Beyond Disappointed

Good news and bad news....

Our friends got their visas but couldn't get ours. We are so happy for our friends.  They will be flying to Ghana tonight and meeting their daughter.  Please pray for them as they travel.

There had been no indication that they would have a problem getting ours if they got theirs. So we have some decisions to make.

We have cancelled our flight today and are processing some of our options. Please pray that we will make the best decisions. Regardless of what we decide, we will not be in Ghana in the next few days and we will be pouring much more time and money into getting our kids home.

Honestly, I am struggling right now.  I KNOW God has this and I KNOW we will look back on this time and see His hand all over it. I KNOW His plans are great and I KNOW I am resting in His plans.

But I also KNOW my heart is sad that I am not meeting my kids this weekend. I KNOW I am disappointed that this process is taking longer than I'd hoped. I KNOW I am so frustrated to be at the mercy of an embassy that seems to have no regard for visa applications.

God is bigger than all these things. I KNOW that too.

So....I think we are going to drive to DC on Sunday and pester the embassy until we get our visas. FUN TIMES!

Prayers appreciated....

No visas

Our friends left the Ghanaian Embassy around 5:30pm tonight with nothing. :-( We are so disappointed that we will not be flying to Ghana tomorrow.

We are still hopeful.  Even though the embassy is closed on Friday they have told our friends to come back tomorrow at 1pm.

Right now we are going to cheer Elizabeth on in her end of the season gymnastics performance.

Prayers appreciated for visas tomorrow, sleep tonight and travel hopefully on Saturday!!!

Crazy day!

Well....still no visas.  Our friends who drove all night to get there arrived at the Ghanaian Embassy at about 6:30am this morning.  The embassy opens at 8:30am.  At 10:00am they texted they would know more by 1pm.  At 1pm they said they finally got to the window and the man said he did not handle mailed applications but he would put them through to the mail room.

The Embassy closes at 3:30pm and is closed on Fridays.  It is now 4:14pm. Our friends texted at 3:33pm and said, "We may have progress but it would be a major miracle!!!! No exaggeration. Details later ... Pray.... I know you are."


So....we are still praying and waiting.  Thank you so much for your prayers and support.  We are overwhelmed with the outpouring of thoughts and prayers.  We feel great peace as we wait!

I hope to be sending out another update VERY soon.

No Visas Yet

We are feeling discouraged today because our visas did not arrive and they did not ship out. It is not looking good for our travel on Friday.

There is another family traveling with us who is adopting a little girl from Ghana.  They also mailed their expedited visa application on the same day and have not received anything back.  They have decided to drive to DC tonight and go to the Ghanaian embassy tomorrow with the hopes of picking up  all of our visas.  If they are successful they would overnight them to us and we would hopefully fly out on Friday as planned.

I share this with you so you can pray

1. For the safety of our friends as they drive all night.
2. For God's favor at the embassy tomorrow, that they can get all 4 visas.
3. For peace as we wait
4. For wisdom in how to best handle our flights and court date if we can't get the visas tomorrow.

IF you choose to pray with us you should know that regardless of the outcome we KNOW God has this plan in His hand. We will give Him praise and glory with or without visas tomorrow and with or without a flight on Friday. His ways are higher than our ways and his thoughts are higher than our thoughts. 

So....we pray, and hope for what we think is best and then we trust! 

Here we go....I type this to remind myself of things I know but still struggle with.  Trust me, this girl is not feeling peace, hope and trust right now. She is praying for God's power to be made perfect in her weakness.  

Here I am God...I am weak and things are completely out of my hands...I DO trust you. Please give us clarity and direction as we take one step at a time. 

I will update tomorrow...

Prayers requested

When God called us on this journey we knew it would not be an easy one and we were, and still are, OK with that. 

Up to this point things have been so smooth....even getting a call for court 2 months before expected!!!

We recognize that God has orchestrated every step of this process and so we trust His timing and plan. 

Late yesterday afternoon the US Embassy posted this statement:

Ghana

May 13, 2013

Alert: Government of Ghana Suspends Intercountry Adoptions

The Government of Ghana has temporarily suspended processing of all adoption cases, including intercountry adoptions, pending Ghana’s review of its current adoption procedures. The U.S. Embassy in Accra is seeking further clarification of the scope and duration of this temporary suspension by the Government of Ghana and how this suspension may effect pending adoptions. The U.S. Embassy will continue processing adoption cases already approved by Ghanaian authorities.

