Saying Goodbye to a LOVED ONE

It's been a hard week at our house. On Friday Aug 29th my Aunt Carolyn lost her battle with cancer and went home to Jesus. She fought the battle long and hard with her family by her side and her faith sustaining her day by day. She was a mother, sister, daughter, aunt, cousin, mentor, and friend to so many. She lived her life to the fullest and was always a source of wisdom, love and laughter where ever she went. We will miss her dearly and will remember her always!! These are just a few of the words that I had written months ago that describe our Aunt Carolyn who will be forever in our hearts.

(Carolyn is sitting right next to me and Osobie )

Carolyn

Driven

Full of LIFE

GENEROUS

Optimistic

Strong

LOVING

Wise

Humorous

Compassionate

Kind

HONEST

Encourager

Humble

PATIENCE

Trust, patience, faith...these are the words we are living in,...hmmm...or should I say, trying to live in!! We are still waiting on Jeff's contract, which was supposed to be finalized in time for us to leave on Sept. 1st. Well, seeing as the 1st is Monday, we don't have tickets yet and our bags are only half packed...looks like we wait. We are fervently praying that Jeff gets his contract so we can possibly leave by the 8th or 15th of Sept. We are also praying for a miracle in ticket prices too!! Life has been a whirlwind this last month and we've all been feeling the stress and strain of preparing to leave. At the dinner table the other day F was falling asleep while she was eating pizza! It was only 6:30 and she asked to go to bed!! I feel incredibly weak and have found myself laid out before God, so in need of His grace, His reassuring love, His perspective, and His strength to get through each new day and each hurdle.

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9

Did I mention that we would LOVE some more visitors!!!!!!!!!! We'll be in Uganda until March and it sounds like we may have 2 visitors so far!! I can't tell you how happy that makes me!! So... that's the scoop on this end!

Moving and moving forward

Did I mention that we are moving to Uganda for 6 months? I meant to share our news quite awhile ago but with summer flying bye and now Ruth's sudden death, I've managed to leave out our most exciting news! We are going to UGANDA for 6-7 months!!! We are still waiting on my husbands contract to be finalized for the exact departure date, but the plan is to leave the first of Sept. I've never spent so much time on the phone with insurance agencies, pharmacies, Colorado vital records, health dept's, passport agencies, dentists, and doctors. It's taken me 3 and 1/2 weeks just to get malaria meds for our family! How does one prepare for 6 months? I felt like I was doing pretty good at the beginning of August. I started packing up our house and was feeling on top of things. Then all of a sudden, we are 2 weeks from leaving and I have zero bags packed. I think I'll be bumping up my caffeine intake that's for sure!

We have been in contact with Arthur, Ruth's husband, and others involved with Bethesda Int'l and it looks like they are going to move forward with their ministry to orphans in Uganda. There is much to sort out within the organization so please continue to be praying for wisdom, discernment and patience for everyone at Bethesda Int'l. Please continue to pray for all the children who lost a mother, a care taker, a mentor, and a friend with Ruth's passing.

Some fun pics from our road trip to Michigan to visit family..

Great grand kids with Great Grandma Thieme!!

Great Grandpa Weber & Grandma Eleanor with the kiddos!!!

ALL THE COUSINS together- (technically 2nd cousins?)

HANGING WITH GRANDPA & being silly!!

SISTERS!!
LOVED PLAYING AT THE BEACH WITH GRAMMIE


NEW FRIENDS!

OUR HEARTS GRIEVE

It is with deep sorrow and heartache that we share the news that our dear friend Ruth Muga went home to Jesus last Saturday. Many of you who know us and have followed this blog know that Ruth was one of the most amazing African woman we have ever met and the founder of Bethesda International in Jinja, Uganda(1995) and cared for hundreds of Uganda's orphans.

The day we met her in 2003, she was permanently woven into our lives and hearts by God. She is one of the main reasons for our love and passion for Uganda. We have been working with her for many years and had planned to expand our partnership with her in the coming years. We were so looking forward to next month, when we leave for our 6 month stint to Uganda, and be reunited with Ruth and the kids. She has given her life to the children of Uganda and has transformed so many lives by her love, support, encouragement, devotion, and care. We are absolutely heart broken and still in shock due to the fact that it happened so suddenly. We spoke to Arthur, her husband, and he said he was holding up and was blessed by the people supporting him during this time. Ruth and Arthur were currently a family of 15 before Ruth passed. Most of these children have never known a mother or father other than Ruth, so please lift these children in prayer. I know there is a deep loss in the Bethesda families and the city of Jinja as Ruth was a mother and friend to all. Please be praying for all the Bethesda foster families, children, Arthur, and the Bethesda community as they navigate through this painful time. Please also be praying for the Bethesda Int'l. ministry, that the Lord will speak and reveal His plan for Bethesda Int'l's future. Once we find out more info we will update you with prayer requests and even ways to get involved by supporting Bethesda Int'l so that their ministry to Uganda's orphans can continue.

With a heavy heart but holding onto God's faithfulness and goodness!

Katie

****In 2003, on our first trip to Africa, we drove away from Bethesda and waved goodbye to Ruth and the children. Tears streamed down my face as I thought of all the orphans in Africa and the hard work ahead for Ruth. The Lord spoke to me and gave me this verse, "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you" John 14: 18. It is underlined in my bible with the date 6-05-03 & Bethesda written beside it. God has them in His hands, period. He will not and has never left them. Even though Ruth has gone to Heaven, He is right there by their side watching over every child, tending to each of their sad hearts right now. What comfort that brings me.

Our first family road trip!

