A paperwork day.

Lots of great paperwork arrived and was taken care of today.

We received our 797 from Immigration. (saying we are okay to adopt.  phew.)

And we received our first batch of documents back from the Chinese Consulate.

 Thankfully for you, I have no time tonight to write the details.  Only this I will say, God moved some mountains for our Immigration paperwork.  Receiving it today was and is no small victory for the Lord.

After receiving it in the mail, we had it notarized, then certified (HUGE benefits to living near the state capitol), and then back to Fed Ex on its way down to San Francisco to the Chinese Consulate.  We hope to receive it back by Tuesday of next week.  

If indeed we get it back by then, and it gets compiled with the rest of our dossier and shipped off to China by next Friday, and we are logged in by the following Friday....then we will beat our deadline by FOUR DAYS.

Are you kidding me?!  

But, it's not there yet.  

And I have a week now to rest, try earnestly to wait upon the Lord,..... and also try to not become a crazed Fed Ex- tracking-number-stalker.  (I can tell you that it left Salem at 8:33pm tonight.  Safe travels to you, sweet little envelope.) 

Wait for the Lord!

Waiting, waiting, waiting.
And that seems to be the name of the game of adoption.

Recently, China made a new rule that if you get your dossier to them within one year of your last adoption then you can reuse most of your old dossier for your new adoption.  Marc felt that we were suppose to do this reusing our dossier thing.  When we first looked at all the timeframes, we knew it would be really close, but thought that we had a good chance.  And so we proceeded.  And that is what we are trying to do.

In recently talking with our Immigration Office, I have been informed that the form we are waiting on from them is not promised to be back to us till way after the deadline that we need it by.  Argh.  And yet, there is a chance that it could still come to us in time.  If we don't make this deadline then it will cost us several more thousand dollars and way worse than that, many additional weeks/months of wait while we compile the entire rest of the needed documents.

And so, tonight, I sit here and wait.....and try to fight back the bits of anxiety that want to creep in.

And thankfully I can't think of the word "wait" without remembering the lesson the Lord taught me with our first adoption that we started 5 years ago:  that I am to wait on One thing, the Lord.

And so tonight as I am tempted to dwell upon and wait for that little piece of paper that seems to be the key to this process continuing to move forward, and how I can't wait to call Immigration in the morning to see where it is at, God whispers into my ear to ONLY wait upon Him.  He will not disappoint.  He is not only the key to this process moving, but He is the author of this plan.  He is in control.

You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.  Trust in the Lord forever.....we wait for You.  Isaiah 26

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him.  Psalm 37

Blessed are all who wait for Him!  Isaiah 30:18

Wait for the Lord;  be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.  Psalm 27:14

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I put my hope.  My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning....O Israel, put your hope in the Lord.  Psalm 130

Amen!   God is so faithful to lead us through what He calls us to do.