The Last 4 Months

Wow, were to begin?  first off I have kinda sorta been avoiding the world.. well at least this blog.   Since February, Josh went to Haiti on a missions trip with a crew from FBCPC.  I went to an amazing beyond words Created For Care Conference that still has my heart broken and excited about all the joys and struggles that will come with being an adoptive mommy.   Was busy for the next month running Miss Charlotte Fastpitch Softball.. and then the floor dropped out.. about 2 months ago Josh was feeling some tightness "down there".  We though possibly a hernia due to all his lifting and thankfully didn't procrastinate a doctors visit.   They sent him to get an MRI and called is to immediately set up a meeting with a specialist.   In the matter of 2 weeks from the moment of the first dr's visit  Josh was in the operating room to have surgery for testicular cancer.  

At the Created For Care Conference the lady who was the key note speaker said with such wisdom that "there will be times, many times during your walk that the bridge will end and God will lead you one step at a time to get you to the other side.   How true were those words.   The peace and comfort that came at just the right moments were given by His grace and through the amazing power of our church friends, friends in general and our family members prayers.    Less then a week after surgery we were up at Moffitt with CT Scans and blood work post surgery results and a huge answer to prayer that the cancer was contained and removed.   He will simply need to have blood work and scans done periodically over the few years for precautionary measures.

As for the adoption, We are patiently waiting for God's perfect timing.  This we hope is just a bump in the road but continue to pray diligently for our children wherever they may be for their safety and their hearts.

I know this is a short post considering all that has been going on.. but the emotions of the past few months are still being processed and thought over and over again in my mind.  

We pray that we both stay focused on God's kingdom and hold firm to the rock of our Salvation.

Daniel and Waiting.

It's hard to believe that over 2 months ago our dossier was sent off to Ethiopia.   Daily I am asked when will you get your babies?  I know that the wait could take over a year before we receive even our referall, but we are hopeful of course like all waiting parents that it will be shorter.     I feel that both Josh and I are doing well with the waiting period.. of course it's only been 2 months.   We have both been so busy that there are days that I forget that we are waiiting.. and then I feel guilty.. Should I feel a crazy longing?  Should I feel impatient like a kid the night before Christmas?  Should I feel anxious?   I know that as soon as we receive the referall and see the pictures of the kids for the first time, it will change.. I know that Josh will be like, LET'S GO TO ETHIOPIA NOW.. and of course I'll be the one telling him to calm down and we need to be patient.. and then I'll start freaking out about getting rooms ready, reading age appropriate books on how to raise our children...freaking out about never being a parent and what to do if one throws up...  I over analyse EVERYTHING.  

Well this past week Josh and I went to our Tuesday night college and  young professional's bible study lead by the youth pastor at our church.  Josh and I run the CYP Sunday school.. for those of you who know that we are no longer CYP age demographics.  James has been going verse by verse through Daniel and we paused over Daniel 2:20-23  

Dainel said. " Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, For wisdom and power belong to Him.  It is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings:  He gives wisdom to wise men And knowledge to med of understanding.   It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him.  To You, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, For You have given me wisdom and power; Even now You have made known to me what we requested of You, for You have made known to us the king's matter." 

What powerful and revealing words to think and pray over.   Each statement is humbling and uplifting at the same time.   I love the phrase " He who changes the times and the epochs"   What is an epoch?   an epoch is the "is an instance in time chosen as the origin of a particular era. The "epoch" then serves as a reference point from which time is measured."     Wow!  How powerful is that statement?  Waiting takes on a whole new viewpoint when you think about how God created and controls time.  I am thankful that I serve a God who is that powerful.  

provision in the little things and the great things

We have been slammed with renovating the bathroom over the holidays, planning the Haiti Mission Trip (Josh Leading, Mimi coordinating) and having Josh's Parents in town that it's been hard to make the time blog.. but  I'm BACK!!

We have been so blessed throughout this journey and once again the Lord has blessed us in an amazing way.. We have found a new home for River our crazy terror mutt.   We know when we started this process that we just couldn't keep River with all his issues and raise small children.   We have been praying for a long time that the Lord would provide the perfect home for him that could deal with his issues.  We contacted Satchals last Resort in Sarasota and he is now No 1 on their list for acceptance!  We are waiting for a "bed" to open up and he will live out his days in a wonderful environment for dogs like him.   It's been a struggle in so many ways dealing with him..  How do we justify keeping an aggressive dog alive when there are so many needs in the world?  We both just were broken with the though of having him put down.. where i know it would have been easier for some people.. ummm my dad.. but both Josh and I have a major soft spot for our pets.   Once again I am thankful that God was good to us and granted the desire of our heart with him.   What a lot of release in our hearts and the stress of the past few years will be gone when he finally transitions to his new home.

Again and Again we see God's will in what we are doing and  on Monday that we are a recipient of a $3,000 matching grant through Lifesong for Orphans!   El Saddia is providing over and over again..

I just purchased my mom's ticket for the Created for Care conference which will be in March!  We can't wait to go and meet other women to connect with them on adoption and learn as much as we can.!   I need to run and make lunch...    

DTE!!!! DECEMBER 2nd, 2011!!!

I know... I know.. it's the 14th.. but better late then never!!!   Plus if any of you are my friends on facebook and the AWAA yahoo group you've already seen the post..  but as of Friday, December 2nd  our Dossier was shipped via FedEx to Ethiopia and it arrived the following Weds, December 7th.  We are finally officially in line!    What a strange feeling of release and blessing.  The release of almost 9 months of paperwork..  and for those of you who are just starting the journey of the paper chase  most are an average of 3-6 months-- Our time frame dragged on due to being self employed (needed more paperwork), living in Florida (over a 2 month wait for physicals due to the snowbirds being in town) and God's perfect timing in providing our finances.  The blessing of seeing in the past 9 months the Lord working in amazing ways and bringing people into our lives at just the right moments in our journey to help in our decisions and to confirm our calling of adoption.    

