Karl and I are scheduled to go for our Homeland Security biometric fingerprinting tomorrow. The process is very official. We received our official notices complete with Homeland Security stamps several weeks ago. The dates and times are set by Homeland Security. Unlike regular fingerprinting, the biometric fingerprinting is digital and is time sensitive. It has to be done at the arranged appointments.
Speaking of appointments, God has scheduled so many divine appointments as we've pursued Phillip's adoption: 1. Grace who is in a wheelchair and her mom, Lynn. I got the nerve to talk to them at Costco and they were willing to answer my prying questions about wheelchairs...2. The nice lady who was mailing worms at the post office when I was mailing gifts to Phillip. She referred me to a group of counselors that help adopted children with attachment disorder...3. The families at VCS who have educated us about the resources available to help Phillip...4. Our friend, Christie, a physical therapist, who affirmed that Spokane is one of the best places in the country to get medical care for Phillip...5. The mysterious lady that paid $25 for an item valued at less than a dollar at our yard sale because she had heard about Phillip... Our friends that simply handed us a wad of twenty dollar bills...6. The Facebook friends around the world that have visited Phillip's orphanage and love our boy...7. The stranger who was touched to the point of tears by Phillip's adoption and vowed to pray for our family...and so many more!
God's fingerprints are on Phillip's adoption. His hands are BIG. He is answering our prayers across the world in Langfang, China. Sara, the adoption specialist at Phillip's orphanage, said that he believes in God and is asking Him why his legs don't work. Sara said to just keep asking. I bet that God has an amazing answer for that question and I'm so glad that I will get to be Phillip's mom when he gets that revelation.
Will you join us in praying for the resources to complete the adoption, for Phillip's medical care, to make our house wheelchair accessible, and for all of us to be able to go to China to get him? We understand that Phillip's adoption is so much bigger than our family. We treasure your encouragement, support, and inspiration! Joni
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Friday, October 7, 2011
So blessed...
Right now, I'm just feeling SO BLESSED! I know this God we serve is amazing, yet somehow it still surprises me every time I see Him move. And He has been moving this week!
Well, now that you're curious I guess I oughtta spill the beans, huh? Britt and I had an awesome opportunity on Wednesday. We got to lead a seminar for chapel together and told about all the lessons we've learned through this adoption process. Almost 50 college students showed up to listen, totally packing out our classroom. People still came in and sat against the wall when they saw all the chairs full. Lots of our good friends came which was GREAT. They were all really encouraging and super engaged while we were talking, and it just meant a lot to us that soooo many people were interested and even excited to hear about our story. Well the talk went really well. We pretty much told the story of our adoption from start to finish, then Britt talked about how she's grown to understand God's love way better by seeing adoption as a picture of His love. I talked about learning how much I need to surrender everyday. We wrapped things up, socialized for a bit, got lots of love from our friends, and then were done.
But God wasn't.
Today, I went to the mailroom and checked my mailbox. I got a curious, fat little envelope that said, "Kyle Croft (for Phillip)" which definitely sparked my interest. I wandered around in the bookstore, found a spot behind a shelf and opened it up. That little envelope held a BIG blessing. Some anonymous person gave me $366 to help with the adoption! I was so excited! How cool is that? That some poor college kid was willing to sacrifice, to be used by God to bless our family? God is moving! I freaked out a little bit with my buddies in the bookstore, then freaked out a little on the way back to my room, then just kinda freaked out the rest of the day and told everybody I could. What a good God!
Lamentations 3:24 says, "I say to myself, 'The Lord is my portion, therefore I will wait for Him.'" And He is proving that to us each day! Jesus, YOU are our portion! We can't trust other people to take care of our needs, and we can't take care of them ourselves, but You we can ALWAYS rely on! Praise be to Your name!
Well, now that you're curious I guess I oughtta spill the beans, huh? Britt and I had an awesome opportunity on Wednesday. We got to lead a seminar for chapel together and told about all the lessons we've learned through this adoption process. Almost 50 college students showed up to listen, totally packing out our classroom. People still came in and sat against the wall when they saw all the chairs full. Lots of our good friends came which was GREAT. They were all really encouraging and super engaged while we were talking, and it just meant a lot to us that soooo many people were interested and even excited to hear about our story. Well the talk went really well. We pretty much told the story of our adoption from start to finish, then Britt talked about how she's grown to understand God's love way better by seeing adoption as a picture of His love. I talked about learning how much I need to surrender everyday. We wrapped things up, socialized for a bit, got lots of love from our friends, and then were done.
But God wasn't.
Today, I went to the mailroom and checked my mailbox. I got a curious, fat little envelope that said, "Kyle Croft (for Phillip)" which definitely sparked my interest. I wandered around in the bookstore, found a spot behind a shelf and opened it up. That little envelope held a BIG blessing. Some anonymous person gave me $366 to help with the adoption! I was so excited! How cool is that? That some poor college kid was willing to sacrifice, to be used by God to bless our family? God is moving! I freaked out a little bit with my buddies in the bookstore, then freaked out a little on the way back to my room, then just kinda freaked out the rest of the day and told everybody I could. What a good God!
Lamentations 3:24 says, "I say to myself, 'The Lord is my portion, therefore I will wait for Him.'" And He is proving that to us each day! Jesus, YOU are our portion! We can't trust other people to take care of our needs, and we can't take care of them ourselves, but You we can ALWAYS rely on! Praise be to Your name!
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