Update on Sevi

Our in country coordinator just left for Kinshasa again this past week. We are all so excited to get some updates, news, and hopefully photos of our Sevi girl! I did hear that she got the pictures we sent to her of our family. They said that she was so happy to get them and walked around the orphanage showing everyone, telling them that she too has a family now.

       

Just melts this big sisters heart! I can't wait for the day where she doesn't have to wait for us anymore, where she doesn't need a photo to convince everyone she has a family because we will be right there with her, holding her hand, making her laugh, wiping her tears, being family. Oh how I can't wait! I pray that the Lord will help me to be patient in this waiting.

                            

On another note (but one that is related) we only have three days left till valentines day. THRE DAYS LEFT!!! We are trying to get 1,000 kisses for Sevi by valentines. So far we have 428 kisses in her jar (thank you all so much for our support!). We need 571 more kisses to reach our goal. Each kiss is only $1. $1 can make all the difference in the world to this little girl!

Help us to reach this goal and to give "A Thousand Kisses to Sevi" this valentines day!

Gabby

A Thousand Kisses for Sevi - Day 3!

It's day three of our valentine fundraiser for Sevi, A Thousand Kisses for Sevi. God has totally blessed us in this. We have raised $291 dollars thus far, thats 291 kisses in Sevi's big jar of kisses!

 

 



We are so blessed and we know Sevi will be too when she comes home and sees that jar filled to the brim of peoples overwhelming love and support for her.
We are not there yet though, we need 709 more kisses to fill Sevi's jar with 1,000. We are getting there, but we need your help!
Each kiss is only $1! You don't have to feel obligated to donate a lot, just $1. A small thing done by many becomes BIG, so big that  I think together we can bring this little girl home



To donate you can go to my moms blog and click on the donate button on side bar to the right. Her blog is: lullabiesacrossthesea.blogspot.com

or you can like us on Facebook@ www.facebook.com/sevikatherinewantstocomehome

Thanks so much for all your support!
Gabby



P.S. I just wanted to add in this little video of Maida and Bella. I woke up a couple mornings ago to this :)

A Thousand Kisses for Sevi

Did you all watch the video? Did you see? Yes, we are in the process of bringing another little girl home and we are so excited! It was very unexpected and there is a whole long story about it, but I will tell you all the complete story another day (very soon!) because today I want to share this!

                      

We are launching a Valentine Fundraiser. "A Thousand Kisses for Sevi"!
Our goal is to sell 1,000 chocolate kisses for Sevi by Valentines Day.
All kisses go into a large vase that we will save for her homecoming. She will see the love of many in each kiss. We will add updates through pictures of how her vase is coming along. A KISS IS ONLY $1!

WE HAVE EIGHT DAYS... Will YOU be Sevi's Valentine?

Click on the Donate button at the top of the page. If you would like to send a dollar through regular mail send me an e-mail at everlastingspring@hotmail.com for my address.
Please share with all your friends and family to help give "A Thousand Kisses for Sevi" this Valentines Day!
Thank you!



Hope for Sevi

I have deliberated a lot in how I wanted to write this post, whether it was waiting awhile (updating a bit more on Maida) or writing a full post about it...etc but I have come to the simple conclusion of sharing this news (yes, the news I said I would share) through this video that my mom and I made.

 

 

for more information and to donate you can visit my moms blog at:

lullabiesacrossthesea.blogspot.com

 

We also created a facebook page for her. You can find it at:

https://www.facebook.com/SeviKatherineWantsToComeHome 

P.S. Don't forget to pause the playlist music at the bottom of the screen :)

Gabby

At the end of the river is an ocean...

There is a lot more about this trip that I could share with you all (being pulled over by police, Maida contracting malaria...etc) and I will some day, but I think for now I shall end our trip with this post. This is actually all written by my mom and is the last post on her blog, so I'm actually just borrowing her words :) (all the credit goes to her). She is such a talented writer and really summed everything up well with only a few words and a very much needed pile of photos! So, here you go!



 "Since we were in country for two weeks we had lots of opportunity to spend time at the orphanage Maida was from. My daughter Gabby was allowed to tag along with Mama J almost every time she went to tend to the children and staff at the orphanage. It was an amazing opportunity for a young girl of seventeen who has the hopes of one day ministering in Northern China to the North Korean orphans who are stateless children there.

She loved the kids, and they loved her. She studied and learned a great deal of Lingala before we left and picked up a great deal more while in country. Her time with Mama J was very special to her and she hopes to do it again.
Those days were priceless for the both of us. Stronger than just mother daughter bonds we share a deep love for our Creator and the orphans he has intrusted us believers to care for. As a little girl I had dreams of traveling to Africa to spend time loving on the least of these. I had the same dream for China. My daughter Gabriella was able to walk along with me in my journey to Africa. A dream realized. And I know one day, I will walk alongside her as she realizes her own dream that God gave her of loving the least of these in Northern China. That my friends is a sweetness no hallmark card could ever convey.

