Miracle Needed: $7000 in 4 Days!!!!

Look at that smile!!  Isn't she yummy:)

If this is your first time visiting our blog, let me introduce myself.  I'm Jenn and my husband is Warren.  We are blessed to be the parents of four wonderful children ranging in ages from 12 to 4mos.  Right now we are on the last leg of our adoption journey to our littlest, who is currently in Taiwan awaiting our arrival.  

In June we received a call asking if we would consider praying about adopting a soon to arrive baby girl.  After praying about it, we clearly heard the Lord say that yes, she was our daughter!!!  This is the post that tells all about it.  We have a friend who is a missionary in Taiwan who runs a Crisis Pregnancy Center.  Along with many other ministries, including teaching abstinence education in the public schools, she is also licensed to facilitate adoptions in the country of Taiwan, and that is how we found our precious little angel.

Last night our missionary friend sent us an email, notifying us that we needed to be in Taiwan by the 5th.  Our oldest son Caleb will be going with us.  Back in June when we announced that we were going to adopt again, he came to us and said, "I was just praying, and I think I'm supposed to go with you."  We told him that he would have to pay his own way because we weren't even sure how we were going to do this ourselves.  He has worked hard on side-jobs, and many friends have hosted fundraisers to help him get all the money he needs. He now has all he needs including paying for his own passport:O)  It's so cute...he's very proud of himself.  Read here about one of his miracles!!

This past week we were given three buddy passes(airline tickets given to employees of said airline).  Each ticket will only be a fraction of the cost of a full ticket.  We're talking around $630 a piece, round trip!!  Just so you know, yes.....we did a little dance!!  And a lot of shouting!!  What an incredible blessing, given by perfect strangers out of the kindness of their hearts.  God is sooo Good!!!

So here we are...in the final week of our adoption waiting journey.  It's December 27th and we have four days to raise the last $7000!!!  We are floored and more than a little freaked out!  God has provided over and over for us during this journey(click on the link to read two separate stories of His faithfulness and miraculous provision).  Two thousand of that total is the rest of our agency fees, and everything after that is for our plane tickets, travel, hotel, etc.  We are in the homestretch.  We believe that God has had a plan all along.  The evidence proves it.  We wouldn't even be here right now if it wasn't His plan.  His faithfulness humbles us.  Each time we pray together we are overwhelmed at His goodness towards our family.   A precious treasure, a gift...our Mia.  It brings me to tears each time I'm reminded of His love for the orphan.  He sets the Lonely in families....and our family can't wait to have her in our arms forever!!  

It has been obvious throughout this journey that this is in God's hands. If you feel God leading you to help us bring Mia home, there is a paypal link at the top of this page on the right hand side.  All funds will go straight to our adoption account and will be applied directly to the rest of our agency fees and our travel fund.

We are thrilled beyond belief, while still standing here shaking in our boots.  We truly are blessed to receive this newest treasure in our family and absolutely CAN NOT wait to meet her.  Thank you all for your prayers and support throughout our journey.  We truly couldn't have made it this far without them.  We are so excited to introduce you to our precious girl!!!!!

Lots of Love,
Warren and Jenn

   

Merry Christmas!!!

From our house to yours....May your Christmas Day be full of Joy!!!  And may the year to come be blessed with many surprises for your family. 

This past year for our family has been filled with many blessings and surprises.  We look forward to bringing our precious Mia home in a few weeks, and can't wait to see what else is in store for our family throughout the year.

God Bless You All!!!  Merry Christmas!!! 

 

The Details...

A sweet friend made this using Mia's little foot.  I love it!

Ok, so here it is...the line-up.  The last of it.  The details.  In response to many requests, I'm putting it all out here on my blog.  Everyone is asking what we need in order to get our Mia.  This includes the layout of what has to happen logistically, and what has to happen miraculously.

