A Tough 24 Hours in Adoption Land

Well, yesterday was a tough day at our house...L woke up throwing up & I felt like I had the flu & often wished I would just throw up & get it over with. It was one of those days that Satan has a hay day because we all know how hard he tries to get us when we're already feeling down. When I was trying to make it through the day taking care of 2 well children, 1 sick child, & our sweet, darling PUPPY, Satan kept throwing our adoption in my face..."how are you going to take care of one more???", etc.. Anyways, that's how the day went. Things got better when I was in bed with the boys & almost asleep for the night, when N came in & said there was an e-mail from Kate (our casemanager with AGCI). It was regarding the renewal of the adoption agreement between the U.S. & Vietnam. The statement that stood our to him was this, "For families with their dossiers registered this should not affect you at all. The DIA has stated that even if this agreement is not signed in by its expiration date in September they will still honor the families and complete the adoptions for registered dossiers. READ THIS SENTENCE TWICE". We rejoiced! It seemed to answer all of our wonderings about whether we would get our daughter from Vietnam. However, this morning, when I woke up to read the email for myself I read it a little more closely than N & went on to read the link that Kate had included to the "warning concerning adoptions in Vietnam" on the US Embassy website....ick! It was very disheartening. It seems that the renegotiation process has taken a downward turn over the past couple of weeks. It is not looking like the MOU is going to be renewed by the deadline. Families who are working on their dossier are being told to get it completed & turned in quickly so it can get registered with the IAD before May 1st (which is the now the date that the agreement needs to be renewed by). Since our dossier has been registered since December (well before the May 1st deadline), we are very hopeful that our adoption will be completed. Please continue praying with us about this situation. We truly feel that our heart is in Vietnam. The need there is so great, not only in the hearts of so many children who need forever families but in the hearts of all the Vietnamese people who need a Savior.

Another Family Just Like Ours

I must share with you all about our new friends! Long story, but after hearing about each other for the past 6 months or so, we have finally connected with a family that is right where we are in our adoption journey...& in every sense of the word. They live in Knoxville, are waiting for a little girl, have 2 boys that are very close in ages to our little guys, are using AGCI, & are two ahead of us on the girl waiting list! It is really quite amazing. Our families got together for dinner Friday night & had a great time! Our boys played sooo well together (which is really amazing in & of itself) while we shared about our experiences so far & dreamed about what the next year could hold. We are quite excited about the possibility that we may end up traveling together (maybe if we have another couple with us, N won't lock us up in our room until the adoption is final..which is, of course, not my idea of how we are going to spend our time in our daughter's birth country...I want to soak it all in! Lol!). We also laughed about how both of the dads have banned the moms from surfing around on the listservs & finding stuff to worry about! They are tackling the journey with the same attitude that we are..."we're already in it...no point in worrying...what happens is going to happen". It is so neat how God has blessed us with this family. It is so nice to be able to share our journey with this family & it will be great for all four of our children to be able to see a family that looks just like ours! All this is to say that you never know how God is going to meet the needs in your life & help you on your journey...no matter what it is! Please add their daughter to your prayer list. She may end of being one of our daughter's best friends...they may even be sharing their days in the orphanage before they come home to their forever families!

Our church & Beanie Babies

Many of you know that this time last year God was beginning to show us that our church was not the right church for us. Through a heart-wrenching experience, God moved us away from Providence & back to Fellowship (where we attended pre-kids & moved when the twins were babies only to find a church that seemed to be a better fit for our family at that time). Although it was a difficult experience, we can now see why God was moving us back to Fellowship. Besides it being a place where all three of the boys will go to their classes & we can go to worship without being called out to tend to an upset child, they have a huge heart for SE Asia (since Vietnam is communist & works very hard to keep Christian influence out of the country, much of what our church does in the country is kept quiet & referred to as their ministry to "SE Asia" instead of "Vietnam"). When we were deciding which country God was leading us to adopt from, we asked God to give us a heart for our child's birth country. We felt God was calling us to a country that is closed to the Gospel, where our child would more than likely not hear about Christ unless she was adopted. Also, we have always dreamed of fostering a heart for missions in our children, & through out the past year we have felt God was showing us that our daughter's adoption should play a huge role in showing our children about missions. We do not want our heart for Vietnam to end with our trip to pick up our daughter, we want to continue supporting the Christian work that is done in the country & hopefully to return to the country as a family on mission trips. You may say, "Wow, keep dreaming", but we can see how God is using Fellowship to do just that! At church yesterday, we learned that they are collecting Beanie Babies for the children of Vietnam (the youth & college students are also going on a mission trip the country in June). Would it be cool or what if our daughter ended up getting one of the Beanie Babies?!!? So, if any of you have Beanies you would like to donate, please let us know. Also, spread the word to others.

