For those of you praying...

Friends, I forgot to mention that our court date which is June 10 in Ethiopia will actually be the NIGHT of June 9 for us as they are 8 hours ahead of us. So, the actual court appointment will be taking place sometime between 12 midnight and 8am here in the States. We so appreciate ALL your prayers!

It all started a year ago today...

I could not end my day here without remembering how this journey began one year ago today. On May 21, 2008, Steven Curtis and Mary Beth Chapman lost their precious 5 year old daughter, Maria, in a tragic accident at their home. God used this event and the Chapman's honest grief and bold faith in the midst of their darkest hour to draw me closer to Himself...and thus my journey to this, our newest calling, began. In a tribute to this precious family whom we now have the privilege to call 'friends'...I share with you here the poem God put on my heart for Mary Beth, written on October 21, 2008. I hope it will encourage you and show you the depth of God's love for each of us as His children. He has a plan for us...even in our darkest hour...and He WILL redeem our suffering.

Journey to God’s Heart

How do I dare let you know,
That your pain has helped me to grow?
It seems so incredibly unfair,
That, for me, you had to walk there.

No words are enough for you now.
How I long for your pain to be gone.
I’d take it away in a moment,
Yet, with Christ, you were never alone.

Shared tears, yet I don’t really know you.
‘ Bearing your burdens’ — is that what this is?
God’s love pouring out through me…
Are the tears I have cried actually HIS?

It is true that we all are ONE body,
So it fits that your pain would be mine.
A mystery beyond understanding.
Through our tears, Christ is most able to shine.

You showed me the splendor of Jesus.
You were faithful to Him in the dark.
I will never be the same, so I thank you
for my journey to the center of God’s heart.

Written to Mary Beth Chapman and family October 21, 2008.


©Beth Hamilton, 12/29/2008

Steven and Mary Beth...what a privilege to know you and to SEE all that God is doing in and through you and your entire family. May God continue to carry you all and hold you close! We love you because HE loves you!

Hooray! We have a COURT DATE!

We are thrilled to let you know that we officially have our first court date (and hopefully our last!). God-willing, on June 10, three precious ones from Ethiopia will legally become Hamiltons! Woo! Hoo! For this step, our agency (not us) will appear in Ethiopian court on our behalf and should the judge look upon our case favorably...we will become the legal guardians of N (boy, age 7), K (boy, age 4) and K (girl, age 6 months)...and the Hamilton family will officially be SEVEN! Incredible. Exciting. Humbling. Once we pass court, we can share their beautiful Ethiopian faces and names with you here on this blog! If we do pass court June 10, we are anticipating traveling to bring them home in early August!



We would covet your prayers for this court date as many families do NOT pass court on the first try...for various reasons. Please pray specifically for the following:



Regarding our court date/travel dates:

-that the family members and witnesses required would be able to appear in court

-that all the necessary paperwork will be there and perfectly in order

-that the judge will look favorably upon our case

-that the power would stay on (I'm serious...)

-that no unforseen hurdles would appear

-that upon passing court that God would clear the way to bring our children home quickly...in His perfect timing.



Regarding our ET children:

-that they would KNOW the love of Jesus through their amazing caregivers at our agency's transition home.

-that God is preparing their hearts to be a part of the Hamilton family. :) It's gonna be a WILD ride, little ones!

-that they would have peace and excitement (even in the midst of their grief) about this HUGE transition in their lives. (They have known for about 4 weeks that they have a family in America!)

-that God would give their family members deep peace about their decision to place them for adoption...to KNOW that He has amazing plans for these children...to give them a hope and a future...



Regarding our home:

-that God would allow us to put the necessary time and effort into preparing our home (and our hearts) for these little ones!

-that we would not be overwhelmed with the physical and emotional tasks before us...but would enjoy the 'miracles of each moment' with M & M as we all four prepare to receive our newest family members!

-that M&M's excitement will continue to build as we prepare our home and approach our travel dates.



Regarding others who are on this path of Ethiopian adoption:

-peace and perseverence for our fellow sojourners who have failed court (some multiple times)

-that the new 'abandonment'/potential fraud issues would be handled wisely, yet as quickly as possible, by the Ethiopian government

-that no other crises will happen to slow down the work God is doing in placing orphans in loving families.



