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!!!!!!
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