Pick Me!!

Dragon Fruit blossom, they bloom at night. 

Remember the classmate who always wanted to be picked for a team or to give the answer in class.

That's how I feel when I think about our chart sitting in a room with hundreds of other charts. Pick me!!! Pick our family! Arms waving. Body wiggling. Voice loud. 

Then I think of the folks who passed the 1 1/2  or three-year wait mark…pick them and us!!  

Start making referrals. Pick someone!

When I read blogs or web pages encouraging folks to consider adopting because thousands of children continue to wait for a family I pray for those, like us who already agreed.

     We made that important discussion.

     We found the time and effort to fill out hundreds of pages of paperwork.

     We cleaned and organized and nervously invited the social worker into our home and lives to
           inspect and question for that all important home study. 

     We asked and reminded friends about reference letters.

     We sat in offices for appointments: medical doctor, the psychologist, finger printing, notary.

     We waited in post office lines, for phone calls, for e-mails and for the mailman.

     We cleaned and organized for home studies.

     We made lots and lots of copies.

     We wrote checks.

Now we wait. And wait.

We pray. We hope. We get depressed. We sigh…a lot. We check E-mails and then check again. 

Lord, give us hope and patience.

Thank You for working for our kids and our family.
Thank you for being with these precious children while they wait for families.
Lord, we praise You even when we do not see progress.
When we do not get news, we thank You. 

A blog from Dixie from God's Littlest Angels about IBESR now making all the matches, New Match Procedure. Don't know if this would be better or not for us. No one knows what this will mean for families with a 'soft match.' Know we need to pray that the children get to the families that fit well with their needs.

This just posted on the Facebook group by someone who's agency told them-IBESR will not be taking any new cases in September to 'catch up on all their current cases'. Now we've heard they have more than 1,000 'current' cases, some going on 3 years. Praying for a miraculously productive month! 

IBESR Update / Prayer Requests

Very thankful to Dixie at God's Littlest Angels for sharing information she learns from IBESR.

Link to her full blog about last week's visit found here.

Points in the blog that I found to pray specifically about:

• Felyne is the IBESR representative putting together matches. Praying for wisdom, health, resources, protection, and efficiency for Felyne.

• Proposals in small batches going to the Children's Judge.  Praying for wisdom and efficiency!! Praying for the judge and staff not to be overwhelmed but motivated!

• Praying that even doing small batches that the batches are big enough to start catching up on the backlog of charts now sitting in IBESR, some for years waiting for a match. 

• Rather confusing, still being changed and multi-step procedure for the birth families. Praying this gets worked out to be as simply, with the least amount of hassle and expense. 

• Praying that the families who already signed off do not need to repeat the 30-day wait and can be exceptions to the new change. 

• Praying that the steps one and two can and will take place in the same visit. 

• Praying for the organization of the visits to the judge and that the families can make their appointments without problems.

• Praying for the Mayors who need to sign for the abandoned children to make the effort. That IBESR will get the lists together so the Mayors can sign in a timely manor all the children from their area.

• Praying for the process to get the trouble spots worked out so the system can stabilize and stop changing. This will also start a timeline which would help folks get an idea of the time frame.

• Praying for patience for all involved.

• Praying for the children and families waiting like us.

Thank you for supporting us on this journey and for your prayers. 

Hope in strange places.

Sometimes hope comes from strange places. 

I expect to find hope in the Bible, in my devotions or when chatting with my Mom who encourages me to look to the Lord. 

I did not expect to find it yesterday in a school book. 

As I read to Anna from The Landing of the Pilgrims by James Daugherty, this passage referring to those on the Mayflower voyage struck me from page 39-40. 

"Among the passengers there was a sense of excitement and anticipation. This was not an ordinary landing after a long voyage. There was a deep and strong feeling among them of something immense and heroic and biblical, beyond the personal happenings of their individual lives. They did not know what the ordeal might be ahead, only that they would never turn back. Something was being left behind forever. Something new and bright and glorious was beginning. They were ready to face untold hardship. They were confident of wide new freedom. Vague, deep thoughts that could find no words drew them together in purpose and high resolve."  

 

It made me long for the day when our children come home. I think we will share some of these feelings at that time. I post it here so I remember. 

 

As the days march on without information of any new referrals I often remind myself of some advice from a friend. She said later it will be like when they hand you your newborn, the pain that just moments before encompassed your life rapidly fades into a vague memory. That same type of thing will happen when you match with your children and the wait ends.   

Waiting to find out if she's right.