Travel Approval is Here

Travel approval has arrived. Looks like we will be leaving in two weeks! Just waiting on confirmation of the consulate appointment.

A Guest Post

Lori Kietzke Oehlhof

As God was preparing Dennis to leave this world two years ago HE already knew what would transpire in this women I call a dear friend. She will leave almost two years to the day of his death to pick up her second adopted daughter. God has spoken!

It is through loss, adoption and our faith she has taught me what living a God honoring, Christ filled life looks like. She honored him as a wife and mother, caring for him with compassion and HOPE. And when the time came she stood with courage, around her husbands hospice bed, as he took some of his final labored breaths, and said its okay honey Brooklyn and I will be fine. Go and be with Jesus. Others whispered and reassured Dennis we will take care of your family. They are our family too. We were all a part of Gods adopted family. We then prayed, for Dennis to be healed, even if it were to be in heaven.....

Cookie

LOVE the fortune cookie I just opened!

Ready and Waiting

I am SO READY to head to China. Our travel approval should be issued next week. Please pray it comes through quickly and then I will finally know when we leave to bring Molly home. Most likely we will leave either Feb. 1 or Feb. 8. Of course, I am praying for Feb. 1.

Please continue to pray for all of us as we go through these last few weeks of waiting and then as we bond together as a family. I am already seeing God prepare Brooklyn's heart for this transition. Whenever has asked her if she was excited about getting a sister she was pretty non-committal about it. She has struggled with knowing she will have to share me with someone else but in the last few days she has told me on several occasions that she is getting excited about having Molly for a sister.

New Pictures

Another adoptive family visited Molly's orphanage and got a few pictures of her. She is the little one in blue in the pictures. The picture with the girl sitting on the bed, is Molly's friend who just got adopted. That is the bed they shared.

Pray for Molly

Please pray for Molly tonight and tomorrow. Her friend and bunk mate, Jade, leaves to join her new family tomorrow morning. My heart aches to be with her to comfort her as she goes through this loss. Sometimes being on the other side of the world from your child is so hard. It won't be long till she is in my arms but right now, knowing what she is facing, it is hard.

Also, please pray for Jade as she joins her new family. She is also going through so much in this transition.

Nesting

No, I'm not nesting or packing - this is just uh, ... OK, yes, I'm starting to gather and pack. Won't be long now until we head to China. Praying for Feb. 5 to be the day we meet her. I found out today that in her province, we will meet her on Sunday. Most provinces do Monday as the day families get their children.

Please pray for the waiting and the processing of the rest of the details. Our last piece of paperwork gets picked up on Jan. 12 and then we wait for China to issue a travel approval. That step usually takes 3-8 days. After that it is just about travel arrangements and we get to leave.

Please pray for Molly this week. Her buddy, Jade, will be leaving to meet her family on Sunday. I can only imagine how hard it will be for her to have her friend leave. My prayer has been that this will further prepare her to be part of our family.