A Simple Walk Of Faith

1-19-10

2010-01-19T18:30:00.002-08:00

Family and Friends,

Today has been a very hard day for my mommy and daddy, they learned that they will not be able to travel to Ethiopia on Friday. They are having a hard time understanding the reason because the reasons that they have been given don’t make a lot of senses. They are trying to remember that they are thinking from an American mind set and that not all cultures and governments work the same.

My mommy is so grateful for the wonderful adoption agency that we are working with, Arise. Susan, the head of Arise, has answered all of mommy’s questions, has answered all her phone calls and has been there for her every step of the way! She is so amazing. Please remember to pray for her as well because this situation is just as hard for Susan as it is for me and mommy and daddy. Nikki from KVI has also been amazing at helping mommy with her million questions!

What we do know is that there is no question that the paper work says that I am a Wensink. There is just a spelling mistake that needs to be fixed. There is no time frame to when that mistake will be fixed. It could be fixed Monday or it could take 7 weeks. We just don’t know. As soon as mommy and daddy get word that it is fixed, they will be on a plane to pick me up. Because of the mix up in paper work, mommy will have to stay in Ethiopia for a minimum of 3 weeks and it could be longer. My daddy will only be able to stay as long as he has vacation.

Would you please stand in prayer with my family? Please pray for Gods will in the entire situation! Please also pray for peace for my mommy and daddy. Thank you so much for your support!

Love,
Ruthie!

1/15/10

2010-01-19T18:30:00.001-08:00

Family and Friends,

We really need your prayers. As you may have heard the judge who signed my adoption decree spelled my mommy and daddys names wrong. This is creating all sorts of problems for us as a family. My mommy received a voice mail while she was in a meeting today letting her know that this means that most likely she and daddy will not be able to travel to get me next week. They had high hopes of coming and staying with me till I was able to get my visa.

Mommy has not been able to get a hold of the adoption agency so she does not have any more details, but this is what I do know, our hearts are breaking. Mommy has lots of tears. If Mommy and daddy move their travel dates their plane tickets will cost a lot more money, money they would rather spend staying at a hotel with me! No one has any idea when the paper work will be fixed and when I will be able to go home. Everyone is really sad.

We are all trying very hard to follow Gods will and to just let God be God. Mommy says that its really hard when you don’t understand, but obedience is always the best policy. Please pray for my mommy and daddy cause I know that their hearts are really heavy and they are not really sure what the next step will be.

Till later!
Ruthie Jean

We have a couple of new Pic

2010-01-02T08:24:00.000-08:00

We have a couple of new pics of Ruthie from Dec! Thank you Susan!

It looks like Ruthie is a thumb sucker! I love it!

She is so beautiful!

Introducing Ruthie Jean Wensink

2009-12-28T11:48:00.000-08:00

Praying for Court

2009-12-08T00:04:00.000-08:00

While we sleep court will be held in Ethiopia to finalize our adoption in Ethiopia. We would like to ask you to be praying with us during the night while court is in session.

As you pray for Ruthie tonight, here are some things that you can be praying for.
Thanks so much.

Gods will be done in everything!
Everyone will show up for court
Everyone will have the right identification
That everything will go smoothly
That our case will be heard today
That the adoption will be granted and we will pass
For Ruthie’s continued health
For Ruthie’s birth mom
All of our paper work arrives a court
There are no questions about our paperwork
For a quick embassy date
For save travel for all traveling to and from court

God Bless!
The Wensinks

Coffee!

2009-10-31T11:28:00.001-07:00

Hi gang,

Baby Wensink Here. I wanted to tell you something that mommy and daddy are doing to help bring me home. They told me about this stuff that's dark brown, that's shaped in little circles and comes in bags or cans, that people can buy, sometimes grounded up into a powder. They take it and they put it in hot water in the mornings, then they drink the water and get all hyper and it really gets them going! Well I don't really get it but they call it coffee. I guess some of the people that live nearby are working with a ministry in the United States to help families adopting children, bring their children home.

