Pure & Lasting

Our heart’s desires.

Jenn — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 06:26:10 +0000

Over the past few weeks, I’ve started to write many blog posts in my head. The ideas start and then life interrupts. Tonight, I am sitting down to begin to make sense of it all. Our life now. Our new life with a teenage boy.
Recently, we were interviewed by our local news station about our Ethiopian adoption and Alain. At one point, I said to the reporter, “What exactly is it that you want to know about us? I know we are different, but what are you interested in?” Towards the end of the interview she says, “So you were newlyweds when you decided to adopt from Ethiopia and now you have a teenager from Rwanda living with you and you don’t think that is interesting?” I laughed. I know we have chosen a different path for our lives than most people, but for Chris and I, it is feels natural. This is exactly where we want to be.
Psalms 37:4 says, “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires.” New Living Translation. I love it. “He will give you your heart’s desires.” I once heard it explained that God will put HIS desires in your heart. In the beginning of our adoption journey, we prayed that God would break our hearts for what breaks His. Being a Christian is not about God giving you what you want. It is asking Him how you can be a part of what He wants. The different is huge. When He answers that prayer and you follow where He leads, no matter how far out of your comfort zone or how challenging the task, you can be content because His desires ARE your desires. I want to be homeschooling. I want to be cooking dinner. I want to be answering “Why?” for the hundredth time each day. I chose this life. It is my joy to be living it each day.
I’m not saying it is perfect. We don’t live in an alternate reality. When I was trying to teach Alain how to add and subtract positive and negative numbers for the fourth day in a row, I would be lying to say I wasn’t frustrated. It is real life. But it is so good. Somehow, I have never been happier. For us, the trying moments have been few and far between. Not because Alain’s past is perfect or because we are perfect, but because we are called and committed and he is determined and resilient. And smart. The boy is so smart. His test grades have been in the 90′s with one 89 and a 100 on his first algebra test. Every day I get to tell this sweet boy that he is loved and we are so proud of him.
I go to bed each night praying that I did everything I could for him. There are big things ahead for Alain. We have such a huge responsibility, not only to nourish his body and teach his mind, but to model a loving marriage, encourage compassion, and guide with discipline. We want to teach him to be a man and someday a husband and a father. To stop the cycle. To be a part of giving him a hope and a future.
It is work. It is a commitment. But not once has it felt like a sacrifice. I am blessed to be a small part of the story God is writing in Alain’s life. If you knew me, you would realize that there is nothing special about me. We are regular people, just crazy enough to go, to do, to love where God put our heart’s desires.
-Jenn

Seriously! This is my life. LOVE.

This one, I can’t believe I am posting. Whenever Alain is looking a bit lost, I catch his eye and make this ridiculous face. He has started to make it back at me. We both laugh. I had no idea just how ridiculous it was until I saw this photo. Sometimes, love isn’t a big enough word for what I feel for him. Maybe this is what being a mom feels like :) By the way my shirt and Alain’s shirt are from Live to Love Apparel.

fifteen months waiting

Jenn — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 00:12:33 +0000

Today, we have officially been waiting 15 months to see our Ethiopian daughter’s sweet face. This month, like none other, I am sure that God’s timing is perfect. If our adoption had gone they way I would have planned it, Alain would not be here with us now. Oh, the things we would miss out on if we had not listened. We are so blessed. I would not have it any other way. There is a basketball game going on in my driveway right now, so I’ll have to talk more about that later. We love you princess!
-Jenn

Rwanda & Alain {Part 7}

Jenn — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 15:41:43 +0000

After spending time in Gisenyi and at Noel Orphanage with Alain’s friends, we returned to Kigali. On our first trip, we met the sweet, talented and beautiful Jane. She was our group’s guide. She so graciously offered to let us stay at her home for a few days. I was so excited to be staying in a home and not a hotel. We were treated to several days of home-cooked meals, clean beds and baths/showers Rwandan style. Jane and her husband, Peter, have 4 children and one more on the way. Peter is a local pastor. They have such a sweet family. Alain enjoyed many hours of playing soccer and giving dance lessons to their children.
We also spent a day with our attorney, Norbert, and his family. Norbert was such a big part of Alain’s story. He helped Alain get his passport and made sure that all of his paperwork was in order before going to the Embassy. We will be forever grateful for his help. You can read Norbert’s story in his own words on Noonday’s blog. Click here.
Rwanda is a beautiful country. When asked about it a few days ago, Chris and I described it as paradise. Green and lush. Mountains all around and flowers everywhere. It is also a broken country. The horrors that this country has seen are beyond nightmares. In 1994, over 800,000 Rwandans were killed in 100 days. Since the genocide, the country has been rebuilding and healing, but the scars are still there. It is easier to turn our heads and look away. That is what the UN did while the genocide was happening. But it is so important that we know, that we stand up and fight, speak for the voiceless and give justice. If you haven’t seen the movie, Hotel Rwanda, I would recommend watching it. In a crazy full circle kind of way, I have owned the movie Hotel Rwanda (and I own fewer than 5 movies) for years. Even before Chris and I met, I was falling in love with this country, with the people and now, with a beautiful boy, who is just walking into the kitchen for me to make him breakfast.
-Jenn

