Movement in the program has still been slow, but it's movement nonetheless. I watch our name creep up the list a few spots every couple months. Movement, however slow, still means families are welcoming orphans into a loving homes.
This past fall we forged through our third round of updates for our home study, fingerprints and immigration paperwork. Those documents expire every 15-18 months so our very ambitious prayers are that we will not have to do those again.
Remember the 6 months worth of dossier paperwork from the beginning of 2011? I get the pleasure of re-compiling just about that whole thing once we get the green light from our family coordinator. The ministry in Ethiopia requires updates on all paperwork that is over 2 years old and our agency will notify us when we are close enough to the window of referral to start that process.
In other adoption news, this past Sunday we were honored to share our story with our church family during service. {listen here} This was the first time Tyler and I have had to opportunity to speak together about our journey. Public speaking is not in either of our realms of comfort but we are so glad we accepted the offer from our pastor. It felt so good to talk about it again! As the months have turned into years during this wait, conversations about the adoption have become noticeably absent. It had become too painful and frustrating to even talk about. I was surprised at how much I needed to be reminded why we are still here...and how clear that call was 4 years ago to adopt. The support we received from our church family was a breath of life into us that was so desperately needed, and we didn't even know it. God positioned our family right where we need to be for this walk. We were humbled by the prayer partners and financial partners that staked claim in this journey Sunday, we could never adequately express the impact it had. But for now, THANK YOU, for joining us in our efforts to obediently responding to James 1:27.
I am eternally grateful to be reminded of my adoption by my heavenly Father, from orphan to daughter of the King.
True devotion, the kind that is pure and faultless before God the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their difficulties and to keep the world from contaminating us.
James 1:27 (CEB)