WARNING!!! this post has a link which is graphic.

The topic of abortion has really risen in this election and I can no longer keep silent myself. My husband and I have always been advocates for the unborn but in a more non verbal way really. We have always been supporters of those advocating the right to life and of course adoption. Today I am stepping out further and posting a video that shows babies that have been aborted. They had no voice or chance to live life as God intended them to.
No one ever gave them the chance to have a family.
God has called Duane and I to help defend the fatherless, the helpless and the weak and these babies had no father, no help and were very weak.
One million babies are aborted every year. That is ridiculous! It is horrendous!
How can we support a candidate for president who will allow this to happen more frequently?
Life is of God. Death is of satan. Which will you defend?
Click here to watch the video. I pray you will be moved to step up to the plate and voice your vote for
Please be warned this is the most graphic video I have ever seen but it is truth.

GOOD NEWS!!!!

We got word today that Isaiah's passport will be finalized on September 22!!!!!!
I am going to get my baby!
As for Allenni and Andrew, we are not sure but are hoping that in the next 2 weeks some progress will be made towards bringing them home. PLEASE PRAY!

We are headed for vacation for 10 days so Loo for new pictures soon.
I'll have to tell you about the 15 passenger van God gave us last week when we weren't looking!
I'll keep you posted as we hear.

SHATTERED

My husband Duane is a great writer and from time to time I will be sharing his poetry with you. You can click over to his website on the link below.




SHATTERED

I am the face of an orphan

As you can see, my world has been shattered

My dreams are broken; in fact I don’t know what dreams are

My fears keep me closed inside all the time so I cannot see the stars

I know you see pictures of me and feel pity and sadness

Yet I need more

I need you to come and begin mending the pieces together again

I need you to free me so I can run with my friends

I need Love to show up in my life and begin putting it all back together for me

I need to be free. I need to be free.

I need someone who cares enough for me

That they will release me into my destiny

And in the process find their own.

When are you coming? Every day I grow

When are you coming so Love I will know?

Look here through the glass, look into my eyes

See the greater the sacrifice, then the greater the prize

Come and release me into my destiny

When you do you find your own by setting Love free

kdc 2-2-08

Isaiah

These are of Isaiah. Look he is standing up by himself. He is not really holding on to the tree!
I really hate I missed this.

We got photos!

Guess what!!!!????
We got pictures yesterday of the kids!
At the computer, I just broke down and cried.
Allenni and Andrew have lost weight and Isaiah looks sorta sad.
I know they are being taken care of as well as they can be in Uganda. They have great foster families. But I wish they were here and fattened up. I know God will bring them home soon.
Thanks, everyone for your prayers.

