The Rest of the Story:

Some of you watched this unfold on Facebook, but even those that saw the totals and updates didn't hear the whole story.

I would like to start off by saying that Sunday was amazing. Our pastor taught on exactly what Gabe and I needed to hear being somewhat (ok, very, discouraged) about fundraising. The songs were great, and the message was timely. The service ended with random people sharing about answered prayer. I'm not sure there was a dry eye anywhere in the room. We moved from there to our small group which meets right after the service at a friend's home. That too, was encouraging. It was all about prayer and encouragement and God moving in peoples lives. Then someone gave us a gift (read about that HERE), and that was the icing on the cake.

If I had not been at church or small group on Sunday, I am not sure I would have been able to handle Monday morning.

I knew we owed a hefty balance on our hosting fees. By yesterday morning, we had only been able to pay $656 towards $2300. So when the lady in charge of the L-tvian group called, I knew it was about our money. She starts asking about our financial ability to host since we seem to have issues getting money turned in, and do we really think we can host, or should we just focus on the adoption. She needs to buy a plane ticket and we don't have enough sent in for "K" to get a ticket. We can pull the plug and not host, or maybe she can try and float the funds but if we can't repay, everyone is out money. All I could tell her was we were trying to get the money and we knew God would provide. She kept pushing, saying she really needed to buy the plane ticket, bc if she waited and there were no seats left, "K" wouldn't be able to come. By this time I am in tears and I told her I would call Gabe and then call her later in the afternoon and let her know what we had decided.

I hung up and lay on the bed and cried and cried. Visions of "K" being alone at Christmas and us letting her down filled my head. I started praying. Hard. I asked God if we heard Him right; were we supposed to have her at Christmas? Was that just wishful thinking on our part? I called Gabe and told him what we were up against. Basically we needed $1000 (at least) TODAY or we were in serious trouble.

We hung up and I prayed more. Gabe found a parking lot to sit in and he sat and prayed as well. After I prayed, I posted what was going on on my FB page, and Gabe did the same on his. We each got several emails saying people were praying and giving what they could. I felt their prayers and was totally filled with a peace that was like a cool, refreshing blanket. It may sound like a weird explanation, but that's the only way I can describe it. I could literally FEEL the prayers of my friends translating into peace for my heart.

A bit later, I got an anonymous email. It stated they had seen the Facebook post and they wanted to help. They asked how much we needed. I said my best guess was $800 since all the donations were going straight to the hosting organization and I didn't know exact totals at that point. A couple of hours after that email, I received another saying $800 had been put in our account for "K"s behalf, and if at the end of the day we were short, to let them know and they would make up the difference. My jaw hit the floor. I called Gabe and he just kept saying "What?! What?!"

In less than 8 hours, God provided over $1200. We are in the clear for paying for her plane ticket, and only owe about $350 left on our hosting balance. Even though I had faith (or was at least TRYING to have faith) that God would provide, SEEING Him do it was completely amazing. Gabe and I are still in a shock of sorts that God made a way, and did it so fast, and in such an amazing way.

I will never be able to thank each of you enough for the  prayers, donations, comments, emails and texts that you sent. They meant so much to me and were a huge encouragement throughout the day.

This is not our story, but it is "K"s story and God is writing it. He is moving in big ways on her behalf and I cannot wait until she is HOME and knows enough English that I can tell her all the miracles that God did for her. Just. Because. He. Loves. Her.

She really is a daughter of the King.

Occasions when a plank of wood actually makes a great gift idea............

So my super fab friends made this for us, and it is now hanging in our living room where I can see it all day and be encouraged:

(It looks way better in person when there is no glare.) For the story behind the verse, read THIS. And, yes, I cried.

Bingo

Some of you know, last fall/winter I made 'memory boards' out of ceiling tiles that I painted and gave the money to 2 sets of friends that both happened to be adopting from DRC (Congo).

About a month ago, a friend from church put together a "Fall Market". It benefits our church's outreach fund in several ways AND anyone could rent a booth and sell out of that space. We decided to rent a spot and sell the memory boards. I have been painting like crazy the past 2 weeks. The end is in sight, and I am really looking forward to Saturday. I get to hang out with my hubby, friends, family, have fun and hopefully, prayerfully, sell the boards and make some money.

The deadline to pay for K's return visit is looming. We are trying to sell Gabe's car so that when we fill out the financial papers for the adoption, we aren't as lopsided as we look. The adoption will be around $18,000. We still owe about $2,000 for hosting.

I want to panic. But I am trying to trust and have faith. I have friends that have amazing stories of how God provided, and I am looking forward to passing along our own story one day.

Also, some of you may not know that I have wanted to adopt from Eastern Europe since about March 2009. It was a weird feeling to know that my family wasn't complete, and somewhere- there was a child waiting for us. There were a lot of nights I would cry and pray for the one I knew was "out there". I can't explain the feeling in my heart. I prayed and prayed and prayed for her/him and prayed too that Gabe would change his mind about international adoption.

