WHO IS THE LEAST AMONG US?

I can only begin this update by quoting Matthew 25:40, "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'" Do we really look at serving the least? What does it mean to be the least? According to Webster's, least means lowest in importance. How do we deem a life, created by God, His workmanship, as the lowest in importance? I have been asking myself this question for the past two weeks as I have been pondering this scripture in my heart. Needless to say, the Lord had a purpose for that scripture to be brought to my attention and for me to meditate upon it. I still can't fathom the thought that we think so highly of ourselves that we would have the boldness of putting others below us. The background of this scripture is very interesting. Jesus is speaking about when He will come in all His Glory, and how as He is seated on His throne He will separate the peoples like a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He is not looking for outer beauty, He is not ranking them, and He is not bringing attention to things that they obviously DID FOR HIM. What He is concerned most about in our journey of righteousness is what we did without knowing by simply letting the LIFE OF CHRIST flow through us. It was the simple things He brought attention to, the basics of life, the provisions no one should have to live without.
With all this being said, OUR FATHER, who is so faithful to take us by the hand, and lead us ever so gently down the path He chose for us, has spoken to our hearts concerning this adoption. All along we thought we were totally yielded to His Plan, but really we created our own image of what all this was going to look like. We pictured this little girl around 18 mos old coming into our home, and we pictured this whole process being so simple because we were yielded to HIM. Thursday of last week that image changed and it is even more beautiful and precious, like nothing we could have ever created in our own minds.
We heard from Rick in El Salvador for the first time. He was incredibly kind and communicated to us all that is going on down there. We had some news that was not good, yet God had already worked it out. Our home study and our agency are not Hague approved which as of April 1, 2008 is necessary if you are adopting from a Hague Convention country. However, Rick took the liberty to send our file to an agency in Kentucky who is willing to oversee the process of redoing the home study so it will follow the guidelines set forth by the Hague Convention. In our conversation, Rick also stated the process for adopting a young girl would take up to 2 additional years. There are a lot of changes going on in El Salvador which affects all aspects of the government. During our conversation, I asked Rick some questions about the orphanages and the children waiting to be adopted. The greatest need at this time is to place older children with families. There are already older children that have been processed through OPA and are waiting placement with a family. They are considered special needs sometimes because of their age. They get passed over because they are a little older. We had some decisions to make. Dexter and I talked and we believe with all our hearts that our daughter is in El Salvador waiting on us to bring her home. We are not backing out of this because of a few technical issues that have come about. However, it has caused us to look at what God wants to do in our family. He knew her when she was in her mother's womb, and he knew she would live with us one day. As Dexter and I talked, it was obvious to both of us especially Dexter that age really is not a determining factor for us. This is where the scripture came to life in me. These older children are considered the "least", yet scripture also says in the Kingdom the least shall be the greatest. These are words of LIFE to us. For our family, this is what God has planned, and we are one with Him.
So, this week Rick is going to OPA and changing our petition for an older child. He will obtain a list of girls that are already processed through OPA and are ready for placement. We then will pray the Lord makes this very clear to us which child is ours and will begin the process of bringing her home. We do not know a time frame. El Salvador is in the process of electing a new president and this causes delays. Please continue to pray for our family, that we will hear from the Lord and do what He says.

HE LOVES US!!!

Today really didn't start out the way I wanted it to. I called the adoption agency in hopes of hearing some good news. Our paperwork has been in the governmental office in El Salvador since September awaiting a Certificate of Approval. It appears the office closed for about a month to celebrate the holidays and is just now reopening. There are 17 families waiting for approval and the process is unusually slow according to our agency. Rick, the liason in El Salvador, had a meeting with the Director of OPA yesterday and gave him a list of all 17 families waiting for approval. He requested the Director step in and help find a way to expedite the process. There is no meeting scheduled for January, so we assume they might meet in February. Which families they will discuss at the meeting is unknown. We are just part of a stack of files right now. As you can see, this was very discouraging to me because we haven't heard anything or seen any progress since the end of October or beginning of November. Thus far the wait has not been so bad because the Lord has continued to give us something every few weeks to either work on or pray about. Today, as I finished that conversation with the agency, I was feeling a bit frustrated that nobody knows anything or is doing anything. I went about my morning, took Sissy to piano, homeschooled the kids, and then I got the call. No not from the agency, but from a dear friend who no longer lives in our town, but the Lord has protected our friendship despite the distance between us. We usually keep up via email or facebook, but today she called. We had a great time catching up on our families and the kids etc. In the midst of talking about the adoption she shared with me how her family is joining us on this journey. Her children are so excited about Maggie Mae. You see they have walked through this process before, they have a sister who was adopted. They understand the significance in adopting a child who needs a family, but more than this they have learned an invaluable Kingdom principle. They have discovered what it means to hear God's voice and do what He says. In that they have also learned what it means to be adopted into God's family. As their mom was sharing with me all God has taught them, she shared with me how their family is partnering with us. I don't feel at liberty to share the details of what they are doing, but I am so overwhelmed by the Lord. God loves me so much that He caused her to call today, He is loving our daughter through 2 young boys and their parents, and He brought news of this on a day when I was feeling very helpless. We are blessed to have not only this family, but another family who has adopted to be walking so closely with us through this process. They are holding our arms up when we feel like we can't lift them up anymore. God is truly glorifying Himself through these 2 families. We don't know what she looks like, we don't know how old she is, and we don't know when we can go get her; however, we do know Maggie Mae is loved by many and God has His favor and unfailing love upon her. To my sweet friends, and you know who you are, I love you and am truly overflowing with joy!!!! He loves us, oh how He loves us!

