HERE HE IS! Our newest Blessing!
His name is........Ezekiel Mugisha William Michaelian.
Ezekiel (this means "May God lift up" or Strengthened by God" and we think was given to us by God for him- We'll tell you the long version of that story when we see you!)
Mugisha (Given to him by the nuns at the orphanage. It is Kinyarwandan and means "blessing". )
William (After my dad... our other kids all have a family middle name, and we want him to know he's part of our family, and my dad has played a very supportive role in our adoption.)
Here's what we know about him. He's approximately 5 1/2 months old. That is approximate because he was abandoned (as are all the babies in our orphanage). When the policeman brings a baby to the door, the nuns and the policeman together estimate how old the child is and pick a birthdate. For Zeke, they chose Oct 1, 2009. They made him a birth certificate on November 6, 2009, signed by 3 witnesses, stating he was abandoned, so i'm guessing he was brought to the orphanage sometime around the first of November. That is just a guess. The Sisters gave him the name MUGISHA Vincent. The Rwandan name is typically given because it defines something the parents see in the child's personality and they usually wait until they're a year old so they can see what the child is like. We're wondering if the nuns gave him the name MUGISHA because he truly has been a blessing to them, as we know he'll be to us!
We don't know how much he weighs or how long he is, but we did have lots of medical tests done, including HIV, Hepatitis, Tuberculosis, and a bunch of others, and they all came back negative. He certainly looks healthy! We were surprised at how chubby he looks. Most kids that come from orphanages are skin and bones. He must be a good eater. :)
We spoke with our lawyer in Rwanda today and she is going to court tomorrow to see what kind of appointment she can get for us. Hopefully tomorrow, we'll know when we will be traveling. She thinks it will be around 2 weeks. AAAHHH! :) Please pray for God's perfect timing, for Dave as he arranges our travel, for me as I pack and gather all the documents we need and all the baby stuff, that we don't forget anything, etc, etc. And especially, please pray for little Mugi - that he'll be guarded by God, that he'll stay healthy, that God will be preparing his heart to be loved by us and to love us, that the transition to our arms and family will be smooth and not too difficult for him, and most importantly, that God will be softening his heart and drawing him toward himself, that his nannies will be whispering words of Truth in his cute little ears.
It all seems so amazing and surreal! We all love him already. The kids and I each marched into Bible Study today armed with pictures to share with our friends who've been praying with us for him all this time, as you guys have. What an amazing couple of days it's been! We are thanking God for our new little son. And can't wait to meet him.
Thanks for all your prayers. Now you can pray for him by name!!
Love,
Heidi and the fam
PS. Have I confused you on what we're calling him yet? Here's a few options that are in the running... Zeke, Zeker, Mugisha, Mugi, E-dub, Dubya, ... we'll see!
PPS. We posted pics of his hand and feet because it's best not to put his full picture on a public forum until he's legally ours. As soon as he is, you'll be getting the full view.
