I800 Approval and Both Hands

Well, I thought this would be a good time to update as a couple things have happened since I last posted.
On Saturday, we did our Both Hands project and it was awesome! We had a great time serving with several of our friends and family. I highly recommend this project if you are looking for a fundraiser for your adoption or even for a fundraiser for your church's adoption ministry, or orphan care ministry. It is a really well run organization. They pretty much held our hands all along the way, giving us all the letter templates, forms, hints and recommendations for every step in the process. It was a great experience! Please take a look at the video that our friend Adam made of our day.





This morning I awoke with a fantastic email. Carissa's immigration has been pre approved! This basically means that I have one more form to fill out on this side of the Ocean (Carissa's Visa application) and then it and the approval get sent to China and we basically await travel approval. Yay! This process has a few steps in there and will take a few weeks, but we are getting so close! We can't wait to snuggle our girl!

Doesn't she look super snuggly?!?

Both Hands

Travel to go pick up our girl is getting close. We find ourselves somewhat overwhelmed with the tasks remaining that we need to do in order to be prepared to do that. There's more paperwork to do, Visas to apply for, fees to pay, rooms to organize, a room to paint, baby/toddler and travel items to purchase and packing to start to get done, because you just don't wait until the week before to pack to travel half way across the world. So, we've found ourselves a bit like, "where do we begin?!?. Oh! I'm exhausted just thinking about it. I think I'll go lay on the couch." But, seriously, it kind of snuck up on us. But, I know we'll eventually get it all done. Just gotta focus on one task at a time, as hubby says. :o)

We've also been working on one last final fundraiser. At least, that's our hope. It is called the Both Hands Project. Both Hands is an organization that helps families fulfill both mandates of the scripture James 1:27 "²⁷ Pure religion, undefiled before God and the Father, is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world." The concept is to choose a widow to serve for a day. Gather a team together to help you work on her home, doing painting, yard work, cleaning, organizing, etc. Members of the team also send out sponsorship letters to ask family and friends to sponsor them to be on the team. It works kind of like a fundraising golf tournament or 5k run.
So, we've been working toward doing a project on August 30th. We have an awesome widow we are serving for a day. And all sponsorship funds raised will go toward helping to bring our Carissa girl home. It's actually pretty exciting. I'm really excited about helping out Rita with all the "honey do" projects around the house that she has been unable to do herself or afford to hire someone to do since losing her husband 4 years ago.
So, if you click on the attached link, you can see our donation page. Please take a look and help if you can. If not, please share the link with friends and family that you may think will be interested in helping out.
Thank you!

http://www.bothhands.org/paul-and-angela-widner

She smiles

We got an update on baby girl today. She's getting so big! I wish I could be there to see it...counting the days until we get to snuggle her and see her grow up and celebrate the milestones.

 

 

We have one other picture of her just barely smiling. This is the first toothy, real grin that we have seen. It made our day!

She's also standing very well, just using one hand for support. We've only seen one other picture of her standing with a walker for support, so this was extremely encouraging to us.

 

I bought her some clearance sale shoes to celebrate! :o)

 

 

And We are really hopeful to see her use them very soon!

 

Thank you so much for all those that have been praying for our sweet girl. We really felt that some of our prayers had been answered when we saw this update today.

LOA

So, if you follow me on Facebook, you know that we received our LOA, which is the letter of acceptance. This is China's official approval of our adoption of Carissa. We get to sign this piece of paper letting them know that we accept her.

 

When I checked the box saying we accept her, I was, like "Yeah! Are you kidding me? This is my baby we're talking about! I want to go get her now!". So, I checked that box and signed my name. Yahoo!

 

 

 

And so did her daddy!

 

We are so excited! This is a big step. We will basically be getting immigration approval and making plans for travel from this point on. That process will take approximately 10 weeks, give or take a week or two.

Hold on, baby girl! We are coming very soon! Mommy, Daddy, Sister and Brother are so excited for you to join our family!

 

John 14:18 "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you."

 

 

 

