Dossier IN Ethiopia

Yep, you read that right...the dossier has reached the other side of the ocean and is where it is supposed to be in Ethiopia!

Now we just sit back (HA!) and wait patiently (double HA!).

Our waiting brings both feelings of joy as well as an inspired urgency to be on our knees for our baby girl.

Joy from the obvious freedom from the paper-trail, knowing that things in that area have settled into place!

We were not contacted immediately with a referral because, most likely she is not at the care center yet...which means she has not been found, turned over, or whatever the case might be... so please pray for her as she indures whatever her situation is...pray for her health and for her safety and for her to feel God's protective arms wrapped around her...pray that God will already be working in her heart, preparing her for us but ultimately preparing her for Him!

Sorry I don't have more news...but little by little!!

The dossier is ON ITS WAY!!!

That's right, we got the word today from Susan (our consultant) that our dossier has been completed and shipped to Ethiopia!!!!!

We are BEYOND thrilled!!

We know that there are difficulties to come and loads more waiting times, but to have this massive portion of paperwork complete is amazing and relieving! I always wondered if we would truly be able to build a complete dossier while living overseas, and I am so very thankful to the Lord for working it all out!

So what's next? I'm not quite sure exactly, but I think we wait for a referral now. So, with that in mind, I would like to give you a new list of ways you could pray for us:

This settling on a referral process is horribly daunting. It looks to me like 'choosing' your child...and I SO do not want it to be like that. So I'm asking you to pray that the Lord gives us both overwhelming assurance and peace when we encounter our referral-- peace that drives all doubt and fear out of our minds. That we would have wisdom to know the correct questions to ask about the information given on the child and that He would direct us to a good doctor to review their file.

Please ask that we be presented with the perfect child for our family.

Pray for her health and safety--it could be months before we receive any information on her so it could be that she has not made it to the care center yet...pray for her.

Pray for us as waiting parents--bind satan from attacking us with doubt and fear of inadequacy--pray for our family's continued unity. Pray for patience for all of us.

Thank you for holding the ropes for us!

Little by little

So, I got an email this afternoon from our adoption consultant telling us that they have received all the documents from Italy and we are just waiting on the letter that has been mailed from Oklahoma to get to the office in GA. Hopefully we will have a completed dossier VERY soon!!!!!!

Thank you for your continued prayers!

obsessing...

So I've gone from, two months ago, being on a kind of internet 'fast' to checking the computer every hour...it's insane.

I cannot handle the waiting--I must say that this is WAY harder than pregnancy (and pregnancy was not a walk in the park for me). At least in prenatal waiting you get monthly progress reports from your doctor, you know that your body is doing it's job, that you can eat right and exercise and do things to 'maintain' the pace of the process and at the end of nine months, give or take a week or so you will have a baby--the baby that God was growing in you all along, the baby that you talked to over and over while you waited, the baby that you were able to keep safe from harm and well-fed.

This waiting, on the other hand, is torture. You feel forgotten by your agency at times (even though it's not true, they are doing their job wonderfully and appropriately), there are no monthly updates, no set timelines, you are at the mercy of circumstances like slow postal service and bureaucracy and long lines and the waiting list... But I think the worst part of this whole process is not knowing our baby, I don't know who she is, I don't know where she is, I don't know if she is hungry or cold or sad...And there is truly NOTHING I can do about any of it.

I am so very grateful to have a strong, loving, all-seeing God Who KNOWS...it doesn't take much of the sting out of not knowing these things for myself--but it calms my anxious heart to know and rest in the fact that God DOES know and He IS caring for her--just as He cared for my other children in my womb, He cares for her...He formed each of them in precisely the way He intended--something that, I have to admit, I had absolutely nothing to do with. It's more difficult to be so very hands-off, but it's wonderful to have the chance to praise God for His sovereignty--that He is and will continue to orchestrate all of this for His glory... That He is taking care of her needs, orchestrating all circumstances to connect our paths--intertwining our lives so that we will, eventually, be together as a family. I couldn't ask for anything more.

But continue to pray us through this process. We have had no news of late, and our time-line is stretching longer and longer...a time-line that God is in control of...I know. Please pray.

Support Ethiopian Adoption!

Hello all! No new news. Sorry.

But in the meantime, I'd like to share another opportunity for you to support Ethiopian adoption! One of my best friends, Jennifer, and her husband (and son) are currently in the process of adopting a child from Ethiopia as well! The Holberts have a fund raiser going on where you can buy T-shirts that promote Ethiopian adoption and the profits from these sales go toward their personal adoption! Please consider supporting her family AND by wearing the T-shirts you may get the opportunity to share with others about the nearly 4 million orphaned children in Ethiopia and their great need for love and family.



Here is the link:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/jenholbert?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=App_Seller&utm_content=shops&utm_campaign=fb_seller_shop

Thank you all!