"Do not be afraid for I am with you. I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west...Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth."
~Isaiah 43:5 - 6

People ask why...

Why Ethiopia?
- One in ten children die before their first birthday.
- One in six children die before their fifth birthday.
- 44% of the population of Ethiopia is under 15 years old.
- 60% of children in Ethiopia are stunted because of
malnutrition.
- The median age in Ethiopia is 18 years.
- 1.5 million people are infected with AIDS (6th highest in the
world).
- 720,000 children have been orphaned by AIDS alone.
- Per capita, Ethiopia receives less aid than any country in
Africa.
- In the 90s the population (3%) grew faster than food
production (2.2%).
- Half the children in Ethiopia will never attend school.
- 88% will never attend secondary school.
- Ethiopia has approx. 4.3 million orphans and the country is
twice the size of Texas.

So the real question is Why NOT Ethiopia?
These are not numbers. Each of these statistics represents a real child. A real child who needs hope and a future.

Malawi Mission Trip 2007

In 2007 I traveled to Dowa, Malawi to teach English and work at the Hope House, an orphange founded by Jim and Janelle Hamilton from Shawnee, Oklahoma.  This is important because this is when I fell in love with Africa and the people.  I had never been around people so full of joy.  The kids sang and danced and their smiles never left their faces.  I was humbled at the pure happiness of the people in those horrible physical conditions.  God showed me a need and then gave me the desire to do something about it.  This was a step in our family's decision to adopt a child from Africa.

t-shirts for sale in support of our adoption

If you would like to purchase a shirt we will be happy to mail them to you!  If you are interested e-mail me your information to ljestis@rockcreekisd.net $20 each

Our Story

Landon and I were married in 1998 and knew from the beginning we were meant for each other.  After only dating for 6 months we were engaged and married soon after.  I guess you could say we have never looked back.  We became pregnant with our first child a year or so after being married and Lainey was born in 2000.  She was precious and beautiful, and soon after we began to talk about adoption.  It was a desire I had been given by God when I was about 10 years old.  My mom said I used to tell her I was going to adopt a "little Chinese girl".  She listened and encouraged, and thought little else of it.  Almost 15 years later, I was having this same type discussion with my husband.  It was something he had never really thought about, but through much discussion, was on board....when the time was right.  When Lainey was 19 months old, our son Luke was born.  He was equally precious and such a blessing.  We didn't plan on them being so close in age, but we see daily the blessings of their small age difference.  We now had 2 children under the age of 2...not the right time for adoption.  A couple of years passed and we continued to talk about it and I remember praying that if this wasn't a God-given desire for God to take it away.  Needless to say, it never went away.  About three years later we really began to talk about starting the process.  A few months later I found out my brother and sister-in-law were pregnant with triplets...all natural!  I KNEW she would need tons of help so....not the right time for adoption.  Another year or so passed and we began seriously discussing it again.  At this time Landon's brother and sister-in-law knew there were fertility problems and decided on the adoption route.  We wanted our family to fully appreciate every moment with them so...not the right time for adoption.  December 2009...it IS the right time for adoption.  In January we began researching every possible scenario and agency.  We chose Gladney because of their reputation.  Through prayer and research and more prayer, we chose Ethiopia...or I guess Ethiopia chose us.  It was never questioned...our son would be from Ethiopia, a country with 4.4 million orphans.  We officially began all the paperwork in April of 2010.  We are now finished with everything but the dossier (in the process) and the referral and travel.  I pray that this blog helps those in the process, guides those just beginning, or bonds those of us in the same boat.  I will update as soon as anything new occurs.  I ask that you please pray for our son, Ethiopia, and our family.

Leandra

I have read so many blogs I feel like I am a family member of several families...so here I am bringing many of you into our journey.