Good Byes & Waiting..both hard

Good-byes to loved ones remain high on my 'do not like list' especially when I do not know when we will likely be seeing each other again.

This week, the last thing my mom whispered in my ear during our last hug for a while .... 'Bring our boy home.'

OH...I want to! I pray to! Lord make it so !!!!

Still being stuck in IBESR stage of our adoption feels like a never ending winter cold or a 3+ year drought. The paperwork we hoped and prayed would be completed when the courts opened in October remains uncompleted...and months of unrealized hopes and dreams turn to dust and blow away.

For years now every trip or plan carries the heavy weight of the unknowns in the adoption timeline.

Malay apples on campus started blooming as the last
 fruits ripened. Only a few months until another harvest.

Will we be able to travel as a family to celebrate our niece's wedding in August? Will we be able to visit supporting churches and friends? Will Anna be able to take phase one of Michigan's driver's education and the PSAT?

Each holiday and special family event comes with the cloud of F not being home to participate.

While we long for updates and any information we can gather about our son...each comes with the painful fact that if he were home we would not be needing others to supply this information.

How the hope jumps with each email from our social worker...dreaming of those words to inform us that significant progress moved us closer to F coming home...

Waiting does not get easier with practice.

The all-day meeting that happened three weeks ago...only one of three needed reports completed as of an email we received Tuesday from our social worker.

Faith does get one through. Every frustration and tear we can choose to hold on to or to bring it to the feet of our Lord.

Intentionally focusing on Him, His power, His love does bring comfort.  As does each message and note from friends and family reminding us of their support and prayers.

Thank you for walking this hard journey with us.  Looking forward to celebrating with each of you when F joins the family and we can introduce him to you in person.

Keep those prayers coming!

One step forward!

African Desert Rose mid May '16

While we remain unclear about what happened or did not happen in family court in November we do know that F's mom and aunt traveled to Port-au-Prince this week to meet with some special doctors.

Apparently the doctors refused to come north.

This took a lot of coordination and prayers. Our social worker called it a miracle!  Several families needed to travel together with the adoption coordinator who had to locate all the families and make sure that they all could travel and make it to the appointment at the same time.

Thank you Lord!

So as we understand the next few steps:

February 3 '17

• Doctors report: 'should be finishing up their reports this week' [Praying that they can focus, go to work, and not get distracted by the presidential inauguration on Feb. 7th]
• Reports travel north to the judge
• Judge finishes up the extra paperwork that IBESR requested back late spring
• Paperwork goes to IBESR [praying it can make our file the first time it is submitted]
• ?? Once again we wait for signature(s) to exit
• Exit!!!!!!!!

Praying hard we can finally get out of IBESR and that they do not come up with something else that they need.

Day 1115 in IBESR.

Early in our adoption journey I blogged it was liking putting a small boat in the river not knowing if it would get stuck or enjoy smooth sailing.

It feels like our boat got caught in a deep freeze with no movement during the last year or so. Now new hope feels like hearing the ice cracking and popping after a long, hard winter. 

Will the spring thaw come releasing our small boat to continue on its journey or will another cold wind come and silence our hopes?

The Lord knows. He sustains us. He holds us. He guides us. He loves us!