The last couple of weeks have just been amazing. God has been working in some big ways. Moving mountains and providing the way. Our fundraiser will close out on Nov. 30th...so watch for winners to be posted on Dec. 1st. There's still time to enter to win! =) Thank you to all who have either donated, or been an encouragement along the way..even today at MOPS some of the gals I've met through MOPS handed me bags with donations for the orphanage and gifts to keep Adriana busy on the flights and time in the apartment....wow....just thankful. God is
so amazing, isn't He?!
We have been
overwhelmed throughout this whole adoption journey of family and friends and their support, encouragement and continuous prayer. I have come to know total strangers (whom I can only pray we'll meet someday soon) to be good friends...Kim, Stephanie, Lisandra, Anna, Carol....As I dialed Stephanie's number tonight to get a little more information on the process that she's already been through as far as getting our immigration approval wired to Ecuador...I just sat in awe of what God has given us. To be able to call a complete stranger and talk...for almost half of an hour about our adoption journey...and our journey with Christ...I mean really...how cool is that?!
Another absolute amazing thing that has helped me along this journey is the author Ann Voskamp who wrote 1000 gifts..just returned from Ecuador after traveling with Compassion International. No, she wasn't in the orphanages, but she was there...she was with the children who needed Christ...who needed to know the love of Christ and the feeling of just being loved...just so cool to be able to follow her and the teams journey as they traveled the country of Ecuador loving on others as Christ loves us.
Last Wednesday, the group
Dando Amor...who was the group that traveled back in March, who originally "introduced" us to Adriana traveled back to Ecuador to work in and raise money for the orphanages for the third time this year. So we have had another look into the orphanages and I am praying that they might give us a little more insight to our dear sweet Adriana...does she like our book we sent? what about her birthday shirt and doll? Maybe they won't or can't share that information...but if God thinks we need to hear it...pretty sure He'll make it happen.
So when do we travel? Good question!
Tentatively and I mean
TENTATIVELY we are planning to travel out Dec. 17th. I spoke to our immigration officer today and he finally has our file...seriously, I think it is carried by snails from Texas to Missouri....he said he should be able to get it approved tomorrow provided there are no issues...once we have USCIS approval for Adriana then that gets wired to the visa consulate office in Ecuador and at that time we get travel approval....so yes, provided all goes well, without incident, we are still slated to fly out of Chicago on the 17th.
My friend Stephanie..whom I've yet to meet...was slated and even had tickets purchased for travel on Nov. 20th, only to find out her daughters picture was rejected at the visa office due to her eyes being closed...and they now won't leave until after Thanksgiving. =( So yes, issues can happen when it comes to international adoption...I won't guarantee we leave on the 17th until our plane has left the airport. =)
So we have about a month to prepare, pack, clean, etc...so thankful for friends (Amy and Ty) who are going to keep our house and dogs warms and safe by staying here to take care of things for us...hopefully Ty doesn't have to scoop too much snow. =)
Addie can't go with us due to her heart defect and our cardiologist won't clear her to go into high altitudes..Cuenca is in the mountains...so she is staying in IL with my parents and will also get to spend some time with Zac's folks as well over the holidays...so thankful for our family to do this for us...we are confident she'll be well taken care of. We'll be utilizing skype and facetime as much as possible. So thankful for technology!
Lastly, I thought I'd share another pic of our daughter, Adriana Erin, the name Zac has chosen for his second daughter. So blessed.
photo courtesy of Tiffanie Lloyd Photography
