IAC 249 Results

My dear friend who posts these IAC results on her blog allowed me to steal this particular post for good reason!!  The IAC meeting is the meeting where referrals are issued. The results are usually posted to a public site a month or so after the meeting is held.  This post is special because #14 is our referral.  I mean we already knew we had it, but to see it publicly listed is exciting.  In case you missed it it's the one with large font in black...hehe!!! Praise the Lord!!

IAC 249 Results

The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 249 which was held on March 21, 2013:

1) Spanish dossier from January 2010 referred a male child aged 2 years and 1 month

2) Spanish dossier from January 2010 referred a female child aged 1 year and 4 months

3) Dutch dossier from March 2010 referred a female child aged 5 years and 6 months

4) Italian dossier from April 2010 referred a female child aged 6 years and 7 months

5) German dossier from May 2010 referred a female child aged 1 year and 8 months with features in health status

6) US dossier from August 2010 referred a male child aged 2 years and 2 months with features in health status and a family history

7) Dutch dossier from December 2010 referred a female child aged 4 years and 3 months with features in health status

8) French dossier from December 2010 referred a male child aged 4 years and 2 months with a family history

9) US dossier from January 2011 referred two female children aged 5 years and 7 months & 7 years and 9 months with features in health status

10) French dossier from July 2011 referred two male children aged 8 years & 6 years and 3 months

11) US dossier from March 2012 referred a female child aged 2 years and 3 months with features in health status

12) Portuguese dossier from April 2012 referred a male child aged 2 years and 2 months with features in health status

13) Canadian dossier from June 2012 referred a male child aged 2 years with features in health status and a family history

14) US dossier from July 2012 referred a waiting child (#983) with a profile on the MOJ site

15) US dossier from October 2012 referred a waiting child (#1988) with a profile on the MOJ site

16) French dossier from October 2012 referred a male child aged 6 years and 6 months with features in health status

17) US dossier from March 2013 referred a female child aged 10 years

18) US dossier from March 2013 referred two waiting children (#1449 & #1578) with profiles on the MOJ site

19) Italian dossier from March 2013 referred a brother and sister aged 10 years and 4 months & 6 years and 2 months

20) US dossier from March 2013 referred two waiting children (#1933 & #976) with profiles on the MOJ site

I'm Going To Prepare a Place for You

As the day inches closer that we will take off on a plane to meet our son for the first time, Dustin and I both grow more and more excited to hold him in our arms.

Our travel dates have been moved forward a week so we are 16 days from leaving as of today. That seems unreal to me in this moment.  We have been staring at this picture since October and it almost feels as though that's all he is..a picture.  I have no idea what emotions I will feel the first time we see him. What scares me is the emotions he might have. Dustin and I have said over and over "what if he doesn't bond to us?".  I know it's not a thought that people like to think about, but it is a reality.  It was pretty quickly that we had to stand on the promises that God has given us.  God has picked this child out and said "This is your son".  With that we have to know that God is preparing his heart for our meeting, just as He has been preparing ours. 

During a bible study at church a few weeks ago we began to talk about what the disciples must have felt when Jesus was telling them He would be leaving.  They clearly did not understand. They did not know what they would do without Jesus by their side. In fact they were pretty terrified.  He continued to explain that He was going to prepare a place for them where they would live forever with Jesus once their separation was over.  Jesus had poured so much time into building relationships with these disciples who followed Him so closely and now they felt He was leaving them to fend for themselves in this world that already had nothing promising for them.  If these men could not understand this time of separation then how can a small child?

I think about what it will feel like when we spend a week with our son just to leave him.  We can tell him over and over that we have to go back to where we came from to prepare a place for him. A place that will offer love and shelter and a family, but essentially a place that he can't imagine because he's never seen it, or heard of it.  It's heartwrenching to know we will bond with this child who has longed for a family for so long then we will leave him just like we never met him (at least he'll think so).  We'll be home working so hard to bring him home, but he won't know that.  We very likely will become a distant memory in his tiny world. 
Sure we will leave pictures, and a teddy bear, and a blanket, but in no way will that replace physical touch and time spent together.

Often I imagine these older children with their picture books of the families that have come to adopt them.  How after this family leaves they show all of their friends these pictures and explain how these people have come to save them from this place, to show them unconditional love, and to adopt them.  How proud they are to "show off" their new mommies and daddies.  Isn't this a great picture of what God has done.  God sent His son so that we could be adopted into His family.  We are co-heirs to the throne along with Jesus.  And even though physically He is not with us right now, He has left us all of these things to remind us that He is coming back for us.  His scripture, much like those picture of families, we should look at daily and is a reminder of His love.  The Holy Spirit, just like those blankets that wrap us with comfort and security, we turn to in moments of uncertainty for guidance.  Shouldn't we be just as excited to share with everyone we meet our Father who has paid our ransom and come to rescue us.  It is a love unlike we've ever known and we should want all of our orphaned friends to understand all we have to do is say yes to receive this love.  Don't you think every child in an orphanage would say "yes I want that love" if they knew that's all they had to do.  We don't have to wait for a family to choose us because we've arleady been chosen!