Peter, Chris, me and Jane.Isn’t she the cutest?!My sweet boys. :)Nobert and his family. Chris, Norbert, me and Florence. This is me with Grace, the girl that we are sponsoring (with my friend Wynne and her husband) to go to sewing school in Rwanda. It was amazing to get to meet her. We has so much going on while we were there that the meeting was brief, but I am so happy to know that she knows who we are and that she is loved. She will learn to sew and become one of Noonday’s Artisans (if you don’t know about Noonday, you should, click here). If you want to help orphans, the best place to start is to prevent children from ever becoming orphans. Sponsor, sponsor, sponsor!!! To read more about her school, click here.

Rwanda & Alain {Part 6}

Jenn — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:16:27 +0000

The next couple of days from our trip, I have limited photos. I was trying to live my time there, not photograph it :) We spent a day with the adorable, Tara, her boy, Inn, and her mom, who arrived the day before. It was wonderful. Shopping, swimming for the boys, talking and lots of walking. Tara is currently living at Noel Orphanage. She was such a big part of Alain’s story, our lifeline to Rwanda. I absolutely love this girl and we were so blessed to get to spend time with her. She has much in the works for the near future and I can’t wait to see what God has planned for her. You should totally check out her blog, she is hilarious (www.tarajill.blogspot.com).
-Jenn

Alain’s first time swimming in a pool. Chris and I wanted to let him swim a couple of days before, but he didn’t have swim trunks and we didn’t think that underwear would fly at the fancy hotel :) A quick trip to the market and the problem was solved. He LOVED it. The summer in SA is gonna be good!!The audience :) Tara’s mom, Kerry, the super awesome Clever, Tara and Chris. A quick photo before Alain left Noel forever. :) Alain with Madame director, she is in charge of Noel. These rest of these images were taken from the car on our drive back to Kigali. Rwanda is so beautiful.

Rwanda & Alain {Part 5}

Jenn — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:17:32 +0000

The following day, Chris, Alain and I headed to Noel. It was the first time we had been there without a big team. When we arrived, the children were spread out all over the orphanage, but it didn’t take long for the news to spread that we were there. Soon, we had our little posse back. I really enjoyed having a day there with no time restraints. Plenty of time to just hang out and be with the children.
I wish I could take every one of you with me to Noel. It is impossible to describe with words. There are hundreds of children, like Alain, living at Noel. Many of them do not remember living anywhere else. They have never had someone to run to them when they fall. Hundreds of hearts needing love, hundreds of hands wanting to be held, hundreds of feet wanting to be chased after. Since Alain has been home with us, I have noticed scars on his arms and legs. Nothing major, but there are so many. All I can think is that each of those represents a time when he needed someone to comfort him, to bandage him up and tell him that he is loved. I wonder how often that happened in his life.
While it may not God’s plan for every family to adopt, we can all do something. Taking care of orphans, widows, the poor is not a Biblical suggestion, it is a command. Adoption should be a last resort for children who cannot be care for by their families. If you want to get involved in orphan care, the best place to start (in my opinion) is sponsorship. Through sponsorship, you not only help a child, but a family and that trickles out into a community. You keep a family together and give them hope. Our friends Doug and Cristie Martine are partnering with Children’s Hope Chest to find sponsors for children in a specific area of Ethiopia. In Cristie’s words, “We have the joy of speaking up on behalf of 300 children in Warancha who are looking for the Hope of a sponsor family who can provide them the opportunity for an education, medical care, dental care, two meals a day, and discipleship. We have had the first 150 children’s profiles completed and are now working to get each of these children sponsored through a family who is ready to sacrifice $34/month ($1/day) for them.” If you are interested in becoming a child sponsor, click here or contact me and I will get you in contact with Cristie. .
-Jenn

We brought along a game of ring toss. It was so fun to watch the children’s faces light up. (Left) The boys playing on the new basketball court. Alain is known around Noel as “Kobe.” I love it!!!
(Right) Alain and Clever. We LOVE Clever. Translator and teacher. He grew up at Noel and now works there. One of my favorite littles, John Claude.Showing off my new hairdo with my stylists!!!“Keep your toes behind the line…”(Left) Probably my favorite picture of my sweet husband to date.
(Right) Alain and his good friend Andrew. Me and Tar’s Inn. Dreaming of his future. God has some big plans for this boy. Ahh!!! Missing these boys!!!Sweet Oliver. Emmanuel. Alain and the boys wanted a photos of them eating?!?! This is their lunchroom. This was Alain’s bed, when he had one. He shared it with another boy. Justen, Chris and PascalAnd then…I found my Clementine!!! Oh the joy!!! My sweet baby girl. She is bigger and just as cute as before. Justen!!!Me and Kazuba!!! Love this beautiful girl. Clever, Alain and Chris. Me and the boys.

