We got word from WACAP yesterday that our completed dossier has been sent to Russia. As I stated earlier, they will translate all of our paperwork and then, assuming everything is correct, we will be put on the waiting list for a child referral!
We still have a second segment of our dossier that needs to be completed. These documents are extremely time sensitive, so we have to be very careful in timing them correctly. Luckily most of them are not required until our final court date. We are very pleased that our caseworker at WACAP is on the ball, and has kept us very informed.
Also, we received our I600A notice of favorable determination. This is very exciting because it is common for it to take 4 months or longer and we received it in just over a month!
Have a blessed day!
Anna
Update
Labels: Adoption Process
New News.
It has taken some time for our homestudy agency to submit their required paperwork, so we have been set back by a week or so. Luckily our caseworker at WACAP has been able to send half of our completed dossier to Russia to be translated. That way, when the remainder of our dossier has been apostilled and sent to Russia, they will already have some of the work completed. There is a possibility that we can still have everything in Russia by the end of October, but there is a greater chance that it won't be until early November.
Either way, we are very close to being put on the wait list!
Please continue praying that things move quickly and smoothly and that the Lord continues to prepare us for our daughter.
Anna
It has taken some time for our homestudy agency to submit their required paperwork, so we have been set back by a week or so. Luckily our caseworker at WACAP has been able to send half of our completed dossier to Russia to be translated. That way, when the remainder of our dossier has been apostilled and sent to Russia, they will already have some of the work completed. There is a possibility that we can still have everything in Russia by the end of October, but there is a greater chance that it won't be until early November.
Either way, we are very close to being put on the wait list!
Please continue praying that things move quickly and smoothly and that the Lord continues to prepare us for our daughter.
Anna
Have you ever felt like God is just a distant being who cares nothing about his creation? Do you ever feel like you pray and ask God for answers that never come, thus drawing the conclusion that he must not exist? Have you ever wondered why some people seem to have a personal relationship with God, while others struggle to hear him?
We do a wonderful job of filling the quiet times in our lives with noise. I find that if I am at home and I don't have the voices of my children filling the house, I much prefer having the radio or television on in the background to the quiet alternative. I have often wondered that if we were to spend less time filling our lives with noise, and spend more time in the quiet, would we hear God?
1 Kings 19 is a great example of how we can hear God.
The prophet Elijah was running from from Queen Jezebel for fear of his life, and was hiding in a cave, when he was told to stand on the mountain because the Lord was going to pass by. Three things happened; a great wind tore the mountain and shattered rocks, then an earthquake came and after that, a fire. After the fire came a gentle whisper; God's whisper. It wasn't in the noise that Elijah heard God, but in the silence.
Are we giving ourselves the opportunity to hear God? Are we filling our lives with worry, busyness, constant stimulation or the drone of the television so that we can no longer hear him? Are we doing these things because we feel that we can be in control in an otherwise uncontrollable world? I wonder what would happen if we were to say no to the noise in our lives, and sit in the still quiet.
1 Samuel 12:16
Now then, stand still and see this great thing the Lord is about to do before your eyes!
We do a wonderful job of filling the quiet times in our lives with noise. I find that if I am at home and I don't have the voices of my children filling the house, I much prefer having the radio or television on in the background to the quiet alternative. I have often wondered that if we were to spend less time filling our lives with noise, and spend more time in the quiet, would we hear God?
1 Kings 19 is a great example of how we can hear God.
The prophet Elijah was running from from Queen Jezebel for fear of his life, and was hiding in a cave, when he was told to stand on the mountain because the Lord was going to pass by. Three things happened; a great wind tore the mountain and shattered rocks, then an earthquake came and after that, a fire. After the fire came a gentle whisper; God's whisper. It wasn't in the noise that Elijah heard God, but in the silence.
Are we giving ourselves the opportunity to hear God? Are we filling our lives with worry, busyness, constant stimulation or the drone of the television so that we can no longer hear him? Are we doing these things because we feel that we can be in control in an otherwise uncontrollable world? I wonder what would happen if we were to say no to the noise in our lives, and sit in the still quiet.
1 Samuel 12:16
Now then, stand still and see this great thing the Lord is about to do before your eyes!
Update
Labels: Adoption Process
All of our dossier documents have been sent to WACAP. Once those documents have been apostilled (certified), they will be sent to Russia. Our caseworker is expecting Russia to receive our dossier by the end of October. Once received, we will be put on the waiting list for a child referral. The Russia program has been picking up speed so our wait time can be anywhere from 1-8 months. Since we are open to an ethnic child, up to the age of 3, our wait could be on the shorter end of the time frame, but there are no guarantees.
While we wait, we will be using our time to learn the language and understand the culture better.
We will keep you updated as things progress.
While we wait, we will be using our time to learn the language and understand the culture better.
We will keep you updated as things progress.
I think as Americans it is easy to shy away from the hardships in life; to spend our energy and time keeping our lives as comfortable and pain free as possible. Believe me, I am the queen of comfort and can easily base my life around doing only the things that I am comfortable with.
It seems though, that the Lord has given us great opportunities to grow and stretch out of that comfort zone and experience the life we were meant to live.
With that being said, there have been many times where, in the midst of growing, I have wanted to give up. I thought that if I were stretched one more inch, I would certainly break. If I were asked one more time to come out of my comfort zone, I would run in the opposite direction.
Looking back, I can see that God has used these growing pains to develop my faith and bring me into a fuller relationship with him. Had I not continued to press on through the storm, would I have known that God was with me in the midst of it? If I had given up, would I have developed the faith to obey the Lord when he asked us to adopt our daughter, in the midst of this economic crisis and political showdown? I struggle with this even now, but I have learned that I can rely on the Lord when he asks us to go through the storm. Because, in the midst of the storm I get glimpses of him, and I wouldn't trade that for anything.
Isaiah 55:10 - 11
As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
Let it Rain
It seems though, that the Lord has given us great opportunities to grow and stretch out of that comfort zone and experience the life we were meant to live.
With that being said, there have been many times where, in the midst of growing, I have wanted to give up. I thought that if I were stretched one more inch, I would certainly break. If I were asked one more time to come out of my comfort zone, I would run in the opposite direction.
Looking back, I can see that God has used these growing pains to develop my faith and bring me into a fuller relationship with him. Had I not continued to press on through the storm, would I have known that God was with me in the midst of it? If I had given up, would I have developed the faith to obey the Lord when he asked us to adopt our daughter, in the midst of this economic crisis and political showdown? I struggle with this even now, but I have learned that I can rely on the Lord when he asks us to go through the storm. Because, in the midst of the storm I get glimpses of him, and I wouldn't trade that for anything.
Isaiah 55:10 - 11
As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
Let it Rain
Isaiah 8
Caleb 6
Naomi 2
