Electronic Cartwheel (As promised)

Around 30 days ago, we were told we would finally be on the awaited list in September.  And I got teary eyed.  It was finally happening!  But there was still a part of us that, due to the psychotic roller coaster of the last year and a half, was afraid to get really excited and be let down.  It wasn't on paper yet at that point and we would have to wait a month.
The end of September was coming and we got anxious.  No news on Monday.  Nothing again on Tuesday.  And then nothing on Wednesday.  We knew as the week went on, it meant the odds of traveling before Christmas this year were getting slim.  But we were okay with that.  We just wanted to see "the list".
Thursday morning, I woke up and grabbed my phone.  And there was an email from our agency "The kids have been assigned to you!!".  It means in Peru's mind, they're ours!!  This is HUGE!!
Now, we have pages of immigration paperwork to fill out.  Like 45+ pages!  We have to wait on some of the information we need to be translated into English.  So....the odds of things getting back and them letting us travel before January are not super high.  BUT if I've come to learn anything at all in this process, it's that God certainly knows what He's doing.  And if He wants to make miracles happen in the immigration office, He will.
For now, the when doesn't matter.  It's on paper: they are assigned to us and us to them.  We get to go get them!  That is good stuff!
Tonight, we were waiting to get all 5 of them in the same room to Skype with us.  While we waited on the girls, we figured out that a house mom at the orphanage had told the kids the news!  They are definitely excited with a tad of nervous.  It's definitely a different thing adopting older kids who have existing relationships and people in Peru that they love.  Please be praying for our kiddos.  All 7 really. Everyone will have an adjustment.  And the 5 Peruvians will be saying goodbye to friends and people they love dearly.  All good stuff, but still hard.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for all who have prayed, cried, and celebrated with us!  The journey is only beginning so stay tuned!  Lots more fun to come!

God Worked While We Stood

In the last post, I told you about having to start some pieces of the process over.  Our psychologist and social worker were both rockstars and wrote new reports that were fabulous!  Friends and family wrote amazing letters on our behalf and we felt confident.  Once our new docs were translated and in the hands of the SNA, there was nothing we could do but wait.  And that's what we did.
Meanwhile though, things were happening in Peru.  We had previously been told that our 5 kids in Peru would not be interviewed until the very end if absolutely needed.  Well without our foreknowledge, all 5 got interviewed by a kind social worker that was working on our behalf.  They wrote letters requesting to be adopted specifically by us and spoke of wanting to come live with us.  This is good for so many reasons, but it was pretty cool to know this happened in a way that I couldn't worry about ahead of time.  It happened in the purest form--the kids not knowing it was coming and us not knowing it was happening.
Our friend Kevin was in Peru during this time as well, when normally he would have been working in the States.  There was NO coincidence that he was there at this exact time and he was able to provide additional resources to the SNA including conversations we've had on Skype or Facebook with the kids.
Each time I heard of a social worker, someone in the orphanage, or a friend fighting on our behalf, I was so humbled.  There was not a thing left that Scott and I could do.  But God provided others to fill in each gap as it was needed and He worked while we waited.
It's so interesting to me that there is a word in Spanish, esperar, that can mean both 'to hope' or 'to wait'. I had never thought of these words being synonymous in the English language before.  But as we waited on God to work and do His thing in Peru, it was also hopeful.   I was hoping in the Lord (like Isaiah 40:31 says) which was also waiting.  Maybe something you smarter folks had thought of before, but not me until it was real life!
As a result of everyone's hard work, the SNA showed favor on us!  While we are not officially assigned to the kids yet, we will be soon (as promised) and there will be a big, exciting blog post (in lieu of an electronic cartwheel) that you will all see when that happens!
Thank you if you are some that have continually prayed for us.  Thank you for being excited with us and sad with us.  There is MORE of all of that to come, I'm sure.  But I have to remember to continue to wait/hope, no matter what the issue is.  How quickly I forget that, time and time again, God has showed Himself to me in powerful ways!  I am asking that He continue to stay close to me and my family and speak in a way that we can follow right behind!