Happy 3rd Anniversary To Us!

Jenn — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:30:47 +0000

Three years ago today, I married the love of my life. In the last three years, we have traveled all over the world, grown our small businesses, made our house a home, loved on children in Africa, and heard God calling us to more, all while falling more in love with each other. Chris is truly my partner and my friend. When I stop to think about this life we are living, I am overwhelmed with just how blessed I am. I have a feeling it is only going to get better.
-Jenn

In New Orleans with my Mom for her cancer treatment. She is our miracle. Love you Momma!!!With our furbabies. London. Paris. Austria. Venice. Florence. Corfu, Greece. In Austin for our 2nd Anniversary.My 30th Birthday.Noel Orphanage, Rwanda.Chris’ 30th Birthday.Our family. And one more on the way!!!!

Rwanda & Alain {Part 4}

Jenn — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:30:44 +0000

The Visiting Orphans team was only at Noel for two days, so the next day we were on our own. It had been a busy couple of days with little time for us to just be together. We decided to spend the entire day just the three of us. In the morning, we played Jenga and games on the iPad, ate breakfast at the hotel, all while listening to Justin Bieber. Yes, lots and lots of Justin Bieber. Alain is obsessed and now we know all the words! Then our tour guide (aka Alain), took us on a walk to Lake Kivu. We had lunch at another hotel. After lunch, Alain swam in the lake. It was an amazing day.
Before we arrived in Rwanda, we were not sure how well we would be able to communicate with Alain. On our first trip, we didn’t actually talk to him much. Crazy, I know. Although he has a lot of English to learn, we had no problem communicating. There were some dramatic hand motions. Sometimes I was sure that he thought I was absolutely insane. We have been home for over two weeks and every day he learns something new. He is constantly surprising us. It is a crazy good life.
-Jenn

Photo by Wynne Elder on their last night in Rwanda. Teaching Alain Cut the Rope on the iPad. The beautiful walk to Lake Kivu. Rwanda is quite a modern country. The main roads are all perfectly paved. Getting a photo of him swimming proved to be difficult. He is there, on the deck with the basketball. Jenga was a hit. A great way to interact without much vocabulary and lots of laughs when it all came crashing down.

Rwanda & Alain {Part 3}

Jenn — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 00:46:03 +0000

The following day we hitched a ride with the Visiting Orphans group and returned to Noel to hang out with the children. I am so glad that we decided to spend some time at Noel, to give Alain a chance to be with his friends again and for us to reconnect with the children from our first trip. Emotionally, it was difficult. Many of the children remembered us and knew that we would be taking Alain with us. They seemed to understand that would could not take them all, but that did not stop several of them from asking us to. It is heartbreaking. I believe that every child deserves a family, someone to give them personal attention. For many of these children, that will never happen.
At this time, the Rwandan government is working to “reunify” the children of Noel with any living family members that they may have. You can read Tara’s post about the reunification here. There is another article about the reunification here. In a nutshell (in my opinion), they are trying to make it appear as though Rwanda has fewer orphans by manipulating family members who either do not want these children or absolutely cannot care for these children to take them out of Noel so that they can use the Noel Orphanage grounds for other purposes. Not cool, not cool at all. Say some big prayers for our friends at Noel. No child should be traded for a cow. Seriously infuriates me. Children being pawns in politics is absolutely crazy. I could go on and on. We are blessed to have one, here with us and safe, but there are so many others. It seems like there is nothing that can be done to stop it. Tara is working on opportunities for the older children so that they will have job skills to support themselves when they are no longer allowed to live at Noel. I will keep you updated on how you can help :)
-JennOn the right, Wynne’s sister, Rachel. Chris’ buddy Immanuel. Alain with his friend, Gato (on the left) and Pascal (on the right).My sweet Mohoza and I making crazy faces at the little one to make her giggle. I love this photo!!Innocent and Alain on the drums. They are really good. Video to come :) Tara and her boy, Inn. Love this girl. Oh my goodness!!! Could he be any cuter?! I think not. Wynne, with her boys and my boy. My girls, Evone and Mohoza, in their new dresses that I brought for them. Kazuba.