In case you are wondering what's up, in my last post I announced that on December 16th, Mia was officially and legally declared our daughter!!  So this is my response to everyone's requests of "what next" and "what do you still need?"
   
This is what happens logistically...in order, as best we know it...

• Our Coordinator in Taiwan will take Mia for her immigration physical this coming week.
• Our paperwork is in translation this week, including our final decree from the judge
• Our paperwork will then be sent to the AIT(American Institute in Taiwan, like an embassy) office.  Hopefully it will be there before the end of this week.
• Once this paperwork has arrived, we will send an email asking for an appointment to get Mia's visa(they only issue visa's on Tues, Wed, Thurs of each week.  They will be closed for Chinese New Year which begins on January 22, and often lasts for two weeks.  It's imperative that we go pick up Mia and get back before then.)
• Once we have an appointment we will make plans to travel about 7 days before the appointment

This is what needs to happen miraculously...in order, as best we know it... ;-)

• By this Friday December 23rd, we need to send in the last $2000 to finish paying for our agency fees.  We have $3400 and are waiting to add the last little bit before Mia comes home.
• Plane tickets($3500ish)
• visa for Mia ($400)
• Lodging for 7-10 days(estimated $1000-$1500ish, hopefully less.  We'll get a better estimate once we get our travel dates.)
• Living expenses for the time there(?)
• In-country plane tickets for Taiwan(estimated $450-$500 total)

So there it is...lots of details need to come together in order for us to get to Mia before the middle of January.  If you would like to help bring Mia home, you can message me here or on my facebook page.  I also have a paypal link for donations in the upper right sidebar of this page if you'd like to go that route. 
  
But, more than finances, we need your prayers.  There is no doubt in our minds that God is bringing this all together.  He has made it very obvious.  We know and believe that He is our provider and will continue to provide in every way that we need in order to bring our precious Mia home.  And prayer is the foundation of all of this.  Truly, without everyone's prayers, we couldn't have made it this far.  And we need lots of prayer as we wait to get an AIT appointment.  If we don't get one before Chinese New Year, we won't be able to travel until mid-February.  Your prayers have sustained us on each and every leg of this journey.   As you have witnessed these past few months, God is in the business of adoption.  He has provided for our family all along the way.  We are humbled and so very grateful to Him and to all of you who have responded to His prompting to help bring Mia home. 

You know, the stories that are piling up surrounding this adoption are mind-blowing for me.  I've read about other families seeing God work major miracles for them as they adopt their children.  And honestly, He came through in some major ways for us in Kazakhstan.  But we had most of our funds for Alea's adoption, and didn't have to depend on Him like we've had to for Mia's adoption.  We started out with nothing.  We just said yes, and we will trust you God.  And look what He has done.  I'm blown away that this story even includes me.  And I am humbled...The creator of the Universe has become intimately involved in our family as He has placed this precious treasure in our arms.

Jeremiah 29:11-13 just speaks of His heart for His children...
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."  My heart is overwhelmed at His grace, and I am so thankful for His love.  
  
Thank you for all of your prayers and well-wishes as you have followed our journey.  I can't wait to share the next miracle story with you.  I have a back-log of stories that have gotten us to this point.  And you should hear all of the things happening for Caleb as he works to go with us to Taiwan...God is so Good!!!

Lots of Love,
Jenn

Yipee Jesus!!!!

Soon her bed in Taiwan will be empty forever and she will be in our arms!

She's ours...officially and legally forever our daughter!!!!  Papers in Taiwan were officially signed on December 16th, 2011.

Mia has been our daughter in our hearts ever since we were matched with her in June.  The judge's signature just made it so in everyone else's minds.

Scroll down to read all of the recent posts of God's miracles for our family!  He is, as my friend Linny over at A Place Called Simplicity says, "A Miracle-working, Mountain-moving, Awe-inspiring, Gasp-giving God!!  

Celebrate with us!!!

Lots of love,
Jenn

PS, still no pictures until we have her forever in our arms:O)  Hang in there, it won't be much longer.