So I guess what I'm saying is, if you you want to help bring me home, come buy some of this stuff! Visit babywensink.karanchris.com/fundraisers for more information, or if you want to go right to the good stuff, head over to justlovecoffee.com/babywensink to Support me. For every bag of coffee purchased, Justlovecoffee/babywensink will donate $5 to help bring me home! Some people say the best coffee in the world comes from Africa, and it's cheaper than starbucks, so come on over and give it a try. Then you can stop by mommy and daddy's house, and see how much your support makes me smile!

Cacha later!

Baby Wensink

Referral

2009-10-25T21:18:00.001-07:00

Hello There,

We'll it's been a long time since I've said hello to everyone, but here I am, hello! Mommy and Daddy have received their referral, which means they have several pictures and a video of me. They even know my name and where I come from. It's such an exciting time, mommy and daddy have been very happy to show these pictures and videos to people in person, however they legally cannot publish the information anywhere until we pass court, so no pictures or videos of me here or on facebook just yet!

I'm also very excited to share that a number of mommy and daddy's friends have received their referrals! There is a referral for a 4 month old little boy and a 11 year old boy and an older girl too! Some of mommy and daddy's other friends, have received their court dates! So please pray that they pass court so they are able to bring their beautiful babies home very soon too! Please pray that I get a court date soon and that mommy and daddy get to pick me up soon!

Mommy and daddy are also very happy to share that they have completed all of their adoption fundraising and in 2 weeks they will have raised all of the money that it will take to bring me home! Yaaaay! Mommy and daddy have worked so hard, selling books, movies, video games, toys, computer parts, and anything they can on Amazon, E-bay, Craigslist, and other sites in order to raise money. They have also sold things around the house, as well as trimming their lifestyle in order to save money to bring me home, and it is all worth it they say.

Mommy and daddy want everyone to know that they really appreciate all the love and support and donations they have received from everyone! It wouldn't be possible without your love and support! I will be home soon, and everyone can see pictures and videos of me once we pass court.

Until then, you'll have to visit mommy and daddy in person to see my pictures and video.

I hope to be home with mommy and daddy early next year, but it all depends on how things progress in Ethiopia.

Toodles!

Baby Wensink

HAPPY NEW YEAR - A few day late

2009-09-18T08:56:00.000-07:00

Family and Friends,

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Yep that’s right on September 11^th we celebrated the New Year in Ethiopia. It is now 2002, or is it 2003? Mommy cant seem to keep it straight. Things are a little different her in Ethiopia! But God is still an Amazing God who is doing big things.

Mommy and Daddy are still waiting, not so patiently for news about me, but they did receive some good news the other day. They received a letter from the government saying that I can get a visa to travel to the United States! That means I’m legal to travel! Of course Mommy and Daddy have to find out more about me first, get a court date, pass court and get a visa date all before they can come and pick me up, and that all take time, time, time. But its all good. What is it that they say… “This too shall pass..” Well time does pass and soon Mommy and Daddy will hold me.

Did you hear that Mommy and Daddy and my Grandma and Grandpa are having another thrift sale for me this weekend? Mommy says that it has been amazing. So many people have donated items to sell. And so many people have stopped to support me! About a month ago Mommy meet another family who is adoption a beautiful little girl form, you guessed it… Ethiopia, and they donated a ton of items to sell! Lots of family and friends have also donated!

Speaking of all the love that people have shown me, I wanted to share a story with you. The other day Mommy received a Facebook message from a friend, Hannah. Hannah had some very sad news for Mommy. Just this Monday morning she lost her little girl. She was 8½ months pregnant, her daughter stopped moving. I guess her heart stopped. Hannah and her husband wanted to donate their daughter’s clothes to help bring me home. Mommy said that she had never felt so love that someone out of their deepest pain would reach out to touch my life. So please pray for Hannah and her family. They need God’s peace so much right now. So please take some time and life our friend Hannah up in prayer!

