Osobie, Kojo and Fatu...who needs toys when you have boxes??
died, our Internet was gone, and my husband was and is still at work in Uganda. BUT I have been SO blessed and supported here in Fort Collins!! Jeff and I have an unbelievable community of friends and family that have carried us through this whole journey and especially the last 2 weeks since Jeff has been gone. Our house was stocked with groceries, my friends and sis decorated the kids room with Welcome Home signs, and we have received cooked meals every night we have been home!!! WE ARE BLESSED!!!! I am so humbled by all the love, all the care, all the open arms of welcome for our kids! They are 2 kids who have been prayed for and loved by many people...YOU ALL!!
Osobie and Fatu are doing great!! I have a million things to write and I don't know where to start....They are eating most everything I put in front of them, everything is "talking"...the microwave, the water, the stove, the coffee pot, etc.. They are characters for sure! They sing, dance, play the drums, and are always happy (well at least most of the time). They are very affectionate, extremely social, and of course very stubborn at times :)
Well, today was the day we were waiting for, well in one way at least. I had to take Jeff to the airport for his 6 week work trip to
We need God to move in HUGE ways on behalf of Sobie and Fatu!
We have had continued confirmation from the Lord that these are and will be our kids, we just need to continue to seek him and believe & trust that only He can do this!!
Thank you for fighting with us! Thank you for praying for us and with us!!
(The other day my bible reading plan included two wonderful stories that encouraged me. The first was Esther, and the second, the parable of the persistent widow. ‘Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and never give up’. Luke 18:1)
It’s been such a long, painful, hard and frustrating journey but God has used every minute, every detail, and every situation to teach us more about Him. The last 3 weeks have been some of the worst… and some of the best. I spent days in tears, days crying out to God, days sitting outside talking…yeah right, more like yelling to God trying to understand and accept what was going on. I’ve had to let go of all my wants, all my anger, all my desires, all my “rights’, all my bitterness, all my fears, all my ideas and plans. And the most wonderful thing happened; God gave me (us) more of His heart, more of His desires, His perspective, His kingdom, His truth, and His promises. It’s crazy because my heart has been hurting for weeks and we never would have wanted this emotional roller coaster, but God has used this time to transform us inside and out. It has changed us forever.
THANK YOU…thank you…we cannot say it enough!! We covet your prayers!!
Until Fatu and Osobie are home, we will be on our knees!!
There are good days and then there are the bad ones. The change of season has brought with it grief. No, we have not lost our kids...yes; we are still fighting for them. But, I find myself grieving their absence. They should have been home by now. I was supposed to be a full time mom right now, making play dates, learning Liberian English, going to the doctors to see what fun things they brought home with them. But instead, I am putting away the unused summer toys. I had dreams and visions of Fatu, Osobie, my niece Mackenna and Kojo Lorenzen running amuck in our backyard playing in the toy kitchen, driving the kid cars and making memories. It’s so hard to put away all the summer clothes we’ve bought and collected. Even harder to walk past their bedroom staring in, hoping and praying for the day they will rest their heads on their beds. I miss my kids! I want them home! I want to be their mom! These are the aches of my heart.
In the midst of this God has brought his comfort and continues to give us His hope. We would not be where we are if He were not our strength, our hope and our future. I have to lean on Him during these hard days of waiting in the unknown. We have met with our lawyer and we are still waiting on more information about our case which we will share once it’s all figured out. So, we continue to pray, to seek God’s heart, to pray for Fatu and Osobie, for the
Thank you to all of you who are waiting and praying with us and blessing us financially as we face more expenses than were expected! We love ya all and are blessed by your friendships!! We want to keep you all updated as much as we can but for now we need to wait for more info. Thank you for continuing to pray for us during this time! We are still in this, holding onto God’s promises and hope! We continue to need God’s wisdom, power, direction, favor, protection, comfort, strength and presence!
Until Osobie and Fatu are home, we will be on our knees!!!