The Department of State will continue providing updated information on adoption.state.gov as it becomes available. If you have any questions about this notice, please contact the Office of Children’s Issues at 1-888-407-4747 within the United States, or 202-501-4444 from outside the United States. Email inquiries may be directed to AdoptionUSCA@state.gov.

We don't know what this really means for us, but there are many factors involved that help our situation (the agency we are with, our current status in the process, etc.) 

The truth is not a lot has changed from our perspective....

We are not in control and we know that God is!

This will continue to be our perspective until we get these kids home and until we finish our job as parents, for that matter. 

Please pray for:

-Our visas to get here before Friday, without them we cannot leave.

-The court approval to go smoothly on Thursday, May 23.

-our time with our new children to be sweet and awesome

-My sister as she cares for her four kids and Liz and Cael next week

-Safe travel and good health

-the US Embassy to approve our adoption in a timely manner despite this recent statement. 

Thank you friends!  We couldn't do this without you!!!

Mom X 4

This time next week I will be meeting my 2 new kids for the first time in person.  It is a thought that makes my heart beat a little quicker and my eyes fill with instant tears. 

Today is Mother's Day. I already know the joy of being a mom and I love it.  But, today as I celebrate that wonderful job that God has blessed me with I cannot help but consider that if all goes well next Thursday in court that blessing will be times 4! ;-)

Liz and Cael bring me so much joy. They asked me this morning if I had to pick an age that I loved them best which age would I pick. 

"Well, when you were little newborn babies, I thought 'this is the best age ever'. 

And then when you were just learning to crawl, I thought, 'this is the best age ever'.

Then during those early walking years, I thought, 'this is the best age ever'.

Then when you were two and three and talking with such sweet voices and thoughts, I thought, 'this is the best age ever'.

Then when you were four, I just loved your independence yet innocence. I got to have you at home and hang out with you everyday, I thought, 'this is the best age ever.'

And now that you are 11 and 9........I wish you were five."

That's really what I said on the way to church this morning, in response to their question. We all laughed our heads off and then I explained that really dad and I have often said to one another "this is the best age ever!" over the years.

We have missed the first 5 years of our sweet new daughter's life and the first 6 years of our precious son's life so we will have a lot of "bests" to look forward to. There is no question, Liz and Cael are going to be such amazing role models to their new siblings. The way their speak and act and treat others is a shining example of Christ and that is what we hope to be to these new children. 

My mommy heart is bursting with joy times 4 today!

 

My way are not your ways

There is one thing you can count on in the adoption process...things will not likely go according to your plan.

We accepted a referral for two precious kids on April 17th...

Our Sources:  "Ghana requires 3 months from the signed placement letter until court date".

Us: "We have seen other families get quicker court dates why do we have to wait 3 months?"

Our Sources: "Those families likely adopted waiting children that had already been in the system for a little while so they were given an earlier date. We will let you know when your placement letter has been signed and then your court date will likely be about 3 months from then."

Us: "Ok...looking forward to court at the end of July.".......April turns to May and no signed placement letter...."OK..looking forward to court sometime in early August."

EMAIL MESSAGE MAY 3, 2013 (STILL NO SIGNED PLACEMENT LETTER) "You have a probable court date of May 23rd. We will let you know more soon."

Us:................................... (a little speechless)...........Thank you God!

That is AMAZING of course! We weren't expecting it until late July at the EARLIEST. Besides that being the last week of school here and crazy life plans, it is also the weekend of the Legacy Retreat in Orlando. Phew!  They will be fine without me but I am having a hard time getting my mind to settle down. So many details to pull together for court, Liz and Cael back home, the Legacy Retreat....plus I am going to meet my new kids in 2 weeks!!!!!!!!  Kinda freakin' out here! Clearly this is God's plan because it is miraculous timing but my human mind is having a really hard time trying to keep up. ;-)

All night as I tried to sleep one verse kept going around and around in my mind:

Isaiah 55:8-9
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so our my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."

All this time I was praying for patience to wait as I thought it would likely drag on and instead God went turbo speed on us!  Now I am praying for peace and clarity and trust. He is good all the time!

Today I booked two plane tickets to Accra, Ghana and we will be there ready to meet our precious kids on May 18th. Please pray for our visas to be processed efficiently and for our travel to go smoothly.  Pray for our time with our new children, for the first meeting to be sweet and for our week with them to make up for the first 5 and 6 years of their lives that we have missed.  We also ask for prayer on May 23rd as we go to court to officially adopt our sweet kids.

Feeling overwhelmed, satisfied, grateful and incredibly blessed today!