Wholeheartedly Waiting

"If the Lord Jehovah makes us wait, let us do so with our whole hearts; for blessed are all they that wait for Him. He is worth waiting for. The waiting itself is beneficial to us: it tries faith, exercises patience, trains submission, and endears the blessing when it comes. The Lord's people have always been a waiting people." - Charles Spurgeon

So, we are waiting. We sent off our paperwork to immigration almost two weeks ago now. We know they received it, because they cashed our big fat check and sent us a letter saying so. Within the next week, we hope to receive an appointment from them for our biometric fingerprinting. Then we'll be back to more waiting! We sent all our other dossier documents to our agency last week, so they are ready and waiting for our immigration approval....then we will be "DTC" or Dossier to China! Then we'll be back to more waiting! And this is how it goes in the world of adoption. We signed up for this year plus of waiting and expected it, but some days it still seems SOOOO long. We're anxious to see our little one's face for the first time, to give her a name, to bring her home. I've been studying the book of Genesis with BSF International this year, and it's been so good for me to be reminded of all the patriarchs of my faith and how they had to wait (frequently decades) for God's perfect timing and fulfillment of His promises to them. I also remember a sermon by Gary Brooks (our pastor in St. Louis) from a couple years ago on "waiting." He spoke about some biblical examples of waiting, and how it's so clear that God values waiting and He wants His people to be a waiting people. You see it in almost every book of the Bible. Knowing this, I am excited to see what God does during our waiting period! While we actively wait, we've completed 6 adoption grant/matching grant requests; I mailed 4 of them off today! We probably won't hear news from those until late summer/early fall, but I'll keep you posted if we do. Most organizations have periodic deadlines and only make grant decisions a few times annually. 

On a side note, I wanted to share a coupon with you for Just Love Coffee. If you order from them through our link on the sidebar, part of the profits go directly toward offsetting our adoption expenses. This code is good for 10% of your order from now until April 8th! Just enter "KISSTHERIM" in the coupon code box at checkout. We also still have some beautiful handmade wooden cross clocks ($40), soaps ($3), scented wax tarts ($3), a 31 thermal tote ($15) and jewelry for sale ($24 - more jewelry coming in a couple of weeks) - just check out the facebook album HERE and HERE to see what is left! Also, Josh's dad (who made the clocks) is now making custom furniture, and he has offered to donate 10% of any orders to our adoption fund. If you have any interest, let me know - I'll get a brochure to you! 

Quilting has been another exercise in patience for me! This is only my second quilt top, and I'm so thankful to have my Mom teaching me! I have made quite a bit of progress lately. I finished making each of the 20 blocks, and now I'm working on piecing them together and getting all the borders ready!

  

We'll keep you posted on any further developments! If you are also in a state of waiting, be encouraged!!! God is faithful and is always at work. His plans will not be thwarted.

One Step at a Time

We had our second garage sale fundraiser over the weekend, and it was a great success! We could not have done it on a colder weekend, and there were snow flurries both days. In spite of that, we had steady traffic and raised over $1,200!! It was a lot of fun, too. We got to talk to about a dozen people who have either adopted, are in the process or who are involved in orphan care. We even talked to a few people who are praying about pursuing adoption! So exciting!! A great big THANK YOU to all those who helped in a variety of ways! 

Last week, we received a draft copy of our home study report, too!! We sent it back with a few minor changes and should get the final copy very soon. Thank you for persevering in prayer with us!! We are now one step closer!!!

I have been making progress on the quilt, as well. Here's a recent pic of the quilt blocks that I have finished, and I have another 4 blocks started.

We are still selling the pottery jewelry - I have 5 pieces from the new batch left (see the Facebook album HERE), and I should have more pieces in a few weeks. See the post "Jewelry, anyone?" for further details. Josh's parents and sister-in-law have also donated some items for us to sell to raise funds - solid wood cross clocks, handmade scented wax tarts and soaps and a couple of Longaberger and Thirty-one items. See pictures of the available items HERE.

We are so blessed to be a part of the Church, and we have seen the gospel in action all around us throughout this process. Our brothers and sisters in Christ have sacrificed time, goods and money to be a part of God's work in this world and in our family. We are so humbled to see God's hand in this every single day!!! Let us continue in this state of grace as we press on to a state of glory!! 

"Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality." (Romans 12:9-13 ESV)