We received notification that we have received our travel approval today. We are shooting for a consulate date of October 18th, which would mean we would be leaving for China about October 6th. Please pray that we can lock in this date, as this will allow us to bring Josiah home soon. With the Guangzhou trade fair going from the middle to the end of October, we don't want to be pushed back to November. But, none the less, the Lords Will be done. He has been planning this adoption since before we were even born, I'm sure He knows what's best. I just want to say thank you to you all for your thoughts, encouragements, and prayers as this has been a long journey, but it has also been the greatest faith building experience of my entire life. I will be sure to update with more details as they become available.
In His service,
Brian
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Article 5 Issued
We received a notification yesterday that our article 5 has been issued. This means that the US Consulate has notified China to issue our travel approval. We should have our travel approval in about 3 weeks, then hopefully traveling about 3 weeks after that. We are still planning on taking the girls with us, but we will see how it all turns out. Just an FYI to everybody, we have been extremely busy lately, I am sorry for not posting or responding to emails as often as I should, but my last day at my 2nd job was Monday, so hopefully some more normalcy will return to our lives....just in time to turn it upside down...but I am looking forward to that :) We appreciate your prayers, and we will keep you updated as to our progress.
In His service,
Brian
In His service,
Brian
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Travel Plans a changin'
Well...as you all know God always seems to have different plans than the one's we think up in our minds. A few weeks ago, we received a notice that someone has made a donation to pay for Rachel's travel to China. Praise God, this is awesome. However, not to be outdone, with me working two jobs we have a good chance of being able to take both Paige and Paris with us, which is great (especially since we really don't have someone who can watch them for 2 weeks). We are not sure how much more we will need as it depends on how I get my severance paid out. A good friend at church has come forward and offered his services and supplies to make survival bracelets for us to sell to help with our expenses. Not only are you getting a really cool bracelet, you are helping with our travel expenses as well!!! Each bracelet has approximately 9 feet of parachute chord which can hold up to 550 lbs. I can't make any guarantee on the colors, but I will do my best to be accommodating.
Monday, July 25, 2011
I-800 Provisional Approval
Just wanted to give a quick update on our status as we have received our I-800 Provisional Approval. We have requested a copy of our NVC Confirmation letter to be emailed to us which should speed the process up by a few days. Based on what the adoption agency is telling us, we will be traveling in about 9 weeks give or take. Please pray that God keeps us on track, and if not, that we can be patient to wait on Him. Here are some pictures of Josiah with his photo album...for your viewing pleasure.
Friday, July 1, 2011
LOA!!!
I have been waiting for 90 days to post this....Our LOA is being overnighted tonight and we should have it tomorrow or Tuesday. Praise God!! I didn't think it would ever come...I thought they forgot about us :)
Thanks everyone for your prayers!!!
Thanks everyone for your prayers!!!
Monday, June 20, 2011
Where do I even begin?
Well it has been a while since we have posted anything on here about our adoption. Currently, we are currently still waiting for our LOA, which we hope to have soon.
First I will start with the tremendous blessing the Lord has given us. Some time back in May I was emailing back and forth with John Bentley, the Executive Director of Harmony Outreach (the orphanage where Josiah is currently located). John and I were discussing solo spouse travel, since we weren't receiving the donations or provisions we felt we needed, we prayed and began to at least start the process of solo spouse travel. We decided that it would be best for myself, Brian, to go as I am a male, as is Josiah, and I speak Mandarin. We sat down on a Monday night and calculated how much money we would need for at least myself to go to bring Josiah home, which is the most important part of this journey. We came up with an additional $5,500 is what we needed to cover Josiah's and my travel costs. The next day I cam home from work and checked the mail, there was a grant award letter in the amount of $5,000. Praise the Lord, He is awesome.
Everything was going great, the adoption was pretty much paid for, we were waiting on our LOA, we had received some new videos of Josiah, ...etc. However, on June 1, 2011 we were notified that the plant that I work at would be closing as of July 31, 2011, which meant that I wouldn't have a job after that date. The most awesome thing for Rachel and I as Christians is that when these types of situations present themselves, we don't freak out. We look at these times as a time to strengthen our faith and learn to trust fully on the Lord. We knew that the Lord called us to this adoption and that He would see it through to the end.
On Friday June 3rd, I called my previous boss and confirmed with her that it was OK to list her as a reference on my resume. She agreed and asked that I send her a copy of my resume. I sent her my resume on Sunday, was emailed and asked to apply for a position on Monday, called on Tuesday to schedule an interview, interviewed on Friday, and was offered the job on the following Thursday. I have known from the beginning of my walk with Christ that He is always with me, leading and guiding, even when I am trying to drive the bus. So many times as Christians, we loose an opportunity to witness to the world our faith and trust in the invisible God. I must admit, I thought it was strange that I wasn't freaking out or scared after the news of loosing my job, but I trust in the Lord that His will will be done, and it is not up to me to like it, I just need to trust that the Lord always has my best interest in mind when He is ordering my life. If there is anything you can learn from this experience, or if I may encourage you, no matter what your circumstance, trust and have faith that the Lord will never leave you nor forsake you and that He will deliver you from your troubles. Now I can't say when or how, but I know that He has a purpose and a plan for all of us.
In His service,
Brian
First I will start with the tremendous blessing the Lord has given us. Some time back in May I was emailing back and forth with John Bentley, the Executive Director of Harmony Outreach (the orphanage where Josiah is currently located). John and I were discussing solo spouse travel, since we weren't receiving the donations or provisions we felt we needed, we prayed and began to at least start the process of solo spouse travel. We decided that it would be best for myself, Brian, to go as I am a male, as is Josiah, and I speak Mandarin. We sat down on a Monday night and calculated how much money we would need for at least myself to go to bring Josiah home, which is the most important part of this journey. We came up with an additional $5,500 is what we needed to cover Josiah's and my travel costs. The next day I cam home from work and checked the mail, there was a grant award letter in the amount of $5,000. Praise the Lord, He is awesome.
Everything was going great, the adoption was pretty much paid for, we were waiting on our LOA, we had received some new videos of Josiah, ...etc. However, on June 1, 2011 we were notified that the plant that I work at would be closing as of July 31, 2011, which meant that I wouldn't have a job after that date. The most awesome thing for Rachel and I as Christians is that when these types of situations present themselves, we don't freak out. We look at these times as a time to strengthen our faith and learn to trust fully on the Lord. We knew that the Lord called us to this adoption and that He would see it through to the end.
On Friday June 3rd, I called my previous boss and confirmed with her that it was OK to list her as a reference on my resume. She agreed and asked that I send her a copy of my resume. I sent her my resume on Sunday, was emailed and asked to apply for a position on Monday, called on Tuesday to schedule an interview, interviewed on Friday, and was offered the job on the following Thursday. I have known from the beginning of my walk with Christ that He is always with me, leading and guiding, even when I am trying to drive the bus. So many times as Christians, we loose an opportunity to witness to the world our faith and trust in the invisible God. I must admit, I thought it was strange that I wasn't freaking out or scared after the news of loosing my job, but I trust in the Lord that His will will be done, and it is not up to me to like it, I just need to trust that the Lord always has my best interest in mind when He is ordering my life. If there is anything you can learn from this experience, or if I may encourage you, no matter what your circumstance, trust and have faith that the Lord will never leave you nor forsake you and that He will deliver you from your troubles. Now I can't say when or how, but I know that He has a purpose and a plan for all of us.
In His service,
Brian
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