Prayer Requests-Month #24

24 months. Two years after we started this process C will be joining our family!  There is so much to be grateful for this month! C’s EP was approved much faster than we anticipated and we only have one step left in our process before we can go to Korea! Thank you for faithfully praying for us and sharing in our excitement as we near the finish line.  Here’s what we are praying for this month:

1. The US Embassy in Seoul will be approving the paperwork that was approved by the Korean government. There have been rumors that the US is slowing down the amount of paperwork they are processing each week which would mean another long wait. We are praying C’s visa interview will come sometime within the next 21 days and we will be in Korea before the end of July.

2. Please pray for C’s transition into our family. There are so many changes that will occur in his little world in the next month, and we pray that we will be given wisdom to help him and his little heart will be comforted.

3, Because our agency in Korea is working so diligently to get all families in Korea as soon as possible it looks like we may only have 1 meeting with C instead of 2 before taking custody! This might make for a harder transition for C since it would be a pretty abrupt handover for him. Please pray that, if possible, our request for two meetings would be granted.

3. His foster family is the only family C has ever known, and they have done an A.MAZ.ING job raising him over the past 15 months. We are so thankful and blessed he has been raised by people who love him, teach him new things, and care for him so well. Please pray for them. His foster family knows that he is nearing the end of their stay together, and when they agreed to foster him they thought it would be for a much shorter amount of time. I can’t imagine the grief and sadness they will feel mixed with our joyous anticipation of getting our son.

4. Please pray for our travel arrangements. We can’t book any airfare or confirm hotel rooms until we have an official travel call. Not only are seats and rooms more scarce in the busy summer travel season, but prices are much higher. If you could be praying for this we would be so thankful.

5. J and I have waited a long time to be parents. I feel like we have all the head knowledge about raising a little boy that we possibly can have, but I know actually being his parents is going to be hard on us emotionally and physically, especially in the first few weeks. Please pray for us as we transition from being a family of two to a family of three.

Advertisement

Prayer Requests-Month #23

June is here. And C isn’t home. That is the thought that permeates our every waking thought. We have told people for a year that C would be here in April, May, or June, and here we are with no C. And we have several more months of waiting ahead of us. Oh vey. Needless to say, we could use your prayers this month.

1. Please continue to pray for C’s health, happiness, and well being. I know he is being so well taken care of in his foster home, but at this point I just want him in his forever home.

2. We are both discouraged and antsy right now. We both are in denial that C will actually ever be ours. J said to me the other night, ” I used to be able to imagine C running around this house. Not anymore. It just doesn’t seem like he’s real.” We both are in need of some major encouragement and prayer.

3. Please pray that beyond all our reasonable expectations we would be submitted in batch 4. That means we could travel the end of July/beginning of August. That means C would definitely be home before turning two years old. Please, please pray that batch 4 would include our name.

I know that I have included 5 prayer requests for the past 22 months, but this month I would really, really love if you focused on just these three.  Please pray our boy home with us!

Prayer Requests-Month #22

Just writing twenty-two in the post title leaves me a bit melancholy. It just reminds me of how long this process has taken, and I think I once again find myself at my wit’s end waiting for the wait to be over.  Here is what is on our hearts this month as we wait:

1. After a flurry of activity in March with the first group submitted and approved in three weeks and a 2nd batch accepted into the ministry, there has been no news out of Korea.  Since March. This is really hard to understand at this point.  Please pray that batch 2 would be approved quickly so batch 3 can be submitted. We keep thinking we will be in batch 4, but we won’t really know until the dust from batch 3 clears. We just want C home.

2. C is turning 20 months old this month. We know he is being so well cared for and loved by his foster family, and we are so grateful for this fact. Please continue to pray for his good health, happy  days for him, and that his heart would somehow be prepared for the big change which lies ahead.

3. We pray for C’s foster family and the transition they will need to make when C leaves their family. They have taken care of every need for much longer than they originally anticipated since they first took him into their home in 2010. I can’t imagine the grief they will feel when they no longer receive the blessing of hearing his laugher every day. We are praying for this selfless family.

4. Please pray for C’s transition home to our family. I guess there are lots of things to pray for: the handoff at Eastern from foster family to us, the first night as a family of three, the 12 hour plane ride home, C’s grieving over the loss he is experiencing, and that the attachment process begins quickly for him and us.

