Join our Journey this January

***  Update as of Jan. 15th****
Our paperwork has made it back from IL, IA, & MO and is authenticated. It is now in translation! This step had huge potential to have hiccups. God is answering your prayers! It is still a very tight time frame from an earthly perspective but we aren't giving up hope. We see God's hand at work. Keep praying!
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First of all let me begin with - THIS IS NOT A FUNDRAISER! (Collective sigh of relief :)

Now that you are relieved we aren't asking for money (again) I hope you will be excited about what we are asking you to join us in.

Right before Christmas we sent our dossier to our agency. HOORAY!!

It's now being translated into French, being authenticated, and a bunch of other technical stuff that has to be done... That we have no control over.

At the end of January one of my closest friends will be traveling to Africa. She has a agreed to take our paperwork with her if its ready to go. This is a great plan for lots of reasons.
1- It saves us on international shipping costs.
2- Its faster.
3- Its safer.
4- It would be another opportunity to give God all the glory.

Okay I'll come back to that...slight detour ahead.

Recently God has totally blessed me by reminding me he is the one in charge of providing the funds we need to bring our son home. As another adoptive mama shared with me, "God's will. God's bill." I tend to get overwhelmed by the amount of hours preparing for fundraiser or filling out grant applications, or the number of cupcakes I would need to bake to bring David home. While Jeremy tends to get overwhelmed with the dollar signs I tend to get overwhelmed with the to do list behind those dollar signs.

And so I've been trying to rest in the Lord. Trying to realize that if I can't get a cupcake order done due to unforeseen circumstances. Or if a fundraiser doesn't raise a huge dollar amount its still okay. The last two weeks we've had several generous brothers and sisters bless our adoption fund.

-A couple from our church took us aside and gave us a check, and then prayed over us.

-A dear lady sent us a note saying she was has been covering our adoption in prayer and a generous gift as well.

-Old college friends sent us a gift and short note saying the Lord prompted them to share with us.

And I did nothing. No fundraising. No cupcake baking. No clever idea. Just God.

God is teaching this controlling, untrusting, impatient child that some things cannot be earned. They can only be received. It is a humbling road to walk and I am extremely thankful for it. God is washing my feet through the generosity of his people.

As I reflected on God's faithfulness through these kind acts I realized while I was extremely thankful for the money it was the prayer behind each gift that connected with my soul. People are praying for us. For our son. For orphans and how they can be a part of God's redemptive plan for them. That is powerful.

I want my 2013 to be more about prayer. More about God and less about me getting it done. And I thought you might want to join me, join us.

We are asking for a person to pray for our adoption each day in January. We are going to cover this phase in prayer, trusting that God will take this challenging timeline and totally show up. I'm really excited about this!

Will join join us on our journey this January?

If you'd like to join us simply leave a comment with the date you would like to pray here or on Facebook.

Suggestions of what to pray for:
-For our paperwork to move smoothly through the powers that be.
-For our agency as they work on our behalf. Pray specifically for Julie.
-For blessing on our friends in Africa who are visiting and loving on our son while we wait.
-For David's orphanage that it would be a place full of God's love for children.
-For Satan to be bound and unable to thwart this process.
-For the safe travel of my friend to Africa at the end of January
-For God to make John 14:18 a reality for David in 2013.
-For more children to find forever families through David's adoption.
-For us to have a teachable spirit as God prepares us to be a family of 6.
-For God's people, the church, to have their hearts broken for the plight of orphans around the world.

To God be the glory. In my life. In your life. In the life of our future son.

Going, Going, GONE!

Today we are celebrating! Join us!

Hip Hip Hooray for a Snow Day (or early dismissal at least)!

Grace was praying hard for snow and God totally delivered. Our kids (and dog) had a blast playing in the snow for over an hour! Including making a "no man." But this is the only picture I got because I was a bit distracted by this...

 I'M SO EXCITED & I JUST CAN'T HIDE IT!!!! 

Today in the midst of our first winter snowstorm our last document arrived hand delivered to our house.  Jeremy got home early from work and was able to mail our dossier to our agency in Montana. It's official we are one step closer to bringing David home. Praise the Lord. The waiting is far from over, but  this is the ONLY thing I wanted for Christmas so I am thankful that I can now celebrate the next week knowing our paperwork is on its way.