Back track to Jinja-- See May 30

Backtrack to jinja- see May 30

I am going to back track a little here and finish up about our trip to Jinja. This is a continuation of the post I sent on May 30. But before I get started, my husband thinks I should clarify something in that email I wrote. I talked about that sometimes there are hard days and we are all grumpy and irritable and it sounded like I enjoyed them by the way I wrote it. What I enjoy are the days we have now which are mostly good days, not those yucky days which used to be many. Sometimes, my grammer is not the greatest. sorry. Anyway, On to Jinja. [If you haven't read my blog about my previous trip to Jinja, scroll back and do so. It will give you some insight.] We came back to the house after meeting with the attorney for the briefing and gathered our things for our trip and one night stay in Jinja. Jinja is typically a 2 hour trip but is only 80km from Kampala, if the traffic was not heavy. The missionaries here had told us about a good place to stay, so I had called the Kingfisher and made a reservation. The trip to Jinja was pretty much uneventful except that Richard in an effort to miss Kampala traffic took us on some back roads where the potholes were many. We had Isaiah with us and for this trip had borrowed a car seat to put him in. It didn't fit real well in the seat so I still had to hold it back against the seat to keep him from tilting forward. This was sometimes hard as I was bouncing out of my seat also. Believe it or not, but that evening my right arm was very sore from holding his car seat down. Richard's detour took us by an area that was a Sudanese refugee camp. It was amazing! Rows and Rows of very tiny stick,straw and mud houses covered the hillside. Richard told us that the people were only allowed to build mud houses because permenant houses were not allowed. But already, these people had been there 7 years. I didn't think Africa could really have "slums" because there is already so much poverty, but there they were, the poorest of the poor. It was heartbreaking. We continued on our way and the countryside became beautiful with tea and Sugar Cane crops spreading out as far as the eye could see. Nothing eventful happened as we traveled through the forest, such as a monkey or other animal scampering across the road. We did pass an interesting place that I had not seen on my last trip. It was a clay pit. The clay was a grayish tan color which was interesting because the dirt in Africa is very red. In this pit which was flooded with water, were men working and they were covered from head to toe in the mud. These men were harvesting the clay by hand and packing them into molds. Near the road, were two tall brick ovens where I supposed they baked the bricks. Throughout the pit were stacks of already made bricks with palm tree leaves spread out over them to keep them dry. This definitely was a miry pit and gave me a visual of what David speaks about in Psalms. We arrived in Jinja and Duane saw the sign for the Kingfisher Resort as we came into town and had some general directions but Richard wouldn't really listen so decided it must be IN TOWN not outside of it. So, he stopped and asked some Boda Boda Men [motorcycle taxis] where the place might be and they promptly said, you pay us 3000 shillings and we can guide you there. Richard told them they were funny and asked for them to tell us. So they did. Evidently, they didn't give clear ones because a few minutes later, Richard stopped and asked again. We finally found it after going back to the sign we had previously seen in the first place and got settled in. We got Richard to his room and you would have thought we had put him in the Ritz. He had never slept in a hotel before. He was so proud and was beaming from ear to ear. We told him to relax and enjoy himself and order his drinks and food and tell them to charge it to our room. He took off to explore the area and we headed out ourselves to take a walk down to Lake Victoria. While down at LV, we met three tall black men coming off the pier and smiled and said hello. You could tell that they were possibly from the Sudan or Kenya. They stard at us pretty well and curiosity got the best of one of them and he asked me if Isaiah was my baby. I stopped, looked at him with surprise and said,"Yes, he is my baby, don't we look alike?" You could tell they were taken aback as they exclaimed, "That is NOT your baby!" Again, I put Isaiah's face close to mine and said, "Really? Look, do you not think we look like each other?" Duane chipped in,"Look at their eyes, it is their eyes." They began to laugh and shake their heads, and one of them said, "Ma'am, That is not your baby, He is black like me. " "Oh," I said, sounding disappointed. Then I laughed and said, "he is my baby, I am adopting him as my son." At that point, a light bulb looked like it came on with 2 of them but the third just kept mumbling and shaking his head saying, "that is not your baby." One of them thanked us and they moved on. It was really quite funny. We came back to our room, only to find that we couldn't get in it. After both of us struggled with the door for some time we went back to the reception to get some help. It took them a while to find another key but they finally did and we got our room opened. We decided then to get some dinner as it ususally takes at least an hour for it to cook. No FAST FOOD around here! while waiting, Isaiah had a nasty diaper, so I headed back to the room to change him. NASTY is the right word. He did not want to be still and when I went to take off his onesie, ugh!!!!! He had it everywhere. Before I realized it, the bed was covered! He was so wiggly and fussy and I was trying to get him out of the mess but he kept trying to put his hands and feet all in it and before long, that nice white bed on Duane's side was not so white and nice anymore! I finally got him cleaned up and a new pair of clothes on and sat him down on the floor so I could rip off the sheets and request new ones. We went back to the table and dinner had just come. For dinner, Duane had gotten this dish called Ryan's Chips Masala and boy were they tasty! I was thankful that he couldn't eat all of them because it was yummy. My dish was Curried Peanut Chicken and it was wonderful too. So with our bellies full, went to the reception again to ask for another another sheet and they brought a whole bed ensemble. This was a very nice and restful place. The hotwater heater was actually a brick oven behind the little huts and someone kept it stoked with firewood to keep the fire going. After reading the signs on the inside of the door, it appeared that after 11pm the generator would be turned off and there would be no lights. "Please use the lanterns and candles provided" We got Isaiah to sleep finally and went to bed ourselves but at midnight there were still lights everywhere and people hanging out by the pool. Come to find out, they had recently installed electricity. I thought everything would go quiet at 11 wi th no power, but the people partied on til about 2AM. Richard's room was back behind ours, and he told us the next morning that he had never ever slept in a place so quiet. Always, there had been noise all night long and sleep is never good. He loved sleeping in the quiet. I am going to stop here for now and will continue later as there is so much more to tell on this Jinja trip. Blessings, Melissa

More Fun!

More fun pics for you to see

There is more fun!

kids eating their junk food Me and Eli My friend Carol Beth and me dancing to the music my friend Jamie and me Me being goofy with Eli

Back home! oh the Fun!

back home -oh the fun!

Well, I have been resting this past week and am feeling so much better. It is good to be home. It is much more hot here though! Welcome to Alabama!
The kids are good and we have enjoyed just being in the same house together. I am real proud of them. They have matured some and it is good. They have been taking care of me and it is actually good for me to get back into my role as mom though I have the feeling that they don't always appreciate that! Ha!
Things that have been the "norm" around here for years, just went out the window while I was gone.I have discovered that if you have a BIG family you have to sort of run it like an organization. There have to be some boundaries and rules or utter chaos will ensue so over the years, we have installed "norms". This cuts down on waste of time, money and energy. Our lives are much more peaceful now that we work as a team. Believe me, there have been many things we have tried and we have sort of worked out our own system, pulling things here and there that work for us. I expected to come home to utter disorganization but was pleasantly surprised that there wasn't too much out of order! There were only a few things, that I had to set back in place. I will just share a few with you and maybe you will get a glimpse of what it is like in the Carter household and maybe you will get a few laughs!
I have enjoyed doing things like cooking meals for them since I have been home but the girls have become so adept at it, that it is sort of like I'm coming in and taking over THEIR job.
I also came back to my kids who have "their TV shows" they have to watch on TV. What? In our home before we left, rarely did we ever watch TV unless it was educational. Maybe 2 hours a week? Now the TV was on 5 hours a day? Ben obsessed over the weather channel, Maggie, had to watch "ZOE" (Who?) Eli was stuck on Sponge Bob, Graham couldn't pick just one show he loved and Nathaniel searched high and low for anything to do with racing. Seora, well, she is a movie person. Being the mean mom I am, I decreed Off with the TV and showed them where the swimming pool was!
Speaking of the pool, I was amazed at the amount of towels being used. Typically, our norm is, you get one towel per week for the pool and one towel per week for your shower. "HANG IT UP TO DRY, It will be ready for you when you are ready for it."
But... They were getting a NEW towel every day for the pool AND their shower and for their buddies who were coming over to swim with them! The laundry room had a mountain of towels to climb over! I mean think about it! You have 8 people using 2 towels a day times 7 days in the week and you have to wash 112 towels a week!!!! That doesn't even include the Friends!
I told them this wasn't a Resort. "Keep your towel or drip dry."(Smile)
Which reminds me about washing. Can you comprehend how much laundry cycles through this household? A LOT!
We have certain days that a specific person's clothes can be washed on. For example, Monday is Seora and Maggie's day. If their clothes don't appear in the laundry room on that day to be washed, they are out of luck.
I came home to find some of my children, making a regular habit of washing their pair of shorts and shirt ONLY, because they couldn't make a decision of what to wear today and liked what they wore yesterday but it was dirty! So, after a lecture on how much money it cost to wash only a pair of shorts and shirt in a non emergency situation, I think they may have gotten the point. :)
Another major concern was the amount of food being consumed! Gone was the norm of three meals a day and 1-2 reg. portioned snacks and eat in the kitchen, dining room or outside.
In was a free food for all, whenever, wherever, whatever and however much you wanted!
Seora did ask me if I was going to lock up all the food now. Ha! Ha! LOL
After reassuring her that was not a plan of mine, I explained to them, that food was there if they were hungry but the "norm" was being put back into place. Eat in moderation. Eat meals when they are prepared.
Sooooo.... it is good to be back home and work out all the quirks that come with running a big family.
Having kids is NOT boring! There is something always happening!
Well, summer school is in session, (Because kids around here thought the work I left for them to do was too hard to do without a tenth time explanation. )(SMILE) So I must run. I promise to write more about our Africa trip very soon.
Melissa