Take 2

Sorry it's been a little bit since the last update. Just nothing significant to report.  Since then, we've revisited with the psychologist, the social worker and our agency numerous times!  Crazy process and a new stack of paperwork has been sent to Alabama before being sent on to Peru. Whew!

Which brings us to today.  We were expecting our new paperwork to arrive in Peru today but unexpectedly, it arrived a few days ago and is already in translation!  Gotta celebrate the small stuff.  Not very often has something happened sooner than expected so I'm excited! Plus, it's hard to continue to see clearly, the positives, when it seems like things should have been different.  In my plan and my time that is.

Instead, we are trusting in God's plan and God's time.  I am asking God, who is the only One capable of changing the hearts of men, to break into the heart's of Peru's leadership and change their hearts to a unanimous YES in favor of us!  I am asking God to hold our kids, His kids, and help them to continue to hope and be patient.

I just read Kisses from Katie and I almost believe that God is closer and more real to the orphan than He is to us anyway.  I mean, they're His kids.  He hasn't abandoned them.  He still has a plan and purpose for them and it's better than mine.  So I know He's holding my 5, just like a Mama holds her babies to keep them safe.  And we will keep standing.  When we got bad news last month, Scott kept thinking about the verses in Ephesians 6 (about the armor of God) where is says:

...and we've you've done everything to stand. Stand firm, then...

And that's all we can do.  keep standing firm, knowing what He called us to and trusting that He is still in His seat and still has a plan.

The List

Sometimes I blog because I've told some the latest update, but know there are others who would rather read or who are far away.  But sometimes I blog because I can't physically get my mouth to say certain words over and over.  Today is the latter.
We are not going to be on the July 1st list.  We ran into some hiccups (for lack of better words and the avoidance of profanity) that have us delayed.  Our agency and their attorney are continuing to work on our behalf.  But I won't lie, today was a rough day.  I have a million questions that will probably never get answered--why do they wait to tell us things until we're sitting around waiting for good news?  Why do they decide this or that?  Even if I had Peru's ear, it wouldn't matter.  They're not really in control anyway.  And while today still feels like they are frustrating many lives (because more than our disappointment, I hate how long this is taking for the kids)... we know that God is still ultimately in charge.
So you probably won't hear me chatting too much about the details of this.  I'm going to do what I'm told and keep walking.  But I will continue to pray--that God would work hard behind the scenes.  I know He loves these kids more than we do and He knows what is best for them and when.  I will continue to pray that God would hang onto the Peruvian 5 and help them to trust Him and His time.  The waiting has to be hard on them!!  
And I will continue to pray that He is glorified.
In the process.
In the Sterling family's lives.
In me.
We are grateful for all of you that have been praying with us.  We are humbled by the amount of people  involved in our story, cheering for and backing us.

"But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved."  Hebrews 10:39

You Hold Everything Together

"You hold everything together.  Everything together".  We sang these words at our church this morning and all I could think was, "Yep, you're the only One holding this thing together".  And I'm so grateful that the God who holds the universe together (Colossians 1) is holding our story together too.
This week is the last 5 days of June before the consejo is supposed to come out.  We are still praying super hard that our dossier can get approved this week AND that we can be on that consejo.  It's asking a lot, but I'm asking BIG.

The picture is our kids wrists.  The Guier girls got them bracelets and gave 2 to Scott and I.  We will wear them until they get here.  More hope (like my previous post).  Universal God.

Please pray with us this week!  I found myself praying today, "Dios, necesitamos un milagro! "  We need a miracle.  And we do.  But that's the beauty of relying on God...only He can pull this off!

