Summer Hosting

Some sweet friends put this video together for us with pictures from our hosting time this past Summer. Thanks, Bob and Susan Craft!!

We have a date!

We are so happy to report that we officially have an appointment with the Ministry of Adoption and Rights of the Child in the capital city of our daughters country! We will be leaving the US on January 18th , and our appointment will be January 20th. The purpose of this appointment is to receive permission to travel to our girls region of the country and adopt her specifically. This first trip should last for about 1 week, and, Lord willing, we will get to see her again on January 22nd or 23rd. If all goes well, we should receive a court date, which will likely be about 1 month after our appointment date.

We're so excited to begin counting down the days until we see "A" again; it has added something special to an already special season. It has also brought back to us memories of "A" from this past summer (seems like so long ago!) I was thinking today about the first few days that she was home with us. During family meals, we noticed that she slumped forward in her seat with her head bowed while she ate, cautiously glancing up at us on occasion. Happily, as she felt more secure and safe, she grew out of this and would smile, talk, and interact with us during meals. Based on her behavior, we can only wonder what mealtime must be like at the orphanage.

As the month continued on, she became more and more a part of our family. Whenever I would call Julie from work she would give "A" the phone and the onslaught of Russian language would begin! I'm fairly certain that every event that had occurred to that point in her day was recounted to me, but of course all I understood was "Papa!".  Likewise, as soon as I got home from work I would be grabbed by the arm and led back to her room to see what she had drawn or arranged with the dollhouse. What was important to her was to have someone that would sit and listen, comprehension aside. I look so forward to being be-fuddled again! Although I should mention that Julie and I are working with Rosetta Stone to learn some of the Russian language (Julie is far ahead of me at this point).

As the process continues and we get closer, I've been increasingly aware of why we are doing this.

It is not because it's simple, quick, or in-expensive. It is none of these things. Further, as many of you know, our family is dealing with additional stress during this time unrelated to the adoption but having an effect on it all the same.

This is also not being done from a misplaced altruism or because we view ourselves as "rescuers". God help us the moment we see ourselves and not Him as the solution.

Rather, we love "A", and she felt like a part of our family from the beginning. We are adopting her not because we are worthy of being her rescuer, but because we are so un-worthy, and yet we have been rescued! In my own life, in spite of every advantage in upbringing, education, a beautiful wife, three (soon to be four) precious children, a wonderful church family and support system, there has been failing at every turn. How weak our flesh truly is and easily corrupted our hearts can become! And yet at the cross all things were made new! Every sin forgiven, every debt paid, forevermore. None of us as followers of Christ deserve that merit. So how much more gracious to this world should we be, who have been forgiven a debt that we could never hope to repay? The Lord brings a young girl without a family into our lives and gives us a love for her, so how could we who have been adopted into the universal family of God not adopt her into our own family? For this precious child, alone in the world and yet born in our hearts, what will we not do to bring her home? How much time is too long? What distance is too far? What cost is too great? In light of the gospel, the answer is none. We rely on Him to provide the patience to wait, the strength to endure, and the resources to complete this journey, so that it can be said:

"Not unto us, O Lord, Not unto us,
But to Thy name give glory.
Because of your mercy, because of your truth."  (Psalm 115:1)

Where would be we without the mercy and truth of Jesus? I'm certain we would not be on the verge of an international adoption.

Thank you all so much for your support to date! We ask that you prayerfully consider donating further to this cause (see Julie's last blog entry).

                                                                       Papa and "A"

Lotion Bars Fundraiser

Thanks to everyone who has helped us raise funds to bring our girl home! We're almost halfway there!

Over the past couple months I've shared a booth with a dear friend at a handful of craft fairs. I enjoy working at these shows because it's given me a chance to meet many wonderful people. I love hearing your stories and to share my family's story with you. Thanks for allowing me to be a part of your lives!

Some of you have asked how you can order more of the solid lotion bars you sampled at the craft fairs. Because we're running this as a fundraiser and not a for-profit business, here's how it will work. Go to our donation site here and make a donation to our adoption fund. As a thank you, we will send you a gift. The gift designation will be as follows:

For a gift of $15, you'll receive one solid lotion bar in your choice of scent.
For a gift of $25, you'll receive two lotion bars in your choice of scent(s).
$35 = three lotion bars
$45 = four lotion bars
$60 = five lotion bars

After you make your donation here, please email me with your address and the scent(s) you'd like to receive. I'll mail out the lotion bars weekly on Saturday.

