Humbled and Amazed (And an update with ways to pray)

Humbled And Amazed:

When we adopted Ruthie, we didn't do any fundraising.  Honestly, I was too proud at that stage of life to ask anyone for help.  Also with Ruthie, we took 2 years from entering the process to getting her so there was time to save.

Our experience with Maggie has been much different.  Not only have fees gone up quite a bit, but as soon we decided to move forward we were significantly financially invested.  We have paid extra to expedite parts of her process and have moved much faster in getting her home.  We decided to move forward a few days after I returned in August and by October we were about 10K into the process.

But here is the AMAZING part!  As great as our expense has been, God's provision has been even greater.  Our friends and family have come behind us with a garage sale, t-shirt sales, a lemonade stand, personal craft sales, and other donations.   Laying down our pride (okay my pride) has allowed me to see God move through those who love this child already too.  One friend volunteered to paint cross canvases to raise money for the project and got a tremendous response.  You can read about it HERE.  

Thank you to everyone who has participated in our fundraising effort.  You are all a blessing and I can't wait for Maggie to some day read this and appreciate for herself all of the people who helped bring her home.


The Update:

We are currently waiting on a piece of paper called our LOA (Letter of Approval).  Because of our special situation, we were told that our LOA had been issued in China but they aren't sure when it will arrive.  Usually you don't know when it has been issued, but it just shows up.  This piece of information was very encouraging because it at least tells us that she is officially approved in China to be ours and stuff is moving.

Once our LOA arrives, we apply for our TA (Travel Approval).  This is a 2 step process.  There is a US Immigration step and then a China step.   My immigration officer is a gift from God and has been great at helping us along so I am encouraged that this step will go quickly.  The China side is a bit unpredictable.  TAs for normal adoptions have been taking about 8 weeks but since we are expedited we are hoping for something much quicker.

WE NEED PRAYERS:
1. For our LOA to arrive to our agency ASAP
2. For China to want to clear off their desks before Chinese New Year and process our TA super quick
3. For God to protect Maggie's heart and lungs.  In order for her to be a surgical candidate, her lungs have to be in good enough condition.  The pressure of her single ventricular pump is hard on her lungs and the surgeon says it is a miracle that she is alive.  They are wanting to reroute major veins directly to her lungs but can only do this if her lungs can handle it.   My fear is that she will contract pneumonia while waiting on us and her lungs will be too damaged to support her.

Thanks for praying with us and supporting us.