Kenya Trip

Angie is leaving for Kenya tomorrow morning. This blog was listed in the church bulletin as a way to stay updated. But, the updates will actually be on our h2o (hydration 2 others) blog and the mission blog.

Please visit: hydration2others.blogspot.com or http://missionkorogocho.blogspot.com for the latest information!

Merry Christmas!

We Did It!

The Water Walk in Clovis was an amazing, astounding, unbelievable success!  Here's a story that the Clovis News Journal ran about us: h2o article.

The day of the walk dawned bright and beautiful!  After months of worrying about wind, rain, or snow --- we could not have asked for more perfect weather.  We had almost 100 people show up for the event.  My original goal was 40, but Justin said all along that he believed it would be closer to 100.  So glad I was wrong!  Participants ranged in age from little babies to mature people in their 80's.

I was glad to hear many people talking about how impacted they were by the experience.  For us here in America, clean water is something so easy to take for granted.  I hope that everyone will remember the walk, the brown water, the sore muscles, and the people across the world who face that reality every.single.day.  Here's what my friend Gwyn had to say about the experience:

If, like me, you take fresh water for granted and don't give turning the tap on a second thought, then I challenge you to take part in your own water walk. I just joined others in walking 3/4 of a mile to collect water from Greene Acres Lake and then back to the church I grew up in. We filtered our water through t-shirt-like material and then put it in a stock tank. The walked symbolized what thousands of others do EVERY day, multiple times a day to get water for their families. The sad part is, the water they collect is dirtier than that found in Greene Acres. Those sent to collect the water are often children who are walking more than 2 miles a day, and the water is being used for cooking, cleaning, bathing and drinking. Imagine using water from Greene Acres to bathe in, to clean your dishes with, to cook your meals in and to drink for hydration. Become aware, as I have, to the need and the simplicity in which you can make a difference.

We raised $3000 at the walk.  I'm super excited to announce that generous donations came from other places, as well, and the well is now fully funded!  We never imagined that this journey would be so quick!  We were hoping to have the money by next summer.  We never dreamed it would be raised in 2 1/2 months!  THANK YOU to everyone who supported us with prayers and monetary gifts!

Our friend and partner in Kenya, Tom Abungu, just told the people of the village in Kenya about our project.  He told me:

I just got back from the village and I broke the news to them that a new well was coming to them and it was an imaginable joy on the faces of the people. Songs of praises to God was being sung. What a blessings!

We have decided to keep this ball rolling!  We are now working on well#2.  Stay tuned for details!  Below is a video of some of the fun at the water walk.

Six Months

Golly, golly!  How can it be that we've had our sweet Eyob for six months already?  I can still so clearly remember the relief as we touched down on American soil.  The disappointment and exhaustion as we barely missed our next flight and had to overnight in Atlanta.  The sheer joy and overwhelming awesomeness of being united as a family of seven, in front of our closest family and friends!


So half a year in, I can say that we're finally, really finding our groove as a family.  Looking back, it's hard to believe that we've come so far in such a short amount of time.  This is one tough and brave boy!

I'm so grateful for the journey that we're on and for the change that Eyob has brought to our lives.  We are praying for boldness to change the world.  We can't fix everything.  We can't give a home to every orphan.  We can't feed them all or provide them with medical care.  We can't do everything, but we can do something.  We can sponsor a child.  We can provide a well for clean drinking water.  We can travel back to Africa to serve the people there.  We can be His hands and feet.  What can you do?  

Our pastor says to identify your burden, which will uncover your passion.  Great starting place!  What burdens you?

Five Months Home

Last week, we celebrated five months as a family of seven.  For writing, Tatum and Kierstyn chose to use Eyob as a subject.  I love what they came up with.  Here's their paragraph:

     Eyob Masebo Robbs is a konjo, four year old little boy.  He has cute hair and beautiful skin.  He is compassionate and caring when someone gets hurt.  Eyob was adopted from Ethiopia five months ago.  He is different and unique with a great personality.

