So What Happens Next??

Friends, we can see the end.  (Which is really The Beginning!)  With the steps that have yet to be taken, it looks like we will be able to travel to China in late May or early June.  Right now we are awaiting approval from USCIS for our I-800 application.  We were approved previously to adopt one child and bring them into  this country; now we will be approved to adopt our specific child and bring her into this country!  This process should take around three weeks.

After our I-800 is approved by USCIS, they will send our information to the National Visa Center.  The NVC will enter our information into their system and then send our file to the U.S. Embassy in Guangzhou, China when our petition is approved.  At that time our agency's in-China rep will carry our hard-copy documents to the embassy, as well.   The consulate will ensure that everything is in order and will issue our Article 5 letter.  The in-China rep will then take the Article 5 to the CCCWA (China Center for Children's Welfare and Adoption) and we will wait for them to issue our Travel Approval!
Clear as mud?  Yeah, it's taken me awhile to understand it all, too.  And mostly I just smile and nod and do what I'm told!  But we're getting there!  Please pray with us that these things will be done without any unnecessary delay.  We know that our sovereign God has orchestrated this journey, and He has planned the exact day for us to meet our daughter. 

In the meantime, our agency is making another visit to the orphanage in a couple of weeks.  We  have sent another care package to be given to Caylie, and can't wait for her to receive it.  I included another photo album with pictures of our family and things around our house, complete with Mandarin labels!  (Haha . . . I used Google Translate, so I hope they make sense!)  We are planning on having new photos and video from this visit, as well!  We are so grateful that God pointed us to our agency (link is at the top right of the blog).  They have been wonderful.  

VIDEO!

Friends, I want to share with you a couple of VIDEOS that we were given of Caylie back in November after our agency's visit to the orphanage.  I was not allowed to post them here until we had LOA, but now here they are!  I'm putting the post back in November where it belongs, so please click here to see our cutie girl!

Day 35

Friends, rejoice with us!  We are . . . 

That's right.  Our agency received our Letter of Acceptance from China today!!  This is an amazing story, friends, because today is Day 35 of our LOA wait.  Day Thirty-Five.

You see, I've had this number in my head that I've been praying about for awhile.  I didn't tell anyone about this number, not even my husband.  The number is 35.  It came to my mind back in January when our dossier was sent to China.  It came to my mind again when we received our Log-In Date in early February.  It was a miracle number, because people rarely ever get LOA in thirty-five days.  Usually it's 60-80 days and many times much longer than that.  So for us to be LOA in 35 days would have to totally be a God thing.

I didn't know if 35 was just a number in my own head (wishful thinking), or if God had given me that number.  But I kept praying for it, knowing that our God - who is Creator and Sustainer of this universe, and Whose heart is for the orphan - can do anything.  And yet resting in the fact that He has The Day we will meet our daughter planned out, and that day will not be a day too late.

I knew all last week that today - Monday, March 11 - would be Day 35.  I hoped and I prayed, but I didn't know for sure.  But today - Day 35 - I got the call. We are LOA.

Our God is good and He is faithful, my friends.

While I'm Waiting

Some of you may recognize this song from the movie "Fireproof", which is about marriage.    However, it's a song with an all-purpose message!  God gave me this song last summer when we had just begun our adoption process, and I knew it would be posting it here eventually.  So far we have been waiting to bring Caylie home for over 7 1/2 months.  We received her file from our agency on July 18, 2012.  Although we don't know the day that we will finally hold our sweet girl in our arms, God does know, and that day will not be a day too late!

In the mean time, we want to be faithful to keep our eyes on Jesus as we wait for that day.  God is not - and never is - in waiting mode.  He's never wondering what to do because things are not progressing as He planned.  He's never wringing His hands and saying "Oh dear.  What will the Altmans do now?"  His plans stand firm!   He is Creator and Sustainer of his universe!  Why would I ever doubt His sovereignty or worry about things happening in "my" timing??  

We so want and need to WORSHIP Him while we are waiting.  We want and need to SERVE HIM while we are waiting.  We will run the race, even while we wait.  

I'm waiting 

I'm waiting on You, Lord 
And I am hopeful 
I'm waiting on You, Lord 
Though it is painful 
But patiently, I will wait 

I will move ahead, bold and confident 
Takeing every step in obedience 
While I'm waiting 
I will serve You 
While I'm waiting 
I will worship 
While I'm waiting 
I will not faint 
I'll be running the race 
Even while I wait 

I'm waiting 
I'm waiting on You, Lord 
And I am peaceful 
I'm waiting on You, Lord 
Though it's not easy 
But faithfully, I will wait 
Yes, I will wait 
I will serve You while I'm waiting 
I will worship while I'm waiting 
I will serve You while I'm waiting 
I will worship while I'm waiting 
I will serve you while I'm waiting 
I will worship while I'm waiting on You, Lord

Happy Birthday, Keelan!

Keelan Josiah is 14 today!   We love you, Keelan, and we're so proud of you!

 Josiah became king of Israel at only 8 years old and always did  what was right in the eyes of the LORD, never turning to the right or to the left.  That has always been our prayer for our son.

OOT!!

Just a quick post to say WE ARE OUT OF TRANSLATION!!  Finally onto the wait for LOA!

 Most of the time the wait for the Letter of Acceptance takes a couple of months from the Log-In Date, although there are certainly outliers.   I have heard of 12-day waits all the way up 168 day waits.  But 60-70 days seems to be the norm.  Please pray with us that there would be no unnecessary delays and that we would rest in our Father's sovereignty through this process.

We're on our way!!

Caylie's Birthday Party!

As I mentioned before, we had arranged to have a birthday cake sent to Caylie at the orphanage.  Her foster mother brought her there to share her special day with some friends.  Here are the pictures!  Her hair has gotten longer in the last three months!

I'm so glad we have these photos.  She will know that she was loved and cared about even before she was with us.  Happy Birthday, sweet girl.  Your next birthday you will be HOME!