Walking on water...or not.

A few days ago I got this picture in my head of Warren and I as we are walking out this faith walk in adopting Mia.  Here it is:

We're not exactly walking on water.  It's more like hanging on for dear life, while our mouth, eyes and nose fill with water that is hurtling at us at great speeds.

Jesus called Peter to walk on the water with Him.  When Peter stepped out and kept his eyes on Christ he was able to stay on top of the water.  It was when he took his eyes off of Jesus and looked at the waves crashing around him that he began to sink.

God has asked us to step out in faith and trust Him.  Honestly, we have been looking at every one of our circumstances and it has caused our hearts to sink.  We ARE that picture above.  We have been struggling just to keep our heads above water.  In my prayer times a lot lately God has been showing me that we need to remember who He is and all of the things He has done for us in the past.  It has helped me to blog about it and remember.  It cements it more in my heart when I write it out, and it renews my faith.

We have a lot of things that need to happen before we can get our Mia.  It looks like we could be traveling by the end of the year.  That is what is so overwhelming.  We're not sure how we are going to do that. 

BUT GOD...

This is His deal.  He called us to it, and we believe that He is going to take care of it.  We are making every effort to keep our focus on Him.  It's exhausting trying to keep our heads above water.  Jesus doesn't ask us to do that.  He only asks us to keep our eyes fixed on Him...and then we can walk on water.   

Please pray with us as we prepare to bring our precious gift home.   

Lots of Love,
Jenn

The Next Answer to Prayer...

Some of you may know that our son Caleb has been working to save up his money to go to Taiwan with us.  He has cleaned out gutters, picked fruit, weeded gardens, weed-eated yards, mowed, pulled scotch broom, sold cookies, sold brownies, made a lemonade stand, and baby sat during our women's bible study's.  Some of his friends have made lemonade stands for him and gave him the money they earned.  Another of his friends prayed and asked God what they could do, then decided to donate some of their hard-earned money to him.  As you can see, he's been trying to make a way to get there with us.  We really want him to go and when we initially announced that we were adopting again his face lit up.  This is the child that's going to give me lots of grandbabies:O)  He loves little kids, especially babies.

A few days after we mentioned we were going to adopt again, he came to us and told us that he had been praying and believed that he was supposed to go with us.  We told him that he would have to pay for his plane ticket because we were going to be walking in faith for our own.  That's what led him to all of his side-jobs above.  He has really enjoyed showing people his money jar as the number continues to grow.  He had to dip in to it to pay for his passport, but it has made him all the more proud that he is paying for himself.

Today, a sweet friend of mine asked if they could come over and drop something off.  When they got here, her son J handed us an envelope with money in it.  A couple of months ago her son got the Samaritan's Purse catalog and decided that he wanted to raise money to buy a water buffalo for a family in a third-world country.  They cost $400.  My friend cuts hair and advertised that she would do haircuts and all the proceeds would go to buying a water buffalo.  The money added up quickly and they soon had that plus more.  As she prayed she felt the Lord leading them to give us the rest of the money.  She told her son J that Caleb was trying to get enough money to go to Taiwan with us and J decided that he wanted to help him get there.  This little man of hers is 7 years old.  Isn't he precious!!!!!  I love seeing little ones reach out and give, and it was all the more special because it was a direct answer to Caleb's prayer.  Caleb reached in the envelope and pulled out $320!!!  What a precious gift!!!  He was just floored.  Not only did J get his desire fulfilled of helping a family get a water buffalo, God blessed him above and beyond his initial request.  God likes to do those kinds of things:O)  J's prayers were answered, Caleb's prayers were answered, and someone who needs a buffalo will have their prayers answered.  All because of one little boy and his desire to bless others!  I LOVE his heart!!!

