God of Miracles

Our dossier is finally in the hands of our adoption agency!

This huge stack of papers has been prayed over and cried over. It brought me to the end of myself time and time again. I can truly say that I am a broken woman but in the best possible way. This huge stack of papers tells a story of God's great faithfulness and is just a small glimpse into this enormous journey that has completely changed me from the inside out. I hope to share more of this story as time goes by but right now I'm savoring the changes being made in my heart and I can tell you that there is even more breaking and stripping that need to happen before our sweet daughter comes home. Lord, give me strength!! Here are two truths God has been impressing on my heart recently brought on through a book written by Beth Moore:

God is who He says He is.

God can do what He says He can do.

This adoption journey has been a journey into the heart of God for me. It has revealed areas of my heart that I didn't even realize were there, areas where I have refused to believe certain truths about God. It has shaken me to the core revealing to me that yes, our God is exactly who He says that He is and He will accomplish all things He sets out to accomplish. My eyes have been opened to how completely insignificant I am but I am amazed that the Lord has chosen to take me along for the ride. His glory and might are on display even now in the life of our sweet daughter and His desire is for all of those watching her story to see who He truly is and that He is worthy of all of us...all of our praise and all of our worship.

God is moving mightily and He desires to do this in the lives of all his creation. When I began this journey I was scared to pray for miracles. What if my prayers weren't answered the way I had hoped?!? What if I just didn't have enough faith?!? Even if no outward miracles had taken place I can say now that God has been working miracles in my heart. More on that at another time because He isn't even close to finished there! Our God still works miracles and if anyone needs a picture of that truth just take a look at how God has worked in our adoption. Look to the right of my blog page...do you see that percentage on our GoFundMe page? In less than a year God has provided more than $30,000 for our adoption! We don't even have a picture of our daughter yet but people have felt led to give.

Complete strangers have donated money.

Acquaintances we haven't seen in years have given.

Friends and family who are struggling financially gave out of their own need.

Let me say that God has blessed your generosity and we are in awe! Thank you. Your prayers and support have been constant reminders of God's goodness.The creator of the Universe is orchestrating every little detail to bring our daughter into our family and it is just amazing. For those who are continuing to pray for this process here are some requests that we are currently lifting up.

Prayer Requests:
- We are praying big prayers asking God to bring us the referral of our daughter quickly.
- The referral process can be gut-wrenching and painful as families often have to turn down a referral due to the need of the child being beyond their ability and resources. We are praying explicitly for this process to be filled with peace and confidence in the Lord's work. Although we are not certain of God's plan I do not want to have to turn down multiple referrals so I am praying specifically toward that end.
- Pray against spiritual attacks. Last week was incredibly heavy and hard for me. I can say now that the only reason I am doing better is that I had sweet friends lifting me up in prayer. Pray that my husband and I may remain focused on God and that He would surround our family in this journey.

Movin' Right Along

I am SO thrilled and relieved to say that we have finished the final visit of our home study. This past Monday afternoon our social worker came to our house to complete the home visit, which is basically a home inspection to show that our place is suitable for a child. Honestly this visit has had me incredibly stressed out. I knew our social worker was not coming in to see how clean my home was but I couldn't help from cleaning the house from top to bottom. It turns out that the visit was not even close to as thorough as I expected. It didn't hurt that our social worker is very laid back and continues to make us feel at ease every time we see him.

The home inspection just consisted of our social worker checking to make sure things were childproof, that we have working smoke detectors, a first aid kit, a fire extinguisher etc. He also wanted to check out the rooms of our house to make sure we had space for another child. We also sat down and answered a number of questions and went over what paperwork we have left to complete. Our worker was encouraging when he commented on how quickly we have been able to put together our paperwork. However in my mind this paperwork has seemed like a never ending process.

Now that the home visit is over and done with we only have a few more pieces of paperwork to turn in. By the end of this week we should only have two more small requirements to meet. I'm hoping and praying that we can have our paperwork complete by the end of June or beginning of July. Our social worker already told us that he is beginning to write out our home study so once those final pieces are in place we should be golden!!

Here is a short breakdown of where we go from here:
1.  Social worker writes 14 page home study.
2. The home study is then sent to AWAA to review. Once it is approved our social worker will then get the paper notarized.
3. Once the homestudy is notarized we will get it back along with numerous copies.
4.  Jon and I will then begin USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) paperwork and fingerprinting. All that paperwork is crucial because it will allow us to bring our daughter into the United States. Once the paperwork is filled out and sent in the review process takes 1.5-2.5 months.
5. During the wait for USCIS approval we will be compiling everything needed for our dossier.

Shew. Any questions?!?

Step One- Initial Paperwork

We sent in our first stack of paperwork last week and after explaining that process to a few people I thought it might be helpful to blog about what each step entails as I try and keep friends and family in the loop. This may also give a little insight into the whole international adoption process, mountains of paperwork and all.

After being accepted into the India program we received a lengthy email including tons of information as well as 10 or so attachments which all needed to be signed and returned along with our first program fee. Included in the whole assortment of papers were documents such as:

• India Program Family Service Plan
• India Post Adoption Agreement
• India Program Disclaimer
• India Homestudy Agreement
• Client Rights and Responsibilities
• America World Adoption Agreement 

That list isn't even complete. We pretty much signed our lives away when we sent in those documents and the first check. This may sound weird but up until the paperwork was signed and mailed I felt overwhelmed, scared, and uncertain just to name a few of the emotions. I was so tempted to doubt God's call. I kept thinking about finances and wondering how in the world we could afford to take this on. The weight of the decision we had in front of us seemed immense. However once all that initial paperwork was placed in the mail I honestly felt at peace. First gigantic step of faith has been taken...here we go!!