A Sovereign Appointment

Well, we are in total PCS mode as we prepare to pack out our Hawaii home, but I wanted to pop in with some updates.

I am super excited to share that we received our letter from USCIS Saturday with the most perfect appointment! Though I really wanted to receive this letter before we moved, I was a little nervous about two scenarios: the appointment would be during our pack out or worse still- it would be after we departed Hawaii. God definitely knew these concerns, so I’m giving him the credit for divinely scheduling our appointment the week between our pack out and our departure. (Additionally, the appointment is not during naptime, which is an added bonus! ) Thank you, Jesus! And thank you all for praying.

We’re continuing to receive generous donations toward our adoption, and we are overflowing with thankfulness.  

We ran into a hiccup with the Hawaii apostille process (I won’t bore you with the details, but they’re somewhere between confusing, ridiculous and humorous!), so we won’t be able to send our completed dossier before we PCS. But all our documents should be ready shortly after we arrive on the mainland. This just gives us more time to fundraise for our dossier fees, so it’s not a total disappointment!

Thank you for reading our blog, following our story and praying for miracles.

Always thankful,

Melissa

O Give Thanks

“This just got real.”

Those were words David texted me after I shared with him the news that our home study was successfully uploaded to CARINGS  (India’s online adoption system) Monday. This means we could have an approval and a match in two months!

A MATCH.

Honestly, when I received that initial e-mail, I felt like I had just taken a pregnancy test. The difference is we will have to wait two months to see the one pink line or the two pink lines. It’s still exciting and surreal.

Our dossier is almost complete- I feel like I’ve been saying that for two months, but I think it’s true this time. We pack out of our house in two weeks, so I am praying that we will be able to send it to AWA before then.

We would like to share one very specific prayer request. Please pray that USCIS will send us a fingerprint appointment before we leave Hawaii. We are not in control of this appointment, and they have 6-8 weeks to schedule us. We move in 4 weeks, so we’re definitely praying for a miracle. If we are unable to fulfill this appointment, we’ll most likely have to update our home study as soon as we move to Cheyenne, which will be a huge delay. But, God’s timing is always perfect, and we trust Him.

We are praising God that half the families in the India program are being matched with children under the age of two! India has not been registering children this young, so this is super encouraging for our family, since India will mostly likely only approve us for a very young child. Our family coordinator from AWA told me she this news makes her more comfortable with our family pursuing this adoption. That’s a change from hearing that we are a “high risk family” with two young biological children. What a testimony to God’s perfect timing.

We are currently raising money through two fundraisers: Noonday Party and GoFundMe page. I will link both on our blog. We’ve already been blown away by the generosity of our church family and other loved ones. 

I don’t think I can adequately communicate the intensity of the thanksgiving our family is feeling. But this week we are singing praise to Him, and I couldn’t help but tell of His wondrous works to you. He is completely and totally in and over this adoption, and we are grateful for His faithfulness. I cannot wait to share more testimonies of His grace in future blogs.

So thankful,

Melissa