A couple more notes of good news...
1. We received an email from our caseworker yesterday saying that our entire dossier (paperwork) is correct. All we have to do now is bring it to the Secretary of State to get it sealed. And then its off to Ethiopia!
2. We received an updated evaluation of Tessa yesterday with pictures. She is a doll. She appears healthy and happy and is supposedly the popular girl at the orphanage. We can't wait to meet her!
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
the paperwork is in!
And then it could be a few months until we receive the call to go pick up Trey and Tessa! Please keep praying...
1. for the dossier to be complete and to move quickly through the Ethiopian government
2. for Trey and Tessa to continue to be strong and healthy and well cared for
3. for God's perfect timing in our travels to Ethiopia
We are so excited but also so anxious for the time to come! More updates soon...
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
The Latest Update!
We just returned from a meeting with our social worker at Bethany Christian Services to try and complete our dossier (all the paperwork that will be sent to Ethiopia). Other than a couple papers that need new dates or signatures, everything is almost complete! As we were about to leave our social worker, Kim, asked, "Did you get that information I sent to you about the kids?" No, we hadn't. She left and returned with two packets of information about Trey and Tessa!
These packets were filled with pictures and information about our kiddos...games they like to play, what their daily schedules look like, their favorite foods, their gross motor abilities, and their family background. Currently, they are not at the same orphanage and they both miss each other so much. Trey has had somewhat of a difficult time in school because he misses his sister so much. Also, when the worker asked Tessa how much she misses her brother, her response was to hug herself! How great it will be when they are reunited with each other and with us. We love them so much already! And, now we are just continuing to wait...
PLEASE keep praying! This is God's heart...He is the "father to the fatherless" (psalm 68) and he has adopted us as his dearly loved children.
These packets were filled with pictures and information about our kiddos...games they like to play, what their daily schedules look like, their favorite foods, their gross motor abilities, and their family background. Currently, they are not at the same orphanage and they both miss each other so much. Trey has had somewhat of a difficult time in school because he misses his sister so much. Also, when the worker asked Tessa how much she misses her brother, her response was to hug herself! How great it will be when they are reunited with each other and with us. We love them so much already! And, now we are just continuing to wait...
PLEASE keep praying! This is God's heart...He is the "father to the fatherless" (psalm 68) and he has adopted us as his dearly loved children.
- Pray for God's protection over Trey and Tessa -- that he would surround them with great people who demonstrate God's love to them.
- Pray that paperwork would go smoothly and quickly.
- Pray that God would be made known in this whole endeavor!
- Pray that we would find a notary public soon to help us sign some of the last pieces of paperwork.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Keep Pressing On...
Although we have not updated the blog lately, we are still in the process of bringing Trey and Tessa home! As always, the stacks of paperwork are daunting and all of the little details are adding up to be quite overwhelming.
"Wait for the Lord; be strong and
take heart, and wait for the Lord."
Psalm 27:4
It can be easy to get discouraged, especially when nothing seems to be going right and others do not encourage the dream.
Mother Teresa once said, "Don't give into discouragement. No more must you do so when you try to settle a marriage crisis or convert a sinner and don't succeed. If you are discouraged, it is a sign of pride because it shows you trust in your own powers...Leave it to Jesus."
Monday, April 20, 2009
encouragement from Bill Johnson
Well, to be honest, there are many times that I wonder if we are absolutely crazy to attempt this adoption......I mean, it will really complicate our lives.
We have not formally introduced Trey and Tessa.....and unfortunately we cannot include pictures. Not yet. Trey is six years old. Tessa is 2 1/2 years old. They live in an orphanage in Ethiopia. Their dad has died of AIDS and their mom is dying. And God commands us to care for the orphan, the fatherless, the motherless, the poor. So we want to be obedient. But do we feel adequate or prepared or ready for the challenges that will come? Not on our own strength.
I recently read these thoughts from Bill Johnson (pastor of Bethel Church in Redding, CA):
Part of our problem is this: We are accustomed only to doing things for God that are not impossible. If God doesn't show up and help us, we can still succeed.....