Hope

For several days, I've been praying something specific for our kids.  Our friends, the Guier's, are in Peru right now getting to pick up their 2 girls and bring them home! Their girls live in the same orphanage as our kids.  A big party was thrown and their going home was celebrated!  But I knew this could potentially be super hard on our kids.  Not to mention the Guier's. :)  So I prayed and prayed (not knowing which day exactly would be goodbye day) that God would supernaturally implant a feeling of HOPE in our kids hearts instead of grief or sadness.  That the Guier's leaving would be a huge sign that they are going to get to come home too.  Hope

A few days after the big goodbye, Lisa e-mailed me a quick email telling me that our oldest had given their oldest his mp3 player.  This is his most prized possession--possibly the only thing he owns of any value.  And he gave it to her to travel with and use "until he gets to the United States".  Hope!  He believes he will make it here to retrieve it from her...or get a new one!  Whichever...he believes.  My prayers are being answered!

In other news, it sounds like our case is being discussed in Peru and going well.  Please keep praying!  I have a friend who is committed to praying for us at 9AM each morning until July 1st--if you'd like to join her and I in the mornings, that would be great!
Enjoy your Sunday!

1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a LIVING HOPE through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead

Pressed but not crushed

Yesterday was May's consejo.  Our agency doesn't let us know but we hear through the adoption grapevine.  So although we try not to be this way, we are somehow crazily hopeful all day that the list will come out and our kids will be on it, making them officially ours.
We found out that was not going to be the case, even before the list was on the internet.  I'd be lying if I said we weren't disappointed.  As of yesterday, we didn't know why.  We didn't know what stage our paperwork is in.  It's hard to explain to people why we are in this position, when our kids are older and in a sibling group which should make them top priority.
After a little pushing, we got some information today.  Apparently, our dossier is not yet officially approved.  If you read the history, you've read that our adoption requires "special consideration" for my age.  Well....the group of folks that originally said they would make an exception for my age are not all still working for this governing body in Peru.  ONE actually remains which has to be a God thing!  We will call her The Doctor.
I am asking all you praying folks to please pray that The Doctor would be diligent in presenting our case and fighting on behalf of our kids getting a family, our family!  That you would pray for the others involved in the process (social workers, legal and psychologists) to have our kids at the forefront of their minds and to make a decision to make an exception for our special circumstances.  We don't want to be a forgotten pile of paperwork on the corner of a desk.  We need that big YES on our dossier and then a "match" made on the consejo so we can travel!
Please, please pray with us from now until the end of June.  That gives us around 5 weeks to get the dossier approved and still be on the next consejo.  It requires God movement and I believe it is possible!  The next consejo is July 1.
In the next few weeks, our 5 are going to watch 2 of their friends leave the orphanage to go live with a fabulous family in the U.S.  We are so excited for them!!  My prayer is that it provides hope to our 5 that this thing really is possible.  And that they aren't far behind!
Isaiah 1:17
Learn to do right.  Seek justice, encourage the oppressed.  Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.
We will continue to defend their cause!  Thank you for those of us that will pray with us and our fighting on their behalf as well!

Well we survived

The grad party and Senior Sunday day that is!   I made it all day yesterday without being sappy.  Self preservation I guess. But I just got my camera out and got kind of messed up!  I looked at the senior girls that made up a "panel" at our Senior Sunday church service yesterday...almost all of them, I've known since they were at least 6th grade!  Some of them just as silly as ever! They are so talented!  And have taught me so much over the years!  When I first came home from college, I had NO DESIRE to spend time with middle school girls.  I could write it off as "not my gift".  But I very clearly remember God telling me they were mine to spend time with.  And I walked up to Scott Sterling (who I was working in youth ministry with at the time) and quietly whispered that God told me to hang out with those girls.  Little did I know what a treat it was for me!  They made me laugh hard, be uninhibited, teach boldly and laugh some more.  I am so proud (not in a parental sort of way) of who they are and what they have done.  Many have consistently mentored middle schools girls.  Some are wanting to go into missions.  Others are following God to make a difference in the business world.  ALL are capable of doing amazing things if they continue following this amazing God wherever He leads.  And I believe they will.

