In process...

2 quick things to update about:

1.  We received our I-797C form from USCIS which states they are processing our I-600A (the I-600A allows us to proceed with petitioning for an orphan).  Wahoo!  We are now waiting on our biometric fingerprint appointment from them so we can move on to the next steps with immigration. We're praying we get appointments in the mail this week.

2.  As most of you know, I sell hair bows, bottle cap necklaces, etc through Pink, Pearl and Pigtails.  I have several bottle cap images to help towards our adoption and raise awareness.  

You can see samples below.  

If interested, you can private message me to place an order.  

Bows - $7

Necklaces - $5

Key Chains - $4

Either image can be put on any item.  

All proceeds go straight into our adoption account.   

Happy Fall!

John 14:18

John 14:18

"I will not leave you as orphans; 

I will come to you."

We had fall family pictures taken a few weeks ago... 

We can't wait until there is another sweet face in these pictures.

We can't wait until there is another small child to chase 

around while we're trying to take family pictures.  

We can't wait until that chair has a precious little boy sitting in it.

 

I-600A Filed = on to the next step of waiting

Home Study = check that off our list

 

Our Home Study came in the mail today so the kids and I loaded up in the car and got our I-600A paperwork to the UPS store immediately.

Some of you may ask "what does that mean?"  It means, now we wait some more. HA! HA!  We wait for our biometrics fingerprinting appointment in Cincinnati and then wait on the approval of our I-600A (this is an application that allows us to petition for an orphan).  This is typically taking about 6 weeks right now.  

On our way to drop off I-600A at the UPS store...

Crazy boy -  he was so excited that he kept turning his hat sideways like this.

Patience... 

this is something the Lord is already teaching 

me so much about through this adoption. 

I was not being patient as I stared at our mailbox for a few days waiting for our home study to arrive.  Yes, I even glanced at the mailbox on Sunday and I may have put the flag up on the mailbox yesterday and today (when there wasn't any mail in it to be picked up) so I knew exactly when the mail came in case I didn't hear the mail truck.  

I was in a bad mood when our home study didn't arrive Monday.  I had a small come-to-Jesus and had to work on my attitude when my daughter asked me why I was so mad.  Oops!  I spent Monday evening praying for patience and peace as we waited and also praying it would arrive in our mailbox on Tuesday.  

I had some good friends praying with us that it would come today and for us to have peace while we waited.  One sweet friend even prayed specifically that the home study would be right on top when I opened the mailbox today.  Wanna guess where it was?  Yep, right on top!  Kinda fun how God works!

I remember reading someone's post to another adoptive momma who was getting ready to travel to get their child.  She told the adoptive momma that she had "waited well in Him."  That stuck with me...  that's been my prayer from the day we filed our first piece of paperwork.  I want to "wait well in Him."  I have failed at this already but I have plenty of waiting ahead to turn this around.

Trying to wait well in Him 

(and meanwhile, praising Him that another step is done),

Kristen 

A little about the DRC and why God led us there

Here's a little history/fact lesson for anyone interested in learning 

a bit more about the Democratic Republic of Congo.

• You may recognize this country better by it's former name, Zaire.  It was Zaire until 1997 when they changed the name to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
• It borders 9 other countries in Africa:  Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia
• 2nd largest country in Africa (after Algeria)
• DRC is about one-forth the size of the USA.
• The capital is Kinshasa which is the 3rd largest city in Africa.  This is where we will be traveling to when we bring home our son.
• There are 78 people per square mile which means it is very thinly populated.  One-tenth of the country is uninhabited.
• VERY high humidity with tropical weather 
• They speak mostly French or Lingala.
• Life expectancy is 47.
• Around 59% of the population live on less than $1.25 a day.
• Ferries are a vital link because many roads are impassible.
• 80% of the worlds coltan reserves are in the DRC.  Coltan is required for production of mobile phones and laptops. 

Here are some startling facts about the DRC and why we felt drawn to this country.  These are not easy statistics to see and I must say, I thought some of them were gross exaggerations when I began researching. Regardless of how many "world fact sheets" I looked at, I couldn't escape the despair of this country - there is a crisis in the Congo and it makes me sad to think I had never heard about this country until we began the adoption journey.

• It is somewhere between the 1st and 4th poorest country in the world depending on where you look online.  It doesn't matter whether it's 1st or 4th - there's a HUGE need. 
• It is estimated that 15% of DRC's under-18 population are orphans which equals just over 5 million people.
• For every 1,000 children born in the DRC, 111 will not make it to their 1st birthday and 199 will not make it to their 5th birthday.
• 1 in 3 children have never entered a classroom.
• War and conflict have led to the death of 5.4 million people since 1998 which is the deadliest war since World War II.

One travel page said this about the DRC:  "No one in the world wants to visit this place."

Ummmm....  Quite frankly, I cannot wait to get to that country.  I know that I will have a precious child waiting for me when I get there but there is a part of me that cannot wait to experience life in the DRC.  I want to see the beauty of the country.  I want to walk the daily life.  I want to get to know the amazing people of this country.   Having lived in Albania for multiple summers, I know that hardships of countries make beautiful people.  There are beautiful things in this country of poverty and I can't wait to experience them.  

I cannot wait to make the orphan number of the DRC 5,000,000 minus 1.  We don't know what our child's story will be, but we can't wait as a family to love on our child.  We can't wait to show him what a family is, what love is, what safety and comfort in hugs feels like.  We can't wait to show him Jesus and share with him the awesome God who cared for him when we could not and the God who knew before time began exactly what our family picture would look like in 2013.  

“He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; 

he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor.”     

1 Samuel 2:8 

Praying God blessed the people of the DRC and hugs the orphans extra tight tonight.