We have received many questions about what has been going on with our adoption, so we figured it was about time for another update. The reason you have not heard from us in awhile, is the main themes we are learning of waiting and trusting! It has just been months of praying and waiting!!
Last week however we did receive our 171H!!! (Translation: That is the document needed from our government to be able to legally bring home orphans from another country. It is also the document that required us to get fingerprinted.) We were not anticipating receiving that document until late June or July at the earliest, and it showed up in our mailbox last Saturday! Now we just continue to wait for the referral to find out who our children are.....and the approval from their government! A huge praise in all of this, is that a few days after receiving our 171H, we were notified by our adoption agency that the US has increased their fees pretty substantially for the 171H process, but because we are already approved we will not have to pay the increased fees! God is so good.
Another praise report is that yesterday we had a huge yard sale to help pay for some of the fees. Generous family and friends in the area donated items for the sale. Even though we (and especially Miss Clara our dog) are very glad it is over and we can somewhat get out house back (everything has been stored in our living room for the last two weeks in preparation), it was such a blessing to us. We were able to raise enough money to pay for the embassy documentation authentication fees, about $350!!! God is so good! Another, unplanned highlight from the sale was that we were able to get to know several of our neighbors, whom we had only said greetings to in the past. We are praying that God would use us, and our family in this neighborhood for His Glory.
Prayer requests: Please continue to pray for patience and God's timing in all of this. Please pray for our children, that God would be keeping them safe, and readying their hearts to be a part of our family. Jeff will be starting summer classes on July 9th, please pray for sanity :) and continued joy in our marriage with the always present stress of school. I have two job interviews scheduled for the coming week, so please be in prayer for guidance as we seek what would be the best fit for a job for me. (i.e.. our prayer is that I will be able to stay home as much as possible with our children when they arrive).
Thank you again for your prayers and encouragement!
By His Grace,
Jeff and Meredith
No comments:
Post a Comment