I've mentioned before that we are blessed with a wonderful foster family. Although Thanksgiving is not a Guatemalan holiday, on Thanksgiving Day, they prepared a special meal and had an evening of giving thanks with Samantha. Yesterday evening, we received pictures of their special celebration. Enjoy!
Blessings,
Amy
Why is waiting so hard? We've been out of PGN for almost 4 weeks and there has been no movement on our case. Samantha is now 10 months old, and we haven't seen new pictures in too long! We're waiting for Mixco (the little town Samantha was born in) to issue a new birth certificate listing us as her parents. Rumors are flying as to why it's taking so long. I won't speculate on that, since I really don't know. I think we'd feel better if we were seeing some movement, but we haven't seen anyone recently who has received a birth certificate from this little town. Is there comfort in knowing we're not alone in this?
I read some challenging and encouraging things in my Bible study today. I'm studying the minor prophets. The title for this week is Habakkuk - Following God in the Low Places of Life. (You really think that applies?!?) Anyway, the quote for today is..."Pride is reflected in our unwillingness to trust God with what we don't understand. It is always distinguished by a lack of faith - we have to try and fix things ourselves since we refuse to trust God...Habakkuk had this problem, and God's response to him was pretty blunt. Verse twenty of chapter 2 literally reads Hush before Him." Psalm 46:10 runs through my head, even as I type this...Cease striving and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted among the earth.
We miss our little one so much. It's not at all like being pregnant and waiting for a delivery. At least when you're pregnant, you carry your little one with you and you have some sense of when it will be completed. We have no sense of that right now. We could have a birth certificate tomorrow, or not for another 6 weeks. We don't know, but God does. I'll leave you with this thought...FAITH - Forsaking All I Trust Him. Day-by-day, moment-by-moment, I forsake my way and trust His way; I forsake my agenda and take His agenda; I surrender my opinion and trust His word. As I do that, I walk in faithfulness.
We'll keep you posted...
Blessings,
Amy
Focus on the Family has bumped our program. They warned us that could happen. Once we hear when it's rescheduled, we'll let you know. In the meantime, enjoy the new picture of our youngest daughter.
Blessings,
Amy
We got "THE CALL" from our case manager today. Amazingly, Alex had trouble reaching us. We weren't home and I wasn't near my cell phone and Rob was at lunch! Fortunately, Alex was persistant, and finally reached me on the cell phone. I don't think I'll ever forget her asking if I'd checked my email in the last 5 minutes. When I said I hadn't, she responded, "If you did, you'd find a copy of the PGN decree for Samantha!" Wahoo!!
So, now what?!? A new birth certificate will be ordered, listing us as Samantha's parents. Then, the US Embassy orders a DNA test to verify that Samantha is the baby we started this process with. After that, we are issued a visa appointment (for everything else, there's MasterCard!) at the US Embassy in Guatemala City. Once we have that date, we book our flights and head to Guatemala!
Blessings,
Amy
Proverbs 25:25 -- As cold water to a weary soul, so is good news from a far country. (NKJV)
Many of you know that this adoption journey really gained focus (no pun intended) when we heard a week of programming by Focus on the Family last November. Through that and much prayer, we began to see that God wanted to continue building our family through the miracle of adoption. Upon accepting Samantha's referral, we sent Focus a note thanking them for being a part of what God was doing in our lives. Several months later, we were contacted by a producer who asked if we would be willing to share our story and allow Focus to use it. We were thrilled! That conversation led to a phone interview earlier this summer. Yesterday, we received a letter from Focus, informing us that they will be airing our story on their radio broadcast, Wednesday, November 14th, as part of a compilation of stories from families who are adopting. If you don't get the Focus on the Family broadcast in you area, you can listen to it here:
http://oneplace.com/ministries/Focus_on_the_Family/
As we've walked this road to adoption, one of our constant prayers has been that our lives would glorify God in the choices we make and that others would be drawn closer to Him as they witness the miracles of walking by faith. Would you join us in praying that others would be touched as they hear our story, and the story of other families who have taken this step of faith. Maybe some will hear God calling them to adopt or to support a family who is. Maybe some will start an orphan care program in their church. Or maybe someone will have an area of their life totally unrelated to adoption, where they will be challenged to trust God. Whatever the case, we're excited to see what God will do!
Blessings,
Amy
The one thing I ask of the LORD—the thing I seek most—is to live in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, delighting in the LORD's perfections and meditating in his Temple.
Psalm 27:4 NLT
…I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead,...
Philippians 3:13 NLT
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