Where God Guides, He Provides...

We got an email on Friday from Trudy at Hand in Hand Christian Adoption with the final numbers on our matching grant. We will be receiving $12,950 toward our adoption! We had no idea we would receive SO much! We are amazed at the Lord's provision and overwhelmed by the generosity of those who donated!

Austin and I spent some time on Sunday afternoon crunching numbers, and with the money received from the grant and the garage sale plus the adoption tax credit we'll get back after the adoption is complete (~$13,000), we have a little over $6,500 left to pay in estimated fees! Isn't God so good?! In less than 6 months He has provided over $23,000 through various means to pay for our adoption!

When the Lord called us to adopt, the financial aspect of adoption (our total costs are estimated to be about $50,000) was one of the scariest things for us. Even though we knew the stories of how God has provided for His children from the very beginning, we were still afraid. But we stepped out in faith and proceeded through the adoption process even though we didn't know how it would all work out financially. The Lord has provided for us every single step of the way and mostly in ways we would have never imagined and through people we didn't expect. Seeing the Lord take care of our needs in His way has been one of the most amazing experiences for us and has grown our faith in Him so much more. It makes us wonder why didn't we just trust Him from the beginning?

1 John 5:14-15 says, "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him."

We know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Lord has called us to adopt, and seeing Him at work in our adoption process each step of the way just reaffirms that we are doing exactly what He has called us to do and that He is completely in control.

Lord, as we continue to wait on Your timing for us to meet our daughter and to bring her home to us, help us not forget how You've provided for our needs so far. Let us set them as "stones of remembrance" in our hearts and mind. Help us to remember that You will continue to give us exactly what we need along the way. Thank you for Your faithfulness, Father!

Garage Sale Results!!!

The Lord once again provided for us beyond our wildest imagination at our garage sale this past weekend! After 3 days and over 25 families donating items, we raised $2,370.11. WOW! 

Thank you to our family and friends who gave us their stuff for us to sell. We appreciate each of you and your willingness to give your things for our sale. What a blessing you are to us! And thanks to everyone who came out in support of our sale. It means so much to us to see how many people are so excited to help us bring our little girl home!

Now, some pictures for you to enjoy... 

Before Pictures...

And After Pictures (there was hardly anything left!)...

Thank You, Lord, for the good weather, our generous family/friends who donated their stuff for us to sell, and all of the people who came out and bought stuff, often giving us more for it than what we asked. Thank You for Your provision! 

Waiting and Waiting and Waiting

One month has passed since we submitted the last piece of our paperwork. One LONG month. Not too long ago there was a sign at a church that I pass by on the way home. It said Being Patient is Trusting God's Timing. I'm grateful for such a reminder...the Lord knows how much I need that reminder on a daily basis!

This waiting stage of this adoption process is HARD. Other adoptive families warned me that it would be, but I really thought I would be okay with the wait. After all, having a nearly 14 month old certainly keeps me busy! But even with our busy days, I long to know who my daughter is and know that she is on her way home to us. I find myself daydreaming about what she looks like and what type of personality she'll have. I think about what I will feel the first time I see her sweet little face in a photo and then how I'll react when I hold her for the first time in Moldova. There are days that I feel like I'm going crazy as we wait for THE CALL. We really have no indication of when we might hear something...whether it's next week, next month, or 6+ months from now.

Last night at Bible study I was reminded of Isaiah 55:8-9, which says, "'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' declares the Lord. 'As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.'" What a wonderful reminder to me that the Lord is orchestrating our whole adoption journey to bring our daughter home to us in HIS perfect timing! He is in control of every detail and knows exactly the right time for us to receive THE CALL so that we can travel to bring her home.  So even when I don't feel like we have control of anything in this process, HE DOES. And He is working out all things for our good (Romans 8:28).  

Please pray that we will get THE CALL soon. Pray that we will trust the Lord's timing and lean not on our own understanding. Pray that in all of this the Lord is glorified. And please, please continue to pray for our little girl...for her health, safety, and extra love from her caretakers until we can go get her and bring her home. We're asking the Lord for a miracle...we're asking Him to bring her home before Christmas. It's a little crazy, but we know that with God ALL things are possible!

Adoption Benefit Garage Sale...ROUND 2

We are in the midst of preparing for another Adoption Benefit Garage Sale! We had quite a few people approach us after our first garage sale to ask if we had plans for another sale because they had items to donate...so...it's time for Round 2! Let the craziness begin!

We will be having the garage sale at our house again on Thursday, September 23 through Saturday, September 25, which is now about three weeks away. If you have anything that you'd like to donate for our sale, please let us know, and we will be happy to make arrangements to pick it up.  

Please cover this garage sale in your prayers and ask the Lord to provide in crazy ways again like last time. Please also pray for good (i.e. cooler) weather, lots of stuff to sell, and lots of people to buy.