Pins and Needles

Ok, so I made my final call to Peru shortly before the big meeting and was told definitively that we would not make it to be approved in time...in fact only a 1/3 of our addendum has been looked at so far.  Sigh.  


Then came the waiting and the praying about what would happen with the little one we've sort of fallen for at that very meeting.  We realized she could be assigned to another family and knew that if she were, it would be God's answer to us about her and knew also it would be His caring for her in the best way possible as well...the hours ticked by...the meeting came and went (results aren't posted on their website until 2 days after the meeting)... and I finally got up the courage yesterday to call and see if someone might tell me what happened...and oh joy, she's still there!  Now, I realize that isn't necessarily an answer from God about whether He's picked us for her or not...but it might be...


So we persevere.  The Lord obviously has further work to do in us to prepare us and further work for us to do in the meantime...oh yeah and (reminder to self) we're supposed to do it joyfully and contentedly!  Ok, the next meeting is on August 28th.  Here we go...


"I have cast my anchor in the port of peace, knowing that present and future are in nail-pierced hands.  You have given me silence in my heart in place of murmurings and complaints.  Lord, keep my wishes from growing into willings, my willings from becoming fault-finding with your providences, and have mercy on me."  from The Valley of Vision, a collection of Puritan prayers and devotions (an amazing book...a huge help to my prayer life in both conviction and encouragement!)

Y faltan 10 dias para el Consejo de julio

Adoptar del Peru ha sido nuestro plan desde el comienzo...es decir, el comienzo hace ya 15 años..desde el primer año que nos casamos.  Viviendo en Lima, como en muchas partes del mundo hoy en día, uno siempre ve a muchos niños en abandono...nos comprometimos desde el comienzo a rescatar por lo menos a uno de ellos y darle un hogar.  Y aquí estamos, ya muchos años después, a solo 10 días del Consejo donde la Secretaria Nacional de Adopciones asigna a niños abandonados a familias adoptantes.

Es posible que ese día no signifique absolutamente nada para nosotros...o podría ser el día que el Señor nos revelara el nombre del niño que El ha escogido para nosotros.  El asunto es que la Secretaria aun no nos ha aprobado como familia adoptante.  Tuvieron nuestros papeles 3 meses, luego hicieron mas preguntas las cuales respondimos y ahora estamos nuevamente esperando.  SI nos respondieran esta semana y SI nos dijeran que si nos aprueban, ENTONCES inmediatamente pediríamos una niñita cuyo expediente hemos visto y  a quien sentimos que el Señor nos esta llamando a querer.  En el Consejo del 24 de julio considerarían nuestro pedido y (según los guíe el Señor) lo concederían o lo negarían.

Asi que, mientras tanto, le pedimos al Señor que haga Su obra dentro de nosotros 5, preparandonos para lo que nos esta llamando a hacer...y enviamos uno que otro email que esperamos llegue en el momento preciso y con el tono adecuado para que se acuerden de nuestra presencia y que estamos esperando y a la vez que no parezcamos demasiado pesados (no es muy fácil lograr el uno sin hacer el otro).  Y oramos que hoy estemos contentos y seamos fieles en lo que El nos ha llamado a cumplir este dia...y a la vez recordamos una carita seria en blanco y negro y nos preguntamos si tendremos el privilegio de llamarla nuestra.

Aun así, mas que nuestra, añoramos que sea Suya...por eso escogemos este nombre para nuestro blog:  Fourth for His Glory...el Cuarto para Su Gloria!!

And now 10 days 'til the July consejo

To adopt from Peru has been our plan from the beginning...I mean 15 years ago, beginning...since the first year of our marriage.  Living in Lima, as in many parts of the world today, you see abandoned children everywhere...we committed from the start that, if the Lord was willing, we would take at least one of those little ones home.  So here we are, all these years later, 10 days away from the official assignment meeting of the Peruvian Adoptions Committee.  

It's possible it will mean absolutely nothing to us...or it could be the day the Lord reveals to us the name of the child He has picked for us.  You see, we haven't even been officially accepted by the Peruvian government yet.  They had our paperwork for 3 months and then came back with more questions.  We've answered those questions and now they're evaluating us again.  IF they get back to us this next week and IF they say yes we're in, THEN we will immediately request a little girl whose file we have seen and who we believe the Lord has placed on our hearts.  In the official assignment meeting on July 24th they would consider our request and (as God guides them) either accept or deny it.

So in the meantime we pray the Lord will do His work in all 5 of us preparing us for what He is calling us to...and we send an e-mail or two hopefully at the right time, in the right tone, so they remember we're alive and waiting but don't think we're pushy and obnoxious (it's a fine line).  And we pray that today we'll be content and faithful in the tasks He's called us to now...and at the same time picture a little unsmiling face in black and white and wonder if we'll have the privilege of calling her ours.  

Even so, more than ours, we long for her to be His...hence our blog name: 

Fourth for His glory!!