let the digging begin, I'm headed to Ethiopia

Dear Family and friends,

it is hot off the press, but Glimmer of Hope called on Wednesday to tell Julie and I the deep bore hole for our WELL is starting to be dug today! We will be flying out of D.C. tomorrow morning at 11 am to arrive in Ethiopia Tuesday morning at 8 am. We hope to be there in time to see the clean livfe giving water come forth from the earth but even if we arrive late we will be there to love on the people of Chuko. Chuko is a rural southern village 5 hours south of the capital city Addis Ababa where I stayed when we adopted the twins. I am very excited to be on this journey, to be used by the King to share His good news and to show love in this tangable way to His people in Ethiopia.

Please pray for Julie and I during the trip that He would give us His eyes, His hands and feet, and His heart to see what He wants us to see, to provide for needs He wants addressed, to be a light in the darkness of a very muslim country. Please pray for favor in the areas of health, safety, travel details, and the provision of water for the people of Chuko. Prayers for all who are working to bring about the water project, both here in USA and in Ethiopia, for their wisdom, their safety, and stewardship. Please pray for my family whom I love and will miss tremendously, especially the twins as they are still not communicating and will not understand why I am not home with them. And please pray for those who are coming to fill my shoes: my mom Pam, and my dear friends, Karen and Nancy. Pray for them please, I truly appreciate all of your love and support of this water project and for me and my family. I wish I could bring you all along with me to see the joy, the love and the blessing you all have helped to bring about.

With love and for His glory alone! For trip updates follow our blog address is below.

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Michelle, VIP Outman family 6

www.outmansfrog.blogspot.com

Jute totes 4 Clean Water

Flowers in springtime, blue and off white jute tote.
Peacock, blue and lime green jute tote
Caramel paisley, red and orange jute tote.
These are really fun! Smaller jute tote, bucket style. These have a matching headband.

Pink flamingo, pink jute tote.
Pocket full of posies, orange jute tote.
My heart's in Africa, orange jute tote w/ matching headband.
Batik prints, pink jute tote w/ matching headband.

Totes are $35.00 each Spring is just around the corner, order yours today. Leave me a comment if you want to customize one of your own. 100% of $ raised goes to Glimmer of Hope for our Dig Deep project.

Which one do you like best?

Here are some new items I have created to raise money for our Dig Deep project. The jute totes are really nice. They measure 13" across, 8.5" high and 5.5" deep. Nice and roomy! Leave me a comment and tell me what you think of them. Which is your favorite? They will sell for $35 each. Fabric on side shown, opposite side is plain; perfect for your monogram!

The least of these, Matthew 45:40 "The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you whatever you did for on of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine you did for me.' Red and orange jute tote with african print fabric, shell and african bead.
Peace, Numbers 6:26 "the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace." Blue and green jute tote with peace sign fabric and black buttons.
Lilly/flamingo. Pink and green jute tote. Green and white fabric w/pink flamingos and buttons
Lilly/plaid. Green and pink jute tote. plaid fabric w/soft green buttons.

"Owl (I Will) keep my eyes on Him" jute tote blue and off white, owl fabric.

close up of owl fabric.

Merry Christmas 2010

Christmas 2009, in St George Island, FL
Phelix on his Thomas the train, Christmas 2010.
This is us on Christmas Eve at our home 2010. Jamie was on call this year so we stayed in town. Our home was decorated and all done up for the Lutheran Family and Children's Service (LFCS) holiday home tour. We were able to host Jamie's family for Christmas eve at our house for the first time. It was a great evening, a good time had by all.

Having our home on the LFCS Holiday Home tour was a blessing. Yes, it was a lot of work and it was way out of our comfort zone but we feel that it will bear fruit for His kingdom in ways we may not even know this side of heaven. We were able to share about our adoption experience and journey to Phelix and Phisher, and about Room for One More/Hope for One More adoption and foster care ministry/not for profit organization. We shared about Heart for Africa an organization we know to be doing great work in being His hands and feet in Swaziland and Kenya, Africa. And we were able to share about Dig Deep, our clean water well project in rural, southern Ethiopia. It was estimated around 700 people came through our home that day. We were so thankful to meet so many new people and share our family story and passion for helping the least of these in Africa and all orphans and foster children. To God be the glory!

This is not a very good picture of the tree I did in honor of the 150 million orphans in the world. It was emotional to see all of the framed ornaments with photographs of beautiful children all over the world who are orphans. I feel blessed to have had the platform that LFCS provided through the home tour to bring awareness to these children. I did my best with the tree but somehow still felt my 150 photo/ornaments did not really do justice for the 150 million. I just pray He is able to bless and multiply my efforts.

Change of Plans

A new made-for-TV movie slated for showing on January 8 explores adoption, sacrifice and life priorities in a way very few films today do. “Change of Plans” tells the story of a young, jet-set couple whose all-too-perfect lives may be irreparably altered by four orphaned children. I had the chance to preview the director’s cut this week and came away inspired and thoughtfully challenged.

When Sally Danville’s (Brooke White of American Idol) best friend from college dies in tragic accident in Africa, she leaves behind four children—three of them adopted from countries around the world. Sally and husband Jason must now grapple with choices that will shape the rest of their lives. Step by step, the couple realizes that for every inch they open their hearts and home to the children, the plans they’ve mapped out for themselves will likely be lost forever.

The film gets its strength from the underlying story and real-world decisions it represents for each of us. The acting, music and script are not Oscar quality, but still solid. Many adoptive families and others involved with kids in the foster system will likely see parallels with their own stories as well. The widows the story offers into the potential challenges of adoption and foster care are perhaps understated, but not absent: it’s clear that to welcome a child into our home is not a cost-free choice.

Refreshingly, this movie earns its “family friendly” identity not merely by cutting out sex and violence, but by delivering a thoughtful challenge to some of the great lies of our era. Most narratives today, from commercials to movies, implicitly argue that fulfillment is found in getting what we want. “Change of Plans” points in the opposite direction, helping us see that real life is only found by embracing the inspiring-but-costly invitations God puts before us.

If your evening January 8 is not already booked, I’d encourage you to spend it enjoying “Change of Plans” with your kids or a few friends. Doing so sends a message to TV producers and advertisers that there is, after all, a market for quality programs. More importantly, the story just may provoke a change in your plans as well.

this post taken from www.thatwemaybeadopted.blogspot.com

Crazy or PASSION

HAPPY 1.1.11
you may want to read more from this incredible, Jesus lovin' momma. She is AWESOME, her blog is: itsalmostnaptime.blogspot.com enjoy! Be inspired to find your P A S S I O N and be passionate about it!