Adoption Update

Well, there isn't really much of an update right now, but I want to talk about it anyway.  Our dossier was logged into China's system on February 28, so we are on Day 26 of our LOA wait.  (Well, it's already Friday in China, so really it's Day 27, haha.)  Our documents have been in translation for two or three weeks, so I hope that part will be finished soon.

Meanwhile, we are still Skyping weekly with Samuel and his new foster mother.  She is a godly Christian lady from New Zealand who founded this foster home years ago, and she is good with him and has become our friend.  But Samuel has had a difficult time dealing with the loss of the foster parents he had since last May.  We've had several rather disheartening reports about his behavior since their leaving, which have made us seek counsel from them, our agency, and others, and spend much time in fasting and prayer about the whole thing.  But in the end, God reminded us that He has been orchestrating these events from the beginning, and He will continue to do so.  He is faithful to complete the things that He has begun, and He will walk through this journey with us.  Sometimes we fear for the future - older child adoption is SCARY.  But we know that it is our enemy who would have us fear.  It is not from God.

Please pray for us.  Samuel has been through such trauma, and will come to us with many issues that we know about, and I'm sure many issues that we don't.  He will come to us without much knowledge of English, nor of American life.  He will come to us with past trauma and deep hurt.  He has been abandoned twice - the second time at ten years old.  (I still cannot even wrap my mind around this.)  And I'm sure he feels the loss of his former foster parents as yet another abandonment, though it was not their choice to go.  He will come to us with only the relationship that we have from Skyping and sending letters and gifts.

 We will need much wisdom and strength, patience and grace.  God is asking us to do more than He ever has before.  It will not be us being so great - it will have to be God's Spirit covering us and working through us.  So please pray for all of these things.  Please pray that Samuel's heart would be healed and that he would begin to see his need for Jesus.  Pray that he would grow to trust us and then to love us.  And that we would have an uncommon love for him, no matter what; that our hearts would be knit to his.

 Please pray for our other children, as well.  Their lives will not be the same.  It will not always be easy.  But God is going to grow them.  He is going to teach them compassion and mercy and patience and love.  He has already given them such hearts for adoption, and I can't wait to see how He uses them to love Samuel as they do Caylie.

 We know that God is going to grow all of us.  He is taking us out of our comfort zones and into a place where we MUST trust Him and look to Him, despite every circumstance.  He is, and will be, faithful.

Our Father's heart is for the orphan.  He tells us this over and over in scripture.  All we are doing is agreeing with Him that these precious lives matter.  All we are doing is saying YES.  We will wait to see how he heals Samuel's heart.  He is making all things new.

"Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."
 Isaiah 41:10

"A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows is God in His holy dwelling."  Psalm 68:5

"And He who was seated on the throne said, 'Behold, I am making all things new.'"  Revelation 21:5