He's just a part of our family now.  It feels like we're starting to gel together as a unit and I fantasize at least once a day cannot even remember what life was like with only one little.  Our littles, Eyob and Maci, are quite a rambunctious pair.  I'm working some preschool into our school days and two and a half weeks in they both recognize A, B, and C, write the three letters, and tell what they 'say'. 

The other kids are having an excellent school year so far, too.  I skipped Tatum up a grade, so she went from 4th to 6th and is doing awesome!  Cade is bopping along with all his eighth grade stuff - Algebra II being what I was most apprehensive about, but he's doing great so far.  Kierstyn is blowing third grade right out of the water.  What a smarty pants!  We're also learning Greek, which has actually been really fun so far.

Sports start full force this week, with games and practices and the constant juggling of schedules and eating dinner on the go.  As stressful as that is sometimes, we love it and praise God every day for the joy he has given us.

Over the weekend, we de-stressed with a rock star birthday party for Tatum and some of her friends.  We had lots of fun and Justin and I looked like has been 80's rock stars incredibly hot.

Help Us Celebrate Eyob's Birthday and Make a Difference in Kenya

Superhero birthday party

Our sweet boy celebrates his fourth birthday today!  Melkam Lidet, Eyob Masebo!  We celebrated on Sunday with his closest friends.  

He opened gifts!

He loved the cake!

Justin and me with Little E

Please keep reading to see how you can help us celebrate and honor him!

After visiting Ethiopia twice, we became passionate about helping provide clean water to people there.  Everywhere you look, people are carrying or otherwise hauling large yellow jugs for clean water.  

Here are some water facts:

• 884 million people lack access to safe water supplies; approximately one in eight people.

• 3.575 million people die each year from water-related disease.

• Millions of women and children spend several hours a day collecting water from distant, often polluted sources.

• At any given time, half of the world’s hospital beds are occupied by patients suffering from diseases associated with lack of access to safe drinking water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene.

For months, we've been trying to make arrangements to put a well in the community that Eyob is from.  We've talked to many organizations and hit dead end after dead end.  We had two requirements.  #1 - the organization had to spread God's word to the community in the process of placing the well.  #2 - it had to be close to a specific location.  Unfortunately, no one that we could find is drilling wells in that area right now.  We waited the whole summer for a site survey to come back from one organization and in the end, they could not accommodate our request.  So we decided to just fundraise for an Ethiopian well in an unspecified location, but God had other plans.

We have a friend, Tom Abungu, who runs a school and orphanage in Kenya.  He spent most of the summer staying with some of our good friends and was able to travel to the church I grew up in to give a presentation.  During that service, he talked about another part of his ministry, which is helping to put wells into needy communities in Kenya.  Tom gave examples of being able to spread The Gospel during past projects.  *Ding*  A light went on for Justin and myself!  It resonated so deeply with us that we immediately knew this was where we should focus our energy.

Drum roll please.... I'm excited to announce that we are now working toward a goal of raising $10,000 for a well in an area of Kenya called Urimba, Siaya Village!  People in this area have no close source for water and must walk two hours to obtain it.  Tom says a well will bring great hope to this community.

We have several awesome fundraisers planned for this fall, so stay tuned for that.  Right now, though, you can help us kick off our project by celebrating Eyob's fourth birthday.  In honor of him, please consider making a donation to our well fund.  Any amount will help $4, $40, $400 or whatever you feel led to give.  You can click the donate button on the right side of this page to make a contribution through Paypal.  If you'd like to make a tax deductible donation, please contact me directly and I will get the information to you.

Thank you for helping us to help others! 

Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them. John 7:38

Four Months Home

His super cheesy grin.

Four months ago yesterday we arrived home with a certain 40 pound Ethiopian, so last night we had a little celebration.  I made injera and doro wat.  It tasted moderately completely authentic.  Eyob pigged down a massive amount of injera and has been snacking on it today, too.  This boy loves his food. 