video of Isaiah on his birthday

Watch this cute video!

Catchup on jinja Trip

Catch Up - Friday before Jinja

Well, after waiting around the house ALL week for the attorney to call to tell us when a court date would be we found out that the judge he was waiting on had been on vacation and so we were waiting for him to come back! He could have told us this several days ago. but alas that is the way things go around here. We had made plans to go to Jinja for Friday and Saturday night but then our attorney called and wanted a briefing with everybody on Saturday morning. so that knocked out Friday in Jinja. Friday we decided to get out of the house with the kids and decided to take them to the "zoo"here and to a hotel where there is an indoor pool and playground. (The same one that had the monkeys.) Well, Our driver arrived late, then another person came by thinking it would be a good time to do business but we finally got out and going. We then had to go towards town to a store to buy some food and swim gear for the kids and so by the time we reached Entebbe(about 30 minutes) and the parking lot of the wildlife center, rain began blowing in off of Lake Victoria so we decided to go to the hotel first instead. We arrived at the hotel and paid our fees and the kids, Richard and Duane got in the pool. I stuck my feet in. As I had been sick, I didn't think it was good for me to get too cold and boy was the water cold! Allenni and Andrew were just shivering but refused to get out! Isaiah had fallen asleep which worked out perfect as he was sick too and would have pitched a fit if I had not let him swim. He absolutely loves water. I was the picture taker. Duane helped teach the kids some swimming techniques and Richard was very curious and watched too. He had never been swimming before and looked like a little kid. It did my heart good to see them all having fun. Before swimming, we ordered lunch knowing it would take about an hour and sure enough, it did. The food was pretty good but the kids looked at it funny and of course Allenni snarled her nose as it wasn't rice or matoke. (It was chicken salad sandwiches, though by the menu, I though I was ordering something else). Anyway, I also ordered what I thought was grilled vegetable kebab on a stick and these interesting looking "things" came out. For sure it was some indian food that sort of tasted like styrofaom with tumeric and curry on them. Oh, well. Like I have said before, nobody is in a hurry here and so they wait until everyone, I mean everyone, has finished their last morsel of food before bringing the bill. I finally asked for the bill, but the waiter just told me the total. But I have learned here to ask for a reciept to make sure all things are kosher and correct. So I did. Well, he said it will take some time. So we waited for another 20 minutes. (SMILE) Duane is learning patience here. (SMILE). He brought the bill, and I didn't have exact change. So.... guess what? We waited another 15-20 minutes for the change. Ha! So by the time we got out of there, we didn't have time to go to the zoo. We headed back to Entebbe and stopped on the wayside to buy Matoke, cabbage and tomates for three people for three days. Isaiah's auntie is coming in for the court hearing on Monday and is staying at the pastor's house and Esther is cooking for her. I must admit, I am a little nervous. You know, the thoughts of "What if she sees how well he is doing and wants him back?" What if she changes her mind about wanting him back?" But really, I shouldn't worry, I know God gave this child to me. So I prayed handing my fears over to God. He is so good to calm the soul. Well, on Friday night, Isaiah slept pretty good except for the congestion and bless his heart, I had to put a pillow up under the blanket and prop him up a little to ease his breathing and suction his nose out.(Thankfully I remembered to purchase one of those suction bulbs for babies and bring it.) Saturday came and we had to be at the attorney's office at 11am. So we were to be ready by 8am. We were but everyone else wasn't! Go figure! But we finally got on our way and half of the people who were supposed to go with us didn't show. We arrived at the court house only to find the attorney not there! Not surprised! We then located him by phone through which he told us to go to his associates office next door at the hotel. So we left our van at the high court and walked across the street to the Grand Imperial Hotel. John our coordinator, taking Scott's place got to the hotel and we ended up in a shopping mall that was in the hotel. As none of the fashion stores looked like attorney's offices, John stopped and asked. "No, no attorney offices around here. Try around the hotel on the street." So off we went, to try the street. But I really do think God sent us on that little detour to remind me of something, because there in very big letters on a large glass store front were the words, GOD IS ABLE, GOD PROVIDES clothing store. I smiled to myself, at God's humor. He wanted to remind me that HE was in control, taking care of all the details. HE IS ABLE, All by Himself to complete these works He has started. HE is ABLE to PROVIDE all that is needed. The strength, the approvals, the guardianship, the passports and the money. Frankly, He knew I needed to be reminded of all that, so he took me on a little detour. I nudged Duane and pointed to the sign and he grinned, knowing exactly why that was there. We both were encouraged. Back to the search of the attorney's office. We went around the hotel and walked all the way down the sidewalk but still found no office. Then we were told to walk across the street and find him in that building! That building was a post office. So, John asked an attendant. He then told us to climb three flights of stairs and there we would find the attorney. We did that and voila! we found his office. He was sitting at a big table waiting for us. Around here, direct directions are not neccessary, just general ones. I must admit, I was a little irritated, first because I was not feeling well and Mama Beatrice was not feeling well and we had the baby and had forgotten the sling to carry him in. But we finally found the attorney indirectly. After he briefed us, asked us some questions and made us a little nervous about how to direct the judge as "My Lord" any time we were spoken to, and told not to spiritualize or use the word ministry in talking to the judge, we left. On the way back to the van, I stopped at the hotel to use their bathroon and told John, we would catch up to him at the High Court.(You always take advantage of a good bathroom if one comes available in the midst of Africa) Duane went in with me and we went to the front desk and asked where the toilet. The man directed us and after business was completed we headed back out. As we passed by the front desk and said, "Thank You", the attended replied, "All is well?", "Yes, we said, All is well." and smiled as we left. What is interesting is the choice of words this man chose. You see, days before, a friend had emailed me and told me to read about the Shunamite woman in 2 Kings 4. That even though the circumstances pointed to her son being dead, she told Elisha, "All is Well". She understood that God's power was more real than what the circumstances told her. So, I had been contemplating about this phrase for somedays now. God has been teaching me to look to him and say, "All is Well" because it is in his hands, and to have the clerk use those exact words, Well, it made me notice and be reminded that truely all is well, if God is in control. We arrived at the van safely, after cautiously crossing the road and the crazy traffic with no African to give us que when the proper time to cross was. Let me just say, Pedistrians do not have the right away! We headed back to the house to get ready to leave for our weekend trip to Jinja. That in itself is another story!