5. We realization has sunk in for us that we will not receive C by Father’s Day, as we were praying. This has been a hard thing for me to accept and come to terms with over the past few weeks. We are now praying C will be home by July 4th. Even this date feels like I’m grasping at an unrealistic timeframe, but it’s what I’m praying for nevertheless. Please pray that the Ministry would expedite the process of approving EPs quickly and that batches would be large so families can finally be united.

Prayer Requests-Month #21

It’s April 1st!  So much has happened since our March prayer request post.  Here’s what we are praying for  this month.

1. The Korean government has started accepting and issuing EPs. This is a huge praise in and of itself. I’m so happy to report that families started to travel to Korea TODAY to pick up their child. I know one day I will be writing that news about our family, too!
2. Please continue to pray that the Ministry would approve batches of EPs quickly and the batches would be large to accommodate more families and allow for us to travel sooner.  We would still love to have C home by Father’s Day!  (You can continue to check back here to get the latest word on where we stand with our travel estimates).
3. We are praying for our dear C’s transition into our family. He is turning 19 months old in a few days and he no doubt recognizes us from photos and videos we have sent over for him this past year. We pray these small gift help him become familiar with us.  We pray for his little heart which will have so much to digest in the coming months.
4. We continue to pray for C’s foster family and the amazing, sacrificial love they have for this child.  They have raised C since he was 2½ months old, and I can’t even begin to imagine parting with him after such a long time. We are and will be forever grateful for his entire foster family who have helped shape him to be the wonderful little boy he is and will continue to become.
5. I’m very thankful for the adoption community which I have come to know over the past 21 months. The amount of advice, encouragement, and support is really helpful when you are going through a process that is so foreign to so many.

Now let’s bring on the EPs!!!

Prayer Requests-Month #20

A new month is here!  Here’s what we are praying for this month.

1. 1. According to MPAK and recent news from other agencies, EPs (exit permits) will begin to be processed early next week. This is GREAT, SUPER, FANTASTIC news, but because of the delay thus far I have to remain cautiously optimistic to guard my heart. I am, however, praying that EPs do start SOON and that the batches would be HUGE and move QUICKLY through the Ministry in Korea.  Let’s get these kids home!
2. Our boy is turning 18 months old.  18 months! Seriously, where has the time gone? When we first saw his face he was just 6 months old. We are praying that he continues to be safe, healthy, happy, and learning a lot.
3. We are praying for C’s transition into our family. My heart breaks for what lies ahead for him, but I pray that God can miraculously start to prepare his heart for this big change in his life.  We have also heard that it is very common for a child to reject one parent (usually the parent he is closer to in Korea). We are praying that C bonds well with both of us.
4. We love, love, love C’s foster family. They are doing such an amazing, selfless act, and we continue to praise God for their kindness towards our son.
5. We wanted C home months ago! We are praying that the Ministry would have no further delays once EPs begin and that C can join our family quickly. I know April is no longer a possibility for us, and Mother’s Day probably isn’t realistic either, but it would be great to have him home by Father’s Day. We are praying this will happen for us.

Prayer Requests-Month #19

February is here! Here are some things we are praying about and for this month:

1. Like every waiting family we are waiting for EPs to finally be submitted and approved by the Ministry. If prior years was any indicator that should have started a month ago, but it didn’t. We are now fervently praying that the Ministry will quickly begin accepting EPs the beginning of this month and that many, many submissions will be allowed this month.
2. February marks our 10th month of waiting. I know I’ve said this before, but each month the wait gets so much harder. Each month marks more milestones we are missing.  Please pray for us during this extended wait to bring our child home.
3.  Each month of waiting no doubt strengthens the bond C and his foster family are forming, only to be abruptly broken. My heart breaks for C knowing that he has already dealt with so much loss in his little life, but that the next loss he will experience could have been easier yet is being compounded by red tape. My motherly instincts of wanting to protect my child are working on overdrive, but I am powerless and helpless to help. Please pray for C and his well being over the next several months which will once again bring upheaval to his life.
4. We think the world of C’s adoptive family. The videos and pictures capture the love they show him day in and day out. Please pray for this family who has given so much of themselves and yet know an agonizing loss is on the horizon.
5. My heart is especially heavy for families who first saw their child’s face in December, 2010. They have now been waiting 14 months to bring their child home. Although this might be the new reality for all of us in the EP mess, these families never anticipated they wouldn’t see their child in 2o11. I hope these families are united with their children quickly.

