9-29-11
Posted on Facebook: Been calculating… A couple of steps in not totally clear on, but I’m thinking we may be looking at late-Nov or early-Dec travel to China. Praying that is the case.
Just told Rachel the timeline and she is terrified. Lord, help me! She is in freak-out mode over the fact that she really is going to have this little sister now. It’s exciting and fun and terrifying all at once for her.
9-28-11
Early this morning I had an unexpected but much appreciated call from a friend and colleague. I’ve only met Bill in person about four times. Every time it was in a business setting and we only discussed insurance issues.
Bill heard through his daughter who works for him that we are adopting. She happened to be in Birmingham at our office on one of the days I received an update on Bella. Someone brought her by to meet me right after I had received the update and needless to say I was very excited and shared the news with her. I had never met her prior. Once back at the office, she shared the news with Bill. He called a few days later to encourage me and share in the excitement. He's asked how things are progressing ever since and we talk every few weeks. I’ve included him on the email updates ever since. Bill is a wise man and reminds me of our Sunday School teacher and dear friend Dale and I had when we first married.
Bill messaged me early this morning asking that I call about both personal and business matters. I called at 7:30am and he told me he had been up since 3:00am this morning praying for me, Dale, Rachel and Bella and that he wanted to share some things the Holy Spirit revealed to him. I was very excited and all ears.
Bill taught me that 3:00am, according the Jewish history, is the last watch and the time when most of the earth is asleep so the Holy Spirit is speaking to those who will hear. Just yesterday I was reading about the significance of Jewish feasts and traditions and their significance today. Bill went on to say that today’s Jewish Rabbi’s believe there is less spiritual warfare going on during the last watch and that the Holy Spirit wakes people up specifically during that watch to reveal truth to them. God has been waking me up at 2:48 or 3:08 for several weeks, at least two or three times a week for prayer and Bible study.
Bill and I talked about those times when you can almost feel the Holy Spirit sitting with you just like a real person in those early morning hours. Bill journals and writes down everything he hears and reads during those times. Me? I’m not so much a journalist; I more or less just fumble through. But it is always a good day when I’ve had that morning experience with the Lord.
Bill asked the Lord this morning, “Why is Bella coming?” He said he asked God, “Why Bella; why not another child?” He then looked up Bella’s name to see what it means. He asked me if I knew. I said yes, “Gift of God’s Favor.” Recently, in one of my morning Bible studies I felt impressed to look her name up again. We had been praying for God’s favor and when I saw her name I knew He was going to give us the favor we needed with immigration and with China. With excitement Bill responded, “Exactly right!” He said he feels very strongly that God is carrying our family on a journey of which Bella is only a part.
Dale and I both know God is moving us and has been for a long time into some type of ministry. We for a time thought it may be this adoption but we know this is only a part and a beginning, not the entire story. Until now, we have thought it will be when we are older and in our retirement years… now we sense maybe it is sooner rather than later. Bill said he felt the Holy Spirit impress on him that Bella will be mighty for God and through her seed will come some mighty believers. I have been praying for her to be able to conceive. One of the complications of Thalassemia is infertility. He said we need to remember that Satan hates children and he always has. He will work against us the whole time.
He also said that the fact that I’m giving up my position at work when I’ve achieved much is significant in this plan. I shared that in the world’s economy it doesn’t add up and makes no sense to do the adoption, especially considering Bella’s medical needs. But I told Bill I knew God would work it out because He has given both me and Dale peace over something we have no answers for.
He reminded me that Biblically God pays back our giving and our sacrifices 30, 60 and even 100 times. He shared a very sweet story of how God did that for him shortly after he became a believer and his little girl was just a baby. He trusted God enough to tithe even though he was a new believer and wasn’t sure what it was even about. The first time he tithed he and his wife added up the bills and, with tithing, didn’t have money for baby food. He went to work that Monday morning and in his mailbox was $750 in small checks from the company he used to work for. They had found an error in their accounting and realized they cut his commissions short for several years. That was a month’s salary for him at that time.
He said he also felt the Holy Spirit reveal to him that we will face opposition and that trying times are ahead. He stressed that we must always remember that in facts vs. truth, truth wins every time, never doubt it. He said he believes we will be in a place about eight years from now where we will look back and realize the bigger picture of all that is going on now.
The fact that God spoke all of this to him rather than to someone who truly knows us and has a history with our family is significant to me. The confirmations I have included in italics are also significant to me and evidence this is the Holy Spirit. Now, we just have to seek God and ask, “What does all of this mean?”
Praying we will have clarity and choose to do God’s will, whatever the costs.
9-26-11
Update to friends and supporters: “We have a Log-In-Date in China of (LID) of 9-23-11. Thank you for your prayers as we just met the 9/25/11 deadline! The next step is the Letter of Acceptance (LOA) from China. Our agency says that lately it is has been taking eight weeks to get the LOA. We are praying God uses the letter from the UAB physician to gain us favor with China and that LOA comes much quicker than eight weeks.
I had told some of my friends that God had given me “40-days” as a marker on 8-11-11. I had no idea why 40 days nor what it meant. The 40th day was 9-19-11, the exact date our packet was mailed to China. Admittedly, sometimes I have such small faith.
Please continue to pray for favor and speed as we go through these last steps.”
9-25-11
My new friend and 31-Gifts consultant, Candi Boisele, offered an adoption fundraiser for us. We had close to $1,200 in orders! Candi will give us 25% of the final order, her entire profit margin. God has allowed us to share this journey with so many people. We are thankful for their generous hearts.
9-23-11
Posted on Facebook: I dreamed about Gotcha Day in China. I don’t know what I’m more excited about, watching Dale and Rachel when they bring Bella out to meet us or seeing her myself or the first time. So very anxious for some news!
9-21-11
We finally have confirmation that everything is in China. What a relief. We were within a week of the deadline. We hope to get an update tomorrow about whether or not China will expedite this for us. We pray they do.
I want to share something personal. On August 11, I read and ehard "40-days" four separate times. I'm admittedly a bit slow sometimes when it comes to hearing God. the forth time it finally dawned on me that the Holy Spirit was trying to tell me something. So I noted the date in my phone. Monday was the 4oth day. It came and went with no news. Then me, taking control because I saw no immediate evidence, thought maybe it was 40-days from the date I actually realized what I heard, so that would mean Tuesday. Tuesday came and went with no news. Then I decide it must have just been me being dramatic and not the Holy Spirit with the whole "40-days" ordeal.
This morning I called the agency for an update on the delivery of our paperwork. They said "No worries!" They had just forgotten to notify me on Monday, the 40th day, that everything was sent to China.
I've been trying for years now to have faith the size of a mustard seed and I'm still having to work at that. To let God be God is a challenge for me.
We thank you for your continued prayers for us and for Bella. Thanks for thinking of us and for saying such encouraging things to us. Your words mean so much.
9-9-11
We have been approved through immigration and all fingerprints have been completed. Our dossier is now in California for authentication. It goes much faster there. Once authenticated, it will be shipped to China.
The LOA will then be issued and sent to us to sign and we will need to file the I-800 form with USCIS with a copy of the signed LOA. We will again let them know this is an expedited case. Once you have the I-800 approval, the NVC (National Visa Center) will send you the visa letter and that also goes to China and from there you will be issued the TA (Travel Approval). The question is….how much can and will China do to hurry the procedure along.