Boy, summer is just flying by! I am so behind in blogging. I feel like we are running top speed everyday. We have been home for a week from our trip to AZ and now we're leaving tomorrow for Michigan on another road trip. Squeezed in there was the 4th of July festivities which I'll have to post about later or just send you to the Lorenzens blog for an update. We packed our car and headed to Tucson, AZ for a little mini family vacation! Jeff was speaking and attending a conference for work so we all tagged along and turned it into a little family get-away. We stayed at the Westin Hotel; 5 pools, water slide, heavenly beds, room service, swim up bar, a gorgeous place! We got to pretend we were living the high life for almost 2 weeks!! The kids sported the infamous "wings" and they started swimming from the get go!! They are little tadpoles, especially Fatu. No fear of water at all. We had a blast and at the end of our trip, we were able to visit Jeff's family in Phoenix!! A good time was had by all!!

Great view at the hotel!!!
Jeff and the kiddos!! O and F finally got to meet their cousin Kyle. As you can see, they loved each other from the get go!!
ROAD TRIPPIN'

F and Auntie Linda!!
the cousins hangin' out
the family :)

love this pic!
Uncle Brian and O enjoying the pool and mama's sunglasses
Grandpa B and O chowing on some wings!! We have to always remind O and F that we "don't eat the bones"...seriously!
Grandma B and F playing at the science museum!

The cousins first meeting

This picture says it all

7 months of being a family!

and STILL no family photo!!!! We've got to get working on that

It's hard to believe it's been 7 months, June 8th, since the kids have been home. It's hard to believe I've only known my kids for 7 months and at the same time I know the Lord planted them in our hearts long ago. For the most part, it definitely feels like we've been together forever and then there are the challenging times when I remember that we are still "adjusting" to each other. Overall F and O are doing super! They bring life and joy to our family. They are gifts from God. They are excited about each new day and ask a million questions about the new place they live. When people ask us about their adjustment and bonding I typically share that they are probably adjusting better than Jeff and I are as new parents!! We prepared ourselves for all the problems and issues discussed in the adoption books we read, but honestly we have yet to face any serious problems. O and F are 80% of the time happy and easy going kids. Fatu is miss adventure, a ready for anything and fearless little girl. (except when it comes to animals) It took many days in the garden before she would hold an earth worm. Osobie is a thinker. He evaluates everything and is constantly trying to figure out the workings of all things mechanical. He LOVES to build. He really only needs 2 toys in his room, Tinker Toys and Legos. They bring him hours of fun. Osobie is a quick learner. He's starting to read the Bob books and in the fall we'll start Kindergarten. Fatu has her colors, shapes, and letters down. She's a hands on and visual learner, just like her mama. She has a ton of spunk and a little attitude now and then. She's very creative, confident, and outgoing. She loves to cook and play dress up.

They are losing their Liberian accents and have replaced the word "market" for "super market", that was a sad day. They love playing with the Lorenzen gang & their cousin Mackenna. My sis lives only 20 minutes away so we get to play together every week!! F and Nyenna play dress up, while O and Koj play golf in the backyard. F and O have always played really well together but we've been starting to see some more bickering. I was told by a few fellow adoptive parents that when you get to 6 months you start to see their true personalities. I do think that as they become more comfortable and realize that we will be a family forever, they let down their guards and be themselves. So, at 7 months we are learning more about each other and ourselves. We are blessed! God has woven our family together and I couldn't have ever dreamed it would be this good. With summer here... it's been hard to sit down and blog! Here's a few quick photos of our last month!!

Hangin' at church

F and O's first bike ride with training wheels! We only had 2 spills!

Jeremy came over on his lunch break to show the kids the massive grating machine!

Uncle Steve grilling us some mean burgers, brats, and veggie burgers!!

THE semi-quarterly BORCHERT PINOCHLE PARTY--Osobie & Fatu have almost met their whole family.

Hangin' out on Uncle Steve and Aunt Kelly's deck!!

Aunt Mekay and Mackenna

Papa's Day at the Leibherr ranch!!!

UGANDA BAGS ARE HERE!

Hey all...a quick update on Ruth & Bethesda Int'l.

We have the final numbers in and I am in awe of God's goodness!! We have raised all the money for the well (close to $5000), we raised all the money we needed to cover the tuition & uniforms for 120 Rapha school children ($2000), and raised $2100 for Ruth's housing situation.

THANK YOU JESUS!!!

Thanks everybody for stepping up and making a huge difference in the lives of hundreds of Uganda's orphans. Ruth is overwhelmed by the love and support she has received from you all. She is extremely grateful!!

On a sadder note...Ruth lost their house this week. She said that times are getting tough in Uganda and landlords are asking for 6 months rent upfront in order to get into a house. The money for her house will go towards the rent and security deposit of their next house, when they find one. So, we continue to pray for Bethesda Int'l and praise God because of His faithfulness!!

&

we keep raising awareness about org's like Bethesda Int'l & supporting them, SO....

Grab a bag and support UGANDA!!

These bags are awesome!! I have 8 already! Stock up so you can stop using those darn plastic bags!

By purchasing one of these bags for $12 you will:

1. Help Ruth & Bethesda International and hundreds of Uganda's orphans


2. Improve the livelihood of the villagers in Malawi (the very people who make the bags)


3. Decrease the use of plastic bags - the earth will thank you!!

I have only 18 bags left!! Get yours while you can! Just email me your order & address, and I will ship them out to you for free!!

Bethesda International- helping orphans in Uganda
Don't you love this?? Ruth is so excited about her new logo! I also have t-shirts for sale...they will be up next!!
The other side of the bag- Africa Bags: empowering Malawi...check em' out!

Just drop me an email if you would like to buy a bag for $12! xtkatie@gmail.com

FREE SHIPPING!!!!