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| The canvas I bought to hang in Charlotte's room |
God does not have to give me one iota of proof that I am on the right path. He already saved me and clearly says in His Word that pure and faultless religion is looking after orphans and widows in their distress. He already changed the desires of my heart and opened all the doors leading to the adoption of this precious child. But He is so merciful, and continues to meet my every doubt with confirmation and truth. There is no reasonable explanation why our LOA came so early when other families have been waiting much longer. I prayed for that, and while I was praying I told myself the speed at which the Chinese government processed that paperwork could not be controlled. BUT IT COULD. Today in Vacation Bible School I sat with tears in my eyes as one fourth grader after the other recited this verse to me, "Oh, Lord God! You Yourself made the heavens and earth by Your great power and with Your outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for You!" Do you think He wanted me to hear that a few times?
I believe God answers prayers. I believe where two or more come together in His name, He is there. Would you pray for Charlotte's heart defect? Pray that when she's evaluated by the cardiologist, he will say that her past surgery was completely effective. Pray that her delays from living two years in an orphanage will be erased and that the gaps will be filled in time as she is nurtured and cared for. Pray that she will bond easily with our family and accept love from us quickly.
And would you pray for the remainder of our funds to come through before we travel? Two of our grant applications have been denied. This was a major disappointment, but we still believe God will provide. We still need to raise $7500 - $8000 for travel expenses. It seems insurmountable to me (even though it is less than a third of what we've already paid.) But NOTHING is impossible for God. We still have one grant application pending and we recently found a grant organization that is specifically for special needs orphans who are waiting in orphanages. They actually have a pre-qualification process. I got the call saying we qualify to apply on the same morning we got our LOA! Please pray that we get one or both of those grants. They would not cover the whole amount, but would get us much closer.
We have been brainstorming a couple of local fundraising projects. Pray for the ability and wisdom to pull those off successfully.
We are continuing the Show Hope t-shirt sale until the week before we travel (8 - 10 weeks). Please pray for t-shirts to sell. If you've already bought a shirt – THANK YOU! Wear them often and tell people about Charlotte when they ask about your shirt (and they will!)
We are continuing the Show Hope t-shirt sale until the week before we travel (8 - 10 weeks). Please pray for t-shirts to sell. If you've already bought a shirt – THANK YOU! Wear them often and tell people about Charlotte when they ask about your shirt (and they will!)
We also have a "WePay" site where people can make direct contributions. We do not want to pressure anyone to give if God has not laid it on his or her heart. We have had close friends feel led to contribute, but there have been almost as many strangers buy shirts or donate to help us bring Charlotte home! It continues to astound me the methods God uses to accomplish His purposes. From the bottom of our hearts we thank you for your support and encouragement throughout this entire process. But we thank you most for your prayers. Continue to lift them up as we seek God's provision and prepare to fulfill this awesome calling!
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