Traveling!!!

Today was Paus' funeral. It was a beautiful service, and we so appreciated everyone coming to show their love and admiration for Paus and our family. These next days will be tough without our Paus, but we know we will see him again.

As we were leaving the funeral home and driving to the cemetery, I checked my email because I knew if we would hear any news today, it should have already been in my inbox, as the news comes from Ethiopia sometime during our early morning (Ethiopia is 7 hours ahead), then our agency passes along the information during their morning time (their office is in Washington state), which is our afternoon (you can see how working with three different time zones can also add to the frustration :)

I had two emails from our agency, both with subject line "Caldwell Case". My emotions were already running high, but of course, this made them run higher! I said a quick prayer in my head and opened the emails. To my delight, the first thing I read was They are free to travel!!! My heart raced, but there was no date in that email to tell when were free to travel! I quickly skipped ahead to the next email and read something that said that if we could get there in time for the appointment on Monday morning, it was ours!

I was a little shocked and mumbled to Zack, "We can go this weekend!" We both sat stunned and Caleb, from the backseat asked, "Are you going to get Noah?" I could finally say "YES!!!"

We drove just a little further and I began to cry thinking about God's timing and how perfect it is. I told Zack, through tears, how God knew that I needed to be here these last few weeks to help support my family, and especially my mom, who had been Paus' main caregiver and had carried much of the burden as he became ill. I knew in my heart that for me to be away and traveling would be so much added stress for her, but at the same time, I did want to bring home Noah as soon as possible. God, however, in his infinite wisdom and in a way I will never understand, knew exactly when the time would be for us to leave and bring Noah home- the day after my grandfather's funeral. As humans, we can only look back and see how God weaves together the events and circumstances in our lives into a beautiful tapestry that glorifies him and works together for our good. But he sees things from a different perspective, and I so grateful for that. May I always trust in the Lord and his ways, even when it doesn't seem to make sense.

We will be flying from Cincinnati tomorrow evening to Washington, DC. Then we will be flying directly to Ethiopia. It is a very long flight, around 16 straight hours on the same airplane! Prayerfully we will arrive in Ethiopia on Saturday night.

Please pray for Tennille, my great friend, and I as we travel. Please also pray that Noah will be prepared for all the changes that await him. And please pray for wisdom for me on the plane ride home as I try to reassure and comfort Noah, even though we can not speak the same language. Please pray that God would break down any communication barriers. I will try to update as much as I can.