So about that thrift sale, did I tell you that we made almost $400 in one day! On Thursday it was so busy that Mommy didn’t even have time to go to the bathroom! It was AWESOME! God is so amazing! Mommy was so excited that she could not stop talking about it!

Well, please keep praying for Gods will in everything!

Blessings!

Baby Wensink

Baby Wensink Update 8/26/09

2009-08-26T11:10:00.000-07:00

It’s the end of August! Can you believe it? My Mommy and Daddy have been in the process of adoption for nine months now. Mommy says that some days that time goes really fast and other days just drag on and on. Both my Mommy and Daddy are so excited to learn more about me and to hold me and to hold me in their arms. They are also anxiously waiting to learn if I have a brother or sister. And if you know any thing about my Mommy it’s anxiously awaiting. My mommy is a planner, she is not a waiter.

Right now if you go over to my Mommy and Daddy’s house you will find my nursery all ready for me! Mommy has spend hours shopping on Craig’s list and at thrift sales to find the perfect items to match the Classic Pooh theme in my room with out spending more than $0.50 per item.

Speaking of my nursery I haveto share the coolest thing with you. Because my nursery is so cute it is where my Mommy goes to pray for me. The other day my Mommy told my Daddy her secret and now he goes to my nursery to pray for me too. Both Mommy and Daddy love to dream of when I will be home and what it will be like… well Daddy love to dream of every thing except the diapers.

Oh! I have to tell you how amazing God is! Almost all the adoption fees are paid for! We are down to covering travel cost and in country cost! To be exact we need to save/raise $5,650. Thou if I have a brother or sister it will be a bit more than that. Mommy and Daddy are so amazed at how God has provided so much in such a little amount of time. Thank you to every one who has help. The donations and fundraisers and prayers sure add up!

Well for now we wait, and wait and wait some more.

Mommy and Daddy will let you know the moment they have any news!

Blessings!

Baby Wensink

From 6/29/09

2009-08-25T11:33:00.001-07:00

Baby Wensink Letter,

Hello there again! My how the time has been flying by! Mommy and Daddy have been busy getting everything ready for me to come home. Some of the things that have happened lately include mommy and daddy finishing their home study, getting fingerprinted in Minnesota, and they have been working very hard and they have finally completed their Dossier! The Dossier is that big pack of paperwork that includes the home study, pictures of our house, many questions forms of ID, and all sorts of things that I don't really get, but their important.

Mommy and Daddy now are at the challenging step of waiting for a referral. They now have to wait between 2 and 12 months to find out when they can come and get me, and get my picture, and find out if I have an older brother or sister that they could possibly bring home too! What a challenge!

Mommy and Daddy are also working hard to save and raise money to bring me home, and wow has God been good! In the 6 short months that my adoption had been in the works mommy and daddy have been able to earn and save over half of the money that it will take to come home! Thank you everybody for donating all the books, movies, games, and garage sale items that you've donated, they have been a huge help in bringing me home. Those items have brought in over $2100 in revenue, which is just great!

Mommy and daddy would love for you to pray for them. Mommy and Daddy love working together on being obedient to God, even when it's challenging. Thanks for being there for us, and supporting us every day.

Toodles!
Baby Wensink.

From 3/27/09

2009-08-25T11:32:00.001-07:00

Greetings!

It’s spring, and guess what that means? You got it! Its home-visit/spring cleaning time! My Mommy and Daddy, with the help of my grandparents, and Aunts have been working very hard to get things ready for me.

A couple of weeks ago they completely decorated my nursery, so that they had pictures to send to Ethiopia and so that it looked nice when my social worker, Beth, comes to visit. Speaking of my nursery, it is full of Pooh! It is soooooo cute and my Mommy love to walk in the room, dream of when I’m home and pray for me! She is also a bit excited to show off my room to any one who will take the time to look.

