them. We just need one thing to go our way to get this date confirmed. Pray for our lawyer, the registrar and the judge to be able to come together to get a date for Hannah.

3-Pray for peace. It is tricky to maintain day to day life. We are little "stir crazy". There is plenty to do and we are planning day trips but that all cost money that we are trying to ration since our dates are so uncertain. Home schooling is going well and that routine is helpful for day to day structure but there are only so many times that you can walk, watch videos and listen to music with a baby and a toddler!

Banana count...

noreply@blogger.com (Bill Legere) — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 22:43:04 PDT

Image via Wikipedia
We are going to share the official Legere family banana intake during our stay. The little girls love bananas and would eat them all day. They are very good and fresh here and available all over. I have to admit that I LOVE BANANAS so this is a wonderful thing. We decided to keep track of our the count to help amuse ourselves and you about our stay here. It is not all hard and we want to make sure that we are living in the moment. I tried finding a widget for my blog to keep track but was unsuccessful

At this point, through 2 1/2 weeks, we have consummed 48 standard bananas and 30 petite bananas a(as seen in the photo).*

*( This does not include today's consumption)

You can check out http://www.banana.com/ for more information or see the entry from wikipedia:

Here is the excerpt from Wikipedia:
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red. In popular culture and commerce, "banana" usually refers to soft, sweet "dessert" bananas. By contrast, Musa cultivars with firmer, starchier fruit are called plantains. Many varieties of bananas are perennial. Refer to the Musa article for a list of the varieties of bananas and plantains.
They are native to tropical Southeast Asia, and are likely to have been first domesticated in Papua New Guinea.^[1] Today, they are cultivated throughout the tropics.^[2] They are grown in at least 107 countries,^[3] primarily for their fruit, and to a lesser extent to make fiber and as ornamental plants.
Although fruit of wild species have large, hard seeds, virtually all culinary bananas are "seedless", have only tiny seeds^{[citation needed]}. Bananas are classified either as dessert bananas (meaning they are yellow and fully ripe when eaten) or as green cooking bananas.
Almost all export bananas are of the dessert types; however, only about 10–15% of production is for export. The United States and European Union are the dominant importers.^{[citation needed]}
Bananas are naturally slightly radioactive,^[4] more so than most other fruits, because of their high potassium content, and the small amounts of the isotope potassium-40 found in naturally occurring potassium. Proponents of nuclear power sometimes refer to the banana equivalent dose of radiation to support their arguments.^[5]^[6] Banana shipments often set off the radiation monitors installed at US ports to detect illegal shipments of radiologic materials.

Lamenting and hope are born of the same maker...

noreply@blogger.com (Bill Legere) — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 22:07:15 PDT

There is always a risk in writing a post about something that may imply that you disagree with people...I think this may be one of those posts. I suspect that it will not be offensive in any way but it may challenge the way you look at the idea of being sad and grieving on the path of our lives. We recently experienced a set back in our adoption and it was quite a sad moment. We were appreciative of the prayers and supports but it highlighted a common response to sadness that I wanted to write about.

I hope to better understand the concept of lamenting. The idea that when life does not go in a way that brings us joy that we lament and feel sadness and distress in that place. I have had the opportunity to think about this often in my life. Having been through the challenges of infertility, adoption and the loss of a child, I think that I have been able to experience sadness and distress in a very real way. I have chosen to not always put on a strong and able response and feel comfortable with the idea of lamenting.

Within those moments we have the opportunity to come to terms with grief and sadness in a spiritual manner. This is where I do not wish to offend anyone but rather encourage a different way of approaching your sadness or distress. I think that one of the most common responses to periods of sadness in my life has been to state a fact that is meant to ease the sadness. It seems like a good approach on a superficial level. Here is an example:

"I am sorry that this has happened but God is in control. He must have a better plan. God will see you through this. You have to trust him that this is his will. Rejoice in your suffering!"

There is truth in this statement that we cannot ignore. The problem is that many people know this as fact and appreciate this about God. The difficulty in our American culture is that we think that this should be such an accepted fact that it eliminates the emotional response that comes with the sadness.
I have found through the scriptures that God often places people in sad and distressed places and their response does not mimic what we typically see in the church today.

Their emotional response to sadness and distress exhibits the raw emotion and distress that uncertainty brings. This process of grieving in the place where you are is part of our response to God's power and control. It is in these moments of despair that we recognize God and his power. We enter into reconciliation with our relationship during this time...you may think that we do not need to reconcile with God but we are part of a broken relationship. We are separated by our sinful nature from a perfect and just God. Reconciliation to him is the journey that we are on when following Jesus.

