Up Up and Away!

7:00am Elly and I escorted Andy to Pontiac where he boarded this:


All day I've heard, "Daddy, Bus...Bus, Daddy"








This bus took him to O'Hare, where at 1:30 he boarded this:

"Where's he going," we asked Elly. "Tondo" is the response.
"Who will he see there?"
"Si Si and Mercy."












Originally we thought that Andy would spend some time with the kids on Tuesday and Wednesday; however, yesterday we learned that they will be with him the entire time that he's there, including overnight. :) The woman in the picture is their foster mom. Replace her with Andy and you will get a glimpse of his next 4 days! It's hard to believe that we are actually going to be their parents after praying for them for so long! I can't wait to learn about their personalities and little quirks from Andy's few days with them...what a blessing!

Needless to say, our plan of attack for packing changed because he needed enough formula, bottles, and clothes for the kids in his carry-on to last those 4 days in case his luggage was lost. Thank you for those of you who donated goods to us to take over. He has a bag filled to the brim with pedialyte, fitted sheets, cloth diapers, and ESL material. And we have a room filled with clothes to deliver on our second trip. Please pray that these goods are a blessing to the orphanages where they are distributed. We plan to deliver all donations when we return together in mid-June...all materials that Andy brought will be stored until we return.

He will be a champ and will be wonderful with the kids! I have no doubt...though the stories will be interesting!!

I plan to post pictures and video if I receive them from him and will update as able. The Internet is supposed to be spotty at the guest house he is at.

Prayer Requests:
-For Silas and Mercy to have good health while with Andy...no doctors visits
-For them to have peace and joy despite the new environment and caregiver
-For Andy to have joy and patience and wisdom and multiplied time to meet their needs
-For Andy to be a light to people that he comes into contact with
-For his Embassy interview to go well on Wednesday (7 am CST)
-For Sarah to process our paperwork and issue swift visas, so that we can return to bring our kids home quickly
-For safety over our family, for Andy, Silas and Mercy to get some sleep, and for Elly and I to have peace while Andy is gone...She has already cried twice for Daddy to come home...and he just left this morning!