The Reflection in Your Eyes

As I gaze at You
You are looking at her
As her eyes meet Yours
Oh how my heart will stir

What love is this that does not know
The physical appearance of her face
Yet knows her heart and soul
The reality of her fate

Perfect love, it knows no boundaries
It's a sea of endless grace
Throwing off that which hinders
And staying engaged in the race.

Merry Christmas and Feliz Navidad
As we are enjoying the holiday season, so are the employees in El Salvador:):):) We are praying God will move in January, and we will be on our way to a referral. We are not in control of the timing of all this, He is. Our job is to stay engaged. The poem above is inspired from my journaling to Maggie and the Lord. My specific prayer is that He will show me her face in the reflection of His eyes.

Walking in the Light
Patricia

PROGRESS!!!!

We just got an email from the adoption agency. Rick our contact in El Salvador has scheduled a meeting with the Director of ISNA. They will come together to develop a plan to speed up the adoption process for the families waiting. Also, Rick found out the OPA will be meeting very soon, and we are the next on the list to be reviewed. We are petitioning for a Certificate of Approval to be Ideal Parents. We feel like all parties involved are being very proactive, and we are encouraged by the news. If we receive the Certificate of Approval, Rick can begin the process to make a referral. Please pray that this meeting with Rick is productive and takes place soon. We are very excited about this news, and thank you all for hanging in there with us on this journey. We would love to hear from those of you whom God has spoken to. "To Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, to Him be the Glory." Ephesians 3:20a, 21.

YEILDED TO HIS PLAN!!!

Well the good news is we were not declined in the OPS meeting last week; however, there was not an approval granted either. They have not completed reviewing our file so we must wait until the next meeting. When will that be? Who knows, Igor at Homecoming Adoptions said these are bureaucratic delays. God is so in the midst of all this, and we are completely yielded to His plan and timing. We found out today that Homecoming Adoptions is representing 17 other families adopting from El Salvador. We ask you all as you are praying for our family and Maggie that you also lift these other families up to the Lord. As much as we wanted to hear everything was approved and the search for her was beginning, we will not be discouraged by this news. We must press on toward the goal set before us in prayer and praise for what He has already done. God is a work, and we will bring Maggie home to the place God destined her to be when she was being formed in her mother's womb. Please continue to pray for us, acknowledging everything He has done and anticipating everything He will do. Blessings to you all!!!!

IMMIGRATION APPROVED!!!!

We received our Immigration Approval form yesterday!!!! We are having it notarized and mailing it out today. Igor at our agency will forward it to El Salavador. He said today on the phone that the OPS office in El Salvador was supposed to meet real soon and OUR PAPERWORK WAS IN THIS GROUP!!!!! So now we pray that everything was done correctly. Out of this meeting we will either get an approval for the agency to make a referral or we will get notified of something was not done correctly and must be done again. So of course we want the approval; however, the Lord is reminding me even as I write this that HIS PLAN will prevail. Please join us in prayer that HIS WILL be done, and the decision from this meeting will come quickly so we can move on to the next step. WE ARE SO EXCITED!!! We also feel God's favor on us in that we are not having to wait a long time in between the steps of the process. Thank you, thank you , thank you, for joining us in prayer and rejoicing with us. Maggie Mae is truly a very blessed little girl.
"Who is like the Lord our God, the One who sits enthroned on high, who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth? He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap (trash); he seats them with princes with the princes of their people." Psalm 113:5-8. There is no one like Him; therefore, there is no way I could possibly explain all that He is doing in our hearts right now. WE BLESS YOU LORD AND WE ARE DESPERATELY SEEKING YOU!!!!!!

Fingerprinting is Done!!!

We went to Atlanta Thursday to the US Citizenship and Immigration Service, USCIS, for fingerprinting. This is supposed to be the final step in our immigration paperwork to be able to bring Maggie across the border when we travel. We had a great time and made it a date. It's amazing how much you have to catch up on with the person you are married to. Life sometimes gets too busy, and we need to rally in the troops and hunker down with our family. Now we wait again for the fingerprints to get processed and for the USCIS to send us an I-171 form to send to El Salvador. This whole waiting thing is so in tune with what the Lord is revealing to us right now. When you are in a position of waiting, you basically are not in control, you can't do anything to speed up the process, and you have to learn to keep living. It's a picture of what the Lord wants from us, to "Be Still and KNOW that I AM God". We are to JUST BE. He is in control. His timing is PERFECT. I (Patricia) am a doer and am learning what it means to just be. It really is a matter of trusting Him and letting Him live through me. Maggie is more than likely born already, living in the orphanage, or on the side of the road, or in a home where her birthmother is desperately trying to take care of her. God has His hand upon her life right now, and anything He allows into her life He will use for His glory and His purposes. We believe with all our heart that the little girl God wants to entrust to us is the PERFECT chosen one for our family. So what now, join us in praying for her and for those in close contact with her now. We are praying that "the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it." Isaiah 40:5