Tattoo's

I have been wanting to write a post about my experience a few weeks ago at Teen Reach Adventure Camp (TRAC) http://hopeunlimitedinc.org/. I have been racking my brain trying to figure out how to put my experience into words. Truth is, there are no words good enough to describe what that week was like for me...heartbreaking, life changing, heart warming, unreal...none of it describes what it feels like to minister to child that has gone through things that I can't even imagine. A child of 12 that has lived things that no person, young or old, should ever have to go through.
How do you describe something like that?
Many of these children come to camp broken, bruised, terrified, heartbroken. They have labels permanently, what one girl described as tattooed, on to their hearts that people in their lives have given them. People that should have been trustworthy, people that should have protected and loved them. Instead these people gave these children labels such as; abused, neglected, forgotten, broken, worthless, unlovable, abandoned, ugly, stupid, unworthy... and that's just a few of the labels that I heard these children say they felt about themselves or were told to them.
During camp my job was simply to love on these girls. To share with them the love of God. To show them they have a hope and a future (http://azhope.com/). To give them new labels to tattoo on their hearts. Easier said than done with some of the girls. And that can't be accomplished by just me, a counselor...It's a team effort.
A bible teacher who teaches them about David and how he conquered Goliath. How they can conquer their own Goliath's in their lives. How God makes them conquerors over their sins, their trials, the labels they have been given in life. How God chose David and made him a King, just as He can choose them to be His daughters...princesses.  A bible teacher who has been through hell and back in her own life and can share her very own story of triumph. Something that made an ever lasting impression on these girls. Some who thought they may never triumph now have hope that they too will be conquerors someday.
A group of hair dressers and make up artists who come to camp for a day to help make these girls feel beautiful. They participate in a day of pampering, picking out beautiful dresses, shoes and accessories. And the girls just glow. Girls that came in with walls up, with slumped shoulders and broken spirits are now beaming, excited, trying on dresses and twirling around. They felt so beautiful and special.
A group of men that came to camp to be examples of how real men should treat them. Many of these men are husbands and fathers. They escorted them to a princess dance, served the girls a fancy dinner and most importantly, poured life and truth into these girls. Truth about how no matter their history, no matter what's been done to them or what they have done, they deserve to be treated like princesses. They are worthy of love and kindness and respect. Words, I know many of these girls will always hold close to their hearts.
And the ultimate leader of our team, My Lord and Savior. A God who can take a broken heart and make it whole again. A God who can turn a child with a dark and terrible past into a little princess, glowing and smiling. A God who can soften the hardest heart.
These girls came in with some pretty harsh labels tattooed on to their hearts, but many of them left with new tattoos....Loved, Redeemed, Cherished, Conqueror, Beautiful and Princess. The scars from the old tattoos may never completely go away. But these new labels are stronger, bolder...and that will make all the difference!

"'For I know the plans I have for you', says the Lord, 'Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.'" Jeremiah 29:11

Update

Yesterday we got an update on our precious Carissa girl.

 

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Isn't she just adorable? Even with the cute bed head? We are so ready to go get her!

 

We have  a few prayer requests:

 

Carissa has been moved to a different facility. I'm sure it's been a hard transition for her. On top of that, she will have an even bigger transition, when we go pick her up in just a few months. So, please pray for her heart to be prepared and for her to be comforted.

 

Please pray for her health. She's around a lot more kids now and in a different environment, so she may be exposed to things her little body is not used to.

 

Please pray for our process from here on out to go as quickly as possible. Especially, now that she has been moved, it just makes us want to go get her as quickly as possible. Right now, we are on day 39 of waiting for our Letter of Acceptance/Approval (LOA). Hopefully, we don't have too much longer to wait. Many are coming in at about day 70 right now, but we are really praying hard for things to start speeding up, so maybe we can get ours at least by day 60.

 

So, I hope you enjoyed the pics. I can't stop looking at them. I can't wait to cuddle this little girl and tell her how much we love her. It's getting closer everyday. It can't come fast enough!

 

"Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in His holy name. Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you."

Psalm 33:20-22

 

 

 

 

 

A spark

They walk through the door, dressed up and beautiful, escorted by the men that volunteered this weekend to make a difference. The girls have been pampered this afternoon. Given beautiful dresses to wear. Hair, makeup and nails done by volunteers that just want to show them love, if even for a moment.
These girls all have different stories. Ones of pain, fear and heartache that separated them from their family. Children left to a system that many times adds to the pain; many tossed from home to home, no routine, no security.
But, here they are, a weekend to just be kids. To feel the love. To be told about the One that will never leave them, never cause them harm...the only One that will never disappoint them; a friend, a comforter, a healer. A Lord and Savior.
Across the room, I see a child that on the first night had such an angry, stoic look on her face. She wouldn't eat the first two days. Now, she looks like a different girl. She allowed the volunteers to spoil her, to do her hair and makeup. She has a beautiful dress on....and she smiles. And my heart smiles.
I see another child that walked in the first day with her shoulders slumped, a hesitant look on her face. Now, she walks in very tall and proud with a big smile on her face. I think to myself what a difference a day makes.
After a dinner served by the men volunteering at the camp (They are kind of like the father figures for the camp), the girls dance. They dance and they laugh. Most of them up on their feet, reveling in the excitement and joy surrounding them. It's refreshing to see.
Then, it's time to wrap the evening up. The camp counselors put the girls into circles according to the groups they are in. Then, the men come out. They have spent the past two days serving at the camp., helping with the activities, facilitating the trust/team building activities, getting to know these girls. These men kneel in front of each girl and just quietly pour words of life into them. They encourage them, they tell them they are beautiful, each girl hearing what the men feel that particular girl needs to hear. Words that maybe no one has ever told them. And I see tears....from the girls and from the men. And my heart breaks. It breaks for their pain, their disappointment, the suffering many of them have had so early in life. But, through that break comes hope and thankfulness that the girls are there to hear words of peace and of comfort. Words of affirmation, hope and joy. Words they may never have heard had they not had the opportunity to come to this camp. On this weekend, they've been given a spark of hope. A spark that may ignite into a mighty fire someday. A fire that could change their world and the world of those around them.


http://hopeunlimitedinc.org/