Waiting for the Official Word!!!

As usual, our journey involves many times of demanding deadlines....and then the times of wondering and waiting. This part is no exception. We continue to wait for the official word from China that we are "pre-approved" for the little girl whose Referral we accepted two weeks ago. Our advocate at the agency said this part usually goes through without a problem. Plus, our Dossier was already a long time ago with no concerns. So it seems to be a wait for official word more than anything else.

Are we excited? Absolutely...thrilled beyond words, actually! Is this part of the journey tough to endure now that we have seen this precious little girl's face and read all about her? It's a mixed blessing. We are so excited to know her name, face, information shared from China, age, etc. and are now much more familiar with this precious little sweetheart than ever before. Yet....we know God's perfect timing in bringing her home to us is always best. We have trusted Him in this journey for over five years. We can certainly trust Him in the remaining months before we hold her in our arms for the very first time.

I look so forward to sharing her picture with you as soon as possible. I look forward to letting you know more about her personality, preferences, etc.. But...I truly believe that this time of waiting before we are able to do so...has great purpose. So we wait until official word is received from China and our agency...and we use this time to pray on multiple levels.

For now, I ask you to pray for our little one....for all the people who are working so hard in the PRC and USA to take care of her and prepare for her to come home with us...and for God to be honored through each step of the way. May our hearts, lives, family, preparations, home and every plan ahead be in accordance with His will, design and purpose. Please pray for our family. There is so very much to do here. But may our focus always be on drawing closer to Him and His will for our lives in this amazing journey. He will supply our every need as we draw closer to our trip to China. He will supply our every need as we prepare the nursery. He will supply our every need as we begin preparing to parent another beautiful blessing to call our child, a true gift from God. He will take care of all that lies before us...and all that our little sweetheart in China faces as she begins a new life with her family here. He will also help me prepare to board many airplanes when I have never flown before! :) Thankfully, Tim has flown so I am relieved to know that one of us knows more about that part!

So now...as we wait for yet another portion of our journey of blessings, we thank God for drawing us closer and closer to Him through it all. There have been many lessons learned so far. We thank Him for teaching us about His love for us through adoption. We thank Him for each family member, friend, doctor, nurse, agency worker, office worker and prayer warrior who faithfully choose to be a tremendous part of our journey each day. We thank Him for those of you who care about us in ways that touch our hearts deeply through each step along the way. We thank Him for those of you who never leave us alone on this journey and who shower us with your love so genuinely and consistently. It has been a lonnnnng journey and knowing we could lean on you when we were weary, searching or overwhelmed...has been amazing! We thank Him for working through your hearts, minds, words and lives when we needed you most! Thank you! This journey of blessings is not just about bringing a precious little girl home to be a part of our Forever Family...although that is a wonderful part of it! This journey of blessings is living proof that God cares, directs, works and blesses us in each step of life whether we see the details ahead...or even more likely...when we don't have a clue how it is all going to work out on many levels. But He does...and He is always with us...and He works His plan and purposes out in beautiful, unexpected and incredible ways far beyond anything we ever imagine. We simply need to trust Him...be still...and wait for Him. After all, it's not about our lives or our plans...it's about Him...and what He has brought us into this world and on this journey to do for Him.

Please know that we continue to thank Him for you and we ask that He will bless each journey you experience in life. May you always know that you are never alone and always loved by Him. May your journey be blessed as richly as you continue to bless our journey. I will definitely keep you updated as we learn more.
Cherishing the purpose and plan He has in another season of waiting...
Terri & family