It's Christmas, but still waiting

It is Christmas day now and still in the same spot as before. Really don't know anything except they are slowly moving along doing matches. We do know they have matched through the 3rd week of February 2006. At least they are in 2006. However, March 2006 was an extremely busy month with large numbers of dossiers coming into the Chinese gov't. Whatever it is, we are moving along. The only really bad thing to come out of this is that we will need to be fingerprinted again, and this time we will have to pay for it to the tune of $750.00.
On another note; it is Christmas 2008 and we are waiting still. Both Jennifer and I are at peace with it at least but still waiting is difficult. We know it is close but it is like you can not touch it, just out of your grasp. We just keep reminding ourselves that God is in control. We figure this child he has for us will be something very special for us. As I reflect through this Christmas season I keep coming back to a part of scripture in the book of Luke Chapter 2. This is what it says:

Simeon Sees God’s Salvation

25 And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, 28 he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said:
29 “ Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace,
According to Your word;
30 For my eyes have seen Your salvation
31 Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples,
32 A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles,
And the glory of Your people Israel.”

33 And Joseph and His mother[a] marveled at those things which were spoken of Him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against 35 (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”


When you read this, your first thought maybe, what does this have to do with waiting or Christmas or whatever. Well, first, it has to do with hope and a lot of it. Read it again. You see Simeon was told by the Lord that he would not see death until he saw the Christ child. Some scholars estimate that Simeon could have been 200 years old when he saw the Christ child. How many years do think he had to wait to see the Christ child so he could die and go to heaven to be with the Lord. Every time he went to the temple, he wondered if today would be the day. And if it wasn't, which was most of the time, he would have to wait for another day. Never knowing when it was supposed to happen. Same for us, we don't know what day. We know it coming, but we have to wait upon God and his timing. Simeon had to wait. You see Christ came into this world when he was needed most. Simeon faith had to be great and trust in the Lord that he would fulfill his promise to Simeon. Simeon knew that it would happen, but when. And when it did happen, can't you see how glorious it was. He could now die and go be with the Lord. Think of it this way, what if Simeon waiting 20 years, how about 40 years, maybe 75 years or longer to see the Christ child. All he knew is that it would happen because God made that promise to him and that was it. Didn't tell him when, how, who the parents were, anything, just that it will happen. Talk about faith, talk about hope. We need to have that same faith and hope in God that it will come, when, who knows, but God will come through. No matter what it is, he will come through. We know this is what he wants for us, so we must remain faithful in him for it.
Imagine what would happen if we started to try and take this into our own hands. It's like I heard on pastor say "we take the nails and boards and try to build it ourselves because we are too impatient to wait. Just doing it. Well, do you think that it would turn out pretty good or do think it would have turned out better if you waited, taken your time, waited for God. God can build anything better than even the best master craftsman here on earth. He is building it up in us. That is something we can not do. He is our Lord and he can be yours if you ask Him. As we go through this Christmas season, remember Simeon, remember God's promise and he never goes back on what he promises. We just need to keep moving forward, even when it is difficult to do. If it isn't today, maybe tomorrow. Hope, Faith, Love all are powerful and comforting. With out hope, what do we have. Just another day. With out Faith, what do we have, nothing. It all means nothing. Without Love, what do we have. Pride, self centered, egos, etc.... But with God.... Merry Christmas to all our family and friends this blessed Christmas!!

Lily-An

The name. After 2 1/2 years we have a name. We haven't really been thinking or talking about one yet, this name came to Jennifer in a dream. We both believe that it came from the God and it was his way of telling us he is in control of this process. He is still with us and walking with us. Even though the time is getting drawn out, we are still holding on to Him and giving it over to Him. He is still blessing us through this process. Now we can feel--somewhat--complete. It is a hard feeling to describe but now that we have a name, it just feels right. The only concern I had was, what do we do if it is a boy or we get twins or something like that. We will cross that bridge when we come to that. Neither one of us feel like we have to be concerned with that as God has already given us a name for our child. I will update this post soon with the meaning of the name, Jennifer is researching that now. Please continue to keep us in your prayers. We are starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel. It is still several months away, but we are trusting in God through this. Our faith is growing stronger through this and we are feeling at peace with the process. We thank God more than ever for this adoption. Check back soon for an update on the meaning.. until then, take care everyone.

Still Hanging In There

It has been a few months since last post, ok maybe many. We are still waiting and waiting. The time line for a match has increased by a few months. That was not expected but then again, it has been happening since the beginning. It is what it is. We keep holding onto our faith in God to see us through this. We know he has a plan and his plan is best for us. That is sometimes hard to understand at times. We are doing well. There have been some changes in our lives in the last 6 months. Jennifer and I made a very difficult decision last fall to leave 5th Ave UMC. With the current leadership it was not a place for us to be. God was calling us away from there. We knew it was time. The hardest part of it was leaving our church family. So many members came along side of us to help with the adoption. We held on as long as we could. That was difficult. We have a deep sadness for the body there. Unfortunately it has become a seeker friendly church. The leadership is not good and not biblical in the teaching. This is what we felt. We did not want to offend anyone or upset anyone by leaving so we only told a few of our close friends and left peacefully. Now that it has been 6 months since we left, we realize it was the best thing. We have been attending a few chuches locally and what a great thing it is to worship. We still have our membership with 5th Ave and are unsure if we will keep it. We are just taking it slow and listening to God and where he wants us. We feel we can never repay the people who have helped. I can tell you this and that is we won't forget. We still talk with our friends from time to time. At this time, we will not return unless leadership changes it direction or leaves. We can not support a church where worldy ways are accepted and biblical truth is not taught to its fullest. I have a feeling God will deal with that on his time. People are leaving and since one pastor is leaving and they are not going to fill that position. That is unfortunate. To all at 5th Ave, thank you, we will not forget.
We had to get new fingerprints in February because our other ones expired. Can you believe it has been 18 months since we were last fingerprinted. No problems this time. In and out in 15 minutes. It was flawless. Now they are good for another 18 months. Hope they don't expire again, then we will have to pay that time. This last time was for a one time extenstion and there was no cost to us.
There are some changes going on with fees while in China for adoption expenses. Some fees are going up. I have a feeling it will be more than we had originally planned with air fair increasing plus the orphanage fee increasing. This was the $3000 that went directly to the orphanage. It has been said the fee could increase to $5000. There in no confirmation of this but we have heard that $3500 is not unlikely by the time we go. Will have to wait and see. We are not worried about it. The CCAA has matched through beginning of January 2006. That is good. They are into 2006, only 11 months to go. We know we made it through the review room. That is the last "approval" we needed. That is like the final look at everything. All is good for now. God will see us through it. We just need to keep trusting him. All thanks and praise go to him.
That is what is going on in our world of adoption. We are hanging in there. Looking forward to Spring and Summer. It was a long cold winter here. We will keep you posted if something changes.

New Years Eve Dance

I have to say that the New Years Eve dance was a blast from the past. Check the pictures. It was a good time with a lot of great food supplied from New China restaraunt. Everyone had a good time and ate a lot of food. The Thoreson punch was a hit. This is normally reserved for Christmas with my side of the family. We went through many pitchers of it. That was a hit. About 30-35 people came. The music was good and the dancing was fun to watch with Kari Smalley giving lessons 2 times during the night. It was good to know that I am not the only one that did not how to swing dance. I learned a few basic dance moves. Thank you to everyone who came. It was fun and I think we have to do it again!