Surprise!
You know how I've been reminded throughout two blogs now that God's ways are so very different than man's? And how good a thing that is, too? Last Monday our agency received some unexpected files, and sons and daughters were made known at last to their forever families. The phone rang with that Alabama number- just 10 ordinary digits, but they make my heart leap and my stomach drop (in purely a good way!) every time they pop up. There was a file. Our wonderful caseworker, who has now matched us with both our precious children, sent it over, and it was actually very much like knowing Vivienne. "Oh, there you are; we've been looking for you, precious one." Really peaceful- no fireworks, just seeing this child and knowing that it was right. That night we wrote our Letter of Intent, which presents our family and our ability to care for this child and asks the central authority for permission to make that babe our own. I had a few days where I was physically dizzy over how quickly life had changed! I am really glad all we were assigned for Thanksgiving this year was the green beans ;-) It was probably all I could manage at that point! It was a wonderful, wonderful Thanksgiving.
The Best Surprise!
The need for families for little boys is very real and serious, and we gladly expected to be one of those families. But God places the lonely in families, and it does not always follow our logic or math...It's about ONE. Our second surprise that day was that our family's "one" is the sweetest little girl! It's about time for a picture, isn't it? Here is our daughter, Hannah!
We are using her current name for her middle name, and it's important not to publicly disclose specific identifying information about her, but I can tell you that God knows her by name, and in our waiting the last few months He has provided for her in ways I'm not even sure I can share until this is all completed. Just like He sent a caring nanny for Vivienne, He has provided something beautiful for Hannah.
And Just One More Surprise!
Normally, when you write a letter of intent to adopt a child, you wait a week or often two for provisional approval, or PA, and then you wait 2-3 months for your final approval to be matched with this child, called the letter of acceptance, or LOA. This letter is a letter issued by the central authority in China, essentially saying your request is definitely approved and seeking your confirmation, via the parents' signatures, that you are adopting this child.
Well...our agency sent our letter of intent to adopt Hannah last Tuesday, and today...you guessed it, PA! But not just PA...no, the computer system used by China to show the status of our dossier says that we are match reviewed, meaning that our actual, physical LOA should be here in about a week! This moves our timeline way forward. Like 2-3 months forward. If the remaining steps progress on the normal schedule, it will still be chilly weather when we travel next year! We are coming SOON, baby!
Next Steps
You know what? I don't even know exactly what happens next, our timeline just got so bumped up! I have to review the steps! This is the part where it gets more complicated to explain the process. I know the next step must be I-800 (back to US immigration) because we just got the paperwork to prepare for that step once our hard LOA arrives. There will be a ping pong between those in each country's officials responsible for approving us to travel for adoption purposes, I know that much. I also know that after LOA, things move fast step to step! Oh my goodness.
Can I just? Ahhh! Oh, there is a busy little list ahead! I need to pull Vivienne's clothing and see if anything is small enough for this tiny child (or warm enough, since we traveled in summer last time). I need to pull my packing list...and buy supplies...and re-arrange rooms! These are things I save to do during the LOA wait to keep busy then. But the LOA wait is already over!
Prayer requests are now fairly numerous, but I'll try and keep it quick :-)
-Please lift Hannah up in prayer as often as you think of it- she is pretty tiny, and we are also praying for total healing for her whole body.
-Pray for those involved in her care, and the special endeavor happening to pour intensive love into her and the children with her. And for those who see and hear about it- that it would be a blessing to everyone who encounters it.
-We'd sure also love to ask for prayers for attachment and bonding. It's a serious business, this breaking of a child's trust over and over, which is just a part of orphanage life even in the best of circumstances. This is probably among the very least well understood aspects of adoption, and I do want to talk about it, but later, as we approach travel.
-Please pray for preparation of Vivienne's heart. She has adjusted so very well since her own homecoming, and she is getting pretty excited (Hannah is "Baby"), but those little wheels in her head are turning, and it's our job to reassure her of her incredibly precious, permanent place.
-Pray for us to accomplish each day's work from now until we travel, and for travel mercies.
-Pretty earthly, but pray for our adoption fund to grow quickly, because we just (joyfully) lost 2-3 months worth of saving time! But it is going to be good!!!
Okay, another novel from me. Bless you people for reading! ;-)
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