Rwanda & Alain {Part 2}

Jenn — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 17:16:02 +0000

I really am trying to blog all of the photos and stories before I forget them!! After two full days of airplane travel and one night’s stay in Kigali, we headed to Noel Orphanage. Alain had not been to the orphanage in a couple of months. He had been staying with family in Kigali so that he was close to our attorney and to all of the government agencies to get a passport, ID, and eventually a visa. I didn’t know what to expect when we returned to Noel. How would Alain react? How would the other children react to him and to us? How would I feel being there again? I was excited to see some of my friends from the first trip.
The rest of the day was spent playing, holding children’s hands and wondering where in the world is Alain. He ran off to be with his friends, play basketball and reconnect. It was good for him to see them and for them to see him so happy. I was worried that the other children would not welcome him knowing that he was leaving. But they did, with open arms. His joy was their joy. Such beautiful children with hearts so big to love their friend in such a selfless way. It was a good day. Here are some photos from our first day back at Noel.
-Jenn

Alain with a group of his friends soon after we arrived. WYNNE!Alain and Innocent, he is Tara boy. Hoping and praying that there will be more of his story soon. I was so excited to see my girls again. Evone and Muhosa. Katherine was on our first trip to Rwanda/Ethiopia. It was amazing to see her again. I loved the timing of our trip. Perfect!Painting toenails :)I LOVE this photo. We were both so happy. I love this girl, truly a friend of my heart. We were even wearing the same cardigan :) Too funny!Chris and Emmanuel, reunited. (on the left) Tara and Innocent. (on the right)My Africa girls. Jane, our guide, me, Wynne and Tara. Giving Immanuel his new shoes.

Rwanda & Alain {Part 1}

Jenn — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 03:37:35 +0000

We’re home and busy, busy, busy, but doing great!! I am a bit overwhelmed with all we need to do to get Alain set up for school and life in the US, but I want to write down the stories from our trip before I forget. First there will be a few posts about the day to day goings on. I’m expecting a few about the emotions, motivations and changes in our life to surface a little later :)
It is my intention to honestly document our journey. It is a beautiful journey, but it is and will be hard work. It is not a fairy tale. It would be irresponsible for me to give you the idea that it is. We are blessed beyond measure to be a part of Alain’s life, but not only because it is fun and exciting, but because we are a part of the work (work!) God is doing in his life. We get a front row seat to watch God’s plan for his life and for ours unfold. To go into an adoption or a whatever-it-is-that-you-call-what-we-are-doing with unrealistic expectations is not fair to the child who is involved in the situation. The adults in the situation have to be in it for the long haul. To love through the healing of broken hearts and stay when the new wears off. If there is one thing I have learned through Maya’s adoption process and Alain’s visa process, it is that this stuff is complicated. Worth it, so very worth it, but complicated. I’m sure there will be more about this later :)
On December 28th, Chris and I boarded our first plane on our way to Rwanda. Throughout the many hours of traveling, we had conversations about how we were feeling. At 30 years old, both owners of businesses, we pretty much do what we want, when we want to. Adding a 16 year old child who would need quite a bit of attention, teaching, directing and loving was beyond our imagination. Literally, we did not know what to expect at all. We wondered if we had any earthy idea what we had gotten ourselves into. Was Alain as sweet and smart as we remembered him to be? Would we be able to communicate with him at all? Could we actually do what we said we were going to do? How the heck did this even happen? I know I was there throughout the whole process. I filled out the forms, paid the fees and said the prayers, but oh my goodness, it actually happened! I was excited and scared to death, but some how unusually calm most of the way to Rwanda.
While waiting on our last flight, we were told that it had been delayed…for 6 hours. That was when I almost lost it. I knew Alain would be waiting with our attorney at the airport and we would have a difficult time getting a hold of them. But when you are in Africa, just wait a bit and everything changes. Somehow they found another plane and had us on our way with a 2 hour delay. We get off the plane in Rwanda, go to collect our bags and find that the bag with all of Alain’s we clothes is missing. We wait and wait and still nothing. All this time we know that he is waiting just on the other side of the doors to greet us. Finally we gave up, report the bag missing and head out of the terminal. A few steps into the room and there he is, bounding towards me arms wide open, he hugs my neck saying “Thank you, thank you, thank you.” and doesn’t let go. It was a great moment and a picture that I will have in my mind forever :) He was just as beautiful and sweet as I remembered. He was so excited to see us!!
After the big greeting, he returned to his somewhat reserved self. We discussed our plans with our attorney and driver and decided it was best not to drive 3 hours after dark. We would wait until the next morning to leave and hope to collect our missing bag before we left. It worked out perfectly, we got a good nights rest, collected bag easily at the airport the next morning and we off to the orphanage. We wanted to give Alain a chance to say goodbye to all of his friends and my friend Wynne was at Noel with a Visiting Orphans team. Such perfectly great God-timing. Here are a few photos of our traveling days :) Next up, Noel Orphanage.
-Jenn

Waiting to board the loooooong flight from Washington D.C. to Ethiopia.The beauty that is Rwanda.