As I write this, Jeff and I are staying at our friends’ condo in the mountains!! What a blessing they have given us! Jeff found out on Monday that he would not start his new job until next week Monday, so he had a surprise week off! Our dear friends own this condo and offered us to stay as long as we wanted!! Thank you Jack and Lisa!! It’s gorgeous. The colors are in their peak! Reds, yellows, greens, browns…a beautiful display of fall. We needed to get away. Spend some uninterrupted, un-stressfull time with each other and God.
As far as our adoption, even though we were verbally denied our visas, we still have options. We have researched the appeal process, we have looked into other visa options, and we have looked into the option of moving overseas for 2 years with the kids. We are currently still investigating our case as we have received some new information we need to process. So, we will take the next week or so discussing our options with our immigration lawyer and deciding how to move forward. Our prayer is and always has been “Lord bring your truth” and “Lord, your will not ours”. We believe Fatu and Osobie are our kids. The Lord has made that very clear to us and we continue to stand firm in His promises and truth. THANK YOU for continuing with us! Thank you for your encouragement, your prayers, your reminders of God's truth...they are all going straight into my journal project..."BOOK OF HOPE" that I am compiling with God's promises and truths he's spoken to me over the last 10 years. We are blessed by your continued prayers for Fatu and Osobie!! Until they are home, we will be on our knees!
11:30 pm It seems like all of us, who have embarked on this journey of adoption and listening to God’s call on our lives, have found ourselves on a very rugged and tough road. (I know someone else blogged about this?)
In November, we lost my brother-in-law tragically. He died of a pulmonary embolism. He was 33yrs. old, husband to my sister, and dad to a 1 1/2 yr. old daughter. I had just chatted with him 2 hours before he died. This was a complete tragedy that rocked our world b/c we were very close to my sis and Matt. Two weeks later, we received our referral for Osobie and Fatu!! Talk about a rough time. Amidst deep pain and sorrow- God brought life and joy. God’s true joy stepped into a very uneasy situation. As we continued this process- cars broke down, dog almost died, Jeff’s Dad had serious health issues, bills, house, problems, and much more met us on this path of adoption. Just this week another whammy!!! My husband was starting a new job. He was to start his new job on Monday, and today was to be his last day at his old job. On Tues of this week, we get a phone call from his new job stating he could not start work for another month! Total Freak out!!!!!!!! We cannot afford to miss 1 paycheck, let alone 2!! I only work part time and that is ending in 2 weeks! Just hours after the bad news we had planned to hang with our friends. As we walked out the door the wind blew on my face. It was dark out; a storm was rolling over head. And there in the sky was a brilliant rainbow, every color shining! I just stared at the rainbow and thought “God, now what?” “Here we are, and now what??” “How are we ever going to do this one?” and He said to me, “I promised you, I would never leave you nor forsake you”. I felt like God was telling me, “This is it Katie. This is what it is all about…..ME, your Heavenly Father, your good Dad, your God and Savior. Everything can and will pass away, but I remain. Jobs, house, friends, cars, stuff….that does not matter as much as this, our relationship. It may all be gone in a flash, but....I AM HERE, I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU”.
Total answer to prayer!!!!!!!!! Thank you GOD!!! What a relief this time!!!
Unfortunately, many of the trials and hardships we have run into along this adoption path have not ended with such joy and relief!! Matt’s death still shakes us everyday, the bills still pile up, cars are still broken, house is still not fixed up…weird odd problems still arise, heart aches continue to happen…
BUT…
“NEVER WILL I LEAVE YOU; NEVER WILL I FORSAKE YOU. “-GOD
Okay, so I was suppose to blog this a month ago but I did not. It’s funny, a month ago, my biggest trials of faith were jobs, bills, and life stuff. Never did I think we would be in a place like this a month later. All the worries and cares I had are all put into perspective when faced with the possibility of losing our kids whom we have grown to love tremendously. Without us ever knowing it, God prepares us for what is to come in our lives. God was giving us opportunities to trust him and showing us again that He is faithful. Thanks God, for being our good Father. As we walk through this current hard situation of the unknown of adoption and the painful waiting, we will choose to remember He is good and He is faithful.