Duane teaching Allenni how to kick Andrew all geared up Allenni ready to swim This is the life Enjoying lunch makeshift bed for Isaiah

Dedication , part 2

Pastor Ron, Andrew and David talking to us
This Child is the Lord's
Prayer- Giving him to God

Dedication cont. Part 2

Wednesday. continued
Duane and I were talking about this tonight. The labor pains when giving birth are hard and hurt and sometimes you cry and scream but you have to hang in there and BREATH!!!!! DEEP BREATHS!!!! because you know there is something wonderful happening. Your emotions go up and down between joy and pain. Between elation and giving up. It is all natural to do this. You push and push and finally a new one is welcomed into the world. And extreme joy fills your soul because you know this child is yours and the fruit of your labor. The same is with the struggles of adoption. It is not easy. The labor pains are not exactly physical but the emotions are very real and pretty much the same but over a longer time period!
But I know that in the end, I am going to have children who are going to be welcomed into our family. The fruits of my labor will appear. So, I will not give up. But I might cry and ask why is it taking so long???? In the process. I know my God has promised me that He will prevail for the justice of these children and therefore I will trust His Word.
When I am weak, He is strong.

Today, Wednesday, while we were sitting around waiting for the attorney to call, Darlene came down and asked us if we wanted to go into town with them and then get some lunch.
We quickly said, Shoot yeah! And within minutes, we were on our way. We ran errands with them and shopped for souvenirs a little ourselves. (And if Duane Carter wants to shop, he is REALLY bored) We then went to this really great Italian place and first Dennis tried to order pepperoni pizza but they didn’t put pepperoni on the pizza just red peppers. The waiter showed us a picture of peppers on the placemat on our table so we would understand. I then ordered my artichoke pizza but they didn’t have artichokes so I ordered a pineapple, ham pizza and Dennis ordered a cheese pizza and they were VERY good. Darlene and Duane ordered these pork skewers that were delicious.
Anyway, sorry about all the details, Every little outing is exciting here!
We came back home and I had begun to feel pretty bad with aching all over and sore throat and coughing, so I went to lay down. By supper, I told duane that there was no way, I could even walk up to supper and I just wanted to lay down. After a while, I started to feel better and went in the living room to the couch. Duane had this same stuff a few days ago. That is one thing I don’t like here. I can’t seem to shake sickness. I get over one thing and get another. God is faithful and keeps us going. Much prayer would be appreciated for our health.
While Duane was gone to dinner, I called Charles our attorney and he said he got the person to sign the document needed for the passports but they wanted to talk to immigration about something. But he would try his best to get the passports printed tomorrow. PLEASE PRAY!!!!
(Thursday)
That is about it for today folks.
Thanks for your prayers and awesome support and encouragement. We are trusting God for miracles.
(ok, it is after midnight here and the whole village of Seguku is going wild now for the last 20 minutes. They have been watching a soccer game for a few hours now and evidently Uganda won.) I sure do wish I had them 10 pairs of earplugs sitting in bathroom in the USA right now)

Isaiah's 2nd birthday (Really his first) & Dedication

Testing the cake
This is really good! Who thought of this? Great idea!