Here's who Eyob is to us after 129 days:

• He loves to cuddle and say his prayers.
• His skin is so soft and squishy that none of us can keep our hands off him.
• We admire his resilience
• His love of sleep makes me feel like he's a kindred spirit.
• His gentle way with babies makes my heart happy.  His enat and the nannies must have been very affectionate with him and the little ones he lived with.
• His curls are to die for. 
• We love how he says 'yes' -- 'yeth'.
• He's already a true New Mexican - he loves anything with green chile in it.
• He thinks his Poppy hung the moon.  I agree.
• I celebrate the fact that he loves to ride in baskets.  It's enticed Maci to also become a passenger again.  Score!
• He's probably about 70% fluent in English.  We're sad that his Amharic is disappearing but happy that the communication barrier is crumbling.
• Tattletale, tattletale!
• A typical three year old boy who loves cars, balls, and hats.
• His smile!  His eyes!  simply.gorgeous. 

My view of the many hugs I get every day!

Such a good sis making injera in a kitchen that was over 100*.  Our a/c is broken again. 

Thank you, Lord, for blessing us with Eyob!

Wordless Wednesday

Bedtime story with Daddy. Not a great pic, but still oozing sweetness!

Encouragement Needed

Sometimes I think things with Eyob are going so well.  When he wakes from sleep or gets distressed about something, he immediately starts calling for "Mamas!  Mamas!".  That's a new development.  So I'm bopping along thinking we're doing pretty good.  Starting to bond and connect.  Ok.  It's happening.  Then we lived the last five days.  A series of events that made me realize that we're not quite as far along as I thought.

After we delivered Meals on Wheels on Wednesday, we had lunch at Sam's Club.  Then we walked over to get a basket to do our shopping.  But in the process of shepherding five kids, my slow little Ethiopian got behind.  Now, I knew where he was and what was happening.  This is a common occurrence.  He's the biggest slowpoke this side of the Mississippi.  I went on a few steps ahead so I could see the kid I sent for a basket while I waited for him.  But, Eyob lost sight of me.  He stopped, looked all around, went in a circle, and I watched expecting distress as I prepared to call out to him, thinking he would be terrified to be alone and separated from us.  But instead, he kind of shrugged and strutted off in the opposite direction.  No worry, no fear.  It was extremely disheartening and I've felt kind of beat down ever since.  Seems like he was thinking - oh well... on to the next thing....

Then at church on Sunday, he daddy shopped like nobody's business.  He went from man to man as I politely tried to disengage him from situation after situation.  Of course, the week I forget to bring my Ergo in, he's acting like he did three months ago.  Climbing all over every man he sees.  Ugh.

Combine that with his renewed fear of dogs, bedtime, and bubble baths and I think we have regressed at least two months.  I know it's a process and I'm certainly not upset at him.  I just wish I could understand what goes on in his head and what more I can do to help him integrate into his new life.

Sometimes this adoption stuff is so overwhelmingly difficult.  Suggestions and encouragement appreciated.

What Will You Do?

Yesterday I read this article: Ethiopia Underestimating Drought Need.  The information in it made me sick to my stomach.  I was there twice in the past nine months.  I witnessed the people and the poverty and the daily trek, usually miles long, to get fresh water.  I love Ethiopia and its beautiful people.  

It's hard enough to feel helpless from this side of the world, while people starve to death.  Then I read the comments on the bottom of the article.  I couldn't quite believe what I saw.  The ugliness and hate shocked me.  It's easy for us Americans to look down from our lofty, self indulged lifestyles at the poor and needy in this world and feel completely disengaged.  Most of us have never seen true poverty.  We can't imagine what it is like to actually be without food. 

Right now, we don't have an income.  Justin cannot work this summer while he does clinic at the law school.  It's scary,  terrifying, really, to worry about not being able to feed our kids.  But, we knew this was coming and we saved and prepared and we'll be okay.  If we weren't okay, we could borrow from family, go to a food pantry, or even use credit cards to provide food for our children.  Worst case scenario, we could turn to the government for help and it would be there.  

