Abigail's China Babies

When I got up this morning, Ross hollered at me from our bedroom, "Grab the picture off the kitchen table and ask Abigail what it is."  Abigail was still laying in her bed; barely stirring from her good night's sleep.  When I walked into her room and showed her the hand drawn masterpiece I was holding in my hand, her smile lit up the room. I asked her what it was and she said with a big smile, "It's me and my China Babies." Melt a Momma's heart!

Hannah's Letter

As we were filling out our Adoption Application, we realized that our children would be given the opportunity to write a letter explaining what they expect from this adoption experience; and this is what Hannah wrote:

I want a China baby because she has a sister. That sister is me. She won't be alone. She won't be an orphan. She will be my sister because she will be adopted. She will have a better life. It is going to take a long time to get there!!  I love China girls.

Love,
Hannah Green

P.S. My China Girl

Out of the mouths of babes. She wrote this letter on her own, without any input from Ross or I. I'm sure some day this little letter will be priceless to our sweet Eden.

Passports!

Woohoo! We received our passports today; just two and a half weeks after we applied for them. That is much faster than the minimum of four weeks we were told to expect.

Discouraged

Discourage: to deprive of courage, hope, or confidence; dishearten; dispirit. Ross and I have been fighting the one who comes seeking whom he may devour, for the past few days. The thief has come to steal, to kill, and to destroy our hope we have in Jesus for this adoption to happen. We are calling you, our Prayer Warriors, to pray with us; "For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them." Matthew 18:20.

Pastor has spoken that the oldest spiritual disease is unbelief. Lord, we believe, help our unbelief! We need $32,000 to bring our daughter home. To begin this process we need approximately $11,000. This is a mountain-sized amount of money in our human eyes, but for our Lord, it is nothing. We just need faith the size of a mustard seed to move that mountain. Please pray with us that we will have faith that He will move mountains to bring our Eden home. That we not allow the thief to steal our hope which fuels our faith, and that we believe so we might see the glory of the Lord.

The Lord continues to bring me back to this verse, over and over through the years, and it couldn't be speaking any louder to me then now. “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” John 11:40. Thank you are for joining us in prayer for these things and for embarking on this amazing journey with us.

Mailed Passport Applications

As you already know, we have had our Passport Applications filled out and waiting for the Lord to provide the money so we could mail them in. Amazingly our state income tax return was more than we expected; actually it was nearly over by the exact amount needed for the passports. Our tax lady had forgotten to add something and voila, a larger return equals money for the passports. With that being said, Ross and I went to the Post Office to have our pictures taken and applications for our passports mailed in. Much to my surprise my driver's license was expired! Great. Now I have to go to one of my least favorite places on the planet—the DMV. Luckily the sweet lady behind the counter allowed us to process and pay for everything while we were there; that way all I had to do was swing back by with a current copy of my ID after going to the DMV. That was crazy with having to get a new driver's license, but we got it done. Now we wait for the expected four weeks to receive our passports in the mail.

*Faith Step: Mailed in Passport Applications. I know this a pebble in the grand scheme of things, but I feel it is an affirmation to the Lord that we believe and we are willing. One tiny step down.

Big God, Small World

We found out yesterday that a new family was interested in adopting the 12 year old girl we having been praying for and today they have decided to adopt her! Yay God!! That's not all. This child that we have been praying for half way around the world is coming to the town we live in! God is good. Of all the places she could land, and He places her here. This big world is beginning to feel smaller by the day. Awesome! This is all huge. She has been in the system so long and now she has a family. Please be praying that the paper work goes through the system smoothly so she and her family may be united quickly. Please also be praying for this sweet girl to be excited and at peace about starting a new life in a new country with a family that looks and sounds nothing like her. Please be praying for her salvation, that the Lord already be molding and softening her heart towards Him.

Love For Child Not Yet Known

I am feeling Eden heavy on my heart today.I feel the need to get her now, to scoop her up in my arms, and bring her home—never letting her go again. I feel she needs us—she needs Daddy and Mommy to hold her and love her. I cannot explain the love I have for a child I have never seen and know nothing about, but I do. I love her. Lord, please provide. You know what we need, and You know the hour it is to be delivered. Please Lord, provide.

Passport Applications

I shared our adoption vision with my bible study ladies this morning. They were very encouraging and informed me that I could get Passport Applications from the Post Office. They encouraged me to start the process because they can take several weeks to be processed. After bible study, I stopped by the Post Office and picked up two Passport Applications, and discovered that they can also take the pictures needed for the passports. When I got home and had a chance to fill out the applications I realized that we need original copies of our birth certificates. I know we need multiple copies of our birth certificates and marriage licenses throughout this process, so I might as well wait and order them all at the same time. If I have calculated everything accurately, we need $392 for the passports and certificates. We do not have the money that is needed to purchase these documents, but I have filled out the applications having faith that He will provide.

