One of my favorite parts of this adoption journey has been the people we have gotten to know. People from all around the world who otherwise we would never have had the pleasure of meeting. People of different backgrounds and nationalities and skill sets. We are all crossing paths here in Ethiopia. And God is in charge of it all!
Do you remember several weeks ago when Joel was really sick? We called a doctor here in Addis. We just “happened” to get a hold of Dr. Jeremy Gabrysch. Jeremy works at Soddo Christian Hospital. Soddo is a smaller town about a 5 hour drive south of Addis. But Jeremy was working in Addis for the week and he was so helpful in getting us the information and medication that Joel needed.
As he and Scott chatted on the phone, Jeremy mentioned that he was recently put in charge of getting the IT up and running at Soddo Christian Hospital. He jokingly said it was “because he knew how to get on Facebook” and that he was so far out of his comfort zone with a project like this.
Isn’t our God amazing?
In this entire country filled with almost 83 million people, he connected a doctor from Texas and a rural healthcare IT guy from California.
For the last few weeks, Jeremy and Scott have been emailing and talking and planning. And then on Monday, we drove from Addis to Soddo to spend some time down here. Scott is meeting with the IT team, getting the lay of the land, and planning out exactly what he can do to help. The kids and I are visiting with Jeremy’s wife and children, exploring the hospital grounds, and enjoying seeing more of this beautiful country.
Do you know that when we first decided to adopt, it was the result of a very specific prayer? We had been asking God what more He wanted from us. We felt like there was something else, some other way that we could be serving our God. And here we are, almost 2 years later, and God has turned our desire to serve Him into blessing upon blessing for us. Not only do we get to love on and add 4 more amazing children to our family, we also get to spend time in Ethiopia, we get to meet people from around the world, we get to use our talents in ways that only God could orchestrate.
Here are a few pictures from our time in Soddo.
Hannah enjoying the scenery
Joel proudly displaying his new machete
On a hike up the mountain
Some village boys who joined our hike
Scott working hard
Nurses Station (Amanda - this one's for you)
ICU
One little patient
You don’t have to be strong
You don’t have to have money
You don’t have to be smart
You don’t have to be funny
You don’t have to be the biggest
You don’t have to be the best
You just have to be willing
You just have to say YES
Think about that.
You just have to say yes!
What is God asking you to do? What is He prompting in your heart and in your life?
You just have to say yes!
Blessings!
Natalie
‘Speak Lord, I’m listening.’ We cry everytime we read your blog.
Andy speaking: ‘I got a GREAT family when I married your mother.’
We thank and praise Christ Jesus for giving us LIFE!!
God is sooooo amazing. Thank you for sharing His provisions & blessings to you with us. Love you my friend! Susan
Always love reading your stories about all that you are doing and your travels. Praying for good news soon.
That’s our tag line for our adoption!
The words to that song are so simple yet so profound. Glad to see God is blessing and using you as you wait to bring your kids home!
I remember Scott telling me about when he was little and pushed a button that shut down the whole computer system his father had just installed at Mercy Hospital. Then he said, “I have more computing power now in my bedroom.” I love that Scott is putting his expertise to such good use.
Loved this! Saying ‘Yes’ was exactly the theme of the sermon that catapulted us into the adoption journey, and now the name of our blog. And, now, the adoption pieces seems so small…significant, but small, as our eyes are opened to so much more that God is inviting us to. Thanks for your words.