People in Ethiopia and Somalia and Kenya and Uganda and many other places do not have a safety net.  There's no one to borrow money or grain from.  No where to turn.  Can we as Americans even wrap our minds around that reality?  How many of us know what it truly means to go hungry?  Three months ago I looked into the eyes of a man who has no way to feed his children and hugged his bony body and my heart shattered.  Let me tell you - this is real.  These are real people who are suffering, people who love God, and love their children.  People just like you and me who happened to be born into different circumstances.

Did you know: 

• ONE in seven people in the world will go to bed hungry tonight

• 925 million people do not have enough to eat  and 98 percent of them live in developing countries

• 65 percent  of the world's hungry live in only seven countries: India, China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan and Ethiopia

• 10.9 million children under five die in developing countries each year. Malnutrition and hunger-related diseases cause 60 percent of the deaths

You can look HERE to see why people are starving when there is enough food in the world to feed everyone.

I don't claim to know what the answer is.  But, surely awareness is the first step to eradicating the problem.  The second step is to not be complacent and detached from the realities of this world.  What's the third step?  You tell me.  You could donate money for hunger relief, sponsor and child or family, help put in wells, there are SO MANY things.  Just do something.  Please, for the sake of someone else's children.  If you couldn't feed your kids, wouldn't you want someone to help you?

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ ³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ ⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’  - Matthew 25:35-40

Fourth of July

Our Fourth of July trip was an epic success!  We didn't want to try Eyob in the mountains yet.  I mean, the grocery still overwhelms him, ya know?  So we put our tents up in my parents' back yard and had an absolute blast!  We don't have pics of all the fun, we're missing important parts like riding in the jeep, having special friends from Rio Rancho and Kenya visit the church I grew up in, smores, nertz, and crocheting on flip flops.  But, here's some of the other stuff.  This is what awesome family memories are made of.

Lounging around in one of the tents.

First time at mini golf.  He did not get it.

DQ to try and beat the heat.

KJ - 4 fish.  Everyone else - 0.  One of the stock tanks also has a new inhabitant. 

Wishing we could catch tiny fish like KJ.

Lots of time on the four wheelers!

Swimming in a stock tank?  Yes please!!!

Hot rodding in a '71 Camaro.

What would the 4th be without homemade ice cream and cousins?

The fab five.

Hurry, Poppy, hurry!!!  I want to hold it!

Driving lessons.  Only three years until I have an errand boy.

Mallorie, Jon, and Eyob. Such orneriness cuteness!

Mini photo shoot with my sis.

Lots of time in the tank with them able to touch each other.  We need someone to donate a big passenger van to the cause (keep Mommy sane).

Wordless Wednesday

Brotherly Love

Three Months Home

Three months as a Robbs kiddo

Three months ago, we stepped off that plane and the world for our not so little family tilted on its axis.  We had a three year old who could not speak one word of our language, had been taken out of his culture and his home, traveled 40 hours with lots of scary adventures [airplanes, escalators, security checks, etc], and was just downright terrified of what was happening to him.

Scared as he is reunited with Justin

Over the past few months, we've had lots of tears [Eyob and us], much frustration, and many missed events.  Adoption is hard.  Not gonna lie.  It's difficult.  There was a period of a few weeks when we kept saying, "What the heck did we just do to our family!!??" 

But we've also had so much joy that I feel as if my heart could burst.  I am in awe of what a brave little boy Eyob is.  He faltered for a little bit and then he squared his shoulders and got on with living.  It reminds me of the lyrics from a Rascal Flatts song: ...you get mad, you get strong, wipe your hands, shake it off, then you stand...

Two months in - a genuine smile

When I look at how far he's come, I can hardly believe only three months have passed.  He's speaking quite a bit of English, learning how to appropriately behave [somewhat] in different situations, and settling in to life as part of a family unit.  We're definitely getting some of our footing back.  Not that things are easy or even what used to be our normal.  

For example, he gets really overwhelmed in unfamiliar situations.  Because of that, we don't feel like we can go camping this year and the other kids have been incredibly bummed.  So next week, we're loading up all of our camping gear and heading to my parents' house to camp in their yard.  We'll do all of the normal fun stuff, just in a familiar environment.  Hopefully the compromise will work for all involved.  

Mama lovin!