*Faith Step: Filled out Passport Applications. Waiting for the Lord to provide so that we can mail them in.

Joyful Noise

Thank you for praying over the weekend. After singing praise songs to our King at the top of our lungs, victory was finally won over the evil one. I am so grateful that He instructs us to, "Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise," because some of our family members are a bit tone deaf. ;)  Joyful noise or beautiful songs of praise; either way, the enemy has to leave at the sound of His great name—Jesus!

After a weekend of spiritual warfare, today has been one of calmness and clarity. I feel the urgency to begin the process of getting our passports. I have been told it can take some time to get them, so I will begin looking into what all is needed to obtain the passports this week.

Update, the 12 year old girl that we have been praying for has a family interested in her. Please be in prayer that the Lord direct the right family to her; whether it be this family or another.

The Battle is On

This day is filled with opposition. Please pray! Our whole family (us, Lisa's parents and sisters) are under attack. Satan knows that God is about to do mighty things in our lives and he is attacking. The battle is on. Please pray victory over the evil one, and protection for all involved in our journey. Thanks!

Things to Come

The Lord woke me at 4:30 this morning to the sound of the train whistling in the background and the following words, "I have much to tell you. Be ready. Be excited." Ready for what, I wondered. "For greater things to come. If you will listen, I will direct you, guide you, and the blessings will be of far greater reward. Things are moving. Things are changing. Even as you pray, they are in the works," He revealed to me. As I have shared with you before; if I am still and listen, I hear the Lord much like one hears their own thoughts. Those are the words I heard upon awakening this morning. I also have a sense that we are to prepare our house for Eden and the Home Study. Yes, there is that "prepare" word again. The Home Study is one of the first steps in the adoption process. While the Social Worker cares more about poking and prodding into our lives than she does our house, there are still a few things that need to be done.  We desperately need to replace the flooring in the living room and down the hall, the garage door opener is broken and needs to be replaced, and the girls' room...well Abigail probably needs more than just a mattress on the floor.  I guess there is work to be done, and things to keep us occupied as we wait upon the Lord to provide.

Ohhh...the little boy that I spoke about on, March 2nd, has a family interested in him.  This family is having his medical records reviewed by a specialist. I am praying that this family is his Forever Family. This is confirmation that the Lord already had a family out there for this sweet boy before we even saw him. God is good! We are also praying for a 12 year little girl who is desperately in need of a Forever Family. If a family does not adopt her, then she will be on her own by age 14.

Answers

Ross and I got very little sleep last night as we prayed over and about these two precious little children. When we spoke to one another this morning, we had both come to the same conclusion; neither of these children are our child. That is a bitter sweet moment. The little girl has a cleft lip and palate, and will require quite a bit of medical treatment. Abigail requires a lot of medical attention, and we want to be able to give all of our children the care and attention they deserve. As for the little boy, he had a pretty serious hernia surgery and scar from the surgery. He had obviously already had his surgery, we just felt like there were better parents out there waiting for him. We will continue to pray for these little ones. Praying that they will be untied with their Forever Family soon. If you are reading this and something deep within stirs the question of adoption for one of these little ones, click this link to the China Program offered by International Family Services.

*Faith Step:  I called our doctors' offices today to get Letters of Medical Clearance for each of our family members. It basically just states that none of us have any medical conditions that will harm the health and well-being of any child coming into our home.

Two Already?

I feel as if we are missing something; like we haven't found the right lead yet. We are still waiting to receive the adoption agencies' information packets in the mail about their China programs, but as we wait I can't help but think that these aren't the one. "The one" adoption agency we will use to guide us to our precious child.

Ross is working out of town for the next few days, which gave me the perfect opportunity to meet with a lady from church tonight. She and her husband have two adopted children; one of them being from China. She gave me a lot of good information and shared a bit of her adoption story me. The best part of our conversation was finding out that they used the Harlan's for each of their adoptions. Now, I know you are wondering why this is important. I actually searched for the Harlan's when we were sending out requests for information packets, but could not find them. After speaking with this adoptive mom, I learned that Marvin Harlan was with a different adoption agency and that is why I couldn't find him. Luckily she had the Harlan's current contact information and encouraged me to give them a call. I know the Harlan's from my childhood church. In fact, their family is the first family I remember knowing that had adopted children internationally. Is this my missing lead? Is the adoption agency Marvin is working for the one we are to use?