I asked him…”Jeff, be totally honest with me. Tell me…Did you know they were our kids…you know, like in marriage, when you just KNOW that this person standing before you is your husband. (at least, this is what happened to me). Like when I just knew, or at least I really believed that you were to be my husband. ??? Jeff looks me in the eyes and says. “They are ours, Katie” “They are our kids”. He said, “It’s funny you used the marriage analogy, because as I was thinking about how I would tell people about our kids, I would tell them that I know like I knew Katie was my wife”.
Originally we both agreed it would best not to meet our kids, as to not confuse them. It turned out that Jeff went to the little kid orphanage at nap time and so they were groggy, confused and probably thought it was all a dream. Patty introduced Jeff as her medical friend, not as their father.
*Here is some of Jeff’s random journal notes just thought I’d share a little, of course with his consent
The embassy said no. I am desperate for options. Don’t even know what I can do for options. As far as I can tell they are orphans. They are definitely completely impoverished. They don’t want the kids. I can’t send them back to where they came from. Could I get a visitor visa? Keep them for 2 years? Live abroad for 2 years? Did I do everything I could have? I asked God to make a way. Is this the way?
I’m sitting here in a café. Need some hope now. I leave tomorrow; I can’t bear flying home with no hope. I will not give up this fight. What are our options? A guy just walked by holding a sign that said “Nothing can take God’s place”. Kids outside are washing the UN vehicle on their own without being asked, just to make some money. I can’t allow the picture in my mind to be Sobie and Fatu doing that. They wouldn’t even get this chance because the UN is not in their Toe Community. Whose car would they wash? The poor don’t have cars. The UN land rover looks good. My kids would have done a better job. But they’ll never get this chance if I can help it.
Exhausted, definitely numb. Feel like I failed, I know I did all that I could. Why????
I met our kids today. Patty introduced me as her medical friend Jeff. It was nap time at the orphanage so they were groggy and confused. I don’t know what they thought, they seemed tired and confused. Fatu was shy and Osobie was responsive to whatever I asked him. They smelled so sweet. They were so soft and they were very small—tiny actually. Fatu was almost as tall as Sobie. They were beautiful. They showed me where they slept. I didn’t want to let them go. They both sat on my lap and fit perfectly. They were beautiful. I am flying home as we speak. I miss them already. I feel depressed and miss my wife. I wish I was there, when I heard the news. I wish I was with Katie. She is taking it very hard. I have mixed feelings. I wanted to see the kids to assure myself that they were as beautiful as I thought. They are more beautiful. They were stunning and sweet and tender. I thought maybe I’d be on this flight with them, trying to figure out how to be a parent and loving it. I would have given anything to fly 30 hours with 2 crying kids with me. I am tired, I miss my wife, I want my kids. Of the 4 trips I’ve had to
Do not give up hope
This is not the end
Do not give up
This is not it
God can do the impossible!
God raised Lazarus from the dead!!
Galatians 6:9- And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
Hope, Hope, Hope,
GOD IS NOT DONE!!
This will bring GLORY to God!!
The visa consulate denied our kids visas!! The new information didn’t change her mind at all. We have no idea what to do or even if there is anything left to do. I am utterly sick, soaked in tears. I am at a complete loss of everything. Our hearts are just broken, an absolute mess. This pain feels unbearable!
I don’t have words…
We are soo in need of God’s comfort right now…so in need of HIM!!!!
Jeff has had two productive days of going over paperwork, meeting with family members, and working with AOH to try to figure out the best steps to take in our case. Jeff and AOH have an appointment on Thursday at
Thanks to all of you who have emailed and posted to encourage us and pray! We know we are being prayed for and feel the blanket of love surrounding us! Thank you. We wouldn’t be here now if it weren’t for all the people who have held us up so that we could stand in this. We love you and pray for God’s love to shower over each of you!!
