AAAHHHpostille

From the front - Apostilled

From the back - AAAHHHHpostilled (this had been re-stapled)

Now, in defense of the very nice woman at the Department of State, she was very apologetic and I could have denied the document.  (She had accidentally stapled 2 separate docuemnts together and then seperated them).  Yet, I took the chance that it could "pass" and took it with me.  Our in-country helper gave it a 50-50 (which means I'll have it redone).

I am thankful that my workplace is less than 15 minutes from the Department of State, and the document involved was something we can print out ourselves (no 3rd party required).  So, this could have been a more dire situation...


Oh; the reason I had 64 documents apostilled was because we received something last Saturday:

Look Who's Been Found!!!

Way back on April 28th, I wrote a brief post entitled "Bittersweet"; oh, how bittersweet it is still looking over the pictures and stories of the many children we gave prayerful consideration over.

Well!  Look who I just saw on the Reece's Rainbow "My Family Found Me" page !!!!

For reasons only fully known to the Lord, Heidi has held a special place in my heart.  Oh, I pray that Heidi has been led to a God fearing, Christ loving, Gospel centered family!

I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven

One huge blessing I have received from the Lord (and I am sure my bride Stephanie would agree) during this adoption mission is the unity of The Church I have observed; the true unity that Jesus prays for as recorded in John 17. 

Some of these observations have been first-hand encounters (stories for later reflection); others have been observed through the journals of fellow brothers and sisters that have been and/or are on their own God-ordained adoption missions.   If you need some examples, just check out our blog list and/or go to the family pages on the Reece's Rainbow website.

As I read these journals, and meditate on the increasing reality of Stephanie's and my upcoming mission trip (Lord willing - C'Mon I-171H!), the following passage came to my mind; in part because it was preached on last week at our church home.

Luke 10

Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-Two

¹After this the Lord appointed seventy-two^[a] others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. ² And he said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. ³Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. ⁴ Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. ⁵Whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace be to this house!' ⁶And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you. ⁷And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house. ⁸Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. ⁹Heal the sick in it and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.' ¹⁰But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, ¹¹ 'Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.' ¹²I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.

Woe to Unrepentant Cities

¹³ "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. ¹⁴ But it will be more bearable in the judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. ¹⁵And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades.
¹⁶ "The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me."

The Return of the Seventy-Two

¹⁷ The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!" ¹⁸And he said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. ¹⁹Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. ²⁰ Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."

Jesus Rejoices in the Father’s Will

²¹ In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.^{[b] 22} All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."
²³Then turning to the disciples he said privately, "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! ²⁴For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it."


Oh, Abba Father!; thank you for the small glimpses you graciously give us into your character!  May they fill us with inexpressible Joy!  You truly have the words of Eternal Life!


John 5:22-24
²² The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, ²³that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. ²⁴Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

Amen and Amen!  Come quickly, Lord Jesus!

Soli Deo Gloria!

Update

I must confess that I'm not a very good "blogger".   The purpose of this blog is to chart our adoption journey, raise awareness about the orphan crisis, and become advocates for the children who still need families.  It is our ultimate desire to give God honor and glory through this process.  Thankfully, my husband has done a much better job than me.  In a way, I'm still resistant to modern day networking.  However, I'm hoping that will soon change.  Over the past months, I've witnessed some amazing things happen through blogs, face book, etc..  I'm realizing that God can and does use these avenues of communication in a positive sense as well. 

We are at the end of our paperwork collecting frenzy.  Thursday, I am picking up our final home study report, signed and notarized.  Also, I'm having two additional documents notarized.  The only thing left is the I-171H approval from USCIS (immigration).  We will have TWO, yes I said TWO, completed dossiers ready to be mailed when this arrives.  One for Kathleen, and one for Gayle.  They are in different orphanages/regions so two separate dossiers are needed.  More than 60 documents I believe. 

The final information needed for immigration approval was mine and Corey's fingerprints.  Yesterday, we traveled about 45 minutes to the INS facility to have this completed.  We were in and out in about 20 minutes.  I learned about a week and a half ago that we've already been assigned an officer, and she is very nice.  I'm sure by next week I'll be stalking our mailman as he approaches our block for that "golden ticket" approval notice.  Praise God for the smooth process so far.

I already love them so much.  I'm hoping and praying that they are indeed available to be adopted.  

Will We Protect the Little Ones?

This is a re-post of this post on the Desiring God ministry blog (thanks, Rebekah!)

Consider the following about babies with Down syndrome:

• Of women who choose to have prenatal testing, approximately 90% of those who discover their child has Down syndrome choose to abort.
• Two companies are racing to provide new prenatal diagnostic tests that could detect Down syndrome as early as the ninth week of pregnancy, without the dangers of current tests.
• The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists expanded the clinical standard of care to include giving all women regardless of age the opportunity for Down syndrome screening.
• We are already seeing a decline in the number of children with Down syndrome being born.
• Women routinely report that doctors paint a negative, inaccurate picture of the quality of lives of children with Down syndrome and their families.

Our Culture Is Against Them

Prenatal tests are not the problem. The problem is the bias of our culture against the lives of little ones born with Down syndrome. Our culture does not think that these littles ones should be given the opportunity to live.
And there is no neutral ground on this issue: you are either doing something to protect the lives of unborn babies with disabilities or you are letting the culture pressure parents about what they "should do."

You Can Help

Developing programs is helpful, but it does not need to be complicated to get started. You can begin by consistently affirming that God is in control and every life matters. Just last week a dad stood up in a seminar and told the group that it was the strong pro-life message of his church that gave him the conviction needed to welcome his unborn child with Down syndrome into his family.
Earlier this year I met a young couple who, radiating the love of Jesus, told us the story of how their small church — less than 100 people — surrounded them with prayer and love and persistent presence when their baby girl with Down syndrome was born.
Church, please, trust God and pursue the good of these little ones, for his glory and for your good. Soak in God’s word and embrace his sovereignty over all things before the challenge comes:

• He knits little babies with genetic anomalies together (Psalm 139:13-16).
• He will never leave us or forsake us; “The Lord is my helper” (Hebrews 13:5-6).
• He will supply every need (Philippians 4:19).
• He is “righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works” (Psalm 145:17).
• He is purposeful in hard things like disability, and that purpose is glorious: For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal (2 Corinthians 4:17-18).

Resources

For how to talk about disability, abortion, and the sovereignty of God, I recommend Pastor John's sermon, Born Blind for the Glory of God. For an example of how this issue is woven into other topics, see the blog post, The Inevitability of “Gendercide” and Its Other Deadly Effects.

The Greatest Gift For Our Daughters

Matthew 7:7-11 - Ask, and It Will Be Given

 ⁷ "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ⁸For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. ⁹Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? ¹¹If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!


When I look at the pictures Stephanie and I have of Kathleen and Gayle, a plethora of thoughts cross my mind; including thoughts about all of the "gifts" we hope to provide them.  The list of gifts, which include things that we take for granted living in this culture, seems endless...

Yet, there is one gift that I absolutely cannot wait to share with my, Lord willing, young daughters.  This gift is, simply put, priceless and eternal...

What is it?  It is being able to sit with them and share the absolute truth that is found in this book:

2 Timothy 3:12-17

¹²Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, ¹³while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. ¹⁴But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it ¹⁵and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶ All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, ¹⁷that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.