I'm addicted! Birthdays are great!



May 21, 2008
Saturday- Tuesday

Well, I haven’t written what has really gone on in the last several days so will try to document it here.
We went Thursday to change our plane tickets and the earliest they could get us out to leave is Tuesday the 27th.
At this time of the year it gets harder to rebook because flights are all full. KLM said we really couldn’t change them again. So we said ok, We are here til the 27th.
We had hoped for a court hearing today but didn’t get one and our attorney said that he was filing on Friday we would have one on Monday.
Scott and Brenda who have been helping us on this adoption left on Monday to return to the States for 3 months, but between John, Scott’s assistant, and me, I think we can figure the rest of the steps out.
So, come Friday, we did pretty much all I explained in the previous post.
Saturday, I was determined to bake Isaiah a birthday cake and had gotten the ingredients from Esther. There was a mixer in the house kitchen we are staying at and so it was a snap to whip a cake up from scratch. I made a big one and a little one for Isaiah to dig into. Now it really gets exciting! The cakes mixed up fine but I couldn’t for the life of me figure out how to get the oven lit. Even duane came in there to try to figure it out. The stovetop worked so I knew the gas tank was full but the oven wasn’t lighting. I finally called, Brenda to get Darlene’s phone # because she had lived in that house before but Dennis her husband was there so he told me just flip it on and it will light in a minute or two.
So I did. A few minutes later the pilot lit and the oven started heating. Or so I thought. After about an hour the oven was still less than 150F! So I turned the oven off and tried to decide what to do. I got to thinking, they bake things on open fires, I wonder if I could bake a cake ON TOP of the stove???
So I found a big pot and put a little water in the bottom and set the little cake batter bowl inside of another and put a lid on it. But after a few minutes I realized I would have a very moist, steamed cake that I wouldn’t be able to decorate if I did that. And I didn’t have a pot big enough to hold the big cake.
So I decided to take it up to the guest house to bake. ( I was so trying to avoid that hike up those stairs.) That was my only option.
We called Richard our driver to go get Isaiah from Mama Beatrice’s house and Duane went with him and got him. After they returned, I had Richard stay a few minutes so he could DRIVE us up the hill to the guest house!! (Melissa, you’re a genius! Or just plain lazy!)
That worked out well as we had the laptops, the baby, the cake stuff, and the baby bag to carry.
I then had Richard to leave the van and told him I would cll him when we needed to go back home!
Well, my cake got baked and I borrowed the decorating tubes and etc. that I brought to Esther and had Isaiah’s cake decorated in no time. It was great watching him figure it out and decide he really liked this cake thing!
I posted a video on the iweb page, but it keeps saying it can’t publish it because of my internet connection.

Isaiah spent the night on Saturday and I rigged up a little foam mattress beside the bed with a mosquito net over it and he slept pretty well. He woke up about 2:30 hungry and did not go back to sleep until 4am! He was happy singing and laughing and wanted to play. He finally went back to sleep and slept until about 9am. He is a fitful sleeper and cries out a lot. It really soothed him when I reached out my hand and patted him and he would go back to sleep.
Sunday, we awoke to dark clouds and then it started raining. We had planned on going to the second service which is in Luganda because Isaiah was getting dedicated. Well, we decided we were not going to try to go down the hill in the rain with a baby. The red mud gets pretty slippery and we Mzungus are not good at handling rushing water and mud. I was disappointed that we were going to miss this but we changed clothes and decided to have our own service. At about 11am we heard a van and there was Richard, sent by Mama Beatrice from church asking us if we were coming for the program. I explained that we didn’t handle the rain and hills very well and he thought that was funny. We changed back into our church clothes quickly and in a few minutes were headed to church. We arrived and Mama Beatrice ushered us in to sit on the front row in a packed church. Talk about grand entrance and being late! Pastor Ron was preaching with an interpreter and so we got to hear the sermon in English. Isaiah did pretty well during service but got pretty ansy and wanted to crawl. In our rush I did not bring but one toy and no snacks! What kind of mother am I?
He got all dirty with red dust from the floor but he was happy.
Then one of the ushers went into the pastor’s office and brought out a mat and spread it out on the floor and we put the baby on it. Isaiah seemed to know he couldn’t go off the mat and was happy to play there.
Six people received Christ as their Savior that morning and that was awesome. Afterwards, Isaiah was dedicated and it was great! Richard took our camera and took some great photos.
We arrived back home about 1pm and I fixed lunch for us and then it was naptime for us all.
At 5:30 we headed up to the guest house(I walked this time) for fellowship with all the missionaries and to say goodbye to Scott and Brenda.
Isaiah spent the night again as we had to leave for town on Monday morning, hoping for a court hearing.
It didn’t happen. Of course we were disappointed but God encouraged us with his Word. We took Isaiah back to Mama Beatrice’s house telling her if we got a call for court, we would get him again.
We also didn’t get great news from Charles about A&A’s case either. All we can do at this point is to put it all in God’s hands. He has moved mountains for us in the past where these kids are concerned and I know he will do it again. We are trusting in Him. So here we are on Wed. night and still we see no progress but we are still believing it can happen.
We have been able to talk to the kids through email and yahoo IM and that has been good but we all are missing each other terribly. Though they don’t come out and say it directly, they want a normal routine and stability as much as we do. It has been four months since we have had that in our lives. So, I will admit, though I am trusting God completely in this, I am tired and weary and just want to go home and be with all my kids. The emotional roller coaster is not fun and it is hard. (to be continued)

More pics of Uganda

Lake Victoria at Sunset
Lake Victoria
Boiled eggs Anyone?
Esther and Melissa
The "African" 7/11
These are some pictures from different places.

