Waiting Upon the Lord

Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.   ~ Psalm 27:14 


I'm getting weary from the wait....it's 40 days and counting that we've been waiting on "Letter of Acceptance from China". I turned to scripture to help me endure the wait, but though I wanted something specific, it doesn't say "wait for letter of acceptance", it says wait for the Lord! 

I know others have waited much longer, but we started this journey over a year ago and now that we know about our daughter and can see her pics we just really, really want her home with us! 


The "wait" is getting harder, but "We'll wait upon the Lord!"

The Voice of Adventure

 

There is a rawness and a wonder to life. Pursue it. Hunt for it. Sell out to get it.

Jesus says the options are clear. On one side there is the voice of safety. You can build a fire in the hearth, stay inside, and stay warm and dry and safe.

Or you can hear the voice of adventure—God’s adventure.

Instead of building a fire in your hearth, build a fire in your heart. Follow God’s impulses. Adopt the child. Move overseas. Teach the class. Change careers. Run for office. Make a difference.

Don’t listen to the whines of those who have settled for a second-rate life and want you to do the same so they won’t feel guilty. Your goal is not to live long; it’s to live.

Sure it isn’t safe, but what is? 

~ Max Lucado

There are so many more things you can do with your life for the glory of God than are listed in this excerpt. Find what God wants you to do with your life...and do it! There is no greater blessing than the blessings that come from obedience to God!

Question: Are you ready to step outside of your safe zone?

One Less

"Do you want to do something beautiful for God? There is a person who needs you. This is your chance."

--Mother Teresa

A Little About Rachel

Rachel lives in Taiyuan City, Shanxi, China with a foster family. It's a very large, smoggy city. Their main industry is coal...thus the reason for the thick air. I, of course, have researched her province to learn more about her birth place and have discovered that despite the pollution, the city and the province are full of rich history, beautiful scenery, kind people, and lovely artifacts. We can't wait to see it with our own eyes!

We've also discovered that Rachel's foster family is overseen by the Taiyuan Social Welfare Institute. It's said to be one of the best orphanages in China. What a relief to us. The director of the orphanage has a real heart for children and his work there has reflected that. Most likely that means that Rachel is getting the best care possible for a child who has experienced such tragic losses in her short little life.

We have a good indication from her file that Rachel is well loved in her foster family. To the best of our knowledge she has been with this foster family since she was 3 months old. She is going to grieve and grieve very hard when we are united. At the age of 4 there is no way that she could fully understand that it's in her best interest for us to make her a part of our family and bring her halfway across the world to live in a strange land. The experience for her is likened to kidnapping. If you have or ever have had a 4 year old, imagine them being kidnapped and how scared they must be without their mom and dad. To Rachel her foster parents are her mom and dad and she is going to be taken from them and handed over to very different looking strangers. In her province it is rare to see a Caucasian. She may never have seen someone as pale as us. She may never have seen someone with blue eyes or green eyes. She may never have seen someone with red hair. Not only are we strangers....we're aliens! We smell, talk, and eat differently. So now we can liken the experience to being kidnapped by aliens!

I'll leave you with that image...that thought. It's very sobering, isn't it?  

We Were Called

And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. ~ Matthew 18:5 

Randy and I have talked about adoption before we were even married, before we were even engaged. We both had a desire to add to our family through adoption. Through the years we would talk about it off and on always pulling back due to finances. We thought that someday we would do it, but we thought we would adopt through the foster care system in our state. Little did we know what God had planned for us.

About 5 years ago a couple from our church adopted a little girl from China, and though we didn’t know them very well, we fully supported them through prayer and were very excited for them. Had we known then what we know now, we would have helped to support them in other ways as well. God planted the seed for us to adopt internationally through their experience. They have become very good friends and a tremendous support to us.

We attended a Winter Jam concert in January 2010 and we heard several speakers supporting international adoption sponsored by a particular adoption agency. We came home with the feeling that God was saying, “You are correct that you do not have the upfront finances to fund an international adoption, but I do…get started!” How can you tell God no?! Although we tried to say no, we just couldn’t do it. So began this long-and-sometimes-difficult-but-so-worth-it journey to our daughter, Rachel.

On March 11, 2011 our dossier (compilation of our documents for adoption – a file that took many months to compile) was sent to China. We received a call the same day asking about the special needs we had listed on our medical checklist….the list of medical needs we felt we could handle. The questions were quite specific and it made us wonder if they already had a child in mind, though we had been told our first chance at a call for a referral would be March 22^nd.

Randy and I both had been drawn to children with vision impairments. When we made our medical checklist we researched many special needs and our list of what we felt we could handle was quite extensive. We did not highlight vision needs, it was just one of the many we had listed. So when we received the call on March 15^th, we were shocked that we received a call so soon, but I can’t say we were shocked at receiving a referral for a little girl with post-operative congenital glaucoma. We know that’s how God has worked throughout this process. He has put desires in our hearts and then fulfilled them time after time. And we are so thankful for that!

We are very happy to be adding little 4 year old Rachel to our family. Our boys are just as excited as we are! God has been faithful to help us financially and showed us ways to pay our fees that we had not considered in the past. We have covered all but the travel portion, and now we are tapped out, but we know God WILL provide. We seek His wisdom and provision daily. We ask that you would please pray for us and for God to supply what we need to bring our little blessing home from China.

A Dream Come True

Welcome to our new blog...A Dream Come True. That is exactly what is happening. The dream our family has been dreaming for years is finally coming true. We're adding a beautiful, little girl to our family through adoption. We want to share our journey and our happiness with you.


A scripture quoted many times throughout our church and church family...

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

...this scripture is for everyone in the world...God means every word of it. He truly has given our family, as well as our new daughter, much hope for the future, and we are so very thankful. 

As you follow along, please pray for us and for this very exciting journey to which God has called us.

Thank you!