Adoption Update....

"Faith doesn't grow in a house of certainty". Those were words I read recently in a great book (new post coming soon about my latest book reads of the year). I will admit that initially, I just skimmed over those words. But, they really are true. Faith isn't grown when everything is aligned just perfectly and all of our plans are going as we had envisioned. Faith grows when our plans are thrown out the window, nothing seems to be possible, and we are left knowing that we were never in charge to begin with.

I happen to think that God enjoys our uncertainty. It proves His might, His power, and His love. Think about it. He doesn't owe us anything at all! He loves us beyond our wildest imaginations, and when we are at a point of feeling like all hope is lost, He gently reminds us that He is always constant, always loving and always in control of our lives.

We are living in a "house of uncertainty" so-to-speak. This week there have been many reports of adoption corruption in Vietnam, and the end result is that they are going to close the country to adoptions as of September 1, 2008. You can read more here. The bottom line is that we must have a referral (a match to a specific child) by that date, or we will not be adopting from there at all.

Please don't read this as me moaning and being scared to death. Not at all! I write this with much joy, for I believe in my heart that this a great chance for us to give God some glory! It's a chance for Him to shine as He works out His plan to bring Ellie home to us. You see... we are in uncertain times with all of this, and our faith is growing exponentially! We trust Him; we believe He called us to adopt from vietnam. We believe that He is the same God today that He was when he called us to this journey. We believe that He is more powerful than the Embassy or the Department of International Adoptions, or any other entity involved in this whole process. We believe that He loves Ellie so much more than we are capable of, that He created her and knew her in her birth mother's womb. We believe that He will love us through every step of this. And ultimately, we believe that if September 1st comes and we do not have our referral, He is STILL God, and we will still praise Him.

We do covet your prayers. I have been humbled by the many people who have told us that they are praying for us or who have emailed us to let us know they are doing so! We believe in the power of prayer! We trust that God hears our cries to Him. Please pray for a speedy referral for our Ellie. Thanks so much!!

I'll keep ya posted on the latest, but until then.... I pray and wait.