I think that when we fail to lament and our "stock' answer is, "Oh, praise the Lord, this terrible thing must be God's will and I will praise him with all joy and happiness!" There is something missing with this response. There is a lack of appreciation of our great divide with our creator. Our constant desire is to demonstrate conquest in the events of life and make ourselves the center of that event.

I am afraid that when we say "praise God for my calamity" and put a smile on our face that we are trying to demonstrate our ability to have a faithful response. Are we pointing the event back to our response? In that moment, are we responding to the place that God has placed us in or are we responding in the way that demonstrates how well "we" respond?

When I look at the great stories of the bible, I see people that were sad and were not afraid to say so. Look at Job, King David, Solomon ...how about Jesus, himself, who said, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?". This was not a response of "praise God!, bring on the nails, the scourging, the cross!". He ultimately did those things but he had his moment to lament in the place that he was.

This is the place where Chris Rice and Emmanuel Katongole write in their book, Reconciling all things;"learning to lament is nothing less than entering a way of dying to self that is at the very heart of the journey of reconciliation." They then goes on to add, "Lamentation gives birth to a more radical vision of hope."

This is my point. We should all be prepared to lament. To be sad and distressed. We should then learn that those moments are an opportunity to recognize who we are in the presence of God and our hope will grow in proper fashion. Don't rush to quickly. Don't just hit the "easy" button and say, "Oh, it is ok...Praise Jesus for my suffering..." We do praise him in our response only if that response is true, sincere and honest. We live in a plastic society that has acceptable responses and Christianity lives a lie in many regards. We need honesty and truth in our lives.

The market always makes me feel better!

noreply@blogger.com (Bill Legere) — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 00:09:31 PDT

We woke up to a beautiful morning here in Uganda. The sun was bright and the breeze was cool. It was a refreshing way to start the day. We have started getting into a routine here with day to day life. The girls have started homeschooling. We have figured out the best way to shop between the market and the shopping market. The non-automatic washing machine is starting to make sense and I kind of like it.

I had the chance to walk to the open market yesterday. That has to be one of my favorite activities to do when I am overseas. I love walking around and looking at what the merchants have to offer. This market is quite large and has several "specialty areas" like "fresh" fish, butchers, electronics, shoes, clothes, fruits and vegetables and my personal favorite, poultry!

I tend to just wander around and look at things. I love to try new things and yesterday I had a fried bread made out of ground maize. It was like corn bread but more moist. I think that it is called Mendozi. I also tried a fried bread pocket with seasoned soy beans inside. It was quite good.

I bought a ton of fruit and vegetables and spent $10...seriously, I had my back pack full and weighed close to 40 pounds...ten bucks. Amazing. I bought fresh pineapple, papaya, watermelon, green beans, fresh beans, potatoes, tomatoes, onion, hot peppers and of course, bananas.

It was a hot day but it was a worthwhile trip. It is much cheaper and funner to shop there rather than shopping at a South African store that resembles walmart.

Today, we are well stocked with food. We have a menu plan for the next week. A plan to do some fun activities and a family date at a very good local Italian restaurant called Cafe Roma. We ate there the other night and it was fabulous. The food was great. We got to meet the owners and talk to them for quite a while. The best part was that when you arrive they have "Nannies" to take the kids to a playground while you wait for your meal...how fun!

We also hope to hear something soon about Hannah's court date. There should be some idea of the process this week. It will be good to have a date although we are learning that this does not mean much. I have another post to share about my feelings about the idea of lamenting... feeling sadness, frustration and distress at that particular place of your life. I have some thoughts about our American culture and how we waste an opportunity to be sad and lament in our situations in a spiritual manner...more to come.

What an eventful day!

noreply@blogger.com (Bill Legere) — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 10:28:47 PDT

What a day!

Not only did we have the eventful family day, shared in my previous post, but we also had an eventful day for the Foundation for Hope and Grace!

While we are here in Uganda, my good friend, Jason Landry is leading a Hope and Grace team to Guayaquil, Ecuador to work on our partnership program with Foundation Restoration in Mapisinge. This team will continue construction on a school that supports 100 kids and whose proceeds are funding an afterschool program for vulnerable children in this poor area. It has been an amazing project on so many fronts. This is our fourth visit there as a foundation and our second team! These are exciting times...

This team has many purposes. They will do construction, provide a children's program to the afterschool kids and give a medical clinic. They will be there 10 days and hopefully be able to share through this blog and facebook.

Please keep them in your prayers. They arrive tonight at approximately 8pm. I am excited to see what they have in front of them!

take care,

Bill

Not for the faint of heart....

noreply@blogger.com (Bill Legere) — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 04:49:12 PDT

Let me prefice this post by saying that I do not intend to scare you away from adoption or meeting the needs of the orphan. I only post this is a continuation of my intention to be someone who expresses honesty in my journey. Today had moments that tested my emotions but I believe they are situations that all adoptive parents and those who care for children need to be prepared to think through.

