Adam was able to take TEN days off for Christmas this year! This has never happened before in our house so the kids and I were very excited! We were able to start his vacation by taking a trip to Jackson, Tenn. to attend Joshua and Carolyn Beard's wedding...ALONE! Yep...that's right, Adam and I left the kiddos with Nana Lou and traveled nine hours away for three days! Most people would probably dread a nine hour car trip but Adam and I were excited to have that time alone to talk and just catch up. The wedding was one of the most beautiful weddings I have ever been to...I just love Christmas weddings and it was in a barn. Picture an evening wedding with the entire barn lit by candle light and white Christmas lights, Christmas trees...oh I could go on and on! The decorations were beautiful but the ceremony was amazing. There are few things more exciting that seeing two young people who love God and love each other vow before their friends and family to love each other forever. I cannot wait to see what the Lord has in store for these two! Now having said all of that, it was also a wedding I will never forget for another reason. The bride and groom had just danced their first dance and Joshua invited all the married couples to join them on the dance floor and then announced there had been a change of plans. There was a tornado warning and we needed to evacuate the barn and head next door to the basement of a bed and breakfast. Okay, so now picture, darkness, pelting rain, wind, and tornado sirens. Most of the people there seemed completely calm but I am from Roanoke where we do not have tornadoes (Thank God) and I was a praying mess! In the end, we were all safe and we were able to watch them cut the cake by cell phone light...it was a wonderful night I will not soon forget!
The next morning we were able to go Englewood Baptist Church to praise Jesus the Sunday before Christmas with Travis Cottrell and a few of my dearest friends. I could not have been more excited (ok...maybe if Beth Moore was there but other than that, I could not have been more excited)!
After a couple of days of excitement my mood was quickly changed when on the way home, Adam and I got the following message from the state department website,
"On December 19, the Congolese Minister of Justice, Minister of Interior and Security, and the General Direction of Migration (DGM) confirmed to members of the diplomatic corps, including the U.S. Ambassador, that the current suspension on the issuance of exit permits continues. This announcement confirmed information reported in the Department of State's October 23 adoption alert regarding the suspension of issuance of exit permits to adopted Congolese children seeking to depart the country with their adoptive parents.
(Continued) The DGM continues to estimate that the suspension will last a year. Adoptive families, prospective adoptive families, and adoption service providers are cautioned that the DGM has not committed to processing applications for exit permits within a given timeframe once the suspension ends."
The difference that stuck out right away in this announcement from the one in September was "the suspension will last a year." I started to immediately go through the things that could happen...
"If the suspension lasts a year, she probably wont be home for NEXT Christmas. What if she doesn't get to come here at all?"
I started to panic and then I remembered what the message was on at Englewood church that morning...
FEAR
"There is no reason to fear ANYTHING because God is in control of EVERYTHING." God knew that was exactly what I needed to hear. On a side note, the message at our church this past Sunday was on fear too...I think God is trying to tell me something.
Isaiah 41
“But you, Israel, my servant,
Jacob, whom I have chosen,
you descendants of Abraham my friend,
9 I took you from the ends of the earth,
from its farthest corners I called you.
I said, ‘You are my servant’;
I have chosen you and have not rejected you.
10 So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."
Jacob, whom I have chosen,
you descendants of Abraham my friend,
9 I took you from the ends of the earth,
from its farthest corners I called you.
I said, ‘You are my servant’;
I have chosen you and have not rejected you.
10 So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."
I have decided, yet again, that I cannot trust God and have fear in my heart about what may or may not happen at the same time. Please pray with me that I would trust him more and fear the unknown less. I need your prayers.
The Lord gave us some encouragement on the way home too that brightened our moods :-) The children at the orphanage that I blogged about here got their Christmas presents! The gentleman that delivered the gifts to the children said that it was the best day of his whole year!
I am so thankful to God for letting us be a small part in the work he is doing there.
"Little E" had a Christmas celebration and received her gifts that we sent too!
When Adam and I got home on Sunday night, Eva was waiting up to make sure we got there! Eva and Eli had a wonderful time with their Nana and we were very excited to get home and hug on them for a bit!
The next day started our marathon of Christmas celebration! We visited with lots of family and friends over the next four days! We decided this year to do something we have never done in the past. We purchased gifts for our family that benefited someone else in some way. Each person received a card with "Little E's" picture on it that said, "In honor of E, we have given you a gift that gives back." We purchased gifts from Serrv, Global Goods Partners, Just Love Coffee, Funky Fish Designs, Land of a Thousand Hills (a fair trade coffee shop in Daleville), Rafiki, and Ten Thousand Villages. On the inside of each card, we printed information about where the gift was from, who made it and how it benefited them. Eva helped to wrap each gift this year and Eli helped to unwrap them!
All in all, it was a wonderful week celebrating the birth of our Savior. The Lord has taught us many things over the last eighteen months one of which is to give him praise through everything! I had a couple of rough moments celebrating Christmas without her but God is still God and he is still good...no matter what lies ahead.
Please continue to pray that the Congo would lift the suspension, that God would give us the strength to endure this process and for complete healing and protection for our daughter.
Lynsey
