| Praises and Blessings |
| "OH, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever." Psalms 118:1 |
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| Ever since our journey began, we have seen God's handiwork over and over. Here are a few of the answered prayers and blessings we have received already: |
| * After seeing that a Mexican adoption was not likely, I went to bed praying that God would change my heart or my mind. The next morning I decided to "check out" Guatemala. I found Maria's picture, and my heart was captured. * We stopped in Kansas City on a family trip to my sister's house. We visited with a friend of Mark's. This friend had six children. Suddenly I saw our family in a whole new light (after thinking for years that two was enough...) |
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| * After a week of praying, we decided to contact the agency with which Maria was associated. We knew that she was not likely to become our daughter since we were just beginning. But it turned out that she was an abandonment case, which meant she could get her paperwork done while we got ours done! * Abandonments used to take 3-4 years to complete. Just this past year, they started taking a few months. * Our home study was completed, our fingerprints recorded, and we received our approval to adopt from USCIS in less than two months. |
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| * Mark received a bonus in 2005 that allowed us to go on our trip in December. * When I accidentally sent the FBI fingerprints without payment included, I worried that they would be sent back and delay our dossier completion. I e-mailed the FBI and received the KINDEST e-mails...they personally watched for our paperwork (I mailed the payment that day) and our fingerprints AND payment arrived the SAME day and were completed quickly. * We received word in early January that the abandonment was complete and that the adoption was underway. (Hunter's reaction? "Praise the Lord!") * The car seat situation is solved! * We received preapproval in May and entered PGN quickly, the last MAJOR step of the adoption. * We received "the phone call" from our agency this week (July 18) that our case was approved by PGN. We are just a few weeks from pickup! Maria is now our daughter. * The generosity of friends and family is providing gifts for Maria, contributions for adoption, and most of all, LOTS of love and prayers as we wait! |
| I know there are several other praises and blessings...I will continue to update as we come closer to bringing our daughter home. Thank you for being a part of the journey! |