#12!!!

We got a call from Kate this afternoon to update us on our placement on the AGCI waiting list. My guess was that we would fall somewhere in the upper 20s. I was absolutely shocked to hear we are #12! Whoohoo! In addition, 4 of the families ahead of us on the list are open to a boy or a girl, so they will most likely end up getting to the top of the boy list & getting removed from the girl list before they reach the top of the girl list. So, with that in mind, we are probably more like #8 in line for a girl. This is especially exciting because last week 2 baby girls were referred! A few more rounds of girl referrals & it could be our turn. We are praying that the new year will bring continued referrals & stability for Vietnam! We are optimistic of this because we are confident that God called us to this amazing journey!

Huge Prayer Request

I've mentioned before about the uncertainty that surrounds international adoptions, in particular the present Vietnam program. It's complicated, but I'll try to explain. Over the next few months the US & Vietnam will need to renew the agreement they have that allows Americans to adopt children from Vietnam. The current agreement, which was signed in 2005, states that the agreement must be renewed by March 1, 2008 in order for no interuptions to occur. So, this is the magic date! There is much speculation amongst those in the adoption community as to whether or not this will take place. I have had to stop reading the adoption listservs & simply trust that God is in control! A meeting was held a couple of weeks ago between US officials & adoption agency representatives, the overall feeling was positive & everyone was in agreement that adoptions from Vietnam must continue for the sake of the children there who need homes. Please pray that the necessary actions will be taken on the part of the Vietnamese government, so that the agreement can be renewed soon! We know that God cares for all of the children in the world & we must trust Him.

Woohoo!

We just got a call from Kate, our casemanager with All God's Children. Today our dossier was registered with the IAD in Vietnam. Currently, the wait time from registration at the IAD is 12-14 months. However, as I've mentioned previously, the adoption program with Vietnam is not very stable so this is subject to change drastically without any notice. Although this seems like a long wait, we are trusting that God is holding our daughter in His hands, & know that His timing for uniting us is perfect.

My Attitude

My attitude when I posted last was not great! I had just read about some issues that exist within the Vietnam adoption program. Over the past few days God keeps speaking to me & saying that He who began a good work...promises to complete what He has begun. Yes, He promises to complete the work He is doing in each of our lives & I believe that He is also going to complete our adoption journey. Although there are always uncertainties in anything we do, I must continue to trust Him!

A Whole New Feeling this Christmas

This Christmas seems so different! We've spent so much time over the past 6 months thinking about all the children in the world who go through each day without a forever family. All they want for Christmas is a family & we're trying to come up with a list for our boys of what they "need". We don't need anything! We have so much!!!! Wow what a different perspective than what the world is always telling us! All season long, I've struggled with this & then the director for the Vietnam program for our agency sent us the link to Stephen Curtis Chapman's new Christmas song, "All I Really Want". I thought...this is it...this song paints a beautiful picture of what I've been feeling! Being a part of this adoption experience has truly changes our lives already! With all the uncertainties that come along with an international adoption, there are many moments that I'm not even sure we will end up getting EG home. However, I know that God is working in our lives no matter what & that each & every step...no matter what the outcome...is a part of His plan! I'm so thankful for what we have learned so far, but I do pray that we will be able to bring our daughter home! Grab your kleenex & click on the link below to listen to this sweet song!
http://www.stevencurtischapman.com/radio/allireallywantframe.htm