Not for the faint of heart....

Today has been a tough day. In the end, it seems like it will all be good but the process of getting through it has had its emotional "ups" and "downs". Today was a busy day in many ways. As Teresa has written at Parenting with Grace, our court date was delayed until today at 2pm. That was a minor change of schedule and its impact was limited. Hannah's court date is not until October 1st so we have time to get Anita's stuff lined up.

The other big event of the week was having the girls undergo physical exams for their US visa applications. We had our initial screening on Monday at which point both girls received a standard Tuberculosis skin test. It is a test that I get on a regular basis as a healthcare worker to screen for TB. The next morning, it was quite clear that Anita's test was reactive or positive. I have only seen one previous positive test of this nature in my medical career. Needless to say, it was concerning.

I did some research about what the implications would be if Anita has TB. The first step is to do a chest x-ray. If the chest x-ray demonstrates evidence of Tb then she would require six months of treatment here before being allowed into the US! That was a pretty sobering thought. We tried to rationalize that at least she would get the treatment she needed for this terrible disease. In truth, we also felt the weight of what staying for another six months would mean.

We reported for our TB skin test reading and they agreed that it was positive. We were sent to another facility to have a chest x-ray. We waited for several hours there before getting the films done and radiologist report written. I checked the films and they seemed fine to me. No evidence of an obvious abnormality.

We returned to the clinic to see the physician and undergo the actual physical. Our concern was completely in Anita and the TB issue. We had found no concerns with Hannah other than a sore on her scalp that I was going to treat with antibiotics if it did not improve soon. As we sat down with the clinic doctor he reviewed Anita's file and we looked at the chest x-ray. It was negative by reading as well so we felt a great sense of relief!

Unfortunately, that relief was short lived. Within minutes of clearing Anita and not finding any concerns we started the process of reviewing Hannah's file. He noted that she had a "positive seroconversion". He asked us if we knew that she had HIV? We had been told that she was negative but after reviewing her chart there was no documentation of this. She certainly seemed to have had a positive test and several very serious illnesses early in life.

Let me first say, We had decided years ago that we would take a child regardless of their HIV status. What caught us off guard was that we thought we would know beforehand. This moment of concern was not about us not taking her but with the reality of what this meant for this little girl who had already had such a rough start to life.

We decided to retest her here. The rapid test required by the UN is the same that we use at home. I knew that if it were negative then there was a high likelihood that she was negative. We did the blood test and were told that it would take "1-2 minutes". Well, that was the most stressful 30 minutes that I have experienced in a long time. When he finally came to report the results we were pleased to hear that it was negative as well. There will be a confirmatory test but my experience is that when rapid is negative then it is very good news.

We thought that was it for emotional roller coasters but then we got a text that our court time was changed to 4pm. We initially did not know if this was good or bad. We went into the day expecting the ruling to get moved again. We decided that we had time to head back to the apartment so the little girls could take naps. I checked my email and found more information regarding our court time. It included a statement that our case had been granted.

In reading it now, I can see that this was a message confirming that Anita had been granted a permanent guardian under our care. At the time, I was not sure that it was really true. I read it and re-read it. I had Teresa give her opinion. It was not until a hour ago that our attorney called and confirmed that the case had been decided and that we were granted guardianship of Anita Hope and we do not have to go back to court!

Wow, what a day. The emotions of the day included preparing to deal with a six month extension with a one year who had TB to possibly having a child with HIV to thinking that our court date was postponed again!

In the end, A negative TB chest x-ray, a negative HIV test and a positive court ruling....not too bad.

Check out day to day life during our adoption at "Parenting with Grace"

noreply@blogger.com (Bill Legere) — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 03:40:00 PDT

Teresa is doing a great job documenting our day to day life in Uganda while we adopt two little girls. Check out her blog by clicking above!

Reflecting the kingdom of God in the here and now...

noreply@blogger.com (Bill Legere) — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 04:48:36 PDT

There have been so many times that I wanted to sit down and write in the last week. It has been an amazing journey and there is so much worth sharing. Every time that I sat down to take the time to write, there were beautiful, brown eyes looking up at me and the computer had to take a backseat!

We have settled into a little bit of a routine here. The reality of being here for several months is no longer unsettling. We have been in Africa for almost two weeks now. It is hard to believe how quickly the time has passed. It is amazing how much we have changed as a family during that time.

Teresa has done a nice job of describing the day to day events at her blog so I wanted to give a little insight into the big picture of what issues we are facing.

