Good News...and Waiting

I know we've been pretty silent on this blog the last couple of weeks. There was some talk about adoptions jeopardized because of things that were said on blogs and so many adoption blogs went private. We were in "reflection" mode, so it was a good time to be silent.

Since I last blogged, we've mailed our I600a to Immigrations and received our fingerprinting appointment for May 11. Don't know how long it will take to get approval after the appointment. Some states are coming through in a week or two, some seem to take much longer. Have no idea how PA will be.

We've also received a referral of a little girl - YEAH!!! She's seven and a half months old. We're cautiously optimistic as we have no other information (no photo, medical info, etc.). I've been waiting to post until we had more information, but it's been slow coming. With each day, we wonder whether or not this is real. Is the information we need to bring this little girl into our family really going to come? I'm assured it is, so we continue to wait - checking email every ten - well, maybe every five - minutes...How do people survive without their Blackberry phones?

One of my new friends has encouraged me to just rest....to rest in Christ and find full joy in His presence. So hard to do! Today's a new day, so I'm going to keep trying. I'm going to use this waiting time to do the "important things".

Just got back from a walk and I already have a perfect song "stuck in my head" for the day.

While I'm Waiting by John Waller

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am hopeful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it is painful
But patiently, I will wait

I will move ahead, bold and confident
Taking every step in obedience
While I'm waiting
I will serve You
While I'm waiting
I will worship
While I'm waiting
I will not faint
I'll be running the race
Even while I wait

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am peaceful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it's not easy
But faithfully, I will wait
Yes, I will wait
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve you while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting on You, Lord

Happy Friday to you all!

Last Chance

If you would like to continue following this blog and you haven't received an invitation, please email me at hopeandgeorge@verizon.net within the next 24 hours and I will send you an invitation. Beginning tomorrow, this blog will be private. Thanks!

Going Private

Due to the volatility of International adoption, we have decided to make this blog private. We hate to do this because we really wanted this blog to be available to anyone interested in adoption. We wanted to use it as a tool to keep our friends and family up to date and also to educate people about International adoption and the process. To follow our blog privately, please click on the follow button. You will need to create a google account. You can do that by using ANY email address. It does not have to be a google address. This blog will be going private in the next week, so please join quickly. If you miss the "deadline", please FB or email us and we will send you an invitation to join at any point in the future. Thanks!

While We Wait

Here we go – it’s easy to say that God’s timing is perfect, but believing it is not always so easy. It turns out there was a tiny - and I mean TINY error (a typo on a 5-digit license# out of pages and pages of information and supporting documents) on our home study. Because of that number transposition, we are now waiting to have that one page corrected, resigned, re-notarized, etc. before we can mail our paperwork to Immigrations.

So, while we've been waiting on our home study, we have continued to educate ourselves about the Congo. I have to be honest - the more we learn, the harder it is to be at peace with the waiting.


Some quick statistics from various sources:


-The infant mortality rate is more than 8/100.


-4/10 children don't live to see their first birthdays because of the lack of safe drinking water, malaria, and other issues.


-1/5 children dies before their fifth birthday.


-There are 5 million orphans in the DRC.


-Some say that the DRC is the poorest African country.


-Some adoptive parents have experienced first hand the devastation and poverty in Congo. We’ve read of adoptive parents who have had their child pass away before they could bring him/her home (can’t imagine that one).


The statistics are daunting. We wonder how much difference our family can make. We’re just your average American family.

Leave it to a nine year old to put that one in perspective. I was talking about how there are so many orphans in Congo and Hallie (who refers to herself as the “ninester” since she’s nine years old) said, "Yes, but we're going to save one, Mommy. There's going to be one less. One orphan is going to have a forever family!" We've heard many adoptive parents say the same thing, but coming from the mouth of a child made me realize that “5 million orphans minus one” is not a cliché. It is a reality. There may be 5 million orphans in the Congo, but when our child comes home, there will be 5 million minus one!

Thank you for supporting us in this journey.