Changed forever

Last week I watched this  FILM LINK  documentary called Find Me that captures the heart of adoption. I feel the Lord sent this to me at a time when I was really struggling. As an adoptive Mama your life is forever changed once you have experienced the process of adoption especially the orphanage visit. There are so many unknowns for children adopted from China but we have to remember that our Lord knows every detail. There are times when I think of my children's birth parents and I wish they could know that they are so loved and cared for. My heart aches at the thought of all the struggled they went through when they chose to give them up. It amazes me how God can orchestrate each child's life and bring families together around the world. We experienced this first hand with Cargan and how God picked him out of the millions of people in China and brought him here so that he could hear about the most incredible gift from God,Jesus Christ. He just lit up and loved Jesus from the moment he heard the truth. God used the hard to bring beauty in a life changing way. This was also so evident in the movie when two woman who live on opposite sides of the world miraculously meet. We can not wait to see all the Lord will do in Moriah's life.

Today I was sitting at Good Shephard where Cargan receives occupational, physical and speech therapies. I love being there. It is like a second home. What I love most is that there are no heads being turned because someone looks or moves differently. There is just love, smiles, and determination. I often look online at the list of children waiting for families and pray for them. So many are precious children that have special needs. My heart just broke today as I waited because all I could picture were the faces of children on that list that had no one to help them and they do not have opportunities to get the help they need. My heart was hurting so much that I almost burst into tears right there. The movie above captured so much of the heart of adoption. The one thing it shared was all the  incredible people you meet and how it deepen your walk with Lord beyond measure. You think you are helping them but they bring more than you can ever imagine to you. I am so thankful for each of my precious children. Hug your kids today and think and pray for the millions that have no one to hug them today. #sharing from the heart.

Waiting

Our papers are in China!!  We are waiting to hear when they are logged into their computer system and then we will begin the wait for the Letter of Acceptance. This is the most variable wait of the whole process. It can take 21/2 months or longer but we have seen a few people before us get theirs in under 2 months! We are praying for this! We also will have Chinese New Year in our wait as everything shuts down for the week. We are praying for God's perfect timing!! Once we get the letter of approval we finally will be able to share her picture online! (although if you have not seen this sweetie yet just email me and I can send you a picture). After we get the letter it then is approximately 2 months until travel. Please keep praying for our sweet girl!

Crossing Over

We are so excited!!! We have crossed a huge step in the adoption process. Our papers called the Dossier have now officially been sent to China. They may be crossing over the ocean now!! This step is called DTC (Dossier to China). It is a huge mile stone. Please pray they arrive safely and move swiftly through the system there. We now wait for a letter from China saying all our papers are approved. This is the most variable time in the process it can take from 2-4 months to wait although we have seen some come quicker! We are praying for that!!  After we get the letter of approval we will then be about 2 months away from traveling. Please continue to pray the Lord will prepare Moriah for all that will be happening.  We are also excited to say the Lord is providing the funds. We are so thankful for each of you that have given we now are at 109 people giving $25 each to be fully funded. It is such a joy to write the names on the frame. It has been amazing to Watch God Work!!!

AMAZING

God is so AMAZING!  We only need 245 people to give $25 each to be fully funded!!!
God is moving mountains through people who are giving so generously. We are so humbled and thankful for the envelopes with donations, online donations, gifts in Christmas cards to the anonymous card arriving in the mail, all to help bring Moriah home. It has been an amazing journey watching God work. My sweet Sarah only asked for things for Christmas to get the room ready for her sister. So after receiving gifts from our extended family we happily decorated the girls room. We are so thankful for the crib from my sister. It is a precious thought that all her children and now Moriah will use this crib. 

We still have room on the So Loved Frame!!

Please keep praying that the Lord will raise up the last 245 people needed for the frame fundraiser or that he will show us what to do next. We are praying for wisdom on how to raise this last amount.

 Prayer is so powerful. Thank you for all your prayers and encouragement. 

WOW!!!!!

Look at the thermometer at the right!!!  What a jump!  We are getting so close to being fully funded!
We only need 286 people to give $25 to be done raising our funds. We would love to put your name on the frame! We are so thankful for each and everyone of you that have given and helped with fundraising!!  Please keep praying for our paperwork. We keep hitting little bumps but God is Working his perfect timing!!  We hope to have our papers to China the first week of January. When we started the process we should have been traveling late summer so things are moving a little quicker and we hope to travel in the Spring. Please keep praying for Papers to move and for Moriah's heart to be prepared for all the changes that will happen. Thank you all for your love, support and prayers!!

Where is God working??

Wow!! God is working in amazing ways. There is something that really stands out each adoption and for Moriah's it has been watching God work through children. Time and time again we have seen God move children's hearts to help bring Moriah home. It brings me to tears not only because I am so thankful for these gifts coming from their hearts but also for all the Lord will do with the blessing of their giving. I still remember sitting at a baby shower in my childhood church and it was a shower for an adoption and Bethany adoption agency shared and it touched my heart way back then. I can't wait to see how children helping another child will one day touch their lives and others. I got this email from a dear friend of mine who wanted me to know that the large gift in the envelope came only from her children. These words touched my heart and I wanted to share them with you. 

 I told the kids about your picture frame fundraiser, and they were
 excited, and decided to have a collection among themselves, even
 contacting their brother at college. And I bring this up to tell you
that this is strictly their contribution (and they get a dollar a week
allowance, so it is mostly earned income), but also to thank you for an
opportunity for me to see more of my kids' hearts. I can't imagine what
it is like for you to step out in trust and need to raise so much money, 
 but I want to thank you for the privilege you've given us to participate
 in such a great cause. Merry Christmas!

We will have an update soon with all the fundraisers added into the thermometer! 

It has been a busy week! I have been to Harrisburg twice in two days with papers. We now have them complete so our HUGE stack of expensive papers is on its way overnight to NY City to the Chinese Consulate. Please pray they will arrive there safely with all the holiday shipping happening at the same time.The papers are then mailed to our agency and them off to China!!! Please also pray for a miracle that the papers will get to our agency by Dec 21st so they can be sent to China before the holidays or else we will have to wait until Jan 4th!  

Change a life!

So thankful for all the kids and families at our Classical Conversations homeschool co-op!!! They collected $187.58!!! We will be writing CC Royersford on our frame for Moriah. We now only need 487 people to give $25 to be fully funded. 

Thank you for helping to change a life!!!

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