My Mommy and Daddy have been working so hard to bring me home. They are almost done with the home study. In fact today they completed the mandatory training hours. The social worker will go to the house on April 6th to meet with my Mommy and Daddy. Then Beth will write my Mommy and Daddy’s home-study. In the mean time they have the wonderful opportunity to meet with other families adopting from my orphanage, Kingdom Vision International, on Thursday. Mommy and Daddy are really excited to make these connections. On Friday they will travel to Minnesota to be finger printed. The finger printing is something that the government requires before they are granted permission that I might immigrate to the United States. Once that is done Mommy and Daddy will prepare my paperwork to be sent to Ethiopia. They hope to be done in May. It is then that we all wait, and wait and wait some more. Mommy and Daddy plan to use that time to apply for some grants and to work on fundraising so that I can come home sooner.

Thank you to everyone who has been helping to bring me home by donating books/movies/music and games that my Mommy and Daddy can sell on Amazon. Thank you to those who are saving your change for me and also to those helping with hot/cold packs. But most of all, thank you so much for praying for me and especially for praying for my Mommy and Daddy.

Well I’m gonna sign off now, Mommy says it’s time for bed!

Blessings!
Baby Wensink

From 3/24/09

2009-08-25T11:31:00.000-07:00

This song by Steven Curtis Chapman speaks to the cry or my heart.

I know you’ve heard the stories
But they all sound too good to be true
You’ve heard about a place called home
But there doesn’t seem to be one for you
So one more night you cry yourself to sleep
And drift off to a distant dream

Where love takes you in and everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart
When love takes you home and says you belong here
The loneliness ends and a new life begins
When love takes you in

And somewhere while you’re sleeping
Someone else is dreaming too
Counting down the days until
They hold you close and say I love you
And like the rain that falls into the sea
In a moment what has been is lost in what will be

When love takes you in everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart

And this love will never let you go
There is nothing that could ever cause this love to lose its hold

When love takes you in everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart
When love takes you home and says you belong here
The loneliness ends and a new life begins
When love takes you in it takes you in for good
When love takes you in

- Steven Curtis Chapman –

Listen at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=demRHgul2Zk

From 2/5/09

2009-08-25T11:28:00.001-07:00

This really reminds me of what we are doing.

-Chris-

The Concert

When the house lights dimmed and the concert

was about to begin, the mother returned to

her seat and discovered that the child was missing
Suddenly, the curtains parted and spotlights

focused on the impressive Steinway on stage.

In horror, the mother saw her little
boy sitting at the keyboard, innocently picking out

“Twinkle,Twinkle Little Star.”

At that moment, the great piano master made his entrance, quickly moved to the piano, and

whispered in the boy’s ear,

“Don’t quit.”"Keep playing.”

Then, leaning over, Paderewski reached

down with his left hand and began filling

in a bass part. Soon his right arm reached

around to the other side of the child,

and he added a running obbligato.

Together, the old master and the young novice

transformed what could have been a frightening situation into a wonderfully creative experience.

The audience was so mesmerized that they couldn’t recall what else the great master played.

Only the classic,

” Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.”

Perhaps that’s the way it is with God.

What we can accomplish on
our own is hardly noteworthy.

We try our best, but the results aren’t always

graceful flowing music. However, with the

hand of the Master, our life’s

work can truly be beautiful.

The next time you set out to accomplish great feats,

listen carefully. You may hear the voice of the

Master, whispering in your ear,
“Don’t quit.” “Keep playing.”

May you feel His arms around you and

know that His hands are there, helping you

turn your feeble attempts into true masterpieces.

Remember, God doesn’t seem to

call the equipped, rather, He equips the ‘called.’
Life is more accurately measured by the lives you touch than by the things you acquire. So touch someone by passing this little message along.
May God bless you and be with you always!

and

remember , “Don’t quit.”

“Keep playing.”,

-Author Unknown-

From 2/1/09

2009-08-25T11:27:00.001-07:00

Hey there Americans!