THANK YOU all for your continued prayers and support. This is a bumpy path with many potholes, turns and twists...your prayers have kept us on track and somewhat sane! :) Below is a pic of Madi (sporting her new cool glasses) with the care packages we recently sent to our children by another family traveling to Ethiopia. (sorry, had to blot out names and photos...) It was so fun to prepare the gifts, picture and notes for our brothers and sister!


So, that's it for now...we are taking it one day at a time and we can't wait to sit back and WATCH OUR GREAT GOD at WORK! "Greater things are yet to come....greater things are still to be done in this CITY!"

Taking The PLUNGE!

"As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, 'It is the Lord,' he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and JUMPED into the water." John 21:7

Late last week as Mike and I wrestled with the decision before us regarding whether or not we would say "yes" to three (yes, 3!!) precious children from Ethiopia...Mike used this analogy: "I feel like I'm standing on the edge of the pool on a really hot day. I want to jump in but I know the water will be shocking and uncomfortable at first...but I also know that once I'm in the water a short time it will be the most refreshing thing ever! I'm so close to the edge...I'm just afraid to jump." His words described my heart EXACTLY. So, there we were...standing on the edge together...our hearts afraid to jump but also afraid not to.

We awoke the next morning...the day we had to give our agency our answer...and our devotional verse for the day (Oswald Chambers) was the verse above..."and (Peter) JUMPED into the water!" Can you believe that? Crazy? YES! But why should that surprise us on this our craziest of journeys? We continued to wrestle and pray throughout the day as our hearts shifted back and forth from fear to peace (quite the spiritual battle!) until 4pm when I received the following text from my courageous husband, "Call at your convenience. Tell them (the agency) that we're in. Hold my hand and let's jump!"

So, after almost 3 weeks of intense prayer and counsel, we are thrilled to announce that we HAVE accepted a referral from our adoption agency for THREE precious children! They are a sibling group ages 7, 4 and almost 5 months. Yes, a baby, too! We are awaiting our court date (which will finalize the adoptions) and hope to travel to Ethiopia in mid to late summer to bring these children home.

We are excited and scared but most of all in awe of what an amazing, loving and BIG God we serve! We are humbled that He would trust us with such precious cargo (FIVE children!) yet we know that 'apart from Him, we can do NOTHING" John 15:5 He will be our sufficiency!

Thank you for your prayers...please continue to pray that God will prepare our home and hearts to receive these children! We can't wait for all of you to meet the soon-to-be newest Hamiltons.

(By the way, this photo is of Madison and her cousin, Kimberly, jumping in the pool last summer in Sedona, Arizona! Awesome, huh?)

"You're messy...but I love you."

"But God demonstrates His own love for us in this:

While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8

• To be honest, these words..."You're messy, but I love you." were actually spoken by me--NOT to Matthew and his cousin Harper when they went mud-sliding in our yard, pictured above--but to our dog, Rubie, who is truly the ultimate mud-magnet on rainy days. :) (You have NO idea!) Yet, as the words came out of my mouth, I could so hear my sweet Jesus whispering the same words to me..."you're messy, Beth...but I love you!" I then actually repeated this interchange out loud to my children...because I think we cannot hear it enough. God KNOWS we are messy and sinful and selfish and afraid and rebellious...He knows it all...yet, He loves us so. INCREDIBLE.
• In this Easter season we are asked to be more aware of our sin and more aware of what Jesus did on the cross to pay the penalty for all our sin...past, current and future. It is a good and right thing to be aware of our sin...but ONLY in the embrace of His amazing love can we honestly deal with our sin. Looking at our 'mess' without knowing and believing in His love brings only futile attempts to hide or earn his love...which only leads to hopelessness. We must believe the truth: It is finished. He has done the work. Hallelujah!
• As for our adoptions...all I can say right now is that God IS at work. Please pray for us all as God prompts. May he grant us ears to hear, eyes to see and most importantly, hearts to trust Him as His plan unfolds.

Love and Peace,

Beth

• P.S. I, like others, cannot seem to figure out spacing on Blogger...crazy!

Labor of Love

"We love because He first loved us." 1 John 4:19

At last! We are finished with our paper chasing! Hooray! And, thank You, Jesus! We received our USCIS (Immigration) approval on Friday and today, our dossier is headed to our agency. So, it's officially out of our hands and into God's (although we know it has truly never been in our hands, but His!) Now comes "The WAIT". Our dossier should be in Ethiopia within 2-3 weeks and we will officially be on the list to recieve our children. As the Lord prompts, please pray for wisdom for the agency staff in Ethiopia to know the children God has planned before the beginning of time to add to our family. It is so exciting!

