Praise the LORD!!!! The referral is here

Well, big surprise today (Monday July 16th, 2007), we received our referral this morning!!! Our rep from America World called us both around 10:00 A.M. and told us about the child that had become available. Amanda and I had requested a child between 1 and 3. She said that this referral was outside of the range of ages we had. I'm thinking, "Okay, we are cool with a 4 or 5 year old." Instead the child turns out to be a 6 month old baby boy!!! The Lord really threw us a curve ball on that one. We didn't even know what to say at first because we weren't expecting an infant at all. Our rep asked us if we were okay with that, I was like "Amanda?". We both really knew that this is what the Lord's plan was for us in adopting. We have been praying for a very long time on His hand to be all over this adoption. That the Lord would choose just the right child for us. Wow, what a big surprise, a great surprise!

So I know I told everyone that I would post the picture as soon as we had it. We found that we can't post the picture until we are legally his parents (hopefully less than two weeks). We were sent an email with his picture about 20 minutes after our phone conversation with America World. He weighed about 12 lbs at his Dr's appointment when he was 4 months old. So he is a very healthy little baby (maybe not so little) boy. He also has a ton of curly hair. I told Amanda we should clip it somewhat short (not bald or anything). I think I have her on board on this *smile*.

Real quick, here's the only backround we have on him. He was found abandoned when he was 3 days old. The church near where he was found named him Abreham (yes, I spelled it right, that was how they spelled it). After this he was brought to the orphanage where we are going to go to pick him up.

Amanda and I have had a name picked out for a little boy for close to 2 years. We both agreed that if the mother of the child had given them a biblical name we would leave the first name. Since it wasn't the mother, but the church or the government that named him we will use the name we chose. We are going to move Abrehem to the middle name and he will be Elijah Abrehem Duda. (get's me all overclempt even typing it). We might Americanize the Abrehem part to Abraham, we'll see.

Last thing, we were asked if we wanted to try to get a court date before the courts close on August 7, 2007. Of course, we both want to travel A.S.A.P. So, we have to officially accept the referral today (they are sending a fed ex package with everything they have on little Elijah). Then they are going to try to get that court date by the 7th of August. We don't have to be there for the court date, but will travel a week or a couple of weeks later. Pray that we can travel soon to pick up our little guy. If we aren't able to get a court date now, we will have one like the third week of October. So it's like 3 weeks or 3 months, a big difference in travel.

And also, please lift up in prayer the mother, or parents that had to give Elijah up. They weren't able to keep him at all. Many orphans are given up in Ethiopia because the parents just can't afford to keep the children. This was making me more emotional than anything yesterday. I just pray that his parents have come or will come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
Here is a Scripture about Christ that has fired me up today. He is all there is to this family. And we will raise little Elijah to know about Him as soon as he can understand.

Philippians 2:6-11
who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.