One of the sweetest ways that God provided for us during my long stay in Ethiopia was sending us the Mowens and the Marshalls. Tara and Nichole were in Addis for their court dates around the same time I flew in to resolve our kids legal issues. Tara and Nichole decided to stay a few months with their kids in-country until their embassy appointments and so our times together overlapped. Justin and I greatly respect these families for the sacrifices they made in order to stay for nearly 3 months in Addis so as to be able to get their kids out of the orphanage as soon as possible. Our families met at a guest house in Addis where we all spent about 6-8 weeks. We then wound up going in together to rent a home during our last month in-country. During the duration of our stays, our hubbies were in and out of the country because they had these important things called jobs they had to attend to. I don't know what I would have done without Nichole and Tara. As I look back and remember what a hard time that season was I can also laugh because there was such a sweetness in being able to share the insanity with friends who had become like family. To have two other temporarily "single" moms with me during that time was nothing short of an amazing kindness of God. It's funny because the Marshalls literally only live 2 minutes up the road from us now but we never knew each other until we met in Addis. The Mowens live in Illinois, and came through on a visit this past weekend. It was awesome to be together again and to revel at how much our kids have grown, laugh at our crazy time together in Africa, and rejoice at how God had brought us all home safely in His time.
Here's Tara and I building our mommy muscles in the living room of our rental home in Addis
Nichole, me, and Tara on the steps of our rental home with our kiddos Zurich, Hosanna, Asher, Kaleb, Isaiah, and Jacob
Our cuties in Africa- pretty much always barefoot and covered in dirt :)
Isaiah loving on Asher in our living room. He was such a sweet role model to the little ones.
Kiddo reunion! So fun to have them all together under one roof again. We had a fabulous time eating American food, being inside with A/C, sliding down slides, and frolicking in the water of our local park's splash pad. It's funny the things we all deeply appreciate now having spent a short season without them.
Marshalls- Myers- Mowens
Thanks God for the sweetness of friends!
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