Good News!!!

Yesterday morning, we had a conference call with our social worker to discuss the last few steps before we eventually meet Emsley.  She started the conversation by telling us the last information she had received was that our Article 5 documents were still waiting on one piece of information.  Then the conversation went something like this:

Us: "OK, thanks, we'll keep praying it comes in soon."

Her: "Oh, wait, I'm looking at my email right now.  I was in a meeting this morning and haven't had a chance to check email but I have one here from the consulate.  Oh.....oh, good!  The consulate received the necessary document and has processed your Article 5.  It is ready for pick up now!"

Us: unintelligible squeals mixed with relieved sighs....

We are officially back on track to receive Travel Approval sometime in the next couple of weeks!  Thank you for praying with us that this would be resolved quickly.  We continue to pray for two couples we know who are still facing this same delay with their process.  

We look forward to hearing news of our Travel Approval so we can book flights and finally have Emsley in our arms!!

A PRAISE AND A PRAYER REQUEST...

In one of our first blog posts, I talked about a little picture frame I had found with the scripture Philippians 4:6-7 in it.  That verse has been my verse for the adoption process.   And what does it tell us to do?  "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your heats and your minds in Christ Jesus."

So I want to start by offering thanks to our Lord for what he has done:

Did you notice anything different on our blog today????

Yep, WE ARE FULLY FUNDED!!!!!!

Yesterday, Jace came in with our mail and announced, "I think someone sent us some money for our adoption!".  I asked why he thought that and he handed me an envelope from an organization which had a nickel and a penny attached to the letter as part of the message they were sharing.  :)  I explained what the letter was about and then Jace handed me the rest of the mail.  As I turned over another envelope, my heart skipped a beat as I saw the name of Show Hope, one of the organizations we had applied to for a grant!   My eyes filled with tears as I read the letter that told us we had been awarded a grant to complete our adoption expenses!!!!  PRAISE GOD!!!  He is ever faithful and has provided all we needed at every step along this adoption journey.  

Show Hope is an organization founded by Steven Curtis Chapman and his wife, Mary Beth.  When they first adopted a daughter from China in 2000 they were inspired to do something to help other orphaned children find families and other families afford adoption!  Many families and orphans have been united as a result of this organization and the generous donors who make these adoption grants possible.  You can learn more about this wonderful organization here: http://showhope.org.  

I can't stress enough how overwhelming the financial side of this adoption seemed when we first started out.  We really didn't have anything saved up for an adoption and we had no idea of how God would provide.  But we knew he was calling us to step out in faith and follow him.  Every time we turned to him and asked "How, God?  How will we ever have enough to bring this little girl home?", he always answered with the assurance that he would provide all we needed when we needed it.  We heard his answer through testimonies of countless other adoptive families, through sermons from our pastoral staff, and through scripture he would put before us.  It wasn't always easy to trust that the money would come, but it was always there right when we needed it.  

God works in amazing ways.  Here are just a few of the ways he provided financially of us:

• fundraisers
• yard sales
• financial gifts from friends and family
• unexpected bonuses and overtime
• opportunities for side jobs
• generous friends who held fundraisers for us
• an unexpected job transfer for John

I have been in a Bible study group that is studying I & II Thessalonians and this verse has stuck with me as a reminder of God's promise: "The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it." (I Thess. 5:24)  Boy is He ever!!!

Now for the prayer request....

The same day I learned of the grant we received, we also learned of a delay in our adoption process.  Some of our paperwork has been held up because it is missing an important document.  It is a long and complicated story but it boils down to this: we are on "pause" until this important document can be tracked down in our daughter's province and provided to the appropriate officials.  We had been mistakenly informed that we were waiting for Travel Approval (TA) back on October 30th.  As it turns out, we won't begin the wait for TA until this bit of documentation is provided.  

Can we ask that you would pray with us?  Please pray that the needed documentation would be provided in God's will and timing and that any attempts by the Enemy to slow things down and cause problems would be removed!  Satan hates adoption and the redemption story that it tells.

We are fully trusting in God's timing.  We can't see beyond our limited understanding and perspective but God sees all and, PRAISE GOD, HE IS BIGGER!!!!!!  

TA any day...

We have finally reached the last step in the adoption paperwork/approval process!  Any day now, we should be receiving a phone call to tell us that we have travel approval and are free to book our flights to China!  It has already been one whole year since we submitted our first application to Lifeline Children's Services to begin the adoption.  It's been ten months since we first saw Emsley's picture and knew she would eventually be our daughter.  

We are so close (in various ways) to meeting our daughter and bringing her home to be a family all under one roof!  The government agency in China that will issue our Travel Approval is closed for an energy conference occurring in Beijing right now.  They will open again on the 12th and we expect that we will hear about our approval very soon after that.  Then it will be time to schedule and purchase our flights and pack our bags!  We are praying right now that we will receive approval in time to be in China before Emsley turns 2 in mid-December.  It is our prayer that she will not have another birthday without her family there to celebrate her.

We are still just a bit shy of the full amount needed to purchase our tickets.  Less than $2,000 is still needed to complete the final bit of this adoption process. We are so thankful for the friends, family, and church family who have given so generously to help us fund this adoption!  It is truly something amazing to see people pull together and do all they can to help a little girl across the world come to know the love of a family!

We still have our puzzle fundraiser going and there are still quite a few pieces left if anyone would like to help us raise the final amount we need for purchasing our plane tickets.  We have 387 pieces left.  Every $5 donated will "purchase" a piece.  Once the puzzle is complete, we'll put it all together and frame it to hang in Emsley's room and remind us of all the wonderful people who helped bring her home!  To purchase a piece of Emsley's puzzle, just click on the PayPal "donate" button on the right-hand side of this blog and it will go directly to our adoption account.  (note: you have to be on a PC to see the button.  Or, you can scroll to the bottom of the page on a mobile device and click on "view web version".)

We believe what God has promised from the beginning, that He will provide all we need when we need it.  He has been faithful and done just that all along the way!  We know we will have all we need before time to get on that plane.

We recently received our final update from the orphanage.  They sent us Emsley's measurements and some sweet pictures!

We are looking forward to sharing our Travel Approval update soon!!!