Family Updates July 2013

Here’s the latest news on what’s happening for the Shannon and Derloshon Families:

Shannon Family

Caia ready to go on her Birthday date.

What an amazing couple of months it has been.  We’ve got a lot of photos this

Sunset along the lake in Hawassa.

month because of everything that has happened.  Thank you for continuing to journey with us!

The biggest news is that we are adopting again!  We have been praying for the past 3 1/2 years for the right time to adopt again.  Now that we have been residents here in Ethiopia for over 2 years we can go the route of a local adoption. So, we are anticipating the arrival of 2 children into our family soon.  Everyone is stoked as you can imagine.

It also has been a season full of teams, transition and new roles.  It has been wonderful!  We also had the pleasure of getting away on a few days vacation in Hawassa (a city built along a lake in Southern Ethiopia).  While car problems plagued us (thus turning a 4 hour drive into a 7 hour drive) that is normal life here in Ethiopia.   We had an incredible couple of days away.

A common scene in Ethiopia. Working on the car 🙂

Jerry is loving his new role as pastor of IEC as he settles in more and more.  He currently is preaching through the Book

Joshua’s baptism.

of Acts in a series named Acts: Church on the Move.  At the same time he is loving watching the Ethiopian staff running much of the day to day and also dreaming and planning for ways that EHE can expand its scope here in Ethiopia.

Christy finished up the Homeschool year with 3 kiddos and is ready to hit it again with 4 soon.   She is busy in the day to day activities of EHE and also can’t wait to bring 2 new kids into our family.  Her life is full and great.

Micah helping a recent team with vision screenings.

Joshua was baptized last month as he has continued to grow in his walk with Jesus.  Jerry had the privilege of baptizing him.  What a day it was!  He also recently received a drum set to practice on.  Our house is filled with rhythm and bass now – its a great sound.

FRESH JUICE! Just one more reason Hanna loves Hawassa!

Micah continues to grow as an amazing young man.  He is so excited about adopting 2 new children.  He recently got to be in his element as we spent a couple of days vacation in Hawassa, Southern Ethiopia.  He got to take photos of the water and trees as well as spotted dozens of species of birds.

 

Caia just turned 9.  How is that possible?  She and her dad had a great birthday date at the ice cream shop and grinned from ear to ear over her Birthday rose.   She is delighted that we are adopting again and can’t wait.

 

Hanna continues to keep our house filled with laughter.  She is growing like crazy and her loves in life right now are tickle wrestling and dreaming about how great the adoption will be since she will no longer is the baby in the family.

Derloshon Family

Adam and Christie and crew continue to raise funds with the plan of moving to Ethiopia in September!

At the Drive In!

Please keep praying for them and spreading the word about them.  Below is an update from Adam and Christie.  You also need to check out the photo of the super cool display of EHE Handicrafts that Adam created for their church bookstore.

Picking Strawberries!

The past few months have been crazy and fun for the Derloshon crew.  We’ve been enjoying the nice weather with lots of outdoor activities, like picking strawberries at a local farm and taking the kids to the drive-in!

On June 27th, Maggie turned 9 years old and on July 7th, Emery will be (turned) 3.  It’s a fun and festive time as we try to make the most of our last few months here in the states.

Super Cool EHE Jewelery Display made by Adam at their church.

We are currently at 78% funded and plan on moving in September!