LOA is here!!!

On Monday we received a phone call saying our LOA was here!  This is a necessary document, so we can proceed to the next step - I800 approval. Our adoption agency overnighted it to us, we signed the document, and turned around and overnighted the paperwork to the next place (immigration).  Also, this week we sent off the necessary paperwork for our (Danial and Michelle's) visas (to enter China).  We should receive the I-800 approval and our visas in the next 3 weeks. Here is a picture of this official-looking (and highly important - to us) document:

We now know to anticipate travel in August! We will not know our exact dates for travel until 2-3 weeks before travel. We are enjoying our preparations for Maren: picking a paint color for her room, journaling about this time, and learning to wait on Him.  It is amazing how our Lord works.  Our small group is reading "Broken-Down House" by Paul Tripp. The chapter last week was on learning how and why God calls us to wait. Here are a few quotes of his, "...waiting will always reveal the true character of your heart" and "Waiting will always reveal where you have placed your hope. Your heart is always exposed by the way that you wait." My favorite: "Waiting, therefore, is not a sign that your world is our of control. Rather, it is a sign that your world is under the wise and infinitely attentive control of a God of fathomless wisdom and boundless love. This means you can rest as you wait, not because you like to wait, but because you trust the One who is calling you to wait." Also, "In calling us to wait, God is rescuing us from our bondage to our own plan, our own wisdom, our own power, our own control."  God has used this chapter to convict, comfort, and encourage us the past few weeks.

Please pray for God to protect Maren's heart and prepare her (and our family) for a big transition, and for us to graciously wait as God molds our hearts.