Prayer Requests-Month #16

Welcome to November! We are excited that the end of the year is quickly approaching because we know we will finally get to meet C in 2012, so let’s bring it on!  Here’s what we are praying for this month:

1. C is turning 14 months old this month. We are so thankful that he is thriving in his foster family’s home and is so well taken care of. We are praying for his health and that he continues to do so well.

2. We are beginning to pray more fervently for his transition into our family.  We received video last week of C being shown our picture and being told we are his umma (mommy) and appa (daddy), so he is *aware* of us but certainly doesn’t understand much of what he is being told. We pray that these little moments he spends learning about us will help him transiting and attach easier to us when he is finally home.

3. C’s foster family is so amazing. They continue to do such a great job taking care of our little boy, and we will never fully be able to thank them for their devotion and love for our little boy. They have been so dedicated about taking pictures and video of C, and we cherish this connection to him during the wait. We pray for their family daily.

4. As I mentioned in my previous post, we are praying for the new directors of the Ministry of Health and Welfare in Korea. This government agency issues the visas which will allow children like C to come home.  We are praying for God’s wisdom as they make many big decisions affecting so many families in the year to come.

5. We continue to be so thankful for our social worker in Korea who is extremely diligent about sending us monthly pictures of C.  What a blessing this is to us!

Protected: Looking back

This content is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Password:

Prayer Requests-Month #15

Fall is here which means shorter days and cooler weather. To us, however, it means that we have finished two seasons waiting for C and are entering number three.  Here’s what we are praying for this month.

1. Our son is now over a year old! He is healthy, happy, and doing great, and for that we are so thankful. We continue to pray for these things and for his eventual transition into our home.
2. Words can’t properly express how thankful we are for C’s foster family. The pictures and video we received have shown us how much they love him, and we are so, so blessed to have them in our son’s life.
3. Lately it feels like the state of Korean adoptions changes so rapidly which can leave waiters like us feel pretty uneasy. Although we probably aren’t even halfway through our wait to pick up C, we pray that he can come home sooner than we expect. It’s hard to explain how you can miss someone you’ve never met, but we think about him constantly and can’t wait to have him in our arms.
4. Our social worker in Korea has been AMAZING at sending us updates on C. These feel like such a lifeline to him, and we are praying for her as she continues to balance a larger caseload as more babies wait to come home due to the quota.  It can’t be easy to do everything on her plate, but she somehow manages to make pictures to waiting families a priority. Thank you, Mrs. S!
5. We are thankful to be meeting with other waiting families at the end of this month while hearing from a renowned international adoption author/speaker.  More on this to come, but you can be praying for the talk and that it helps to ease our worries about C’s transition.

Prayer Requests-Month #14

September? Really? I can’t believe this month marks five months since first seeing C’s face!I feel like we have a lot on our hearts this month that we are praying and thinking about right now.

1. C is turning one year old early this month. I thought I was doing OK with this. After all, I knew I’d be missing his first birthday for quite some time now, but in the past few days it has been really hurting this Mommy’s heart to know that I’ll be missing his special day. Please pray for C to have a wonderful day with lots of great goodies and pictures galore to be taken, and if you could please pray for me and J we’d greatly appreciate it as well.
2. If you would have asked me a months ago I would have told you with a fair amount of certainly that we would be going over to Seoul no more than 9 months from now. However, the Ministry that gives exit permits has just decided that Korean Americans will receive expedited permits. We have not been given any details about how this will effect our adoption. It could mean that Korean Americans will be taken out of the quota system and everyone would benefit since there are fewer people in line for a small number of exit visas. However, it might also mean that families of Korean American descent are still part of the quota system but receive exit visas before non-Korean families. If this was the decision it would probably mean more delays bringing C home. Please pray about this situation as we are already missing C so much, and the thought of having to wait longer than 12-14 months is very difficult for us to digest right now.
3. This month will no doubt be very hard for C’s birth mother. I know she probably thinks about him a lot, but the one year anniversary of his birth will no doubt be extra difficult and emotional for her. We are praying she has peace over her during this time.
4. We are praying for C’s foster parents and siblings as they are being so generous with their time, resources, and love. We pray they receive abundant blessings for the care they are giving to C.
5. Finally, we pray that C is growing healthy and strong each day. We are praying even now that his attachment with us would be easy and that the small items we’ve been able to give him of us are helping him get to know his Mommy and Daddy a little more.

Thank you for walking along side of us during this journey!