Adoption Update!

So it is about past time that I update you all on our adoption. What can I say, things are busy! Last month we received our first wait list number from Lifeline #115.

On that same day we got an email from our agency letting us know of a new opportunity for families adopting from Ethiopia. Our agency is now partnering with 2 different agencies in Ethiopia. The catch was that to change agencies we would have to submit a new Dossier (our whole packet of paper work, official and notarized copies of lots of documents) and the agency fees would increase. Rainer and I decided to pray about which agency we needed to be with. The agencies work with different orphanages in different regions of Ethiopia, so we wanted to be sure that God was leading us to the right Agency, thus the right orphanage, just to our special baby girl. That same day we got our #115 wait list number we were together in New York..we asked God for a sign about which agency to partner with. The one we were asking about partnering with is named Dove. Literally moments later as we walked in our favorite New York Neighborhood we looked up to see a white DOVE circling above us. Doves bring peace! When we got home and went to sleep Bitty awoke me the next morning with a gift. She had chosen a very special gift from one of Margaret's flower arrangements...it was a white dove with pearls on its beak. I asked her what it was and she said "Its a Dove carrying pearl to us!".

So we took that as a major sign! That same day we discovered a Dove's nest in our backyard and a family of 5 Doves :) SO, we were thankful for the sign(s) and decided to move forward with changing to Dove as our placing agency in Ethiopia. God has given us so many gifts along this journey to our girl. When Margaret, whom we are so honored to name our baby after, passed away we felt like God told us that Margaret and our girl would meet in the heavens and that Margaret had specific gifts and strength about her that she would pass along to our girl. So it was a really sweet gift that our "Dove" sign, our peace, would come from a bouquet of flowers from the passing of Margaret. God's heart for us is in the details, and we are grateful and receiving. In the past weeks since then we (Mostly Rainer) has been working to comprise a new Dossier and re-issue all our paperwork to change over. We officially sent our new dossier to Dove in Oregon this week!! From there it will travel to D.C. then to Ethiopia. Currently in Ethiopia the courts are closed for the rainy season. Which is also a gift to us, as we are not "loosing any ground"...no numbers are moving, or referrals given in this time of transition for us. The exciting news is mostly that we feel a peace and a joy surrounding the decision to change placing agencies, and that God is amidst the details in our where our baby is coming from. So, we are not exactly sure how that changes our time frame. But we are hopeful and expectant of what God has in store. Once the courts reopen in October and we get our official waiting list number we will know more. We just wanted to keep you all posted and share our victory! I heard of a fun way to count down our waiting numbers. Each month we get our number I'll be reading over the Psalm correlating with the number and find new promises along the way. Psalm 115 Not for our sake, God, no, not for our sake, but for your name’s sake, show your glory. Do it on account of your merciful love, do it on account of your faithful ways. Do it so none of the nations can say, “Where now, oh where is their God?” Our God is in heaven doing whatever he wants to do. Their gods are metal and wood, handmade in a basement shop: Carved mouths that can’t talk, painted eyes that can’t see, Tin ears that can’t hear, molded noses that can’t smell, Hands that can’t grasp, feet that can’t walk or run, throats that never utter a sound. Those who make them have become just like them, have become just like the gods they trust. But you, Israel: put your trust in God! —trust your Helper! trust your Ruler! Clan of Aaron, trust in God! —trust your Helper! trust your Ruler! You who fear God, trust in God! —trust your Helper! trust your Ruler! O God, remember us and bless us, bless the families of Israel and Aaron. And let God bless all who fear God— bless the small, bless the great. Oh, let God enlarge your families— giving growth to you, growth to your children. May you be blessed by God, by God, who made heaven and earth. The heaven of heavens is for God, but he put us in charge of the earth. Dead people can’t praise God— not a word to be heard from those buried in the ground. But we bless God, oh yes— we bless him now, we bless him always! Hallelujah!