LOA's

We was so excited to find our LOA's (letter of acceptance) this morning when we opened our email.  Literally hours before a 10 day shut down in Ch*na.  Now everything that needs to happen is in the states.  We are still hoping for a January 5 gotcha day for Selah and January 12 for Shane.  It's in the hands of the Chicago consulate to decide that for us now.  If they can't get our visas processed before January 1st then we will do Shane's January 12 gotcha day first and then the following week would be Selah's.  We are hoping for the first plan since it would mean one less plane ride in country which equals less money.  Things have been hitting at a very fast pace which is good so we can bring home Shane in time but this picture I had in my mind when we first started the adoption process has totally been destroyed.  I don't look at it as a bad thing but only preparation of things to come.  God wants me to totally trust Him in all areas of my life.  That's truly what I want but sometimes I try to grab it back thinking I can work it out faster or better.  This adoption thing has been totally out of our control.  We have been running to catch up with the amazing things God has been doing and doors that He has been opening.  Clear back in Feb on my way home from grocery shopping God told me to get a big jar to start collecting money in it for the adoption.  The only jar I had was a 2 gallon one.  I laughingly pulled it out of the cupboard and showed it to Andrew.  We decided to dream big and deemed that to be our jar.  Through the months that jar has been filling and filling in amazing ways.  The most touching was two cousins dumping in all their piggy bank money to bring home two new cousins.  Several times through the months we would be tempted to pull it out and count it just for our own peace of mind about where we was at in the funding of this adoption but every time we would go to do it God said wait.  Wait until when?  Until God said it was time which was Christmas eve.  We counted the jar which weighed over twenty pounds and was 3/4 full of cash and change.  We estimated that there was $2500-$3000 dollars in there.  The stocking total was $4801.  Why was it stocking?  This is God we are talking about.  I believe that this jar has been like the story in the Bible of the loaves and fishes.  It just kept multiplying.  In two weeks we have went from needing $18,000 to probably around $5000 from being 100% funded.  This has all been because of all of you who have understood what it takes to bring home orphans no more.  You have been the hands and feet of Jesus to us and them.  We stand in awe!

The money jar

 

Missing two at Christmas