The photo above is literally ALL the papers we have been waiting on, collecting, notarizing, tracking down and photocopying for the last 6 months...and it has been a true "labor of love." Just as we experienced in our first two adoptions, the love God has placed in our hearts for these children has allowed this process to be...can I really say it?...enjoyable. Some weeks...nothing happened. Other weeks...we were a flurry of activity. But truly...it has not been overly stressful or burdensome...and I can only attribute that to God's grace...and your prayers! (Thank you!)

As we have been making all these efforts to track down documents, go to the doctor for physicals, get fingerprints, meet with social workers, write letters, get signatures notarized (will I ever sign my name again without a witness?), complete 10 hours of on-line adoption training, read 5 books (required), crunching financial numbers, not to mention beginning to clean out closets, shop for new bedspreads, furniture, thinking about toys, books and clothes...it occurred to me that our children on the other side of the world have NO idea what is occuring RIGHT NOW to ensure that they have a loving, safe and secure future!! Yet does the fact that they don't KNOW what is being done on their behalf make it any less TRUE? (of course not!) As this reality settled into my heart, the Holy Spirit whispered..."just like you don't know all the amazing things your Heavenly Father is doing to make sure you have a loving, safe and secure future, Beth!" WOW! I can tend to worry and doubt that God is working on my behalf because I cannot SEE His hand all the time...yet ultimately I must choose to trust and believe that "in all things God works for the good of those who love Him..." Romans 8:28 This also brings to mind Jeremiah 29:11 " 'For I know the plans I have for you', delcares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.' " He knows the plans...and I know Him...that should be enough to give me peace! Oh, that I would continually put all my hope in His unfailing love and care!

Okay, enough preaching...for now! :) I just thought that was a really cool 'picture' of how God is caring for each of us even when we cannot see it with our eyes. "Now faith is being SURE of what we hope for and CERTAIN of what we do not see." Hebrews 11:1 May God grant us all that kind of faith!

We love you and thank you for your prayers, words of encouragement and support! We are so glad you want to walk this journey with us!

We will keep you posted! :)

Carried

"In His love and mercy He redeemed them. He lifted them up and carried them..."

Isaiah 63:9

This picture (taken of MSH and his good buddy, CP, at the Science Museum in Nashville over New Years) reminds me of how we feel most of the time right now...picked up and carried along toward God's purposes. I am so thankful that God straps us in! :)

On the adoption front, we have officially sent in our home study to USCIS (US Department of Immigration and Homeland Security) and are awaiting our formal approval. Once that comes...we will have our dossier complete and all of our paperwork will be on its way to Ethiopia! Then, we simply wait (sounds easy, huh?!) until our agency sends us a 'referral' which means photos, background and a time to pray for God's leading. Though I cannot imagine saying 'no' to any children...we know we must be prayerful in our decisions and we trust fully that God will make His desires known to us. He already knows our children and He will reveal that to us in His perfect timing. Once we say 'yes' to our referral, we would likely travel within 8 to 12 weeks after that. Though it could still be months and months away...we are getting so very excited!

This weekend we will be attending our first gathering of the East TN Yahoo group of families who have adopted or who are in the process of adopting children from Ethiopia. I think there will be easily 30 families there! It will be wonderful to meet these people who will become a part of our 'community' and will bring great comfort to our new children when they arrive! Please pray we will make the connections God intends us to have...and that our children will enjoy the time with all the other children.

Otherwise, we are plugging along with life as usual. School, church, ministry, soccer, UT sports, friends, planning summer vacation, and house projects (project #1: Madison's decor for her 'new' room...she will officially move into Steph's room in May.) Life is busy, but manageable...we are more 'settled' than we've been in a long time...of course, it may be the 'calm before the storm!' Though I still KNOW it will take a miracle to manage all the change that is coming, I am starting to be able to actually picture it in my mind...which is so sweet! Thank you all for your prayers and notes of encouragement! We have felt them in amazing ways.

I'm posting a few more photos from our Christmas break below...just for fun!

MSH (the tallest!) and some buddies (with siblings) at the downtown Knoxville movie theatre!

MGH and her good friend, LP, playing games (after showers) at hotel in Nasvhille.

MGH and best friend, SS, with a handsome little buddy from church.

The gang's all here. Our great friends and us at our hotel in Nashville for New Years!