FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS

We have a court date: 7-15.  That means we leave next Friday, 7-8!!!!

After all this waiting, we are moving faster than we ever imagined.

"And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?"  Esther 4:14

I have always like this verse during those times in my life when I can really see how God is moving and working in my life.  

That is how I feel right now.  All the work of the adoption process, all the waiting and delays- all of that has been part of God's perfect plan to bring us to this time.  

In less than 10 days, we will meet our son face to face.  

Was it worth all the work and all the wait?  Yes!  

Thank you Lord for bringing us to this time.

NO MORE WAITING!!!

We have moved from hurry up and WAIT to hurry up and PLAN!!!

We will be traveling in mid July for a court date in late July.

Silva and Reda are working on getting us exact dates.

GOD IS GOOD!!!!!!

PAPERWORK BEFORE THE JUDGE

Silva informed us this morning that our paperwork is now before the judge!

This means, if judge finds our paperwork sufficient, he will pick the judge to oversee our case and pick a court date.

Silva asked us to pray fervently for a travel date in late July or early August. 

HAPPY 6TH BIRTHDAY BENJAMIN KOSTAS!!!!

Jonah very willing stepped in and blew out the birthday candle 

for his soon-to-be brother Benjamin.

I have never not spent a birthday with one of our children. Probably as they get older and have lives of their own, that will happen more often.  But right now, this is the first time I wasn't there for one of their birthdays.

I so wish we could celebrate in person with our little Ben.  I would love to give him hugs and kisses and birthday cake and presents.  Patience, I guess...

I am so grateful to the Lord for the way he has watched over Benjamin Kostas- protecting him while he was in the womb, through delivery, as his birth parents made very difficult decisions, and while he has been in the orphanage.  I am thankful for the caregivers who have watched over our boy all these years, especially his special "Mama" who has been with him since he arrived at the orphanage at 2 weeks old.  I am so thankful the Lord has blessed him with good health, especially after his shaky first 2 years with heart surgery and respiratory issues.  I am thankful the powers that be have agreed to keep Benjamin in the orphanage as he waits for us rather than transferring him to an institution.  I am thankful for all those who have prayed for and supported Ben before we even knew about him, as well as the many who have stepped forward to support him and us during this adoption journey.  You are all part of God's miracle of bringing Ben home!  I am grateful for Cathy, Silva, Reda, and Deb who have helped us with all the paperwork that is needed for an international adoption- their love for these children is evident in all that they do.  I am so grateful for the beautiful smile you have blessed this child with despite the many hardships he has endured in his 6 years.  So many places God has kept Benjamin Kostas under His wing and in His protection.  Thank you Lord.   We are so excited to see how you provide and care for Ben as he comes home to our family.  

This is in an earlier post, but I think it is worth repeating:

Benjamin means "son of my right hand" and Kostas means "constant".  I think this is a beautiful combination.  The Lord has kept Benjamin Kostas safe by his side as he waited for a family, and His love for our little boy is constant.  

WHAT WORDS ARE THERE TO SAY?

This is Bryannah.  She is currently listed on Reece's Rainbow as available for adoption.  Bryannah has been in a mental institution since 2011.  She has been in orphanages her entire life, but was registered for adoption in 2013.  She has waited 12 years for a chance to find a family!

I don't really have words to describe the brokenness my heart feels as I look at this precious child of God.  In earlier photos, her hair is longer- more girlish.  But I imagine life in the mental institution becomes a life of efficiency, and so now her hair is cut very short because that makes it easier to care for.  

I am praying that a wonderful family steps up and adopts this beautiful princess.  

I don't want to get in a debate about which orphans have it worse:  the ones living in poverty, ones living in a certain area of the world, or the ones like Bryanna with special needs who have been moved from an orphanage to mental institution.  The truth is all orphans are suffering because they are not in a family as God intended for each of us.  

But at this point in my life, I find my "cause" is for the orphans who have special needs and whose path in life is from orphanage to mental institution.  I feel like the Lord has asked me and my family to do anything we can to help orphans in this unique group to find families.

So I ask anyone reading this post to please lift Bryannah up in prayer- maybe you are the family for her or maybe you know of a family.  12 years is too long to wait for a family!  No child should be living in a mental institution when there are families that could adopt.  

According to Reece's Rainbow, there is a $10,000 grant available for her.  

Please help her!

Here is her link at Reece's:

Bryannah

HOPEFULLY ARTICLE 5 SOON!

We just emailed our I800 approval to Silva and Reda.  

Cathy says the next steps are:

1. For us, online visa application once Visa center has our file;

2. For Silva and Reda, go to Embassy and work on getting 
Article 5, then apply for court date: 1-2 wks??? hopefully.

I800 APPROVED

Cathy spoke to our immigration officer today to let him know Abigail's fingerprints were completed.  He told her that we are now approved- notice was put in the mail today!  What a miracle!  Thank you Lord.

FINGERPRINTS DONE!

Abigail's fingerprint appointment is done!

BIOMETRICS APPOINTMENT IS NEXT WEEK

We received a beautiful answer to prayer yesterday.  Our appointment notice came from USCIS, and Abigail's biometric appointment is scheduled for next Wednesday already!  This is amazingly quick- when Andrew and I received our biometrics appointment slips back in August 2015, our appointments were scheduled 3 weeks out.  Praise the Lord we don't have to wait that long for Abigail.

Our updated homestudy was received by USCIS last week Tuesday so hopefully we will be back on track to get our court date soon.

A few funny government red tape stories though:

1. Last Friday, Cathy from OD called our immigration officer to check on the status of case.  He said he would watch for our documents to come across his desk.  But now yesterday, Monday, we get an appointment slip.  That doesn't make sense (but I like it!)- too bad I fretted all weekend about it though.

2. Our congressman also checked into the status of our case last Friday in an effort to speed things up for us.  His office was told that none of the requested information had been received by us yet.  Again, then how did this appointment slip make it in the mail yesterday????

3. Abigail and I did try a walk-in appointment yesterday at USCIS in Milwaukee.  As long as we had an appointment slip, Cathy said it wouldn't hurt to try.  We were very promptly told "no walk ins allowed".  This is funny and frustrating to me because other families have told me walk ins have worked for them, plus at the time Abigail and I were there yesterday, there was only 1 person in the waiting area.  I think they would have been able to fit us in!   Oh well, at least our confirmed appointment is only a week away.  

I guess these funny incidents just show what a miracle God gave us by giving us our appointment time because sometimes it seems the right hand of government has no idea what the left hand is doing!