Really, that's what life has become these three months.  A compromise.  A balancing act involving what Eyob can handle vs. the needs and wants of the rest of us.  It's not easy, but it's necessary and we can see it starting to pay off.  We feel like he's developing an attachment to us and starting to look to us and trust that we'll fulfill his needs.  That's important stuff.  The other kids adore him most of the time.  They're starting to behave like normal siblings with him, playing one minute and arguing the next.

God has also kept the fire burning in our hearts.  We feel so heavy to do more for those whom God refers to as the least of these.  We're not sure what that will look like in the future.  Definitely mission trips and sponsoring more children.  Possibly more adoptions, not necessarily international, just wherever God leads us.  We can't wait!
  

For I know the plans I have for you," decalres the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  Jeremiah 29:11

Day 8

All Monday night, Eyob threw up.  About every 20 minutes.  Cade kept having to go get more towels from the front desk and Eyob and I quickly ran out of clean clothes.  It was awful.  He never had a fever, cough, etc.  Just the puking.  When morning finally came, I knew we had to get to a doctor somehow.  But what to do?  Who to call?  I felt so lost and helpless in a foreign country with a very sick child.  

I went to the desk to ask for help.  Imagine my amazement, gratitude, and shock when they told me that they'd already called Holt to find out who Eyob's pediatrician was.  Then they called the pediatrician and told him to expect us.  They also called for a van and it would be arriving momentarily!  Would that ever happen in America???  Amazing!  I highly, highly recommend the Jemimah guesthouse in Addis for your next Ethiopian stay.

We hurried to get ready to go and decided to leave Cade at the guesthouse where he'd be more comfortable.  The van came quickly and we jumped in.  At that point, Eyob was limply laying in my arms.  He fell asleep as we drove for about 30 minutes.  Such relief when we finally arrived at the clinic, only to find out it was the wrong one!  We piled back in the van and drove for about 20 more minutes and this time we were in the right place.

Let me say right here that our driver was amazing.  Simply. Amazing.  He stayed with us and translated and helped us know what to do.

We found the doctor's office and the waiting area was pretty full.  We went to a window and had to pay some money.  I was getting worried, thinking I hadn't brought enough birr.  Who knows what a doctor visit in Ethiopia would cost?  If it was anything close to the US, I hadn't even changed enough USD to birr.  When the lady said 30 birr, I nearly fell over.  That's a little less than two USD.  Now I was dismayed the other way.  Only two dollars?  People can't afford medical care that costs what we spend on a whim hundreds of times a year.  Ugh.

I thought our wait would be long, but they whisked us right back to see the doctor.  My dad and I really worried about that.  Why should we go in front of everyone who was already waiting?  It made me uncomfortable and embarrassed.  I really hope it was because of how sick Eyob was and not because we were foreign.

The doctor seemed to know Eyob and Eyob responded well to him.  After a quick exam, the doctor said that Eyob was definitely dehydrated and needed to be hospitalized for intravenous fluids.  Oh great.  I was quickly becoming even more of a mess.  Now I surely didn't have enough money, possibly wouldn't be able to get on a plane in two days, had no way to communicate with Cade back at the guesthouse, and on top of that Eyob was so listless that I was terrified for him.

We went back to the window to pay some more money for the hospital deposit.  I wasn't seeing a card reader anywhere, so I figured there was no way to use a credit card.  When she said they needed a 600 birr deposit I was shocked.  That's about 30 bucks.  I quickly paid her and then we walked to the hospital, which was just across the parking lot.

We went in and the nurse led us to a bed immediately.  The exact details of this part are fuzzy to me.  Honestly, I mostly stood in the corner and cried.  I felt so helpless to do anything for this child.  

Actually, I guess the first part is pretty clear in my mind.  I laid him on the bed and they started trying to find a vein.  Now, I'm a birth doula and have seen many IV placements, epidurals, stitches, births, cesarean sections, etc.  Medical stuff does not bother me.  I kind of dig it, really.  Except.... when it's when one of my kids.... then I become this person who can't look at the needle and just feels sick.  So weird and weenie of me but I can't help it!  When this started happening, I thought, well, the bonding must be going well.  If this was anyone else's child I wouldn't have a problem watching and helping.  But with Eyob, I couldn't.  

