A Letter From China

Today was a day of celebration for our family. We received the much awaited phone call from our agency saying that our Letter of Acceptance had arrived. We decided to drive to CWA in Charleston to sign the letter so that it could be sent back to China by UPS today. It was wonderful to read the letter which listed Lilly's name, Kai Shu, and her date of birth, 10/17/2005. The letter stated that this child had been assigned to us, and we had to mark whether we accepted this child or mark that we did not accept this child. Of course we checked the box to accept Kai Shu as our daughter because she most definitely already is! After driving home and then heading to Fulton's t-ball game, we picked up Chinese food to celebrate. The children love eating with chopsticks as it is quite challenging, and they enjoy knowing that they can experience a small piece of Lilly's culture right here at home.

Of course now we must wait on Travel Approval before we can begin to make final preparations for our trip to bring Lilly home! We were told today by our agency that in order to ensure that we travel with the next group on May 11, our TA needs to be received by April 17. It will be close as it usually takes 2 to 3 weeks to get TA after LOA. We know and believe with all of our hearts that anything is possible with God. So once again we put our faith and our trust in Him.
And we wait yet again!

Our friends from NC who are also adopting a baby girl from Chenzhou orphanage received their TA today. Lilly and Lainie are just a few months apart in age, share the same special need (VSD), and probably share the same crib room at the orphanage. God has blessed me with getting to know Lainie's mom, Jennifer, over the last several months. Jennifer has been such an encouragement to me, and I am so thankful for having the opportunity to share this journey with her. We will be meeting Jennifer and her family this Thursday, and we are praying that we will be able to travel with them on May 11 to get our girls.

Please join us as we praise God for granting our LOA and for Him sustaining us these last 3 weeks as we waited. It was not easy and we give Him all the glory! Also please pray that if it is God's will, we would receive our TA in time to travel on May11.

Here are a few of the verses which I relected on today as I waited for the phone to ring not knowing if it would or not:

". . . but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:31

"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself ' The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait on him.' " Lamentations 3: 22-24