THEN in 2008, one of them became my daughter!  How crazy lucky am I!?  We had her grad party yesterday afternoon which was lots of fun!  I think Logan felt special and loved which is what the day was all about!  Both she and I couldn't wait to get our shoes off; who knew such a party could wear a person out!  Because of the craziness going on with graduation stuff, she was home 2 nights in a row to eat with us (which is actually not a common thing around here) and it's been fabulous!  I hope this summer brings many more nights of grilling with all of us home!
As for adoption news, please be praying that we are on the May consejo at the end of the month.  When I find out that the list is coming, I will post it so that we can all be praying specifically.  The Peruvian 5 are doing well!  We've gotten to chat and Skype a little bit again which is so nice!!  I'd love to be able to tell them we got the official, "They're ours! ".

Silence is Golden

Well not really in international adoption.  But we've been hearing a lot of it lately.  We didn't know if our paperwork looked good or if it was going to require changes.  We didn't know if our dossier was on the  desk being looked at or not.  Scott and I kind of teeter totter, who is impatient and who has learned to just wait.  It's a good thing we take turns being impatient or something ugly might happen! :)
Fortunately, we have a handful of folks, both in the U.S. and in Peru that are equally as impatient as we are and help push things a bit.  We have a friend that calls it Operation Adopt Rojas Reyes.  OARR is in full force!

Fortunately, it sounds like we are at least being discussed in Peru.  There is an attorney in Peru that tries to fight on behalf of the kids which keeps our case in the forefront of their minds as well.
What I would ask is that the prayer warriors out there would pray--
For any barriers to be broken down.
For the best interest of the kids to be always the priority.
And for the kids.  That they would not lose heart.

All is well from what we can tell!  Plenty of distractions from the waiting going on in our household--Logan graduating, Laney into everything, Scott working his tail off!  Never a dull moment.  Thanks for your prayers and continued support!

Happier Thoughts

2 posts in the same day...I know, it's crazy!  On a more uplifting note than my last post, I'm happy to report that I received a DVD of La Cenicienta in the mail today.  The Spanish version of Cinderella, although Cinderella is still white for some reason.  Anyway, this is happy news because....well, I ordered E.T. in Spanish as well.  But I was shocked when I received a huge box called a VHS!  What was I thinking!?  We don't own a VCR anymore, nor do I know anyone who does.  Logan probably hasn't ever seen one!  Well maybe that's a little far, but still.  Pretty funny!
Also, tomorrow is the fundraiser that Jes Horton wanted to do for us.  We are humbled and so appreciative by all the people who are lugging their kids and/or spouses to that tomorrow to support us.  We feel loved, encouraged, and supported!

What's New?

Awhile back, I posted on Facebook that international adoption is as easy as nailing jello to the wall.  These last few days, we definitely feel like we're walking uphill a little bit.  We worked our tails off try to buy a foreclosure that we really liked...and lost to a higher bid.  Disappointing, but just a house.  So we kept walking.  The next day, I found out that I got denied health insurance.  Denied.  Like a sick person or something!  Terribly frustrating.  And that same afternoon, the consejo came out.  Our kids were not on it.
The consejo is the list that the SNA in Peru puts out periodically (usually once a month at the end of the month but not always) and it "matches" couples or individuals with a child or sibling group.  Ours will say something like sibling group ages 9-16 matched with a couple from Villa Hope.  We thought this was the step we are waiting for.  Come to find out, there are pieces in between our paperwork and the consejo that haven't happened yet.  Our agency is supposed to be researching what the status of our paperwork is, if there are any problems that need to be corrected, etc.
We didn't cry or stomp our feet or anything.  We know there are worse things.  And we certainly have learned to trust God's timing.  We are thrilled we're not traveling in May so that Logan can get the love and attention she deserves during graduation!  We know when God allows us to travel, it will be just the right time!
But there are times in our walk with Christ that it just feels like you're walking in mud.  Like every step is hard and heavy.  He says His yoke is easy and His burden is light.  So sometimes I wonder if I am making things harder than they ought to be.  But similar to carrying a child for 10 months, nausea, heartburn and swollen ankles, the journey is worth it.  I believe this!