Anyway, there is a song that we sing in church and it says

"And I don't need to see it to believe it.
I don't need to see it to believe.
Cause I can't shake this fire deep inside my heart......

For all Your sons and daughters.
Who are walking in the darkness.
You are calling us to lead them back to You.
We will see Your spirit rising.
As the lost come out of hiding.
Every heart will see this hope we have in You." (Hillsong)

That song yelled at me every single time to just wait and have faith. I told Gabe before K got here in July that she was meant for us. But I did promise not to nag, I just wanted him to know what I felt. So when she had been here 2 weeks, Gabe came to me with tears in his eyes and said that God had confirmed to him that she was our daughter. I was in complete shock. I laughed, I cried, and I couldn't feel my legs or my nose.

Guess what we sang the next morning in church????

So then, for some reason, I began to pray and ask God for a verse for K. I would read different verses, and I always had one eye open, but weeks went by with nothing specifically for her. And then 2 weeks ago in church we read 1 Samuel 1:27, "For this child I prayed; and the LORD has given me my petition which I asked of Him."

Bingo. I don't even know what to say after posting the verse. I am still in awe that THERE it IS.

I am going to have to find/buy/make a sign with that verse on it.



****If you are in the area THIS SATURDAY, Oct 22, from 8-4, stop by the Fall Market. 301 HD Atha Rd, Monroe****

Letters From Home......

The whole family was together this week for my youngest daughter's 4th birthday. I took the opportunity while everyone was here to take the following pictures. I plan on getting these printed and sending them to our girl instead of a regular letter.

2 of my sisters and my brother

and because we can't do anything without joking around.....

My daughters

My mom and dad

Me and my hubby

 my in-laws

I think she will be happy to know that Ziggy cared enough to write ;-)

Even grumpy Zeppo misses her.



We got these fish while she was here. Just want her to see we haven't had to flush them. Yet.



The signs say "We love you" in R*ssian and "We miss you" in L*tvian. 
I wish I could see her face when she gets these! 



Small Updates

I officially mailed off the first of what I hear will be lots and lots of paperwork to the adoption agency. Some of you might be surprised that this is only the 'first' of the paperwork. There's not a lot of hurry as we are waiting for the father's parental rights to be terminated. Then there is a waiting period. We were advised to wait until fall, but be ready in the spring to swing into action as soon as the waiting period is over.

I know the court date for the father's rights to be terminated is coming soon, I just don't know exactly when. And with that comes some uncertainty. Will he fight? Will he have any say? Will she know? How will she be affected? I can only pray that it will go smoothly and God will comfort her heart in the process.

We are still doing our puzzle piece fundraiser. You can read about that *here* I also have plans to make memory boards and sell those at 2 local Fall Festivals. The other thing that we have done is we ordered business cards with our adoption blog address on them. If missionaries have prayer cards, I felt like we should too. I didn't want her name and face floating around, so we went with the simpler card to hand out. Several times a week I get to talking to people about what we're doing, and I thought it would be cool to have something to hand out. The more people praying and the more awareness we can raise, the better!

Puzzle Piece Fundraiser

Friday, August 12, 2011

 

Puzzle Piece Fundraiser!

We are kicking off a Puzzle Piece Fundraiser! The purpose of this

fundraiser is to jump start our funds to start our home study

(which we need to bring K home for good!).

You can read about that by clicking here.

Each puzzle piece is $5.

Click on the PayPal button at the top right hand side of the page.

When you send your contribution, please add a note telling

me what name to put on your puzzle piece. It can be for your child,

your family, or in honor/memory of a loved one.

When the puzzle is complete, we will frame it in a two-sided frame

so that K will be able to see the names of those that

helped her become a part of a forever family.

Please feel free to repost!

Last day and Future Plans

Thursday, August 11, 2011

 

So on Tues we took K to the airport to send her home. That was one of the hardest things we have had to do. Even though we plan on her returning for Christmas, it didn't help ease the pain of watching her walk away with her chaperon thru security. Or make the van seem less empty. The house is too quiet. Even our kitten paced the house meowling that night, as if she was looking for her buddy also.

The kids are each dealing with K leaving in different ways. Jadyn cried and cried. Ava became completely obnoxious, trying to be funny and making a constant stream of non sense words. Hadley kept asking where she was. Yesterday seemed very very long. K's favorite pass time was Uno, so the kids wanted to play Uno all afternoon and evening. So we did, but even that was flat.

So what do we do now? We plan and pray she comes back at Christmas. We are able to email her, and I am so grateful for that connection. There is something more though. We knew before she got her she was unavailable for becoming our daughter. One parent still has legal rights. We have still chosen to pursue her, though. We are praying and hoping that by spring, we can start the process and that she will be with us as a daughter by summer.

She is a God story if I ever saw one. I cannot wait to be able to tell her everything, so that SHE can see and know that God has brought her to us. Please pray with us and for us (and her) as we start this journey. I cannot wait til the day her laughter is in our home again.