We are heading across the Ocean (or at least our dossier is)
The last
few weeks have continued to hold some uncertainty for our little family as we
have been faced with the challenging news out of Ethiopia that they may not
continue to be open to international adoption.
Ben and
I, along with our family and many of you have been praying and asking for the
orphans in Ethiopia, as well as orphans all over the world and also for the
Ethiopian government, as they make a
very challenging decision.
Through
it all, since we sent our dossier to Virginia on December 24th, the
Lord has reminded me of many BIG truths:
* He is
in Control; even over governments and ruling bodies of authority who hold such
power:
Romans 13:1
There is no authority except from God, and those that exist have
been instituted by God.
*He
LOVES those in need and those who are orphans and fatherless more than my
little mind can ever fathom or understand:
Psalm 68:5
Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his
holy habitation
*He is a
God who Sees and Hears and is In all things and Above all things and Through
all things.
1 Colossians 1:16-17
For in Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth,
visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all
things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things and in
Him all things hold together.
So we
have been holding fast to these Truths and have felt His peace over our lives
at a time that could have been rather Unpeaceful J
He is a
God who loves. One of my favorite things about the Lord, is when I take the
time to really listen to Him, the first words that I hear are most often “Erin,
I love you.”
It is to
this God, who gave His son Jesus to die for me when he had done nothing wrong
and deserved none of it (another way that He clearly says “ I love you”) who Ben
and I rest our Hope and our Life
on.
He is
Faithful. He doesn’t always give us what we want, but as a loving Father, He
gives us what we need. Today held one of
those times, He is giving us what we need and want J
( Insert Happy Dance here)
With
this news in hand, and after talking to our agency representative, we are
sending our dossier across the ocean J (Insert 2nd Happy Dance here )
First,
it will go through another check by our agency, since it has been in their
hands since December, they want to make sure all of the I ‘s are dotted and T’s
are crossed. They will then send it to the Department of State and then to the Ethiopian
embassy here in the USA, who will then certify it and authenticate it before
going to Ethiopia.
If all
goes as planned, our official DTE (DOSSIER TO ETHIOPIA) will be February 14th,
2014. The official day of LOVE. J It made my heart again stop and praise Him who
holds it ALL.
We are
certain that the future will hold many more character building moments as we
wait for Zoey to come home but we know that God is good and that He is holding
us in His hands and I am learning that though that is not always the easiest
place to be, we are most FULLLY ALIVE when we Live in Him. I don’t want to be
anywhere else.
Please
continue to pray with us:
1. For the orphans in Ethiopia who are
waiting and hoping for forever families and for orphans all over the world
2. For the government of Ethiopia as
they move forward in implementing changes as they see fit
3. For our family and all the families waiting . Patience is oh.so.hard
at times. At this time they are telling us to still expect 30-36 months from
our DTE till we are holding her in our arms. That is not an easy sentence for
this momma to swallow, but again, we are
praying for God’s timing. He is God and I rest there.
We can’t
wait for Zoey to join our family full of people who will love her like crazy!
 |
 |
| Grandma Jeanne and her boys |
 |
| Short Family Christmas Only missing David |
 |
| Aunt Emily and the boys with Grammie |
 |
| Grammie and Grandpa Allred with their boys |
No comments:
Post a Comment