Gods plans are always bigger than our own, and He begins the process long before we ever know it or ever have any say or way to foil it:) Thank goodness for that!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After almost not being able to leave Congo, flights being canceled, and missing another flight we finally made it home! Maida Grace is no longer an orphan, but a beautiful little girl (with quite the character!) with a forever family!

 

 

We went from went from this (I do have one brother, he is just older, married now, with his own family ^^)

 

to...

 

 

This!

Trying to take a good photo of six giggling girls is quite the task!

 

We have gotten to know her so well now and so much has changed in these few short months (feels like a lifetime) since she has been home and I can't wait to share them with you!

 

 

 

Gabby



 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Day Two - Meeting Ida

I am just going to dive right in and start from where I left off in my last post :)

As we pulled up to the orphanage gate we were greeted by a man who acted as a guard for the orphanage. He let us in and led us into a pretty good sized open space. There was dirt everywhere (the ground was pure dirt, not much grass to be found in Kinshasa) and being outside for any length of time in Congo (especially if you're there in the summer like my mom and I were) means you were sure to be sweating within seconds.

We followed Julia in and were greeted by several of the workers/nannies there. They told us that all the children were asleep so we quietly made our way into the orphanage building and began going through rooms looking for our Maida. As we were looking into two of the three rooms there my mom and I were both tickled again to find that we recognized many of the children and could call them by name.

This was the boy' room. There were several bunk beds and each had at least four boys to a mattress.

Finally we came to the last room! My mom and I went in, looking for her (although I knew that I was only there that moment to be the camera girl ^^). The kids began to wake up and try to figure out what was going on as we walked in.

  

  

This was one of the first faces we saw as we walked in, greeting us with a Bonjour
  and a beautiful  smile :)

Someone told us that Maida was still sleeping on a bed in the corner. My mom quickly walked over to her and I followed close behind.

This is the first glimpse we saw of her!

Everyone had already woken up, but Maida just kept on sleeping. She was wet and sweaty but my mom picked her up anyway. She woke up VERY groggy (she could barely keep her eyes open!) You could tell she was wondering why a strange Mondeli (white person in Lingala) was holding her, but at that point she wasn't awake enough to care. 

She did eventually really wake up and somewhat understood what was going on. All of the workers kept telling her she was going to leave with her new Mama and sister and go live in America with a new family. Maida was very quite, reserved (understandably so) and didn't speak one word.  

The nannies cleaned Maida up and put a pretty dress on her

In the back of the orphanage trying to get some alone time with her before the other kids came and piled themselves on top of us :)

I wish I could say that Maida and I were like glue from the first moment, but, sadly, that would be a lie. She had some big territorial and control issues about me. Don't worry though, we had it all sorted before we got home (and who's name does she now constantly call when she wants to play? lol) 

We left the orphanage and stopped quickly by a hospital to go check on (with Julia and Papa J) a baby who was sick with malaria (she is fine now and is home with her own family!) Afterward we went back to our hotel. Julia and I went to grab some bottled water at a market nearby to leave mom and Maida alone for a bit to have a little bonding time. When I got back my mom said that Maida was starting to come out of her shell and smile and laugh a bit (of course that all ended when I entered the room ^^)

To celebrate getting visas and all of our children on the same day Papa J took us to an Italian restaurant (man was the food in Congo good! Who knew, right?). We heard Maida talk for the first time that night! A girl Maida had been particularly close with in the orphanage (she is a couple years older than Maida and you could tell that she took care of her while they were there) had been picked up by her parents a couple days before, but they happened to still be there. When they saw each other in the lobby of the hotel right before we left to eat they just smiled at each other. The little girl swiftly walked over to Maida, took her out of my moms arms, set her on the floor, grabbed some toys, and started to talk to her about who knows what. It was the funniest thing and had us all laughing. Maida joined in with all the kids (some other kids from the orphanage was there too) and they played and talked the night away. It was so cute!

After we got back it was time to call home, and then bed. Maida really enjoyed hearing the voices of her family on the phone!

 This was the picture we took of her first night with us. A very good ending to a very good day :)

Just as a heads up to you all (I'm sure you realized this already) my little sisters name is Maida Grace, but we call her Ida (pronounce Ee-dah)

Photos

Unfortunately blog spot is not working for me :(  I cannot upload any photos as of right now, but hopefully in a couple days it will be fine. I will try to get a new post up soon!

Until then,