Silence

The blog has been quiet for a while.  There have not been new updates.  There are not new advances to report.  There has been waiting.  There has been silence.  But, there has also been growth and peace.  Since May, I have seen you both grow.  Sleyka, you smile more.  Your sweet little baby face is growing and changing into the face of a little lady.  You are getting taller, and you look more like your sister than ever before.  You have learned that you are in a safe place where there are ladies who love you and care for you. You have been given new clothes and small gifts, and over time you are learning to receive those things from others.  Sunshine, you have grown taller, and more mature as well.  You have learned to bring joy and a smile to others, no mater what the circumstance are.  You have learned that you have a family, though that might not make sense yet.  You have learned that we will come for you, though it is hard to know when.  You have met a lady from our church who will one day be your Sunday School teacher, though you were unable to understand that when she held you.  But maybe you sensed it, because you smiled for her, and brought her joy.

While you have done all of that, your siblings here have been working hard to raise money to send to your orphanage to help improve things there.  God has blessed them by allowing them to be involved in His work.  They have watched dogs, done chores, completed projects, and raised awareness about the needs in Croix-de-Bouquets.  By the end of the summer they will send $1180.00 to the orphanage.

While they have been working on that, my heart has been growing.  Miss Emily sends me pictures of you that tell me the story of your life in Haiti.  I am preparing to come and meet you in two months, and then again three months later to bring your Nana to meet you.  I am not learning much about Haiti right now.  I am not learning much about you right now, but I am learning much about our God.  Just today, as I was praying for you and persistently asking God to bring you home in Spring 2013, I learned more about our God.  There are times when I wonder if it is really possible that you would be home so soon when others seem to continue to hit walls in their process.  the verse the Lord gave to me today was one that has always been a favorite but today I heard it with fresh eyes.  Proverbs 3:5-6 says "Trust in the Lord will all of your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.  In all of your ways acknowledge him, and He will make your paths straight."  I always knew we should trust in the Lord.  But today I heard the second part.  When I lean on my understanding, I realize that it could take along time for you to be here with us.  But when I recognize my limited, human understanding for what it is:  a partial picture of the situation colored by my sin nature, then I can allow God to have the space he deserves, and I can begin to trust in HIM with my whole heart.

So, tonight, I am heading into August.  Tomorrow the IBESR is supposed to open.  Tomorrow our paper work is supposed to be complete and ready to be submitted.  In two months I am supposed to board a plane with Daddy to come and hold you. And next spring you are supposed to come home to your Forever Family.   I have no confirmation from anyone on this earth  that those things will happen.  But I am confident in our God that all is well.  I am trusting HIS ways, even in the silence.