DOSSIER COMPLETE AND MAILED ONCE AGAIN!!!

Finally, without much difficulty, our dossier paperwork and home study are complete and mailed to AGCI. They will review it, and if everything is in order, it will be authenticated and mailed to China. As soon as China gets it, they will process it and log us in. This could take a few weeks. We are told we will travel approximately 6 months from the log in date. We have had a great summer doing fund raisers and hanging out with friends. Of the $10,230 we need, we have $5.000. This money was generated by donations from individuals, fund raisers, and personal savings. We are still hopeful that our first agency will be returning some of our money by the end of July which will make up the remaining $5230. God has provided thus far, exactly what we need when we need it. It has been amazing to see everyone get involved in some way with this process. Dexter has said many people will be remembered by certain things they did. He thinks we will be remembered as the "Professional Yard Salers":):) I'm not sure that's what I want to be remembered as, but I will say the Lord has been ministering to many people through these sales. We have met so many interesting people and were able to share God's love with them. It looks like we will be doing another one in the next month or so due to the overwhelming response in donations. So, if you put off that cleaning out job and need some motivation to give us your stuff, here it is. Remember we made $2500 doing 2 yard sales. We still have to raise another $10,000 to complete the adoption and travel.
Usually when I write, I feel inspired to speak what the Lord has spoken to me. This time is no different. Lately, I have been pondering ways to share the gospel with others and what is the main thing I want to share. Two things stand out the most, God's unfailing and unconditional love and reconciliation. Reconciliation is a big deal to God. So this is what I have been thinking about a lot lately. If this is such a big deal to God, then we need to be asking Him what relationships in our own life need to be reconciled? I can tell you this. I already know of a few people that I can not wait to be back in relationship with. Our journey here on earth is about LIFE, and satan wants to steal, kill and destroy our relationships. Well, there's something for you to ponder also.
Thank you once again for your prayers and willingness to participate in this journey with us.

The Narrow Gate

"SMALL IS THE GATE AND NARROW THE ROAD THAT LEADS TO LIFE, AND ONLY A FEW FIND IT." Matthew 7:14
This scripture takes on new meaning for us as we write this. Once again we are overwhelmed by His faithfulness and provision. We are children of a trustworthy God.
Since our last entry, I (Patricia), have spent a week in Honduras visiting our boys in Forgotten Children Ministries. Meanwhile, Dexter took care of the kids, worked a full week, and planned a fundraiser. We set up a concession stand at the Pike Road 4h of July Celebration and sold hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, and drinks. Between food sales and donations, we added $525 to the adoption fund. This weekend we had another yard sale and sold $755 worth of stuff. Thank you to all of you who donated items, iced down drinks, flipped burgers, and raced to be TOP SALESMAN (you know who you are:):). In addition to these fundraisers we have also received over $650 in donations.
As indicated in earlier entries, we were supposed to be receiving some of our money back from our other agency by the end of June. We have not received anything yet, but after a very good conversation with the man in charge, Dexter feels confident they will be doing as they promised. Riding home today from the yard sale, I was meditating once again on the scripture above. You see the broad road and wide gate seemed obvious. The agency needs to just return our money promptly. It would be that simple. However, the Lord really does want the community involved. Therefore, He guided us down the narrow road. Through that we have been able to talk to so many people about our adoption, their adoption, but most importantly about our relationship with the Lord. So many divine appointments, too numerous to mention. One result, LIFE. God is and has always been what this is all about. We just get to be a piece in the puzzle. Our eyes have been open to so many things in the world around us. Our children have gotten to be apart of all of this too. Some things are better learned in the field.
We should be sending all the paperwork to AGCI at the end of the week. Our hope and prayer is that they can send it to China by the beginning of August to get us logged in. We should have about a 6 month wait for travel. So we are looking at possibly January, 2010. As God leads us, we will continue to raise funds for travel, which will be about $10,000. We are anticipating many more incredible stories to share. Thank you all so much for your enthusiasm and interest in this journey. The Kingdom of Heaven is advancing and infiltrating our lives and the lives of those among us.