We are adopting two little girls. Two little black girls into a white family. Our family is white but from different continents. We still identify closely with Sarah and Dee's Romanian heritage. There are many challenges that we will face. I am sure that we will handle some well and others will require some "recovery" work.

One of the challenges that we have talked about is bringing the same level of commitment to all of our daughters. Our household will be very diverse. Two daughters who are Hungarian and Roma descent and two daughters who are African. Even within these divisions, we have one daughter who is western Ugandan black and another who is from Kampala and a lighter brown. We are very different from every angle.

We do not pretend that valuing diversity will be easy but it is very important to us as parents. One of the ways that we hope to live this out is to express our belief that our household will reflect the kingdom of God. We believe that all people are created in God's image. That includes all color and nationalities. They have equal value in this creation. This belief is a core value for my personal world view. All men and women are created in God's image therefor all deserve the same level of respect and love...who am I to judge their worth in this created world?

The world around us will never fully appreciate the importance of each of my children like God does. I now live with children born as orphans from African and Roma decent. These are two of the most neglected and despised people groups in our modern day.

I am happy to call them my daughters and I am happy to know that they will have my unconditional love. I hope that others can stop making judgments about people and focus on the simple call of the gospel. Love God with all of your heart and love others as yourself. That is all that we are doing. We are aware of our own inadequacy and our dependence upon a loving and merciful God. In reaction to this reality, we have chosen to take a chance with our family. A chance to reflect this kingdom of God in the here and now.

I had an interesting interaction yesterday. We took our first trip out of the apartment complex. We walked down Lugogo-bypass road to a mall to eat at a local fast food restaurant. Needless to say, we look a little out of place...On the way back, we pass an area where there is a garage and place where people wash their cars. As we passed, one of the workers said, "Thank you for taking care of African children.". I stopped and talked with him for awhile and said, "They are not just African children. They are God's children. Every continent has children that need us." He smiled and winked.

In the coming weeks, we will share about living out this dramatic change in our lives but in the beginning I needed to take the time to remind myself of the foundations that will make our change bearable.

thanks for joining me in the journey,

Bill

Update written on Tuesday of this week by guest blogger Sarah Legere - age ten

noreply@blogger.com (Bill Legere) — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 08:40:30 PDT

Anita

Today we went to court and it was very long. The good part was that we got to bring Anita home after and in a couple of hours we will get to meet Hannah.   Anita and mom are cuddle bugs. I would like to tell you a little bit about her.

1- She never cries unless she has teeth coming in or she needs a diaper changed.

2-If you make her laugh while she is drinking then when she finishes she will laugh at you.

3-If she is cranky then you give her a cracker then she will chill. It is that easy.

4-She likes anything but mostly she likes water. Water is like a treat to her because she only gets it...you know, I don't know what she usually gets so I will have to ask my parents.

She has done a miracle. We have done a miracle. Anyone who reads this has done a miracle. You know what that is? That is courage. Courage always helps. God gave me courage so that I would stop feeling like I would pass out on Sunday ( really, I almost passed out in church on Sunday).

I would like to share with you what court was like. I hope it answers your questions. There were two cases. Ours and one for a baby named Catherine who is now called Batina, which means "God's promise".   The court person is called "Lord" wrote everything down. We were on our own case for one hour.

Hannah

Now, I have met my other sister, Hannah. She does not speak any English. She only says, "fine". She is quiet but has a beautiful smile. By the way, she is heavy and is a little up above my waist.   It was not smooth. Hannah seemed to like us at first. When the nun, sister Christine, was here she was fine. When the nun left she began screaming and tried to bite. And then she was calm and wanted to eat but from all that screaming...air comes in and food comes up. It was a mess.

Sarah Legere

Check out Teresa's update on Hannah today at "parenting with grace"

noreply@blogger.com (Bill Legere) — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 11:13:42 PDT

I hope that you take a minute to check out Teresa's blog! Click on the title above to redirect you there. We are taking turns blogging depending on who has the time and energy to do it.

Today was a good day overall. Teresa is still down and out with a nasty head and chest cold. Anita has it as well but responds nicely to Ibuprofen and Benadryl. We had no appointments today. Very laid back day at the apartment. Sarah, Dee and I walked down Lugogo bypass road to the Logogo mall to get groceries at Shop Rite. If you go to google maps you can see where we are staying!

Map of our apartment complex!

The big highlights of the day...

1-lunch date with Dee and Sarah at Mr. Tasty's!

2-Hannah and Anita's first exposure to a pool.
3-No traveling at all!

The best news of the day was the news of a possible court date for October 1st... please pray that we can get this confirmed as soon as possible. It is not ideal but it is better that mid-December which was and is a real possibility...we should get some confirmation tomorrow.

Good night to all,

thanks for listening,

Bill

ps...always up for a questions about what is going on..