Adoption Update

Above is a cute photo of excited big sis and proud big brother holding on to their little sisters referral pictures. I emailed it to our Colombian Representative. She said she would be sure to pass on to Los Pisingos, assuming they will pass along to the girls!

This past week was a bit of a roller coaster ride on our adoption end...on Monday we understood that the strike would probably not take place, and realizing that we most likely would be traveling soon! Well, the good news is, the strike did not go through! Praise God! But, on Tuesday an urgency over took me (isn't that sometimes how the Holy Spirit works?!)...with our caseworker being on vacation, I called immigration to see how our I800 (huge packet of loads of stuff about us and the girls needed to get approval to travel and receive the girls)...after both John and I made phone calls, going back and forth with Bethany, we discovered some really disappointing news. Our I800 packet had NEVER been sent to immigration...it was sitting in our file at Bethany. My heart just sank...how in the world could this happen when we were told that all it needed was a letter from corporate and it would go in the mail the following day (which was 6 weeks ago)! UGH! I had a few days of feeling angry and frustrated. I can't describe the urgency I feel to receive our girls right now...it is building every day. I am up every night praying for them (for hours)! This is God's way of preparing the adoptive Mama's time clock to get ready for those sleepless nights of holding and loving on the girls...He has done this with Isabel and Silas, and it really is amazing!

So, we press on, not angry or mad, but disappointed...we do not know what this means for travel, so, we are praying for a miracle with immigraiton. We are told that they have "expedited" paperwork through, but, they can be a bit "touchy" and you can't push to hard...or they said we could get the Congressman involved, and it will probably rush us through, but, could make immigration upset and be a slower process for other families...hmmm...hopefully we'll get some answers tomorrow from our caseworker! So, we don't know...according to Bethany they are capable of expediting in 10 days, but, we also know that this I800 approval can take up to 3 months. We expect everything will be done on our behalf from Bethany, and then we just have to wait and see. Our Colombian Represenative told us we could travel right up to Dec. 6 to get into the courts before they shut down for almost 4 weeks. I personally think Christmas in Colombia would be an unbelievably special time for our family!! We also know that our adoption house keeps inquiring on when we will travel, and they can get a little funny about the long process, so, Bethany has to advocate for us not only with immigration but with our adoption house.

Crazy process...so, out of our control. But God is who He says He is, He is Sovereign, He is on the throne... orchestrating all the details down to the nitty gritty of every signature, form...and in His perfect time, and perfect way He will bring us together...His heart is big for the fatherless, the orphan, every tear I've cried over our girls, He crys thousands more! He cares for them more than I ever humanly could. He showed me His grace today in church during worship. I could hardly sing, so I just closed my eyes, and clear as day saw Caroline running towards His long white robe, and His hand reached out to her...and He gave me a picture of Marta walking with her little bonkers in her hair and a smile on her face (she's not walking yet, and shows little emotion). It was as if He was saying "I'm loving them, I'm caring for them, I'm protecting them...it's going to be ok!" And, although I have this agonizing desire to hold them in my arms, a certain peace came over me today that I didn't have all week! His grace is sufficient!