Crazy Courage

There are a few updates regarding our adoption process.  Our dossier is completed, translated and sent off to the DRC!!  Yeah!  We also know the next steps in our process which is good.  It is nice to be able to follow along with what is going on.  So our next step is receiving a court date in the Congo.  That should happen in about 5 weeks, maybe sooner.  Upon receiving our court date, we will then hear whether or not the judge approved our case.  After court, there is a 30 day waiting period.  Once the 30 day waiting period is up our kids will be moved from Mbuji Mayi to Kinahsa where we will pick them up.  We will wait about 8 weeks for all the paperwork to be completed and then be able to travel.  So in all we are looking at 5 months if there are no paperwork delays and up to 8-9 months if there are delays.  We would so value your prayers that there are no delays and we have a quick process!!  I have been asked if these sweet boys are really ours...  The answer to that question, is yes, in my heart, Matt's heart and our kids's hearts!  We love them so much already!  But officially, no, they are not ours.  After we get through court and our 30 day waiting period, we will get the adoption judgement that states that we have officially adopted these boys.  So we have to wait about 9 weeks or so for the court process to get done and then we can call it official.  I titled my post today Crazy Courage because I believe it takes a lot of crazy courage to adopt!!  We are fairly confident that our court process will go well, but we are aware of cases where it hasn't gone well and people have lost their referral for various reasons.  So it takes some crazy courage and a whole lot of Jesus just to get through this part of the process!  Adoption is hard but it has already yielded blessings beyond anything I could have ever imagined.  Our spiritual and relationship growth along this journey has been incredible and I am so excited for what the future holds!  A special thanks to my sister in law for the following verse that I am holding close to my heart for the rest of this journey:  "Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong." 1 Corinthians 16:13.

By the way, I encourage all of you to be courageous and think about adoption or supporting an orphanage. There is a great need out there and God asks us to take care of the orphans, the poor and the needy!!