Thank you!!
Julie

Lotion bars...
- are made from natural, food-grade ingredients (coconut oil, beeswax, shea butter, cocoa butter, essential oils)
- do not contain any preservatives
- are gentle on sensitive skin
- help preserve your skin's natural oils
- create a moisture barrier that allows for multiple handwashings before requiring reapplication
- won't get tossed when you pass through an airport security check
- are about the size of a bar of soap, just thinner
- come in four scents (shea butter, shea with cloves, cocoa butter, chocolate peppermint)
- last for about six months (when used 1-2 times a day)

***DISCLAIMER***
These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or skin condition. However, if my hands could talk...

Hope

I'm amazed that a month has passed since our last post! At that time, we had just sent our dossier overseas to have it translated. It was submitted to our girl's government on Oct. 14th, so we should hear within the next two weeks whether or not we've been approved to adopt in her country. Then, we wait another month for an invitation with an actual appointment date, at which point, we'll make our first trip. It is so hard to wait!!

Here we are with our completed dossier packet - the kids were troopers!!

Patience is such a tricky thing. We want it and we want it now. We ask the Lord to help us be patient, and what happens? We are made to wait!! The wonderful thing about learning to be patient is the opportunity to find contentment, and even excitement, in the waiting. As we wait to be reunited with our girl, the Lord is growing our faith in Him (and He is so faithful!!), our contentment in the midst of our circumstances and our hope in what the future may hold for our family.

The idea of hope is not generally nurtured in orphanages. Why would it be? What do most orphans have to look forward to? A life of crime on the street? Prostitution? Drugs and alcohol? Sadly, that is a reality for the majority of orphans in our girl's country. Yet, in the midst of such cruel prospects, hope shines through when a child is told she is wanted. 


At the airport, meeting "A" for the first time

A caregiver, Svitlana, who chaperoned the orphans during their travels to and from America, recalled to me an ongoing discussion she had with our girl, "A", during the flight here. Svitlana said that when she read our introduction letter to "A" ("A" cannot read or write) and showed her our family picture, "A" just kept repeating, 'They want me? Do they really want me?'. In the airport, after being reassured of this repeatedly on the flight, she ran to us and started hugging us and pulling her friends over to meet our kids. She was so proud and so full of hope because someone wanted her!

We have been given an even greater hope than that which an orphan desiring a family could ever imagine. We have the hope that we can become the eternally adopted sons and daughters of the living God, who loved us before the foundations of the earth were laid and who gave His Son as a sacrifice for our sins. "Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace by which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." Romans 5:1-5

Hope is a product of God's great love for us. It is because of that hope that we are able to extend grace and love to a child in need of a family...and that fills her with hope. What a beautiful thing!



At the Adventure Science Center in Nashville



Officer "H"

Since my nerve-wracking fingerprinting experience last week, I've been ever so diligent in taking care of my hands. I'd convinced myself that I would be hearing from USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration Services) in the form of a letter telling me that I would have to return to have my prints taken again. In preparation for that, I have gone so far as to apply A LOT of my Mary Kay firming eye cream to my fingertips to try to fill in the deep lines. Hey, when you start feeling desperate, weird things begin to sound strangely normal. What's funny is it actually seems to be working! But, I think maybe I should save the cream for my eyes since I'm writing this at 2AM. You see, I called USCIS on Wednesday to fish for information, hoping to hear whether my prints were accepted so that we could proceed with scheduling the seemingly inevitable next round of fingerprints. The lady who took my phone call had a kind voice and was eager to help. She searched for our file and quickly came back with the name of the officer (the officer!!) who had been assigned to our case! I'll call him Officer "H". Apparently, Officer "H" is the most wonderful person in the whole wide world because he reviewed and APPROVED our application THE DAY AFTER OUR FINGERPRINTING!! Plus, it was a Saturday! WHAT?! Yes siree! Then, yesterday, I went to the mailbox and found the blessed approval letter that wasn't supposed to arrive for another seven to ten days. We had geared ourselves up to not hearing a single thing from anyone for at least a month and here we are with papers in hand 6 days later! Thank you, Jesus...and Officer "H" at USCIS!!! :)


About to hit one out of the park...just like our new friend, Officer "H"

Our dossier, now apostilled (and complete with our USCIS approval!), will be sent with another adopting couple on Sunday to the facilitators in our girl's country! Their government will be closed for a couple of weeks for a national holiday, which gives our facilitators time to translate everything and check it with a fine-toothed comb before they submit it on Oct 15th. This puts us on track to travel for the first time in early December! We desperately want to tell our girl of our plans to bring her home permanently before she finds out that she won't be sent to America with her peers to be hosted over the Christmas holiday. Will you pray with us concerning the timing?

