How God Knocked My Socks Off Today

Naomi Sunshine and Joanna Sleyca, today I have to tel you about the God who created you.  Your God is a mighty God.  I hope that every day of your life I will tell you of his mighty works, but today, I will especially tell you of his mighty works.
Yesterday I started teaching the book of James to your brothers and sisters.  There is a verse in the first chapter that talks about asking God for wisdom.  James then reminds the church that they have to ask with faith, otherwise they are like a wave that gets tossed back and forth in the sea and God will not give them anything.  We talked about how God wants us to trust him and have faith.  After that lesson I really started praying that God would have you home, in your forever home, by next spring, even sooner!!
His response to me was AWESOME!
Here is the order of events that occurred today:
1.  I sent a message asking Emily if the orphanage had a way to receive shoe boxes as Christmas gifts if they were packed by our church in Virginia for you and your friends.
2.  I was made aware of a new policy in Haiti that says that no new dossiers will be accepted until June 1, 2012 in order to clear out the ones they have right now and be able to speed the process of getting children home to their forever families sooner.  That seems like bad news, but our Dossier won't be ready until right around June 1, so God has his PERFECT timing for us-we'll be among the first dossiers to go through the new streamlined process! (Maybe I had better start to get your room ready!!)
3.  A dear friend from Grace Bible Church, and the woman who may one day be your Sunday school teacher, is heading to Haiti and since she knows about you girls she plans to come see you and hold you this summer.
4.  Emily confirmed that I could easily get my shoe boxes to you if I could just ship them to Kansas.  She said 100 boxes is perfect because right now there are 97 children at Lifeline and that the children would LOVE receiving them.
5.  Mrs Stapleton emailed to say that she has been in touch with David and in planning her trip to see you.  I'll send a gift to you with her.  She can't wait to meet you!
6.  One of your friends is coming home tomorrow with her forever family. (Nerloune)
7.  Two of your friends, Neissa and Dina, were officially adopted today so they will come home soon.
8.  Your sister wrote out a business plan to sell snacks and drinks this weekend at a yard sale to help raise money for Lifeline so that more children can gt forever families and have a wonderful home there.

WOW!  What a day.  Our God, my God and your God, showed his power and his might, and his LOVE to us all today.  I will keep writing this story so that one day you girls will sit on the couch with me and we will remember how hard we prayed with FAITH and how God honored our hearts desires to be together.  In the meantime, "I will glory in my redeemer."

Before the foundations of the earth were laid God knew you would be in our family-what a gift he is giving us!

Modern technology is getting us closer and closer to our girls without even being in the past week being in Haiti yet.  Through the wonders of Facebook, I have "met" several other families who are adopting children from Lifeline.  I have also "met" the full time missionary who lives at he orphanage with my girls.  You can't imagine the feeling that wells up in your heart as you read a message from Facebook that casually says, "Oh, I live at the orphanage with your girls and I have been here since the day they arrived."  It is thrilling to know that you girls are only an email away from us right now.

Sleyka (age 2)

Sunshine (age 5)

Even greater, is seeing God's family at work in our lives.  We cannot be with you yet, but in the time that we wait, there are amazing servants who are coming to see you and bringing you little treasures.  There are people who seek to impart the wisdom of the gospel in your lives.  There are servants who are willing to travel to Haiti to clean your teeth, listen to your hearts beat, and build new classes in your home.  And becasue God is a lavish God, he is then willing to prompt those folks to reach out to your fmaily in Virginia and give us updates on you.  We now know that Sunshine is a vibrant and bright light at Lifeline.  We know that she likes to sing and dance, and that she is a sweet and loving little girl.  We also know that you are sweet sisters who have been thriving since the day you arrived.  We know that you are healthy and well.  We now know that your name is pronounced "Sleigh-ee-ka" in Hatian....we have been saying it wrong.  We hope you'll understand!  But one of the best things is that we keep getting these.....

Today we sent off our family book to our girls in Haiti.  This will be the book that they sit down with when they are told that God is giving them a home with a forever family.  This will be the first time they see our faces.  This will be the first time they hear our names.  This will be the beginning of a new life for them.  As I put this book together I fretted over which pictures to use, which words to write, how to convey our love for them without overwhelming them. Then I realized that none of that matters.  For the next six months these two little girls will be told about a family who loves them  They will flip through the pages of this book every day.  They will have it read to them in Creole a hundred times.  they will know that God has a plan for them.  That is what matters.  And then, one day in October, they will see us, and touch us, and talk to us.  That is what will matter.  I hope that book is loved to pieces by the time I see it again.  I hope the pages are torn and the pictures are wrinkled, and the words are rubbed off.  I guess if I saw it in banged up shape I would know that we are loved too.  That those two little girls are falling as in love with their new family as we are with them.

March's Major Milestone

After early morning dentist appointments, we packed up and drove 90 minutes south to our state capitol, Richmond.  There, we found the office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth.  Her job was to place a seal on each of the documents that we will send to Haiti.  These documents have been assembled with care and precision to ensure that every questions that someone in Haiti might ask has been fully answered.  These papers prove that we are financially blessed, that we are a suitable home for you, that we are a family with a great support system, ans that this will be a wonderful place for you to grow up.  These papers are worth more money that you might think, and hours of effort.  But without that seal, they are useless.

As I sat down to write about this tonight, I realized that this is so much like what the Bible teaches us about the work of Jesus in lour lives.  In 1 Corinthians 1:13-14 it says

"And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth , the gospel of your salvation.  Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession-to the praise of his glory."

