An update on Emma...

Emma's 2nd birthday will be on November 13.  We arranged to send her a care package and have a Chinese coordinator named Angela arrange for a birthday cake to be delivered to the orphanage so they can have a birthday party for her.  As if to prove that God's hand is in the midst of this, she happened to have remembered that someone was advocating for Emma in June 2011 and she had updates pictures and a video!  Angela sent them to us and with bated breath, we saw our little girl again.  We were surprised to see that she looked soooo different from her initial picture.  We started to worry.  First of all, her hair was thinning, not thickening.  She wasn't as pink or as healthy looking as she was in her original pictures and she looked downright angry!  At first, I thought Angela had sent the wrong pictures but the more I studied the facial features of Emma's first pictures, I could still see Emma's face in the updated pictures - she just didn't seem as healthy or happy.  Even though the report stated that her activity level was fine, she looked pale and quiet. Oh no, I thought, we have to get her NOW!!  She needs nourishment, love and medical attention and she needs it NOW!  So the urgency started to bubble from within.  We have been waiting 39 days so far for our LOA.  Some families have been waiting 100+ days and still have not gotten approval.  How much longer will it be?  Once we get LOA, we still have 3 more approvals to get.  It could take anywhere between 3-6 months more!  Lord PLEASE help us!  Even though we are hurrying as much as possible, I feel like we are loosing the race. Lord please. Please.

Let Go and Let God

Why does it take me so long to learn that if I just let go and trust that He is in control, everything works out so perfectly?  Well, I finally surrendered and accepted defeat and acknowledged the fact that I have to let go of all my controlling, must-have-it-my-way, attitude and just let God do His thing.  In my quiet time yesterday morning, that's what I did.  And you know what? It was so freeing to have that burden off of me. This adoption process is His mission, after all, and I'm supposed to just follow.  So I took my place in His shadow and started the day.  And you know what else?  Within a few hours I got an email saying that we were officially Logged In with the Chinese Children's Welfare and Advocacy Association and our Log In Date (LID) - the thing that I was waiting for sooo impatiently - was actually 9/21/2011!  They were just late in notifying us.  Our God had not turned His head, He had not forgotten about us.  He was still making miracles happen, I just was too ornery and too stubborn to see them.  Now I see.  Now I know - again.  The next step is a Letter of Approval from the Chinese government.  That process has been taking 60 days lately.  Sigh.  But I know that His timing is perfect and I will wait on Him this time.  I'm still hoping and praying that we'll be able to bring her home by the end of this year but will leave that up to Him.  Emma turns 2 next month.  Oh how we wish we could be there or she could be here.  We'll just have to remember that He is both here and there and thankfully, that soothes our souls.