Working my Fingers to the Bone & News of Our Girl

Since our last post, we have gone in to the ASC office twice. The first time, we were turned away by a young clerk who seemed to enjoy his position of power, while those who would have been able to quickly take our prints sat unoccupied discussing their upcoming lunch breaks over their cubicle walls. Tax dollars at work. Fantastic. The second time, (our actual appointment), everything went smoothly except for the actual fingerprinting. Apparently, I have worked too much with my hands and that has affected my prints. I have deep, vertical grooves that caused as many as ten rolling attempts on a few fingers. The sweet, elderly lady who helped me said that she thought it should be fine, but I have a gut feeling that they may be rejected farther up the line. Please pray that they will pass. I don't care if they actually pass on their own rough-looking merit or if it requires that someone up the chain has an off day and just sends it through. I'd be okay with that!

We were unable to have our documents apostilled last week, but have now received everything we need in order to do that tomorrow. It'll be nice to mark that off our to-do list.

The fundraising has started and is absolutely exhausting - by my own doing. We felt confirmation from the Lord early on in the process that He would provide the funds to bring our daughter home. As we have prepared for some of the fundraisers, wanting to be good stewards of our time and resources, I have found myself taking the role of God upon myself, as if I could ever accomplish what He can simply speak into existence! He has gently reminded me that He has called me to take on His burden, which is light and easy, and that I should simply cast my cares upon Him because He cares for me. What a wonderful, gracious God we serve!!!


Last year at Summer camp during visit from missionaries


Michael got to meet some folks this last week who are involved in orphan care ministry in our girl's country. He showed them a picture of our daughter and they recognized her and had good things to say! We've also made contact with a young lady who went on a short-term missions trip last summer and posted pictures of the camp they hosted for the orphans. Our girl was featured in a number of the pictures! This missionary told us that our girl stood out very strongly because she hadn't been hardened like most of the other orphans and that she was sweet and a good helper to the younger children with special needs. She also said that our girl stayed close to the missionaries during worship and would even sing and raise her hands. What a blessing to know that the Lord has been watching over and sheltering our girl all these years! He has seen her hurts and struggles. He was there when she was unloved by those who should have loved her the most. He has protected her heart from becoming cold and unfeeling. He has extended grace to her to be able to care for those less fortunate than she. "He was sent to console those who mourn, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified." What a beautiful Savior and Redeemer!!!



This Summer - so patient with the baby



We are so blessed...

...by all the wonderful people the Lord has put in our lives. Thank you all for your support, encouragement and help as we continue on this, at times, daunting adventure! Please continue to pray for us and for our girl. We have been strengthened because of your prayers! Many of you have been asking for an update, so here goes.

We received our approved homestudy packet a few weeks ago and submitted our USCIS papers (applications for our travel visas and asking permission to bring a child home with us). We have now been scheduled to get our FBI fingerprints done...and advised to ignore the appointment time given and just go in so that we might expedite the whole process. Please pray for us. We like to know what the rules are and to follow them closely. That brings us a sense of security. I feel like we're planning to rob a bank! Ok, it's not really that bad, but we are uncomfortable with confrontation. We'll probably have to get over that by the time we go overseas to fight to get our daughter! (Her country does not allow preselected adoption due to the high rate of human trafficking in that area. However, many children are successfully adopted after being hosted in the States thanks to the "gifts" given to government officials and caregivers.)

Once we get our approval from the US government, hopefully within a month, then we'll have all our papers apostilled (kind of like an internationally-accepted notary). Then, our packet (dossier) will be sent to our girl's country to be translated and submitted to their government for approval. If it gets accepted the first time, we could make the first of three trips in early December. We won't hold our breath. We'll just keep praying!

Lord, watch over our sweet girl.

Building our home...one Wall at a time

Hello dear friends! Many of you know that we hosted an orphan from Eastern Europe this summer. What you may not know is that we've begun the process of bringing her here to become a part of our family. While we're not super-clever, experienced bloggers, we hope you'll bear with us and follow along as we begin this journey to bring our daughter home.

We can post pictures from our hosting experience, but are not permitted to share her actual name & location. We'll refer to her as "A".



The Wall family: Michael, Julie, Ryan (5), Hannah (3), Jack (1) and soon-to-be-member "A" (13)