His righteousness/character is not built into us by our own efforts. It is developed when we quit striving and learn to abandon ourselves completely to his will.....
If he (the Holy Spirit) is to be free to move in our lives, we will constantly be involved in impossibilities. The supernatural is his natural realm.
So please pray for us in those moments of discouragement. Pray that he will strengthen us, give us family unity, eyes to see the spiritual realm clearly, faith to trust in our heavenly Father's provision.
We have not formally introduced Trey and Tessa.....and unfortunately we cannot include pictures. Not yet. Trey is six years old. Tessa is 2 1/2 years old. They live in an orphanage in Ethiopia. Their dad has died of AIDS and their mom is dying. And God commands us to care for the orphan, the fatherless, the motherless, the poor. So we want to be obedient. But do we feel adequate or prepared or ready for the challenges that will come? Not on our own strength.
I recently read these thoughts from Bill Johnson (pastor of Bethel Church in Redding, CA):
Part of our problem is this: We are accustomed only to doing things for God that are not impossible. If God doesn't show up and help us, we can still succeed.....
His righteousness/character is not built into us by our own efforts. It is developed when we quit striving and learn to abandon ourselves completely to his will.....
If he (the Holy Spirit) is to be free to move in our lives, we will constantly be involved in impossibilities. The supernatural is his natural realm.
So please pray for us in those moments of discouragement. Pray that he will strengthen us, give us family unity, eyes to see the spiritual realm clearly, faith to trust in our heavenly Father's provision.
Friday, April 10, 2009
One of the best (and also most difficult) parts of this venture is trusting God for huge amounts of money. But I wouldn't want to miss seeing him at work for anything!! There are amazing answers to prayer to report already.......
I'm a part of a Jericho team (from the Bridge Street House of Prayer). Our team prays every Monday evening from 7 to 9 p.m. I am the senior member of this team and most are high school or college students. I asked them all to pray a couple of weeks ago because I knew $1,050 would be due the next week for immigration. I didn't really know where this money would come from. We prayed that night for God to release this sum of money......and I saw some possibilities in the next week of how God might be providing. But we didn't have the check for immigration yet. The following Monday our caseworker called me to ask for the check and I told her: "We will have that check for you this week." Then I hung up and wondered why I said that because I didn't know how I would get $1,050 that week. So that evening our Jericho team prayed again. We even thanked God for providing. One of our members said, "I just know you are going to get a phone call tomorrow morning about this money."
Well, I was out running errands Tuesday morning and when I walked into my house, my voicemail was picking up a message from our caseworker. She said, "You won't believe it! I came into the office this morning and there was a check for $1,000 in my box for you guys! You even have some extra for future expenses!"
I know this is only the beginning of watching God meet our needs financially.....and this is HIS idea. So he will bring Trey and Tessa home. It will be fun to watch.
I'm a part of a Jericho team (from the Bridge Street House of Prayer). Our team prays every Monday evening from 7 to 9 p.m. I am the senior member of this team and most are high school or college students. I asked them all to pray a couple of weeks ago because I knew $1,050 would be due the next week for immigration. I didn't really know where this money would come from. We prayed that night for God to release this sum of money......and I saw some possibilities in the next week of how God might be providing. But we didn't have the check for immigration yet. The following Monday our caseworker called me to ask for the check and I told her: "We will have that check for you this week." Then I hung up and wondered why I said that because I didn't know how I would get $1,050 that week. So that evening our Jericho team prayed again. We even thanked God for providing. One of our members said, "I just know you are going to get a phone call tomorrow morning about this money."
Well, I was out running errands Tuesday morning and when I walked into my house, my voicemail was picking up a message from our caseworker. She said, "You won't believe it! I came into the office this morning and there was a check for $1,000 in my box for you guys! You even have some extra for future expenses!"
I know this is only the beginning of watching God meet our needs financially.....and this is HIS idea. So he will bring Trey and Tessa home. It will be fun to watch.
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