Dossier Sent Off!

Today we went as a family to notarize our CIS clearance and then to FedEx to overnight our completed dossier!  It is being sent to Gladney Ctr for Adoption in Texas, who will rush it off to the Rwandan Embassy after making it official.  We will then wait to be authenticated by the Rwandan Embassy...(supposedly a quick thing)--and then it will be sent to Rwanda, and we wait for our referral!

  

Approved

We received our CIS approval this morning, the dossier will be out of our house Monday!!!

CIS Wait

We filed for our I-600A document with our gov't (CIS) back in April--and are STILL waiting for the approval.  We have had our pile of paperwork completed for months now.  Apparently, because our home study was submitted to them June 11, our file didn't begin moving until then. This is the final document we need for our dossier in order to send everything to the Rwandan Embassy to get authenticated. Once that is complete (only a few weeks), our paperwork will be sent to Rwanda and supposedly, only 4 weeks after that we could have our referral!  (picture of our baby boy!)  

It has been SO hard to see the pile of paperwork just SITTING on the shelf and not moving toward bringing our son home.  I have prayed for our adoption and the orphanage in general...but not specifically for this CIS form.  Yesterday is my one morning a week when both children are at preschool.  I was home cleaning and organizing and praying.  I earnestly prayed about the CIS's response--asking God to please move things along if it is His will.  I asked Him to help me trust Him more during this time of waiting and wanting for our son.  Three hours later I checked my e-mail to find  one from our caseworker from Gladney Center for Adoption. This e-mail's purpose was to tell us that they had heard from the CIS and that our forms should be to us THIS WEEK!  :)  I know the Lord doesn't always answer our prayers right away--but when He does I just have to laugh (well, actually kind of a laugh-cry!).  I am such a slow learner at Trusting.   

Love from Across the Miles to Myles

Poem written by Peter's mother, "Gramma"

Love From Across the Miles to Myles 

Little Myles, we think of you

With wonder, trust and longings too

As first sounds come to infant ears

May they be those that cast out fears. 

May others hear your infant cries,

Oh Father, move, that none pass by,

May they wrap you in bunting, tight,

Singing softly, “It’s all right.” 

Do you hear our faith-trust-sigh?

That soon dear Myles, you’ll come nigh? 

Little one, what do you see ~

Mosquito net or leafy tree?

Oh God of lightness, bring the day,

Keep to him, darkness at bay. 

Little one, what do you feel,

The touch of us, for this we kneel?

We pray for those who care for you,

So our embrace won’t seem so new. 

Little one, our love grows strong,

This lullaby, our hopeful song.

We wait and watch with grateful hearts,

For you, this gift, which God imparts. 

Do you hear our faith-trust-sigh

That soon dear Myles, you’ll come nigh? 

With love and anticipation,

Gramma & Grampa

Starting the Journey

We are nearly through our paperwork journey toward our Rwandan son, which began March 1st, 2008.  The adoption paperwork began at that point, but our journey toward our Rwandan family began 9 years ago when we lived and loved in Rwanda.  After experiencing the culture, finding life-long friends, and even having a Rwandan wedding, we knew Rwanda would be part of our lives as long as we live here on earth.  

For me, living in Rwanda changed my life on so many levels.  Especially my spiritual life, I had never seen such extreme poverty combined with post-genocide living.  The faith that my friends had who had lost EVERYTHING--loved ones, entire families, innocence, homes...were filled with JOY despite all that they had been through.  There was an intense desire to know God and be filled with His Truth.  I think when poverty-induced death surrounds you daily, the brevity of this life causes you to think about Eternity on a very real level.  I went to Rwanda because I felt that the Lord had opened a door for me to teach at an English-speaking school as well as work with a group of artisan-widows from the genocide.  I thought I was going to "help" but instead I felt that I was ultimately the one who was helped.  God opened my prideful eyes to Him in a way that broke me.  I want to need Him on a daily/hourly/minute-by-minute basis like those Christ-followers did/do in Rwanda.  

Beginning Stages

September 2007 marked the beginning of our pursuit of adopting from Rwanda.  We had been talking with friends one evening about the possibility of adopting and how that had always been on our hearts.  Without knowing about this discussion, the very next morning I received a call from my close friend who had just heard that Rwanda was opening up for adoption.  I immediately wrote my dear friend in Rwanda who responded quickly by telling me that her sister was the connection point for the Rwandan side of international adoptions!  I couldn't believe it, very dear friends of ours in Rwanda would be our point people for an adoption?!   Close friends and family know more specifically how clearly we've been directed with our adoption, it has just been remarkable!

In January, we got in contact with Gladney Center for Adoption, Fort Worth Texas, who took our information and said that they would get in touch with us once their staff were ready to get going in this latest country added to their international adoption community.  Weeks went by and one day I started getting concerned that things wouldn't begin, that the gov't was changing their mind about adoptions.  A few hours later I received a call, the call to get paperwork started!  March 1, 2008 our official adoption journey began.

There have been SO many times in this adoption process that answers to our prayers have been answered nearly immediately.  If not immediate, then there were CLEAR reasons why they weren't quick and the result was astonishing.  We feel that the Lord has confirmed over and over again that He wants us to keep walking toward our 3rd child.  We are humbled by how He has been guiding us and providing.