Monday, November 15, 2010

Double Down

So here's the latest and greatest on both Nepal and the Congo.

Nepal
I found out through the yahoo group that another family has received their approval for the visa to allow them to bring their child home to the US.  As far as I know, that makes 6 families of the 80 pipeline cases who have been granted approval.  Slowly but surely things are moving.  I continue to pray for the rest of the families that they too, will receive an approval to bring their children home.


The Congo
Today I got a letter from the Department of Homeland Security- Yeah!!  I get excited when I see those letters! And, my fingerprinting appointment for Baby Boy is December 10th!!!  So excited!!!  Things are definitely moving along:)  Once my fingerprints are submitted, I have to wait to receive the I-171h form which allows me to adopt an orphan.  My dossier can't be sent to Kinshasa DRC without that precious piece of paper.  Many of you may remember how God worked a SERIOUS miracle by getting that to me for Sofía's adoption in less than a week.  Nothing surprises me anymore, it just makes my faith stronger and stronger!  I love seeing how God is working in these two journeys!

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Big Brother



Let's just say  A LOT has happened since the suspension of the Nepal adoption was put into place.  It's crazy how the very thing that was so devastatingly sad for me turned into something so completely miraculous and beautiful.  Before I go any further, I want to say that I am NOT giving up on the Nepal adoption of Sofía!  Everything is still in place and I have not withdrawn from the Nepal program.  I feel very confident that God is going to bring her home from Nepal.  In HIS timing.

What I've been learning is that when you completely surrender to God, you allow him to work in ways that you could have never even imagined or dreamed.  He has been working in my heart and in my life in crazy ways!  As many of you know, it was absolutely heartbreaking for me when the US put the suspension in place for Nepal intercountry adoptions.  I believe that he allowed me to go through that to come to a place of complete and total surrender.  When I got to that place, he blessed me with an overwhelming sense of peace.  I just knew that he was going to work it out so that I could bring Sofía home, but in his timing, not mine.

So there I was, in a place of peace, content to wait it out for her.  Then, he started shaking things up again.  A follow-up email with an agency that I had originally contacted a year ago when I was doing my initial agency/country search led to a month of email exchanges, phone conversations and TONS and TONS of prayer.  There were many miracles and signs showing me VERY CLEARLY that God had his hand on my heart to do a concurrent adoption from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).  What's funny is that the more I resisted, the more he opened doors and brought people into my life that clearly showed this was the path I'm supposed to take right now.  I admit that I was extremely nervous and resistant for 2 reasons.  The first was obvious- I didn't think I could handle going through another situation that would lead to complete devastation like the Nepal adoption.  My emotions were still too raw to think about going through that again.  And from the practical side- I had no money!  But, God had a different plan and a different idea for me.  And all of it required me to trust absolutely in him alone.  My case worker for the Congo adoption told me that if I surrender to God's will, he will move mountains to bring these babies home. Well, move mountains he has done!  I can't believe how many things have fallen perfectly into place for this second adoption to move forward.  Every day, something new happens that seriously, makes me giggle and think, "I can't believe this is my life!"  He is moving on behalf of these children and I feel so blessed that I get to be a part of it!


So here is a summary of what's been happening:

- I am adopting a infant baby boy from the DRC
- Immigration paperwork has been filed
- The home study has been converted
-  I'm in the process of completing my dossier which I anticipate will be sent to the Congo by the end of December at the latest (God willing).
- God has miraculously provided all of the money so far
-  He is coming from a country where 6 out of every 10 children never live until their 5th birthday
-  400 children die A DAY from Malaria- a treatable disease
-  there are 5 million orphans in DRC
-  the DRC has been named the worst place in the world for violent acts against women and children


It's sickening that this is real life for many of the orphans in the Congo.


When I was praying and praying about this, 2 verses kept coming up:

"Those who plant in tears will harvest in joy" - Psalm 126:5

"How great is our Lord!  His power is absolute!  His understanding is beyond comprehension." - Psalm 147:5

I felt very strongly that God was speaking to me about my two great fears- first what may seem painful to me now, what's caused me many tears will in the end bring me great joy!  And secondly, who am I to question how God will accomplish his plan for my life?  Have I not seen already how he has come through time and time again?  How he has provided everything I've needed so far?

I am so thrilled about these two little lives.  I can't wait to meet them, to love them, to know their personalities and above everything, to see God's plan for their lives manifest itself.

Originally, I didn't plan on telling anyone about Baby Boy until I received a referral.  However, as each day goes by, my love and joy for this little one keeps growing and growing, making it impossible for me to keep it a secret any longer!