Approval!!!

"Oh give thanks to the LORD for he is good;  for his steadfast love endures forever!"  -1Chronicles 16:34

Well, the long awaited day is here! We finally received our NOC (non-objection certificate) from CARA (Central Adoption Resource Agency). Our dossier was submitted in June, so we were very ready for this day! Just one week ago I wrote about my frustrations and how I was learning...and needed to continue to learn...to turn things over to God. I needed to trust in His timing, not mine. Well, His timing is perfect! He really did use this time to teach me complete reliance upon Him. I have a feeling we will be continuing to learn about His timing from this point.

The first question people have asked when they hear this news is, "What happens next?"  Well, here is what our social worker had to say, "The orphanage will be filing her case with the Chennai court within the next week and then there will be the Scrutiny and final hearings."  This sounds like great news--it is!  Unfortunately, the timing for the Indian courts is not the same timing for the US courts.  There are many national holidays, judges can change, judges go on holiday...you get the point.  Some people wait six or seven months for the court approval.  We do have one advantage in that our I-600 approval does expire in June, so hopefully they will expedite our case by that time, should we reach it.

Please continue to pray.  We do want to send out prayers of thanksgiving for God's mercy in giving us approval with CARA to adopt Joshna.  They could have requested much more paperwork from us, which would have slowed us down even more.  We are grateful for approval the first time! 

Please pray for Joshna to continue to be held safe in God's hands, for her to be surrounded by his Spirit, for her to be held and played with often, for her to have plenty of nourishment and rest, and for her to know of Christ's love and our love for her.  As she receives our family photo album, please pray that she would register who we are--her forever family.  Pray that she would begin to have an excitement to join our family.  Pray for her heart to be prepared for the huge change about to happen in her life with moving here and leaving all she knows.  Pray for her caregiver to be prepared for her to leave--that God will fill her heart with peace and with a potential child to care for in the future.  Pray for her health to remain strong through it all.  And once again, praise God for his goodness and love! 

Please also pray for our family here, as we undergo so much change.  Pray for Ellie to know without any doubts how much she is loved!!!  This will be a hard adjustment for her.  In reading this blog someday, she may see just how much we longed for Joshna and prayed for her to join our family.  Unfortunately, I did not blog when Ellie was born, otherwise there would be just as many posts about our prayers, excitement and anticipation of the day she would be born!  My heart yearned--and still does yearn--for our precious daughter, Ellie!  Pray that she would feel this love, that she would know she is not being replaced or becoming less important.  Pray that she would have a great love for her sister and that her sister would have a great love for her.  Pray that she would continue to have a good routine through the transition and that she too will feel God's love and our love for her.

As far as logistics go, please pray for a court date to be set soon.  Please pray for a favorable judge, one who will show up to court.  Pray for our acceptance of whatever timing is right for Joshna to come home, even if that means waiting even more months.  Pray for our faith in God to not waiver, for our trust to be in Him and not ourselves.  Pray that we will be able to communicate with the dear ladies at the orphanage (Christ Faith Home for Children in Chennai, India) just how much we love them and are grateful for them for caring for our precious girl!

Our hearts are so overwhelmed with many emotions right now.  We are just so grateful to our dear family and friends for your love and support throughout this process.  I know, the process is just getting started...it's called life.  God knows who we need for encouragement and love through the process.  Just know that we are grateful for the people he has put in our lives.  Thank you for the many prayers!

Praise the LORD!  Praise the LORD!!!