It is my deepest prayer that our son knows we are coming back for him. That he doesn't feel abandoned at the end of our week.  That he can look at our pictures and understand that Mommy and Daddy are working so hard to bring him home.  It is my prayer that we can show him a love that he's never known before.  I've been reminded by so many wonderful adoptive parents that have gone ahead of us to take things slow.  To make sure we go at his pace, which will certainly be slower than ours.  It will take so much time for him to learn he can trust us.  I'm even certain there will be times he will test our love and commitment to him, much like we do with God.  I'm reminded of a beautiful scripture in Malachi 3 when I think of this happening.  God was dealing with a rebelious people who had done so many displeasing things.  But God said "I the Lord do not change".  Essentially saying no matter what you do, I'm not going anywhere. No matter how bad you are, I still love you. There's nothing you can do to make me love you any more or any less.  What a wonderful picture of God's love.  I hope our son understands this.  Nothing he can do can make us leave.  Our love for him will not change. Sure their may be moments of frustration but we will be his family. FOREVER. 

It is because of this love God has shown us, that we in return are able to show this love to a child who so desparately needs it.  Because God adopted us we are able to adopt these beautiful children.  I have seen a quote going around on social media a lot lately and it speaks so loudly.  "We adopt not because we are rescuers but because we have been rescued."

Perfect Timing

I have held off trying to publish a new post because I truly wanted it to be filled with exciting news instead of more of the waiting game we've been playing for so long.

Well Folks this is it! I can't hold out any longer and fortunately I don't need to...wahhooo!

Just when I thought I was losing hope in this process, and realizing that I am horrible at waiting, God moves.  God didn't just move a little, I mean he REALLY MOVED!!!

We had expected our referral to be issued from the IAC meeting on March 6th.  After a week or two of waiting we realized our case obviously had not been reviewed

So we waited some more.....THEN....Friday we received word that there was a good possibility our referral had been issued this past week, but we would wait until Monday before receiving confirmation. 

I honestly didn't expect to hear anything on Monday.  But we did.  We got the best confirmation!!  Our referral had been issued and we had been officially matched with our son.  All that was left was to get the paperwork translated then issue travel dates.  We were told 2-3 weeks before travel dates would probably come. I was ok with that, seeing as we had waiting so long up until this point, knowing that travel dates was the next step made us excited.

THEN...today we received an e-mail titled   "Travel Dates". What...Are you kidding me?? We weren't expecting these for weeks.  How awesome is God!  I think He was showing off a bit with this one. 

We are very fortunate to have received a pretty good notice. We've heard of 7 day notices before and that made me pretty antsy.  Fortunately we got a 6 week notice.  Where does that put us??  We will be flying out of the US on May 11 and landing in Sofia on May 12th.   How perfect is that?? In case you haven't caught on to the date, let me be the first to tell you, that is Mother's Day.  God's timing is beyond incredible and we feel so blessed to be spending our first mother's day in our sons country. Granted we won't see him that day, but to know we are so close makes it all seem a little bit better. 

As I'm writing this post I'm realizing there is sooo much to be done to prepare for travel.  But we are just thrilled to have a date and can't wait for 6 weeks to fly by!!

We appreciate all of the prayers that have been going up for our family! Please keep our son especially in your prayers that God will continue to prepare his heart to meet his new mommy and daddy.

One Child. One Life. One Soul.

We are excited to begin posting stories from Lifesong for Orphans.  This is an incredible ministry and any opportunity we can take to advocate for orphans and share in the wonderful work being done around the globe, we rejoice! These are God's children and we are blessed to be a small part of sharing His story of their life.

"And the King will say, 'I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!'" Matthew 25:40

One Child. One Life. One Soul.
An ongoing theme of our ministry is the power of ONE. Not to ignore the often overwhelming 147 million orphan statistic, but to focus on making an impact on ONE child. As Andy Stanley says, "Do for ONE what you wish you could do for every one. And when do you for ONE, you often end up doing for far more than just one." 
Please enjoy these ONE child stories...

IN THE MIGHTY NAME OF JESUS // Lifesong Zambia

In Zambia, like many parts of the world, witchcraft is very prevelant. At Lifesong School in Zambia, we teach the children that God is more powerful than witchcraft and the witchdoctors that practice it. They can have power through Jesus Christ to fight off evil, through HIS NAME! Listen in as Paul shares the experience that he and his friends had with a local witchdoctor...

Pray that God will continue to show himself to Paul and use this experience to build his trust and faith in our Father God.
Learn more about Lifesong Zambia >>

GROWING THE NEXT GENERATION // Lifesong Liberia

Thomas grew up on the streets without any parents to care, protect or provide for him. A missionary brought Thomas to Lifesong's Master's Home of Champions, knowing he would be cared for. Listen in as Thomas shares his heart for the people of Liberia and the role he sees for himself to bring Christ's name known!

