Here is some information about the orphanage where Gabriel is living. I copied this information for our adoption agencies website, Celebrate Children International.

"Benishangul-Gumuz is one of the poorest regions of one of the poorest countries in the world. There are an estimated 40,000 orphans in the Benishangul-Gumuz region. The orphans represent the poorest segment of a society and suffer most with no parents to guide them in their struggle for survival in an already cruel world. Most orphaned children in this region are truly without hope. The Kamashi Orphanage and school is able to offer hope, and the opportunity to truly transform the lives of these children that never asked to be born in to this world.
The Kamashi Orphanage was established in response to the Ethiopian Government's plea to come and help care for the orphans in his region of Ethiopia. The Kamashi Orphanage is in the middle of such a remote region where the needs are the greatest.

Children sleep in dorm rooms which they share with seven others. Each child has their own bed and a place to store their cloths and personal items.

The orphanage will provide food, housing, education, physical care, and social and life skills training. Children at the orphanage will also be provided a Christian education and care that will enable them to become responsible and contributing members of society and a witness for Christ. The center will provide primary and secondary education and Vocational training."

This weekend I have been doing a lot of research about orphans worldwide. I think I have watched almost every YouTube Video related to orphans. I am going to warn you now that I am on a mission to inform Christians about God's command that His people care for the orphans. Did you know that if only 7% of Christians worldwide adopted one orphan every orphan in the world would have a home. Here is one video I found of Rick Warren talking about God's command to take care of the orphans.

I have not done a very good job of posting so here are some pictures from the last couple of months. In the lat two months we celebrated Miranda's Baptism and the Resurection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It doesn't get better than that, enjoy the pictures.

You Know You're An Adoptive Parent (Or Should Be) If:

(I copied this list from another blog who had copied it from someone else so I hope that the original author does not mind)

1. The fact that there are 143 million children without a parent to kiss them goodnight has made you lose sleep.
2. You realize that DNA has nothing to do with love and family.
3. You can't watch Adoption Stories on TLC without sobbing.
4. The fact that, if 7% of Christians adopted 1 child there would be no more orphans in the world, is convicting you.
5. You spend free time surfing blogs about families who have experienced the blessing of adoption.
6. It drives you crazy when people ask you about an adopted child's "real" parents.
7. You have been "pregnant" with your adoptive child longer than it takes an elephant to give birth (2 years!).
8. You had no idea how you would afford to adopt but stepped out in faith anyway, knowing where God calls you, He will provide.
9. You have ever taken an airplane ride half-way around the world with a child you just met.
10. You believe God's heart is for adoption.
11. You realize that welcoming a child into your heart and family is one of the most important legacies you could ever leave on this earth.
12. You know what the word "Dossier" means, and you can actually pronounce it!
13. You have welcomed a social worker into the most private parts of your life.
14. You shudder when people say your child is so lucky that you adopted them, knowing full well you are the blessed one to have him or her in your life.

Hi everyone, I am glad that you found your way to our new blogsite. Our family is finally adjusted to adding a new member. Faith is doing great! She has not had any problems fitting into the family. She is such a joy to be around.

Well we have some exciting news to share. We are in the process of adopting a little boy from Ethiopia. His name will be Gabriel Lemi Maas. He is 16 months old and is reported to be healthy. We are very excited about this new addition. Unfortunately, we will not be able to post any pictures due to Ethiopian adoption regulations. We are currently working on our dossier(all those papers again!) to send to Ethiopia. We will of course keep you updated on the adoption progress.

We just celebrated Miranda's 6th birthday. We are also overjoyed to announce she was baptized on February 24th. Miranda had asked Jesus into her heart as Lord and Savior last year but needed some time to prepare for the baptism.

Faith is doing well and growing leaps and bounds. She will turn 2 next week, her first birthday with our family so we are very excited. She continues to have speech issues due to her cleft. Because of the type of cleft she had the entire repair will not be completed until between age 7-10. We are going to see an Oral Surgeon next week to see if there is anything we can do now which will help her progress in her speech.

Ethan is as active as always. He is excited about his brother. They will be sharing a room so we are trying to figure out arrangements for the room. He is ready to get outside and I am ready for some warm weather. Ethan is a daddy's boy! He loves the follow Darren around the house and help fix stuff.

It is getting late and I should get some sleep.
God Bless You
Rebecca

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

WOW, the year 2007 ended with a bang! I can not wait to see what God has in store for our family in 2008. It is still hard to believe it is finally over and Faith is home. I think we finally got back to our regular schedule today. After traveling to China, Christmas, and everyone being sick we have been in disarray for about a month. Faith is slowing adjusting to her new world. She is now going to Daddy regularly and allows him to hold her. She is starting to play with our daughter, Miranda. However, I think it is going to take some time before she is ready to bond with Ethan. They have been competing for Mommy's attention from day one. She is still giving the cold shoulder (literally, she turns her back) to anyone but Mommy & Daddy. I will tolerate this for a bit longer but it is extrememly rude and will have to come to an end soon.

I am going to try to update our site at least once a month. Here are some pictures from Christmas.

This is the new and improved "Ladybug Room". As I stated in my last post my wonderful friends from church give me a surprise baby shower. They set me up with a new crib & changing table which matches the white furniture already in the room. (They had heard me whinning about the light oak crib I had that did not match) They gave me bedding for both the twin bed and the crib and a cute ladybug lamp to match. They also showered me with other thoughtful gifts & lots of quilt squares. Words cannot express how much I appreciate their thoughtfulness. They were so attentive to my heart's desires. I love you guys!