These papers with a fancy seal guarantee you a spot at our table, and a share in the inheritance Daddy and I leave behind, but they are nothing compared to the seal set upon us when we are sealed by our belief in Christ Jesus who is our salvation.  That seal will grant you an inheritance that you cannot even begin to fathom.


 I thanked God today as I drove to Richmond that we lived close enough that I could drive these documents in as opposed to mailing them off for authentication.  We loved exploring the Capitol while we waited for them to be completed, and we especially enjoyed having Nana meet up with us to share our excitement and to enjoy lunch with us.  These were our celebration cookies!!

As the kids waited with Nana after lunch, I ran in to collect paperwork.  Upon my return they were all enjoying this culture outside of the capitol building.  The text did not just speak, but screamed to me.  We had a neat chat about building bridges through adoption.

17 Dossier documents, notarized and authenticated!!

As soon as we were back in town we made all of the necessary copies and shipped the documents off to the agency for further processing.  We are one leap closer to holding our girls.

Six Plus Two Equals 8!

Some times in life there is no denying that the God of the universe, and He alone, orchestrates the events of our lives.  This is one of those times when the little things in life are adding up to prove that God is bigger than anything we can fathom.  Here is why.......
On January 26, 2012 a mother, with no other options, brought two little girls to Lifeline Orphanage  in Croix-de-Bouquets, Haiti.  She delivered them into the hands of a Christian ministry team knowing that they would one day get opportunities in life that she could no longer afford them.  It was her desire that they be given a chance at a better life, one with food, medicine, education, and countless other opportunities.
On January 27, 2012 Ryan came home and told me that he thought we needed to consider growing our family trough adoption.
God's plan was seemless.
For roughly 5 weeks Sunshine and Sleyca's future was uncertain to those who stood by on this earth, but God always knew their future.  He knew that a second home was already being prepared for them.  A home that he had blessed with medicine, food, education, English language coaches, peers, grandparents, and many other amenities.
On March 7, 2012 The Yoho family formally accepted a referral for these two precious little girls.  They are healthy, and they are happy, and they are coming to our house just as soon as these earthly powers can get them here.
As of right now they are 5 and 2.  They will reside at the orphanage and attend school, receive medical attention as needed, and be fed and cared for until they are allowed to come home (roughly 15-18 months from now).  The waiting will be hard as hard for us as the grieving is for them right now, but we know that God is in control of this situation and we are grateful that he is revealing His plan to us in such clear and obvious ways.
Some day in the next many months we will meet them both, and tell them all about the life and the siblings and the opportunities waiting for them.  But, more importantly we will tell them about how their God loved them enough to rescue them, first from their sin natures, and then from a life without a family.  What a mighty God we serve!

The Red Notebook

Today we achieved a milestone in the paper chase process.  We were given a red notebook by our social worker.  Her instructions to us were to go home and fill it with all of the required paperwork, and once it was completed, she would begin her part of the process.  We had most of the papers completed, but there were still a few that needed to be done so we committed all of Monday, March 5th, to getting things done for the Red Notebook.
Yesterday daddy took the day off work so that we could go and request police clearance reports, get fingerprints taken, attend a mental health check-up, and get healthy sibling reports completed.  Little one, you do not know at this time how much you are a part of our family, but you are greatly loved already.  I saw evidence of that all day long as we worked to complete our paperwork.  We traveled through a blizzard to get to the police records office.  Your brothers and sisters took their school work along with them and did it in the waiting area.  We had a neat opportunity to see how the fingerprints are now digitally captured (we also had a conversation in the car following the prints discussing why those are necessary and what the police might use them for).  We got great reports from the doctors on all of the siblings, and Silas didn't even cry at his 4 vaccines.  He was brave-I think he is getting himself ready to be a BIG brother to you!!!

Elizabeth had to skip her ballet class so that daddy and I could attend  our mental health check-up. She didn't mind missing it because she knew it would help the process of getting you home sooner. We needed the doctor  to interview us and write a letter to your government telling them that we are in good health.  As soon as Abigail saw us after the appointment she said, "Are you mentally stable?"  Of course we are!!

This process so far has been blessed by the Lord.  Each step of the way things are working out with His kindness showering on us.  I know that he is caring for you right now too.  What a mighty God we are serving!  I look forward to talking to Him with you in my lap.  I can't wait until we can both tell him "thank-you" at the same time for bringing us together.

Dropping off the Red Notebook today was a celebration for us.  It means that Mrs. Jackson can interview us and write our home study report.  Then we can send out papers to Haiti where they will join your papers ans await approval.  After that it is only a matter of time before we will get to meet and play together.

Paper Chase

So this is the part where we fill out a bunch of forms, run around to a bunch of offices, and then pay a lot of money to get all of those forms and documents notarized and certified.  I find myself being frustrated, and panicked.  Why does this have to occur in order to get you here?  Why do all of these people have to be involved?  Your big sisters and brothers don't understand why we can't just come and get you right now and promise to take care of you and love you.  I find myself getting panicked that we are not getting these things done fast enough.  That you are waiting for me to get signed papers and that each day is a missed day with you.
But those are small issues and fears and worries compared to the idea of growing up without a family to play baseball with, watch movies with, play games with, and read books with.  I am assured that God is in control, an that HE knows when you are coming home.  His timing is perfect, and no doctor appointment or certified birth certificate will disrupt his plans for you and I to play together some time soon.
So tonight I am praying for you.  I am thanking God that you are fearfully and wonderfully made.  I am praying that you will be protected, loved, and cared for right where you are.  I am praying that your heart is being made ready for our hearts, and that our hearts are being expanded to include you.  We can't wait to get to know you, and to one day hold you and tell you that every phone call, every form, every dollar spent on a notary was worth it.  And that all of those things pale in comparison to your worth in God's sight.