PRAY FOR THURSDAYS APPT. (
(They are 6 hours ahead, if anyone wants to rise early& join me for an hour of prayer)
PRAY FOR ALONSO'S THURS. APPT. AS WELL!
PRAY THAT ALMA WILL ACCEPT NEW INFO ON OUR CASE
PRAY THAT SHE WILL CHANGE HER MIND
PRAY FOR WISDOM FOR JEFF & AOH
PRAY FOR HEALTH & SAFETY FOR JEFF & CHARITY
PRAY FOR THE ALONSO’S!
Thank you!!
Katie
Thank you for praying and fasting!! We just simply love you all, some of you we don’t even know very well, but we have been absolutely humbled by your praying hearts! We have seriously felt all of your prayers this week. God has been speaking to my heart about his promises and I am trying to stand in those. (Eph:
Pray for safety in travel for Jeff and Charity Alonso
Pray for news from the U.S. Embassy board
Pray for strength, wisdom, and discernment for Patty, Charles, Eric, Jeff, Charity
Pray for the visa consulate that her heart would be softened
Pray for creative problem solving for Jeff, Charity, and AOH
Pray for truth to be revealed in our kids cases & Alonso's
Pray for God’s comfort and peace for Fatu, Osobie,
Oh,…and if you could pray I don’t go crazy at home alone wondering what is happening in Liberia!!!!
God has given me an assignment a long time ago and now might be the time to do it. I have a ton of journals I have kept since I met Jesus. God has told me to go through them & write down all his words, promises, pictures and scriptures he has given me (us) regarding
We have a community of friends who will be fasting one day for each day of next week
So below is the blog I was about to post an hour ago..…Then I got a phone call from the Alonso’s who spoke with the director of AOH. It turns out there was no meeting today. They scheduled it for Friday. Well, I don’t know what to write other than we really need a miracle to happen. If the visa woman does not issue the visa…we will have serious problems. This is it! This is on the floor, crying out to God time!! There is nothing else we can do but CRY OUT on behalf of our kids and the Alonso girls! LORD HELP US!! LORD we ask for your spirit to go before Patty and Eric and the visa woman, Alma. Lord we ask for you to move in mighty & miraculous ways for Fatu and Osobie and
COULD YOU ALL PLEASE PRAY FOR THIS FRIDAY’S MEETING!!!
Please pray for
We cannot even begin to fathom our lives without
Fatu and Osobie. It's hard to believe our bags have been packed for 2 weeks and we were planning to travel
in 2 days and now we're faced with this!
We ask for your hand God, your truth, your way, your will Lord!
Wow…now I need to go read my previous blog
and ask God to help me really hang on to this truth!
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God is good ALL the time….ALL the time God is good!
I cannot tell you how many times I have heard this proclaimed from the lips of African men and women in
God is good ALL the time….ALL the time God is good!
In the midst of heartache; heartache that comes from saying good bye to your child, husband, wife, brothers and sisters from war, AIDS, disease…in the midst of poverty; poverty that shows itself in the swollen bellies of village children and young women selling themselves to support their family… in the midst of suffering, desperation, loneliness, hopelessness….In the midst of all of this… We hear…
God is good ALL the time….ALL the time God is good!
How is this possible? One word -Jesus. God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, to die on the cross for all of our sin, so we could be united with him in relationship forever. So we could be set free in the love of Christ, in the truth of God’s love, in the hope of resurrection, in the floods of God’s healing. This is how. This is how we get through the storms. This is how we stand when our knees are weak. This is how we do it. This is the only way I know how to get through times like these. TRUST, HOPE, BELIEVE in the ONE and ONLY, GOD the Father, who is loving, caring, kind, generous, comforting, peace-giving, trust worthy, faithful, and GOOD!!!!
THANK YOU
Yes, I agree, I agree… I will sing with you all...
God is good ALL the time…ALL the time God is good!!!
No news. Not a word from
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