Prayer for Boston, Texas and China

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God." - 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

This week our world has been rocked by tragedies around the globe. Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone who have been effected by these events. We pray that God will provide comfort and peace during this time of turmoil. Please join us in prayer for the individuals and families around the world who are suffering tonight because of the disasters that took place this week. If you would like to volunteer or donate to support the victims, please contact Samaritans Purse at http://www.samaritanspurse.org/ or the American Red Cross Association at: http://www.redcross.org/

A Community with a Heart

" Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear" -Isaiah 65:24

We recently went home for Easter, and were overjoyed by the news we received. We were informed that our friends and family were working together to try to raise $1,000 for our adoption. This news couldn't have come at a better time. The week before Easter we were informed that the money from Show Hope had not yet arrived, and that we needed to pay a minimum of $458 towards our dossier, otherwise our adoption could get held up again. The remainder of the dossier could be paid when the money from Show Hope arrived; however, this particular amount was due immediately. That week we prayed, and we were amazed that God answered our prayer that weekend. The best part was that God had orchestrated this before the money was ever due. Our friends and family had been hard at work and had already raised about half of their goal of $1,000, which allowed us to go ahead and pay off the $458 fee. Our hearts were overjoyed that so many people had been working behind the scenes to help out. As we looked over the list of names of the people who donated, it brought tears to our eyes. Once again, God's timing was perfect, and once again we were amazed at the generosity and love of the body of Christ. To take it a step further, God melted our hearts even more when we saw two $2 donations. We were informed that two little kids gave two dollars each towards our adoption. Two dollars is a lot of money for a child, and yet they willing gave it away to help another child find a home. It reminded us of the widow in Mark 12 who gave two copper coins. "Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others." - Mark 12:43. The widow gave everything she had to the Lord. It is our hope that we will be like the widow, like these two children, and like the people whose names were on this list. That we will always give sacrificially to the work of Christ, counting it not a financial loss, but always a gain for the kingdom of God. Thank you to everyone whose names were on those lists, and to every team leader who helped coordinate this. You not only helped us financially, but you also reminded us that great things happen when we give generously to the Lord and his work. Thank you for making this the most heartfelt Easter we have ever had.

Hope Does Not Disappoint

"And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us." - Romans 5:5

We've mentioned before that this verse has meant so much to us during this adoption process. Our adoption journey has been filled with lots of hiccups, but also a lot of blessings. God has used this process to test our faith, and to remind us that hope does not disappoint. As our time frame continued to get pushed back, we held tighter to this verse, and to God's promise to work all things together for good. Because hope has been the theme of our adoption, we eventually decided to make Hope our daughter's middle name. It is our prayer that God will fill her life with hope. It is because of God's grace, and your encouragement and support, that we know the hope we have will not disappoint us. We also pray that as God continues to fill us with hope, that he will also fill everyone involved in our adoption process with hope as well. We wanted to leave you with some encouraging hope-filled quotes as your go about your weekend. May God fill you to overflowing with his love and mercies, which are new every single day!

"Hope is faith holding out its hand in the dark." - Barbara Johnson

"But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." - Isaiah 40: 31

"The same God who empowered Samson, Gideon, and Paul seeks to empower my life and your life, because God hasn't changed." - Bill Hybels

Dossier in Route!

This was the picture we took before we sent off our dossier forms.  In total with all of the state seals, notarized documents and all other paperwork, it was 73 pages long!  We not only had to send the originals, but two additional copies with it. In total, we sent off  219 pages to our adoption agency!

As you can imagine, we are relieved that we finally completed our dossier.  It only took traveling 2 hours to have our finger prints taken (for the third time), traveling another 2 hours to have documents State sealed, getting physicals for the second time, going to the police department to have background checks done, getting updated births certificates, an updated marriage license, asking three more friends for reference letters, getting employment verification letters, having a passport photo taken, and notarizing numerous documents. Whew. I think that was it. :)

Our paperwork will be reviewed by our agency, and then sent off for the final approval  Once we get the final approval, we will be set up with our travel arrangements to go and bring our little girl home!  Woohoo!!! Although it has taken a lot of time and effort, in the end it will all be worth it when we have her here! :)

Thank you to everyone who has been praying and supporting us through this process. We are thrilled to be one step closer. We hope you have a blessed weekend. Happy Easter!

Reece's Rainbow- A Heart for Special Needs Adoptions

Thanks to the generosity of Reece's Rainbow, any donations that we receive for the remainder of our adoption fees are now tax deductible! Reece's Rainbow holds a special place in our hearts, as they too have a passion to help special needs children get adopted. You can check out our link on Reece's Rainbow at the following site: Sponsor Site

To learn more about the great work that Reece's Rainbow is doing, please visit: www.reecesrainbow.org, or click the following link to watch Reece's Rainbow on ABC World News. Video

Show Hope

We have been amazed recently at how actively God is working in our adoption. We are excited to say that we received another adoption grant! God's timing is truly incredible.  As our dossier paperwork is completed, that brings with it additional fees. Because of the two grants we recently received, all of our dossier and program 2 fees will be paid for! God is truly working financial miracles to help us bring our little girl home!

We are deeply grateful for the wonderful people at Show Hope who have blessed us with an adoption grant. If you are unfamiliar with Show Hope, this organization was started by singer Steven Curtis Chapman, and his wife Mary Beth. Steven and Mary Beth have adopted multiple times from China, and they have incredible hearts to help orphans. God has used Show Hope over and over again to help families bring home children. We are blessed and humbled to have been chosen to receive a grant from this wonderful organization. Thank you Show Hope for your love for God, and your heart for the orphan! You can learn more about Show Hope at the following website, and also in the video below: www.showhope.org

Moving Forward...Slowly

Who knew two tiny feet could hold such a huge place in our hearts!







The picture above is of our little girl's first pair of shoes. We can't wait to finally see her in them! We never imagined that someone we have never met could truly hold such a deep place in our hearts. 

We have a few updates that we wanted to share with everyone:

1. We are excited and grateful to announce that we received a scholarship from Families Outreach. Families Outreach's vision is to "make a difference in the worldwide orphan epidemic, one orphan at a time." We are so humbled by their beautiful hearts for God's children, and we are blessed that their vision is helping us get one step closer to making one less orphan in the world. You can learn more about this wonderful organization by visiting their site at: http://familiesoutreach.org

2. We recently went to the immigration office and had our biometrics done. Although we had to get up at 5am and travel two hours, we are glad to say that they approved our biometrics, and sent us the immigration paperwork! Yipee! This now allows us to travel another two hours on Monday to get everything state sealed. We are getting pretty use to being in the car!

3. Once we get everything state sealed on Monday, we will mail our dossier out on Tuesday. We are told it usually takes about 3 months for all of this to get approved, and then another 1-2 months for travel arrangements. These time frames are only estimates, and could be longer or shorter, so we are trusting in God's perfect timing.

We wanted to say a BIG thank you to everyone who is continuing to pray for us and encourage us. You will never know how much this means to us.