 Deb Gangemi- if you are reading this post..  We are coming up to the one year mark of when Josh and I came to your home in Sarasota to put soapstone in your kitchen.   Tears are flooding my eyes at the memory.  You breathed encouragement and hope into my heart that day.    The words of the Lord that you spoke are coming true everyday..  He is providing every penny and we know that this is His will!!!  Thank you for being so kind and so sensitive to the Holy Spirit!   I pray for the Lord's blessing on you and your beautiful family this Christmas!  (we also completed the MAPP class through the Florida Baptist Children's home back in October..  WOW!! What an amazing class and it touched our hearts in so many ways.   We are  praying about the future and the possibility of adopting through the Foster Care System.)

We hope that by next Christmas there will be 2 less!!!!  

BLESSINGS BLESSINGS BLESSINGS

Wow!  Where to start?!?!  Last week I had the wonderful privileged of going on a Missions trip through Orphan's Heart to the Guatemala Malnutrition Center in San Juan with my mom and Jon and Tricia Gadomski.    The trip was wonderful!!!!  The 79 children were absolutely beautiful and just beyond precious in so many ways.   I changed diapers for the first time in like 16 yrs.... and I didn't gag!!!     I was so thankful for all the DVD's that I had ordered from Show Hope on attachment and healthy play.   Right off the bat I went into the Pollo's group (Twelve 2-3yr olds that all but 2 were walking) and a small 2 yr named Lois Fernando was screaming when they put him down.. I went to pick him up and he arched his back, avoided eye contact and wanted nothing to do with me.   By the end of the week he was reaching upward to the sky for me to pick him up and holding onto my fingers while he walked around the room.  There was not enough of us to love on each one individually the whole time we were there.  But the center was a glowing place of God's love and provision during our time.  These beautiful children only see a group come through on average of 2 times a month.   Tears come to my eyes at the thought of those children that never have interaction in their orphanages or on the street.    I pray for my future children and all the children with out parents that they are being held and loved like they need to be.   The little girl that I'm holding in the picture came to the Center over a year and 3 months ago and looked like a skeleton 

Sunday, Pastor Jim has been preaching a series on the names of God and this Sunday was on Jehovah Jireh.   (The Lord will Provide)   and today as I received a letter from Show Hope I said those words before I opened the letter.   We were blessed beyond measure on being accepted for a grant!!!   Huge answer to prayer!!!

Dossier off for review

Well the paperwork on our end is (hopefully) done!   One original Dossier, one copy (no staples or paperclips) and some passport photos, Hague certificates and a lot of prayers are in the box to go in the mail tomorrow to America World.     The BIG day of DTE (Dossier to Ethiopia) is hopefully going to happen in the next 2 weeks and I know I'll be posting all over facebook and all over everywhere when that happens.

It's super quiet in the house right now..  Josh is on a field trip with Shay Shay to the shop to work on some tiles and I'm sitting here with the River with no distractions..    No music playing somewhere, no tv with some Food Network show on mute. For those of you who know me well  that's a rarity. I even gave River a chewy so he's surprisingly quiet.   It's a nice time to just reflect and praise the Lord for this journey.   It's not over yet.. and we have no idea when it will be over.

It was almost a year ago that we went to the AWAA seminar in Orlando.  We got up extremely early to drive 3 hours to a very small town outside Orlando.   We arrived early and walked through their Saturday morning farmers market.   It's funny what you remember... but I just had a flash back to goats and Chris Tomlin..    There was a small group of teenagers who were playing a praise songs as the "entertainment" for the farmers market and they started singing How Great is Our God..  I remember going.. oh cool a praise band and then I saw the GOATS.  Talk about product marketing.  This farmers market maybe had 20 vendors.  But one of them was a lady who sold goat milk products.  She brought about 3 or 4 goats with her and they were in this little pen.   I was sleepy drunk and I just was like so surprised.. (I have no idea why) to see Goats at a farmers market.  This story isn't going anywhere funny or spiritual.. but now all I can think about is that song " I don't want to be Goat, nope... I don't want to be a Goat, nope.. cause a Goat don't got no Hope, nope.. I don't want to be Goat, nope"  anyone who worked at High Point camp in the late 90's knows that song..

So anyways.. back to the seminar.   We walk into the basement of the church, sign the clip board, get the name tag and the binder and had our hearts broken.   Two couples came up and gave their stories.  Both unique and both were told with an amazing love for the Lord and the children they adopted.   They  introduced their beautiful children, a video was shown, a process was explained and we left with confirmation to our calling.

This weekend America World is holding another Adoption Seminar.   It is WORTH checking out.

FL Seminars

FL

First Baptist Church Orlando
3125 Bruton Blvd. - Suite B (The Center for Pregnancy)
Orlando, FL 32805

WEBSITE•REGISTER•DIRECTIONS

Saturday
October 29, 2011
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Seminar at 'The Center for Pregnancy'

If the Lord has placed even a curiosity in you heart  GO!!!!!   and then email or call me if you have any questions.  We love sharing about the journey.

Paracord Bracelets for Sale!

We FINALLY are able to offer our extremely  popular Paracord Survival  Bracelets for sale!  
Custom made just for you PLUS 100% goes towards bringing our children home!    Below is an order form.  If you go to our church, play at the softball fields or are just local friends.  Print it out and chase us down and we'll make sure to turn them around in 24 hours.   If you are our out of the area friends and family once you click on the Donate Now Button make sure to fill in the Comments box with the size, type, colors ect..  If in doubt shoot me an email at mimischaefer@gmail.com.   We'll mail them out priority mail again within 24 hours.