As a matter of fact, it was an answer to my prayers also.  I was just talking to God yesterday about Caleb and wondering how we were going to be able to make a way for him to go.  Especially since we still don't know how we are going to get there.  But God already had a plan for Caleb and He has a plan for us.

So now Caleb has around $500.  If you or anyone you know would like some odd jobs done around the house, Caleb is your young man:O)  He really wants to go, and today was just a beautiful confirmation that God wants him to go too.

Lots of Love,
Jenn

Remembering....

Ok, so it has been over a month since I last posted.  I have a really good excuse...and it has a lot to do with our home study and getting our USCIS approval.  There were some major issues that were keeping us from getting our approval, and lets just say that my stress levels were off the charts.  I can't go into details at all on here, but I want you to know that your prayers were the only thing that got us through that time.  The beauty and the end of that story is that we got our approval on Saturday, and the pain of that time is now behind us.

So now on to bigger and better things!!  I just got the cutest picture of Mia last Tuesday.  While I can't show you her little face, I can show you her belly!!

Seriously, Don't you just want to blow raspberries:O)  I love baby bellies!!

Many have asked where we are in the process right now.  We are coming down to the wire.  It looks like Mia will become legally ours by the end of this year.  We are just waiting for our final decree.  This decree states that Mia is legally our daughter.  The waiting period should end by the week of Dec 11th, if it goes the way other families have gone before us.  We're praying it happens before then, but with that comes some other obstacles to overcome.  I'll save that story for another day. 

Here's our next adoption miracle story.  Sit back, relax and enjoy.  I know I did.

It was October 15th.  Just another ordinary Saturday with piles of laundry to be washed and folded, and toilets to scrub.  Warren was recovering from his 7th knee surgery(yes, you read right-7).  The kids were begging to play video games, and I was insisting that they do their chores.  See, it was an ordinary Saturday. 

Anyway, I received a phone call from a precious friend that lives quite a ways away from here.  She asked if she could get a tax-deductible donation for donating to our adoption fund.  After making a few phone calls and emails I found out the answer was yes.  It's a win-win situation for all of us.  She gets help with her taxes and gets a new niece, Mia gets a family.  See, win-win.  I called her back and we chatted and laughed for a while.  I always laugh when I chat with her.  She absolutely cracks me up with her dry sense of humor.  You know the friends that you can completely be yourself with?  The kind that make you feel loved no matter what; well she is that friend. 

The next morning I woke up and immediately checked my email for pictures of Mia.  I'm a bit obsessed with seeing my child.  No pictures but an email from my friend with the scanned copy of a check that she sent to our agency to help us with our fees.  I would like to state that I had no expectation of what the amount would be.  This friend had already given to our family for Mia.  The call alone shocked me, but what was written on the check left me undone.  I just started bawling.  It was written for $4,670.  Yep, you read that right.  I bet you're shocked too.

You see, it was Sunday morning the 16th.  Mia's first court date was happening on the 20th.  We needed to have $5050 turned in to our agency within a week of our court date.  We only had $500 to our name at that point.  We had already paid all we had for the first chunk of fees, and were honestly stressing out about where we would find the next bit of money.  My friend had no knowledge of when these fees were due.  Combined with what we had in our savings, this was more than enough.

God came through once again.  He promises to provide for His children, and He did.  He loves us, and He loves Mia, and He loves my friend.  If I've learned something from adoption it is this:  Love multiplies when you step out and bring an orphan in to your home.  They forever lose the title orphan, and their new names become chosen, loved, cherished and treasure.  No longer are they without family.  They have forever families and extended families who will forever love them.  People are encouraged, others step out and adopt their own child, but everyone who is near to that child is touched by their life.  

Isn't God amazing?!  He's never late, not one single moment.  I write this to remind myself of His faithfulness.  I've been struggling and trying to remember that He has it under control.  He tells us to look back and remember His faithfulness to us, so this is my attempt at remembering.  I'm encouraged now, and I hope you are too.

Lots of Love,
Jenn