Answers to Some Questions

I know many of you are wondering some things. Like how come we aren't posting much? It seems so secretive and unclear. What if the adoption doesn't go through, then what about the funds already given, where do they go? When will we have some more news to post? All of these are certainly legitimate questions so I will answer them each as best we can. So here goes:

I have thought that it would be better to post more often and have been thinking a lot about that. Frankly though, I don't quite know what to post. We don't yet have any more progress to post. We haven't a name or picture to show you. I can tell you this though, our waiting paperwork for pre-approval was filed on 6/15. We were told that to expect a wait of a couple of weeks before either receiving a pre-approval or for them to ask further questions regarding our application. We are told by our agency that once pre-approval is given, we will be allowed to name the child. Oh, how we long for that day!!

Others have voiced concerns about if the approval doesn't go through, then what happens to the funds? And perhaps that's what many people are waiting for--to hear of official approval. While we completely understand those concerns, we have thought about and talked about that. Rest assured if that was to happen, we would donate the money to another worthy cause. We've considered another adopting couple, New Day Foster Home or other 501(c)(3) organizations. All these would be good options and we'd certainly be open to special requests by those who've given. I have to tell you honestly though. We are only expecting to hear a YES!! We have long felt led to adopt this girl and have waited more than a year for paperwork to be completed since first filling out Waiting Child paperwork. While any adoption takes a lot of work, perseverance, and a tremendous amount of paperwork, we were told before we started all this that ours would be even more difficult living in a foreign country. The fact that we aren't in the states, already we have all these financial issues based on a non-US income. Since we've already been through this process twice already (but with much less complications as we lived in the states then), we realized what a mountain we may be looking at in order to complete this particular adoption. Frankly speaking, what is a bit of paperwork, frustration, and hurdles to overcome compared to a child you feel led to make a permanent member of your family?!! All of you who have adopted children know exactly what I'm talking about. In your heart, they are already a member of your family. We will climb any mountain, cross every stream, leap whatever hurdles before us, go to the ends of the earth in order to make this child a permanent member of our family!! We do not want to look back and regret not doing everything in our power to make that happen. We don't even want to think about "what if they say no?!" I have to be honest--we would be totally devastated! At least we'll know in our hearts it isn't because we failed in some way to do our very best to make that happen. We've stepped out in faith and trust He will make the way. To be honest, in the natural, it seems utterly impossible! But so many things in our lives have looked impossible or just plain stupid--in the natural! Take our move to China for instance. In the natural, it was not a smart move. Randy had a very good job and was only 5 years away from receiving a full retirement benefit. Knowing He was calling us to full-time work here, we sold our house, car, and auctioned off nearly all our possessions--with the exception of a few family keepsakes. People often voiced their opinion saying things like they felt we were making a mistake and why don't we just wait 5 years when we are set financially?! While that'd been easier, we knew we couldn't do it. We felt His leading--no matter the cost--simply to trust and follow His leading. We have done that and not regretted it one day. It has not always been easy, but He has ALWAYS provided for our needs and kept us safe sooooo many times. We've stepped out in faith and He's ALWAYS provided. It seems that each time, the task He's called us to is bigger as we come to trust Him more and more. I guess that's why they call it faith!! Thank you for journeying with us in this seemingly impossible (in the natural)walk by faith!!