Pray that Thomas will continue to grow in His relationship with Jesus Christ and with boldness, share the gospel to others. Learn more about Lifesong Liberia >>

Read more ONE child stories...

Katie Rescued from Orphanage -- Katie, born with down syndrome, was 9 years old and weighed only 10 pounds when Joe & Susanna traveled to adopt her. Read Full Story

Natasha Breaks the Cycle -- "I was looking for someone to understand me, to love sincerely...I received all this!" Read Full Story

"I am your mommy!" -- Beautiful account from one of our Lifesong Adoptive families, sharing their first moment they met their son Cohen from Congo. Read full story

Puzzle Fundraiser

Some Exciting News...

OUR PUZZLE IS FULLY FUNDED!!! Praise The Lord!!

What an incredible amount of support we recieved during this fundraiser. In only 5 days we had family, friends, and strangers come together to purchase every piece of this 1000 piece puzzle.

                                                       Here is the completed puzzle!!! 

We feel sooo blessed to be posting this sooo quickly.  Also we drew for the gift card that was part of a giveaway if we got the puzzle funded.  Jayne, Grant, and Isaiah Litton were the winners of the gift card!!! 


In other news, our paperwork left for BG at the beginning of this week. We are truly hoping to get a referral next week..fingers crossed!  We also applied for 3 grants this week. These will be vital for us to fund our second trip and all of the fees associated. We always appreciate prayers and will keep everyone posted.

Lets all pray that our next post contains a referral and travel dates...wooo hooo!!!!

Blown Away!

 When Dustin and I decided to do this puzzle fundraiser, we expected it to be a challenge to get all 1,000 pieces funded. Never in a million years would we have guessed we would have the response that we've had.  I know I said I would update every 100 pieces but with the events of the last 48 hours that has been quite impossible.  The support has been incredible and we are completely blown away. I'm going to post a couple of photos that were taken all in the past 2 days.

                        

                   The first picture we were able to take was of 242 pieces. This was  yesterday evening

Then this morning after some more donations we took this picture of  328 pieces.

And as of right now we can post this picture....

638 pieces!!!!

Let me say again we are BLOWN AWAY by the response!  I know there is a little boy who I can't wait to share this experience with.  He is obviously already loved by soo many people!

My favorite picture will be of the puzzle completely together with all names on the back!

  

Updates, Set Backs, and Celebrations

Lets start with updates first....

We have been matched with our son for 2 months now and are sooo sooo close to traveling to meet him. 

Our first trip is Fully Funded!!! We are now working on that second trip which is more expensive than the first.  To be completely funded we need roughly $10,500 more. At this point that seems like a mountain but truely it is a drop in the bucket to what God is capable of. We are standing on solid ground and have complete faith that He will provide!

In Fundraising news we are almost to our first picture of the puzzle!  We are at $60 thanks to some very special families!!  We can't thank each of you enough for your generous donations!!  We want to post our first 100 pieces so we only need 40 more pieces sponsored!!

We would truely love to have the puzzle fully funded before we leave for our first trip!!!


Now for some Set Backs.....
We knew when we were matched to our son we would have to change some paperwork with USCIS. We had originally been approved for a girl under 4 and well he obviously isn't a girl or under 4 so we had some paperwork to do.   We submitted all of that and a couple weeks later got "pink-slipped".  They wanted more information, updated background checks, and some things from our original homestudy.  That took us about 2 weeks to get together and sent it all back off again!  We were expecting everything to come in last week and when it came in I was soooo excited.  Well as I sat down to read it, the only update that had occured was the increase in age.  The approval still stated female and none of our son's needs were listed in the approval.  I called USCIS and so graciously explained to them what was wrong and after a couple of phone calls they agreed to correct it all, admitted the mistake on their part, and said they would get it right in the mail.

Now for the Celebration....
Saturday we received it.  This is our final piece of paper we needed to send to BG before receiving our official referral and travel dates. WAAAHOOOOO!!!

I'll be making one more trip to Frankfort to get everything apostilled and then off to BG it goes!

Dustin and I are making some estimates and are expecting to travel the middle of march.  This is exciting but we are sad to miss our son's 6th birthday which we were certain we would get to celebrate with him.The important thing is, this is the last birthday he will have in an orphanage without a family! Praise God!

We understand and knew going in to this process there would be setbacks and mishaps, and we have been so fortunate that we truely haven't had any to this point.  With that being said, we believe that God has His hand in every situation and circumstance and knows exactly what He's doing by delaying us a couple of weeks.  We are thankful for God's provision and even though we don't understand it at times we can have peace in knowing it is what's best for us and our son.

NOW BRING ON THE PUZZLE SPONSORS!!! WE'VE GOT 940 PIECES TO GO!!!!