This is one snow day I know I'll never forget. God is good. (even when he makes me learn hard lessons by making me wait, and wait some more, and then some more.)

(This is our post office...which currently looks like a penitentiary due to construction..

please excuse the scary fencing.)

Don't you just love when God answers a whole bunch of prayers at once? Isn't that just like Christmas?!

When you glimpse the waves...

Last night as I was printing my Christmas letter I opened my e-mail to find an e-mail from our agency. It said this, "Haven't heard from you. Are you still proceeding with the adoption from Guinea?" For a moment I laughed as I looked down at my Christmas letter which is centered around that very adoption. It was such an ironic moment.

Let me explain. Our e-mail accounts aren't working. So, our communication through e-mail has been difficult at best. My messages are being forwarded to another account I rarely use. (sort of) So, I don't have access to my address book. About a week ago an e-mail came through from our agency checking on us. I didn't get a chance to respond. And I had to find the original e-mail to respond so I hadn't gotten it accomplished yet. Apparently they were concerned when we didn't respond. I of course immediately responded to that e-mail with a resounding "YES, we are SO close to having our dossier paperwork done you will have it soon."

A simple miscommunication...but can I be transparent with you? Something about that question, the fact that it could even be posed rocked me to the core.

Jeremy and I have found that when we step out of the "boat" in faith there always comes a moment when we, like Peter, catch sight of the waves. And when we take our eyes off Jesus its terrifying. That was the place Satan had me in last night. He was whispering his lies to my heart.

Look at that letter. What if it doesn't happen. What if David doesn't come home? What will you say next year?  Your children will be heartbroken.

You know its true. God allows his children's hearts to be broken. There is no guarantee. Can your faith handle that kind of disappointment?

You are working with a nation with a corrupt government. Your agency has only done one completed prior adoption. This orphanage has never done a US adoption. 

You are never going to get that paperwork completed.

You can't do this. You are barely holding it together with the the family you have. You are alone.


And my heart was hurting. Satan was using his best bag of tricks. God allows his children's heart to be broken (that's Scriptural). You are working in a very new and uncertain set of circumstances. (thats the facts).  You are alone. (lies)


And I was scared. The fact that God allows his children to walk through intense pain and difficult circumstances just terrifies me. And yet I know that no amount of fear can make me walk away. I am already in love. The risk has already been taken now I have no choice but to choose to trust. But, my flesh longs for my faith to be sight.

Friends, we are one piece of paperwork from our dossier being sent to our agency. We are so close. And yet we are still waiting. And it is weighing on me. Somedays it literally feels like I am carrying around that stack of paperwork and it is incredibly heavy on my soul. In some ways its familiar. It feels like the end of my pregnancy when every day is an effort. And is some ways its like a bad dream. Like the one where you know you need to be somewhere, but no matter what you do you can't seem to get there. (For me its a reoccurring dream that I have left our children at home alone and they are about to wake up and discover we are gone. I feel their terror but can do nothing.)

This journey has had its high points. We have seen God direct and provide in ways that bring me to tears.

But, it has also had its lows. We have felt spiritual warfare being waged against our family. It has brought me to tears of fear as well.

Do I need to rest in the Lord and wait for that piece of paperwork? Do I need to call and bother and advocate for my son who is waiting for a family?

I simply don't know.

But, I know that I am not waiting well at the moment. I'm experiencing longing in a new way. Some days I ache for a child I have never held. And I feel like a crazy woman.

But, I know that God is whispering to me. Behind the lies he is saying, "This is how creation longed for a Savior, longed for my Son. This is what Christmas is all about. Immanuel, God with us. Be desperate for my Son, like you are desperate for your son."

I always struggle to share the hard moments. Because I want our story to prompt others to consider adoption not want to run away begging God to choose someone else. But I am trusting that to the Lord.  Because God is showing me that I cannot, but He can. Will you pray towards that end? Will you pray that God will bring our son home safely and that we will trust in Him until that day?