The others are scenes from around town and at Lake Victoria

Prayer Request -Miracles Needed

Hello everyone, Just a short note to ask you to pray.I will send a longer post to tell you about what has been happening later but it is late and I really need to get to bed. We had hoped our court date would have been Monday. ?_It was not and today it didn't happen either. This really pushes us now to get done before we leave on the 27th. ?_ So.. prayer #1 Court date on Wed. and ruling given on Thursday morning. Passport issued by Thursday. We didn't hear from Charles, A&A's attorney yesterday either but he called tonight and said the Prime Minister's office is giving him the run around, ?_Letter is written but he can't find the right person who needs to sign it. ?_He is going to see another man tomorrow about it. So... prayer #2 Pray that A&A's passports will be issued by Thursday Morning. I am homesick and had a cry session this morning really missing the kids and from their emails and IM's, they are missing me. So..... Prayer# 3 Pray for us all to hang in there. When passports (in faith) are given we will rush them to the US Embassy to get Visas and pray they are granted before Tuesday afternoon. (Monday is a Holiday) so we lose a day. so....Prayer #4 Pray for quick issuance of visas after passports Every circumstance points to "It is not gonna happen", but..... we serve a big God who works miracles and we are trusting Him to move govt. officials to get the kids home and all of us to be together in one place. God has been giving us scripture all day today to tell us Be joyful. Rejoice, I am working on your behalf, though you can't see it. ?_ So..... Prayer #5 Pray for a miracle for all three kids! Thanks so much for all your prayers, Melissa

The Plane Left without Us

Duane and I at Lake Victoria

The Plane Left Without US

Friday, May 16, 2008

The Plane Left Without Us

Well, today was pretty much a leisure day and we went into town with Scott, Brenda, Sarah their daughter and Darlene, another missionary. I went with Brenda to the Beauty shop to get her hair done while Duane went with Scott to deliver some papers to Lawrence, our attorney. After they got back, they waited on us next door discussing “man things” I suppose. After we were finished, we joined them and had tea before heading off to lunch at a very good restaurant.

Duane had a very nice cheese burger, very close to an American one with fries for about $10. So that wasn’t bad.

I got a cheese burger with “monkey gland” sauce. It was really good. There was no monkey actually involved just a name. Or so they say. It was more of a chutney. So along with my repertoire of interesting food, I can add Monkey Gland Sauce.

Well, that done we headed home to rest a while.

Lawrence told Duane that he was filing our papers today and we should have a hearing on Monday.

I talked to Charles the attorney for Allenni and Andrew and I thought he got the paper from the Prime Minister’s Office but from what I understood today, they have it drafted but not signed. He got the 2nd document he needed for the PM’s office but now they want to see the whole file on the children before they issue the letter. So today Charles retrieved the file from Immigration and will go first thing Monday to give it to them. Sounds like they are sending Charles on a rabbit chase.

Please pray that things will fall into place next week very quickly for these passports.

Tonight was the night we were supposed to leave to come home, but we extended our flight to leave May 27. That was the earliest next flight to get a seat.

Duane was a little bummed out tonight but he will be ok. “I teasingly told him “to get over it and be a man!” Ha! When he reached his 8th time of changing the plane ticket, then he could be bummed as much as he wanted. (Smile) He took it well. The Florida team that was here, left tonight. That is my third team that has come and gone since I have been here! I have met some really great people. God used the pastors on this team to encourage Duane and I tremendously.

Mama Shirley, the founding missionary of this mission here said tonight, “Well, another team has come and gone and the Carters are still here!”

Well, that about wraps up this day. Thanks to those of you who have written encouraging emails to us. We greatly appreciate it. I posted even more new photos to the blog today. So check them out.

We will probably have the kids with us this weekend, so we will get more pics of them.

On Monday, I think we are moving down to Scott and Brenda’s house as they are leaving to go to the States for 3 months for the birth of their 1st grandbaby. They have internet there and the kids can come and stay with us there without being bored and overcrowded.

The only drawback is that they live DOWN below the church and that means that we not only have to climb those terrible stairs, but part of the mountain now to eat our meals. (Can you tell I hate exercise?) I am getting in better shape though. That is for sure. We have decided that one meal is good enough for us. Ha! We get some things we can fix ourselves for breakfast and a lot lately we have had to eat in town. So that really leaves one meal to climb for! LOL.

I guess, I better close with a list of specifics to continue to pray for.

1. For our health. My heart rate normalized today and my sinuses feel better. Duane on the other hand is fighting crude in his lungs and very sore throat. The smog and burning of things makes it hard to breathe. Like tonight, as I am writing this, someone somewhere is burning tires and it is making us sick with coughing and headaches. You have to have the windows open, so it won’t be so hot in the house.

2. That Monday, the Prime Minister’s office will ISSUE that letter so we can get the passports issued.

3. That our Court date will be early on Monday and the judge will complete the ruling and ISSUE it on Tuesday.

4. That Isaiah’s passport will be issued in a couple of days.

5. We need all passports by Thursday, May 22, 2008 to be able to have enough time to get the US visas for them. Monday the 26 is a holiday. We will still have Tuesday as we don’t leave til late at night.