I was excited and anxious after receiving this information and had a sense of urgency that I needed to call Marvin; so that's exactly what I did.

Miraculosly My Own

I found this poem today while seaching for information about China; it's culture, country, etc. It brought tears to my eyes.

Not Flesh of my flesh

Nor bone of my bone,

But still miraculosly my own.

Never forget for a single minute:

You didn't grow under my heart,

But in it.

-Fleur ConklingHeylinger

Be Prepared

I awakened early this morning to spend some much needed time alone with my King. As I was praying, I heard Him telling me many things. [I did not audibly hear the voice of God; it's more of a quiet thought, just as one hears their own thoughts running through their head.] I kept hearing, "Be still and listen." As I tried to quiet the thoughts swirling around in my head like fallen leaving rustling along the ground on a fall windy day, I kept hearing, "be prepared." Be prepared to offer encouragement to Ross along the way when he gets discouraged that this adoption isn't going to happen. Be prepared to weild the sword of truth; armed with Scripture, to stand firm against the evil one when he attacks. Be prepared because this is going to happen quickly—rapidly and radically actually.  My children need to know so they can be prepared, and so they can teach Ross and I how to wait with excited anticipation. Our house needs to be prepared. For now, it is time to begin getting prepared. Today I will make a list of things that need to be done in order to do just that; be prepared.

A Child's Prayer

I am overwhelmed with emotion today. I literally do not know where to begin. I don't know what to say, what to pray, what to think. I feel confused, but excited. I am filled with curiosity about what is to come. In December I began praying, asking the Lord to give me a life verse, to complete what seems like an impossible God-sized task in me, and to give me a new direction over the 2011 year.  Well, I think I just got what I asked for! A God-sized task indeed! My verse for 2011 keeps running through my mind, "Forget about what's happened; don't keep going over old history. Be alert, be present. I am about to do something brand-new. It's bursting out! Don't you see it? There it is! I am making a road through the desert, rivers in badlands" Isaiah 43:18-19.  He is definitely working in brand new ways in the life of our family, and I am anxious to see what He has in store.

I found out today, while walking through Academy with Ross and the kids, that Mary Grace has been praying that God give us a China baby. The thought just suddenly popped into my head while we were walking around the camping section, that I should ask her if she had been praying for a China baby. So I asked, and she replied with a matter of fact tone, "Yes, but not this week." Yes, but not this week!—The beauty of a child. She had been so intrigued with Chinese children since we first look into adoption three years ago.  She would ask us when we were going to adopt a baby from China nearly every week, and sometimes even multiple times a week.  I never knew the impact our conversations would have on her; especially since she was only 5 at the time. It finally go to a point where I had to say, Mary Grace, "I'm not sure if we are going to adopt or not.  Maybe you are supposed to adopt a baby from China when you are older. I just don't know yet. We will have to wait and see." Now, three years later, we find out that she has been praying all along that we get a China baby. A seed was obviously planted in her sweet little heart, and her prayers alone may be the reason we are on this journey.

Our Journey East, Begins

Pure and undefiled religion before God and Father is this:  to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world.  - James 1:27 

Ross went to the NWA Men's Conference 2011, hosted by Cross Church, this weekend. The focus of this year's conference was very convicting. It was about God’s vision for your life.  Bruce Wilkinson, author of The Prayer of Jabez, The Secrets of the Vine, and many more, was one of the guest speakers. Most of Mr. Wilkinson’s lesson focused on trusting God to do a great wonder in our life. He explained that doing God’s will is the most important thing we could ever do. After he was done speaking;, he held an invitation where most of the men felt convicted to go on a mission trip to fulfill the Great Commission; which is God’s commandment to us to tell every tribe, tongue, and nation about His love for them (Matthew 28:18-20). Ross’ vision was a little different. He did not feel the call to go on a mission trip or witness to a foreign country. He felt called to adopt. More of a, “go forth and bring home” kind of conviction.  After the conference was over, the Lord led Ross to fill out a communication card with his name, address, and prayer request (like the men committing to go on a mission trip were doing). Then he felt that nudge from the Holy Spirit to hand Bruce Wilkinson the card himself. The request that he wrote down was that he needed to not have unbelief on getting the money needed to adopt a child from China. Mr. Wilkinson read over the card and looked at Ross and said, "It's not about the money, it is about the child. Pray for the child." Mr. Wilkinson prayed over Ross and then told him that he would have his child this time next year. Wow!