They held him down for about thirty minutes while they went on a fishing expidition for a vein.  It. Was. Awful.  He screamed the whole time, really for the next many hours while he was held down.  They tried both arms, his hands, his feet, and when they looked at his neck I thought I might be the one who started puking.  They finally found one in his arm after resorting to just poking the needle in repeatedly in hopes of hitting something.  And so the drip began.  We tried to distract him, sang, read, cried with him, but still he screamed. 

I am so eternally grateful for my dad and our driver.  They were amazing and held Eyob the whole time.  Poor E never stopped screaming and the staff didn't seem to understand what I meant when I asked if they could give him something to make him sleep.  They'd given him phenergran and I thought he'd surely pass out from that, but no.  Nothing.  Eventually the doctor came in and said to take the IV out.  He wanted me to give Eyob milk to see if it would stay down.  He was shocked that I didn't have any with me.  I felt like the worst mom ever.  I had water, but apparently it had to be milk and nope, there wasn't a hospital cafeteria.  The driver disappeared for quite awhile and eventually was able to locate milk for us.

We felt very cared for all day.  Eyob's favorite nanny showed up and we received constant phone calls --- from Holt and the guesthouse checking on Eyob's progress and letting me know how Cade was doing.  Over a period of a couple more hours, Eyob kept the milk down, the doctor looked at him again and said that he thought the vomiting was due to stress.  My poor boy.  He was so terrified of us taking him that he was sick about it.  

The clinic sent us away with some meds and change from my deposit.  Yes, I got money back.  Everything all together cost a little less than $40.  In the US it would probably have cost thousands and I felt that the care in Ethiopia was much more compassionate and holistic. Wow.

We finally made it back to the Jemimah.  They'd fed Cade and doted on him, so he was happy and hadn't really missed us at all.  Eyob's throwing up stopped and we spent what was left of the day resting in our room.  

 

What an experience!  I thought for sure that all of the drama must be behind us.  At this point, I was feeling pretty beat up and beyond exhausted in every way.  In one week we'd traveled halfway around the world.  Toured London.  Found out that our court decree wasn't issued until January 5 for some reason, even though we had court in November and everyone else with us got their decree in December.  So we couldn't get the adoption tax credit we were depending on to live this summer while Justin is not working so he can do clinic at the law school.  We'd done the birth father meeting, which was gut wrenching.  Been in a small earthquake.  Driven about 15 hours in two days, much of it on bumpy terrain, in a van crammed with people.  Taken custody of Eyob.  Gone to our embassy appointment.  Dealt with an unprecedented amount of puke.  Spent a day in the hospital.  Surely it would be free sailing from here on out!  Hahahaha!  Not so much.....

Two Months Home

Yesterday was our two month anniversary of being home.  The exhaustion and frustration of the trip home still seem so recent.  But every time I look at Eyob, I'm struck by how far we've already come.  His eyes sparkle, he smiles all the time, and we're starting to understand why everyone in Ethiopia kept telling us he was funny.  This boy is mischievous!  He fits into this family perfectly.  He's also extremely compassionate and affectionate.  What an amazing boy we have!

We've had many ups and downs so far, but now that Eyob has a bit of English things are getting easier.  Yesterday he told me "yes ma'am" at an appropriate time.  Earlier this week he told his doctor "no hurt Eyob" followed by a long string of emphatic Amharic and then he hid his arm from her.  He didn't want any more blood draws, which thankfully they didn't have to do.  On Sunday, he was being so silly in church that I giggled through most of the sermon.  Life is good. 

I'm so far behind on blogging our trip that it's not even funny.  But, five kids keep me busy so I'm not gonna bust my own chops too much.  Here are some pictures, which are probably much more fun anyway.

Fun with Tatum

Mama cuddles

So darn cute!

Those eyes!  Be still my heart!

Playing cowboy at our old fashioned family picnic