Baby Wensink here. My mommy and Daddy wanted to let you know that their so excited about everything that’s been happening to bring me home. Mommy and Daddy have officially been accepted by Arise, the adoption agency that works with Valleybrook and Kingdom Vision International. They were so excited, you should have seen them!

I also wanted to give each and every one of you a huge Baby Thank You! So many of you have been helping with donating books, and making calls to set up brat stand fundraisers, and sewing to make hot/cold packs, and offering your time and your efforts to bring me home!

If all goes well in about a year and a half mommy and daddy will be bringing me home to live in Eau Claire, and with a lot of prayer and a LOT of fundraising, I can come home safe and sound.

Thanks for all your prayer and support

Toodles!

Baby Wensink

From 1/5/08

2009-08-25T11:26:00.000-07:00

Happy New Year!

Can you believe that it is 2009? My mommy and Daddy tell me that it is really cold and that I should stay inside!

The other day my mommy was talking to my Aunt Sara and she said that my mommy needed to get on the ball and let everyone know what was going on with me. I guess that is because she is so excited for me to come home. I’m excited too, but mommy and daddy said that the whole adoption process will take till fall of 2010! Man that is a long time. But that is ok. Mommy and daddy said that they will need that long to get ready for me and to raise enough money to pay for everything. I guess I’m expensive.

Speaking of being expensive, my mommy and daddy said that they are doing some things called fundraisers. I guess they are selling hot/cold packs for only $5 a piece. This money will help to bring me home. My mommy said that I need to say thank you to my cousin Ashley because she has helped to make 66 of these. Wow Ashley, thanks for all your help! I have this other great idea. Mommy is not so sure it will work, but if you would help, I think it could be a great success. If you would be willing to put a jar on your counter and save your change or even just your pennies and then give them to my mommy or daddy once a month I bet we could raise a lot to help bring me home! What do you think?

So enough about how expensive I am, I bet you want to know more about me.

Mommy and daddy said that they don’t really know a lot yet. They went to their first meeting with LSS on December 23, 2008. The first set paperwork is done and sent in and the first fees are paid. Now my mommy and daddy on are on to the second stage of the home study. We are told the home study will take 4-6 months. Mommy and daddy have applied with an international adoption agency, called International Adoption Net. This is most likely the agency my mommy and daddy will work with. Mommy has also spokeb with the adoption agency that KVI uses (the orphanage started by the pastors of our church) and they said they would also accept my mommy and daddy.

When I am ready to come home, both mommy and daddy will fly to Ethiopia to pick me up. Because legal process happens so fast in Ethiopia they will only stay in my home country for 7-10 days.

My mommy thought I should share with you that I am what they call a healthy baby. That means that I don’t have any special needs. Yes of course I’m special, but I won’t require surgeries, major medical treatment or have a terminal illness.

Guess what, mommy and daddy have chosen not to know if I am a boy or a girl! I will be a surprise! I love surprises, How ‘bout you?
Well, I’m rambling on and on. I can’t wait to meet you all!

Blessings,
Baby Wensink

From 12/23/08

2009-08-25T11:25:00.000-07:00

A couple of months ago my mommy and daddy went to a service at church. The pastor said that when you have dreamed your biggest dream, you should dream again, because the dream that God has for you is bigger and better than the dream you have for your self.

Know what? That dream, (the dream that God is giving my mommy and daddy) makes me the luckiest kid in the world.

You see, I’m not like most kids that grow in their mommy’s tummy; I get to grow in a much better place; in my mommy and daddy’s heart where I am clothed in love and prayer every day. Wanta know another great thing about me? I am hand chosen by my mommy and daddy. Just like how God chooses each of us and calls us by name.

Right now my mommy and daddy are doing lots of paper work, and getting every thing ready for me. When I am ready they will bring me home.

Please pray for me, for my health and my safety. Please also pray for my mommy and my daddy. Pray that they will figure out all this paper stuff and that every thing will go just right.

I can’t wait to meet you.

Love
Baby Wensink