June 9-20

We are headed to Taiwan!  Lord willing, we will leave Newark, NJ, on the evening of June 9, and will arrive in Taipei, Taiwan, on June 11, Taiwan time.  We will be in Taipei for two nights, then take the high speed train to Taichung where we will meet Sophia on June 13!  It will be a little over a year from the time we accepted her referral until we meet her face to face.  And what a year it has been!  We will stay in Taichung for three nights, then return to Taipei for our AIT (visa) appointment on Friday, June 17.  We will stay the weekend in Taipei, then leave to return to the States on Monday, June 20.  Whew!  Makes me tired just thinking about it!  And it's only six weeks away!!!!

We have not received official notice of our final decree, but we assume we have it.  We did receive December 2010 and January 2011 updates, and Sophia is making TONS of progress!  We are praying that God will supernaturally prepare her for the HUGE changes coming her way in just a few weeks.  Will you pray with us?  I can't even imagine what this will be like for her.  I keep thinking about what it would be like for Nathaniel, our youngest and the same age as Sophia, to be taken from his family and given to strangers.  It breaks my heart!  So I'm praying for supernatural intervention to take place...God is able!

We still lack several thousand dollars to be able to go to Taiwan fully funded, but some special friends have a fundraiser planned for May 19, and we continue to trust that God will provide.  No matter what, we will be getting our daughter!  Our agency has asked that we not post photos until we finalize in Taiwan, so you will have to wait a little longer to see any photos on here, but I promise to update as much as I'm able while we are in Taiwan.  Just take my word for it...she's beautiful!

Thanks for following along on this journey.  I never would have imagined that it would take almost three years to complete.  But God's plan is perfect, and we wouldn't have it any other way.  To God be the glory, great things He has done--and will do!

Closer and closer to bringing our baby girl home...

We Got First Decree!

From our agency coordinator today:

David & Terri,
We received an update from Cathwel.  They said that they received the first (or civil) ruling on your case!


Hooray!  God is good!  We should be traveling mid-June...more details to come.  And as soon as we have a final decree, I will be able to introduce you to our daughter.  I can't wait!!

Only two more months, Sophia...