There have been a couple songs that we've clung to during this whole adoption process. One of them has been "Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)" by Hillsong United and the other was "The Lord Our God" by Kristian Stanfill. Through the "Oceans" song, we were given our theme of "Love Crosses Oceans". This has been our mantra as we've completed the process to bring our little girl home. One of the lines from "The Lord Our God"- We won't move without you- kept us steadfast through the many timelines that were stalled, during the times when paperwork or finances didn't come through with the timing we expected or wanted. He used those two songs to show us that He knows no boundaries, there are no boxes or timelines that can contain Him. Everything during this process happened within His will. He chose the parameters, He paved the way, He made us encounter people when we needed to, He provided when we needed it, He stalled the process because His timing was better and greater than ours.
In June 2017, it will have been 4 years since we initially took the plunge into the world of adoption and started the process that would make us the parents of Wesley. In August 2017, it will mark 2 years since we signed on with Living Hope Adoption Agency and started the process that will now make us the parents of Torianna Grace Jiao Dagger.
Below are links to each song mentioned above:
Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)
Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the water
Wherever you would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
and my faith will be made stronger in the presence of my Savior
The Lord Our God
The Lord our God is ever faithful
Never changing through the ages
From this darkness you will lead us
Forever we will sign to the Lord our God
Some things to update you on:
- We are FULLY FUNDED!!! When we heard the news of a donation that had been made to our agency that was going to cover our remaining fees, we were floored. If there was one thing during both adoption processes, that worried us the most, it was the financial aspect of it all. When we told our families this news, someone said, "We try to put God in a box- we certainly do our best. But He consistently reminds us that He has no boundaries. Boxes- no matter how big- cannot contain Him."
- We have been connected with a family that lives in the Lancaster area that recently brought home two little girls from the same orphanage in Inner Mongolia that Jiao is currently at. Both girls turned 3 in March (Jiao will turn 3 in May) which means that they most likely spent a lot of time together, were cared for by some of the same nannies, and had similar experiences for the first few years of their lives. This will be huge as Jiao makes the transition to life as our daughter, life in the States, and into a life that is completely foreign to her.
- We have received our Letter of Acceptance which means that China has officially recognized us as Jiao's parents. We have just about 2 months (give or take a few weeks) left in the process. We are currently waiting for immigration paperwork to come back, we will need to receive our travel approval, and then travel arrangements will need to be made. Over the next few weeks, there will be a lot of paperwork back and forth as well as waiting for our travel arrangements to be made. We are hoping to travel sometime this summer (the earliest being mid-June).
- THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!With your help, and the help of many local businesses, organizations, and groups, we were able to collect roughly 285 bags of 25 pairs of shoes each!!! That equates to an estimated 7,125 pairs of shoes! WOW! Those shoes are currently being cleaned, repaired, and repurposed and are on their way to countries like Haiti and many parts of Africa and India. Once repurposed, these shoes become an economic lifeline for individuals and families living in developing nations. Funds2Orgs works with individuals who create micro-business. Micro-entrepreneurs then sell the shoes in their local communities for a fraction of their original cost, but for a profit. Your shoe donation may be a child's first pair of shoes, it may be the reason that a child can go to school for the first time, or it may enable a family or single parent to provide for their family in the way of food, shelter, clothes, or other needs in order for them to stay healthy and survive. Your shoe donations also helped us to raise roughly $2800 that will go towards the adoption of our daughter, Jiao!
