In a holding pattern

Well, many people have been asking us how the journey is going and I would say right now that the best way to describe it is that we are in a holding pattern. Nothing is changing, nothing is happening, but right now that is ok because my head is winning out over the ache in my heart and I know that it will all come in God's perfect timing.

We are supposed to get updated numbers next week. I am not assuming there will be much movement over the next few months as the courts are closing for August and September. Without the courts, the legal documents required to give out referrals will not be available. The only referrals given will be on those children that documents were collected on before the closure.

I am so excited for all the families who got back yesterday from picking up their children. Adoption is a real rollercoaster of emotions, but I would guess holding your child in your arms for the first time would help erase the pain felt getting there. There is another group of famlies leaving in a few weeks. Praise God for bringing these children into homes.

THE GIRL EFFECT, n.
The powerful social and economic change brought about when girls have the opportunity to participate in their society.

Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary. Isaiah 40:31

Leaving on a jet plane...

Hold that. Leaving in a mini-van stuffed to the gills with everything you need for 2 adults and 2 small children for 4 days of fun filled camping. We are headed off to the great outdoors to enjoy God's blessings in nature and to try not to go crazy since we are camping with 8 children 4 and under!!!! Talk about relaxing! Ha, Ha! Pray for me!


I will be thinking and praying for everyone getting ready to leave for Ethiopia!!!, everyone waiting to see if they made it through courts and everyone who will have to wait, and finally all of us still waiting to meet our children.

The gift of prayer

prayer (prâr)
n. 1. a. A reverent petition made to God.
b. The act of making a reverent petition to God.

There is so much beauty in prayer. Prayer is not only a way I can have a deeper relationship with my Father, but it is also something I can do in situations where there is nothing else I can do. I can't make the travel calls to Karen & Sharon. I can't move those families with referrals through court before they close and I can't heal Abby. Only our mighty God can do those things, so I will kneel before God and make reverent petitions for:

AGCI families awaiting travel calls (especially Karen & Sharon)-They have been waiting a long time to see their children.

AGCI families with referrals - Peace, trust, faith and knowledge of God's perfect plan as they should be hearing this week whether or not they will make it through court before the closure. I am sooo praying that they get to pick up their babies next month.

Strength and wisdom for the Riggs family as they deal with the news of their daughter's leukemia and God's healing power for their daughter Abby. Read more here about the strength and beauty of this faithful family.

Our AGCI family will again enter into a day of fasting and prayer Tuesday for these families.

11 weeks and 2 days

and feeling a little disheartened. With the court closure looming, I am afraid we won't get a referral until they reopen. (AGCI has to collect legal documents before giving out referrals. When the courts close for August and September they can't collect documents, so the referrals slow way down.) I am glad for all the legal trappings and the responsibility of the Ethiopian government for taking such good care of their children. I am just sad, because I have this overflowing love for a little girl I have not met, but that God laid on my heart many years ago.

We started this process last November, so in our hearts we have been pregnant for 8 months already and it looks like we will be for at least another 5-8 months. I wish I had a crystal ball and could foresee the future. I am not good at not knowing. If I knew we couldn't hold her until February, at least I could armor myself for the long wait. The problem is is that there is always hope. I can't let go of it. I am hoping that we have her home before the year is over. Most of all, being a mother who loves this child as much as the ones I already have here now, I want what is best for her. So, I will wait for God's perfect timing, but continue to...

Gratitude

I never try and say anything that someone before me has already said better than I ever could, so I am praying this Jewish prayer of gratitude on behalf of Sharon and Karen and the wonderful miracles God worked in their lives. Their babies are officially a part of their families. Only God could have been behind the miracle that happened today. I am glad he is on our side.

If our mouths were filled with song as the sea,

And our tongues with praise like the rolling waves;

If our lips were as full of devotion as the sky above,

And our eyes shining forth like the sun and the moon;

If we stretched out our hands in prayer like the wings of soaring eagles,

And if our feet possessed the swiftness of gazelles----

We would still be unable to thank you and praise you enough,

Our God and God of our ancestors,

For the smallest portion of the countless

Hundreds,

Thousands,

Millions of blessings

You have given our ancestors and ourselves.

and one of my favorite Psalms

Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare. Psalm 40:5

May all the glory of this event belong to God!