6. That the 2 documents I need for Allenni and Andrew for the US Embassy will arrive quickly.

7. That the kids at home will be fine

8. For Allenni’s health. She is doing ok as long as she is on low doses of prednisone.

Thanks again for all of your prayers. We deeply appreciate them. If we did not have you all praying for us, we could not do what we are doing. When you release prayers to God on our behalf, He works.

We are expecting God to do awesome things for us this coming week. Better get to bed. Melissa

Pictures of Seguku Village

Seguku Village Church
Pastor Mike and the prison Ministry Team
Medicines being packaged for the Prison ministry
Children in Seguku Village

These kids yell Mzungu every time they see us

Hello again from Uganda

Allenni 1st time to meet Duane
Andrew Meets Duane
Allenni and Andrew trying on new clothes
Inked from Fingerprints AGAIN!!!!
Isaiah doesn't quite remember me yet

HELLO AGAIN FROM UGANDA, TODAY WE WENT AND GOT FINGER PRINTED FOR AN INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL CHECK! WE HAVE OFFICIALLY BEEN FINGERPRINTED MORE THAN A CRIMINAL! HA! WE ALSO DISCUSSED WITH OUR LAWYER ABOUT OUR CASE AND LINED EVERYTHING UP TO BE SUBMITTED TO THE JUDGE AND ARE HOPING THAT OUR COURT DATE WILL BE THIS THURSDAY! ONE WEEK AHEAD OF WHAT WAS HOPED. THE ATTORNEY ASKED US ABOUT OUR MOTIVATION TO ADOPT MORE KIDS. NINE IS A LOT! WHY DO YOU WANT TO DO THAT. SO DUANE TOLD HIM, GOD GAVE US THE FINANCES TO DO IT, THE PURPOSE IN OUR LIFE IS TAKE KIDS WITH NO PARENTS AND GIVE THEM A LOVING HOME. OUR WORK IN LIFE IS TO DO THIS. HE ACCEPTED IT AND SAID OK. AFRICANS WE HAVE FOUND ARE QUITE SURPRISED THAT A MZUNGU HAS AS MANY KIDS AS WE DO AND THAT THEY ARE NOT OUR BIOLOGICAL CHILDREN. MOST OF THEM HAVE THEN THANKED US FOR TAKING THE KIDS. WE ARE HAVING TO EXTEND OUR TRIP BY A WEEK. GOD IS WORKING ON OUR BEHALF. WE KNOW IT. OUR CURRENT ATTORNEY FOR ISAIAH CALLED TODAY AND ASKED US OF THE SITUATION WITH ALLENNI AND ANDREW'S PASSPORTS. I CALLED THE ATTORNEY WORKING ON THAT AND HE TOLD ME THAT NO HE DIDN'T GET THE DOCUMENT FROM THE PRIME MINISTER'S OFFICE BUT THEY MIGHT WANT THE GRANDFATHER TO COME AND INTERVIEW HIM. UGH! THAT IS RIDICULOUS. THE POOR MAN IS OLD AND SICK WITH AIDS AND IT IS A HARD TRIP FOR HIM. I ASKED THE ATTORNEY, SO... WE WILL HAVE PASSPORTS THEN BY WED.? OH, NO HE SAID, MAYBE THURSDAY. WHEN I CALLED SCOTT THE MISSIONARY BACK WITH THIS INFO, HE PASSED IT ALONG TO THE NEW ATTORNEY AND THE NEW ATORNEY SAID HE WOULD TRY TO HELP US GET THE PASSPORTS FOR A&A WITH OUT CHARGING US! WOW! THAT IS UNHEARD OF HERE! THANK YOU LORD FOR FAVOR. SPECIFIC PRAYER REQUEST: 1. THAT NEXT WEEK AFTER THE GUARDIANSHIP OF ISAIAH IS ISSUED, IT WILL TAKE 3 DAYS FOR PASSPORTS. GOD HAS LAID IT ON MY HEART TO PRAY THAT HIS PASSPORT WILL BE COMPLETED IN 3 DAYS. 2. THAT THIS WEEK WE WOULD HAVE ALLENNI AND ANDREW'S PASSPORTS IN 3 DAYS. 3. GOD HAS SHOWN US THAT IF WE SEND FORTH PRAISE, HE WILL WORK ON OUR BEHALF. WE ARE ASKING YOU TO JOIN US FOR THESE NEXT 10 DAYS IN WORSHIP AND PRAISE ON OUR BEHALF AND ALLENNI AND ANDREW AND ISAIAH'S BEHALF. (2 CHRONICLES 20)-- WE STAND OUR STATION AND WE WORSHIP AND THE LORD FIGHTS OUR BATTLES FOR US. PRAISE: DUANE IS FEELING MUCH BETTER MY HEALTH IS GOOD GOD IS ANSWERING OUR PRAYERS TOMORROW WE ARE SUPPOSED TO MEET WITH THE SOCIAL WORKER LOVE TO ALL, MELISSA

