Nothing much new to report on the adoption front. We are still waiting for a referral. Our adoption agency has changed, which caught us by surprise, but we are trusting God to direct and will sit tight for the time being. In God's time, Sophia will be revealed. Meanwhile, I'm trying some more fundraising avenues (Pampered Chef anyone?) and continuing to walk forward until God closes doors!
Almost 25 years ago to the day, I was sitting in the dining hall of a conference center in a small town on the central coast of Chile when the ground shook. And shook. And shook. It was 1985, and I was a young teenage missionary kid at the time. That earthquake occurred on March 3, and today, February 27, the ground shook again in Chile. And shook. And shook. My two younger sisters and their families are back in Chile as missionaries and thankfully, are safe. My youngest sister lives in northern Chile and didn't feel the quake. But my middle sister lives in Santiago, the capital, where the quake was felt at around a 7.7 (Richter) magnitude. That's slightly less than the 8.3 we had in 1985, but not by much. Please pray for my nephew, Matias, as he seems to be the most affected by this quake. School was to start again after summer vacation on Monday. That won't be happening as the classroom bookshelves and such came tumbling down...not to mention that the country is in a state of emergency for at least three days per the Chilean president. Please pray for the southern part of Chile, the most greatly affected by the quake. We know missionaries and families of friends who live in the affected area and have not yet been heard from. Thanks for keeping this beautiful country and her beautiful people in your prayers. Part of my heart is in Chile...and I'm saddened by her loss tonight.
Pain
The gift nobody longs for, still it comes
And somehow leaves us stronger
When it's gone away
Pray
I try and pray for Your will to be done
But I confess it's never fast enough for me
It seems the hardest part is waiting on You
When what I really want Is just to see Your hand move
(Chorus)
I want a peace beyond my understanding
I want to feel it fall like rain
In the middle of my hurting
I want to feel Your arms as they surround me
And let me know that it's okay
To be here in this place
Resting in the peace that only comes
In the waiting
Time
Time to let it go and just believe
Trusting in what no one else but You can see
Free
Freedom from the fears that close me in
When I can't get beyond where I have been
But then again
The silence doesn't mean that I'm alone
As long as I can hear That I am still Your own
(Repeat chorus)
In the waiting...
(Lyrics by Greg Long)
Please read the following post and consider how you might get involved. The children need to be heard!
http://godslittlestangelsinhaiti.org/2010/02/02/unicef-a-call-to-action/
For more information, my sister has various posts on this topic on her blog:
http://iansadoption.blogspot.com/2010/01/children-caught-in-middle.html
http://iansadoption.blogspot.com/2010/01/children-caught-in-middle-part-two.html
http://iansadoption.blogspot.com/2010/02/children-caught-in-middle-part-three.html
http://iansadoption.blogspot.com/2010/02/children-caught-in-middle-part-four.html
First visit to Target and first time in a shopping cart!
My sister and her husband with the boys
My mom with grandsons #12 and #13
Auntie with Ian
UPDATE: Saturday night my sister found out that her boys were granted their visas, along with 20+ other children from the orphanage...praise God! Now we need to pray that they get safely transported out of Haiti and reunited with their forever families. Also, pray for the caregivers of these children. While they are extremely happy to see these children leave the country, there is little time to prepare themselves emotionally for the exodus of so many children at one time. These children have been loved and cared for by these dear caregivers for a long time, and the bonds are great. In many instances, the caregivers will continue on in country to care for the many other orphans who will now take the place of the adopted ones. May God bless them for their sacrifice of love!
The earthquake in Haiti has touched our family in a very tangible way, as I have two little nephews there in an orphanage who need to get out. My sister Stephanie has been in the process of adopting little Ian and Alec for over two years. She has made several visits there, the most recent of which was this past fall with my mom. Just last week she found out that the boys had been granted their visa appointment at the U.S. Embassy which was the final step before they could come home. The appointment was scheduled for next Tuesday, January 19. And then came the earthquake...UNBELIEVABLE!
As I type this, people in the upper eschelons of our government are working hard at trying to get special humanitarian parole status for children who already have mommies and daddies waiting for them here in the United States but are just lacking the necessary paperwork...which now may be lying under tons of rubble at worst, or in dead computers at best. The orphanage where my nephews have lived their short lives has a wonderful director who has been working around the clock to get some of the kids out. Miraculously, she was granted 12 visas in one day, but she wants 12 more. Please pray that our government will see fit to get ALL the children out of that country who have families waiting for them. It could take YEARS for the Haitian government to get itself back together enough to continue the paperwork for some of the families who are in earlier stages of this process. And in good times, the process already was taking years...
My heart aches for the children who have already known such devastation and now are having to live through more. My heart is broken for the thousands of children who are now left orphaned in addition to the thousands who were already orphaned. I thank God for the compassionate people who have given their lives to advocate and care for the "least of these" in the name of Jesus. If you would like to read my sister's blog, please visit http://www.iansadoption.blogspot.com/. If you scroll down her righthand sidebar, she has links to other blogs where you can follow the stories of adoptive families and ministries in Haiti and other adoptive families in the US and around the world. But most importantly, pray without ceasing for this situation to be handled quickly and efficiently so the children can be spared further heartbreak and suffering.
God is good all the time...and all the time, God is good.
As 2009 comes to a close, it's hard to believe that we have been on this adoption journey for over a year now. Perhaps in 2010 we will meet the daughter for whom we have been waiting for a very long time, but with the long wait times, it may not be until 2011 or 2012...only God knows! I pray blessings on my little Sophia, if she is born, and on her birth family and caretakers...
Happy New Year!
