Special Prayer Request

As many of you know the wait for an adoption to be complete no matter how long you have to wait is very hard. From the moment you see your referral the longing is there. We first held Hannah in our arms when she was 8.5 months old. Leaving her in the Baby Home and returning home without her was the most difficult thing I've ever done. Waiting to bring her home was so hardest thing I ever thought I'd go through. Now as we approach the one year mark since we received Josiah's referral I realize that no matter how long the wait or the circumstances it is very difficult. In you heart he/she is already your son/daughter who you deeply love. Your heart and arms ache to be with him/her.

Knowing that, I'm asking you to pray for a family who is in Irkutsk Russia right now. First, a little background. When we adopted Hannah Irkutsk was one of the hardest regions to adopt from in Russia. From the time we received her referral to our court date it was fourteen months. At the time of her referral we knew we would meet her and then have to return to the U.S. to wait for a court date. At that time we throught the wait between trips would be three months. Three months quickly turned to six and then finally it was twelve before we could return. It was always rumored that the judge would retire and adoptions from this region would speed up. What no one anticipated was the events that finally led to the judge retiring and the aftermath. Just two short months after our adoption was complete an adoptive mother in North Carolina did the unthinkable.

Since that day only two American petitions for adoption were granted. The judge retired and the one who replaced her has refused to hear a petition from a U.S. family. Remember, we waited one year for our court date after we first held our daughter. So, when adoptions stopped in August 2005 families and children were already waiting twelve months to be reunited. Those children and families are still waiting over three years later. There is a family in Irkutsk now who will go before the judge on Monday Sep 29th. (Sunday evening EST) this is the first American family to have a court date with this judge. Please pray that the adoption would be granted. So many families are looking to this case for hope that they too may get a court date and one day have their child home with them.

Waiting

We've been waiting for so long now. Ten months since we received our referral of J. Five weeks since we've been told we have all our approvals and we are just waiting for our Travel Approval (TA). I thought the waiting would be easier this time around. Wow, was I naive. I think the wait is even harder now. I was actually taken by surprise when we got the phone call five and a half weeks ago saying we received the DOJ (Department of Justice) approval. Just because I was surprised didn't mean I wasn't anxiously waiting for it everyday. But, that doesn't compare to the anxiety of waiting for THE CALL. The one telling us we have our travel approval and we need to be in Vietnam on a certain date for our Giving and Receiving (G&R) Ceremony. I really didn't expect to get the call for a month. But, that was almost two weeks ago. Since then I've jumped whenever the phone rings. A little giddy until I read the caller ID and realize it's not from our agency. I check my email throughout the day, checking to see if one of the other families waiting for TA received theirs signalling ours may be next.

Last night when I was driving home I heard John Waller's song While I'm Waiting. I listened to it again and again. Now that is how I need to spend my time. Yes, it's painful. Yes, it hurts. But, I am confident in my wait. So, I will choose to serve You, I will choose to Worship in my Waiting.