Mother's Day, May 11

Allenni and Isaiah
Allenni and Andrew Blowing Bubbles

Email sent out- Mother's Day May 11

Email sent out mother’s day may 11. Hello from Uganda, Well, Friday came and went with no call from the attorney about the kids passports. So on Saturday morning I called him. He said he did have his meeting with the Commissioner of Passports but he said he would issue the passports immediately when he had a document from the Prime Minister's office. Which Charles hopes to attain tomorrow, Monday. This is the same document that they were supposed to be working on while I was in the States but had not been pursuing it wholeheartedly. So... we need that document. I also found out that the 5 children who were "similar" cases as our, in fact were not. I happened to know one of the moms adopting and she sent me an email. But while here I have learned that they will tell you something so as not to hurt your feelings and give you hope, if there is a problem. We went yesterday to Entebbe, to Lake Victoria. I think it is the largest Fresh Water lake in the world. We went to a hotel there called the Imperial Botanical Garden Hotel and they had a "beach", playground and large indoor pool and nice garden area. Beach area and Garden area was teeming with Spider monkeys and tropical birds. We got some interesting photos. At one point I was taking a photo of one monkey and this other one just keeps coming toward us so I didn't move, and he just walked past like I was not even there. The kids sort of got excited too. We had all three kids with us. Isaiah is getting used to us and has become a mama boy. He is darling and laughs a lot. He seems to like Duane. All the kids here like Duane's hairy arms. He is quiet popular in the village. Allenni and Andrew have taken to him as well. The kids enjoyed the playground there at the hotel and we had our afternoon "tea" drinking sodas and nan bread. Duane goes stir crazy more than I do and so we had to get out somewhere. I hadn't been able to go to Lake Victoria while here last time so I am glad we went. The kids could not understand why they couldn't get in the pool and we kept trying to tell them, that we had to sleep there to use the pool and it cost money. so, they said, "ok, we sleep here." Supposedly , Monday we are to meet with the Social worker and get our social report done. After all the papers are gathered and reviewed, they will be submitted to the court for a hearing. It looks like we may have to extend our stay a week. One of the worst things here is hurrying up to do a flurry of paperwork and then WAITING<> We had hoped to go on Safari here but are not sure we are going to get to. A mission team here from Florida just returned and they said it was awesome. Well, I am going to list prayer specifics. thanks for your emails and prayers. It really encourages us to hear from you. sorry if I don't respond individually. The internet is slow and sometimes I only have a certain time to let the emails download and read them later. We have to go to the guest house to have internet and YOU KNOW I HATE THOSE STAIRS! (I do have a correction to make. They are only 12 " high instead of 18". But there are a lot of them!) PRAYER LIST 1. Pray for the Prime Minister's document to be issued before Tuesday, so we can get passports by the end of the week 2. Pray for Duane's health. He has been having high fever and bad chills on and off for two days, no other symptoms. (I am doing good, thanks for your prayers) 3. That Isaiah's papers would be gathered very quickly and submitted sooner than planned and we would get a quick hearing date. 4. That we can get all the details worked out on both sides of the ocean if we have to extend our trip one week. 5. For continued guidance on some decisions we have to make upon our return to the US. 6. For Joy, Hope and Peace in our lives through this process. Honestly, though it is nice to be back, I really want to come home. I want ALL of my family in one place and rest with them and enjoy them all. It has really been harder this time being back. God is faithful even when times are hard. 7. For our children back home. Thanks to those of you taking care of them. Blessings to you all and thanks again so much for your prayers!

Sat. May 10,2008

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Well, Just a note to send an update to all of you. First,We are doing well physically. Thanks for your prayers. Yesterday, We picked Isaiah up after lunch and headed to town to get passport photos of him, Duane and I. Isaiah fell asleep on the way there and so when we had to wake him up he had that grumpy look and decided that the photographer was not going to get a good photo of him! Duane's comment on my photo was, "Well, you look you have been here in Uganda awhile." My hair was everywhere and I was really sweaty. Definite mug shot. While waiting for the the photos to be processed, we went to the grocery downstairs for a few items. We definitely got looks and comments by passerbys. Let's see two Muzungu's, one black baby, -how's that? Adoption is not a common thought here. After that, we headed back to the village and picked up Allenni and Andrew and went to dinner at Brenda and Scott's house for homemade pizza. Allenni and Andrew spent the night and surprisingly went to bed withoput any fuss! We were thanking Jesus! Duane and I stayed up pretty late talking as HE was wide awake. We didn't hear from the attorney last night but this morning, I called him and he did have the meeting with the Commissioner of Passports. He was told that they would issue the passports immediately as soon as they had a document from the Prime Minister's office. Charles said he would try and get the document on Monday. This was a document that supposedly they were supposed to get while I was in the States but evedently they didn't work on it much. It looks like with Isaiah's guardianship we will have to extend our stay one week. Monday we are supposed to meet with the social worker and get our international criminal check done and by Thursday or Friday, hope to have a court date set up for Isaiah. We could use your prayers. We don't mind being here but just would like to get home and get the whole family united and in one place and enjoy each other! For some reason, For me it is harder being here this time. I do miss home. Below are some specific prayer request. 1. That we would get the document needed from the Prime Minister, swiftly. 2. That things would go well with the social worker visit on Monday 3. That the Commissioner of Passports will offer swift assistance in issuing passports. 4. That we would have a court date set up by Friday. 5. For Allenni's health. That her congestion would not turn to Pneumonia again. 6. For direction in our lives after we return home We are to pick Isaiah up later today and have all the kids with us again. He took to Duane pretty well but cried a few times if I left the room. He cut off the tears as soon as I picked him up! He is so cute and laughed a lot last night. He can walk around a table holding on. Well, we will let you know if there is more news later.