Suffice it to say May is a BUSY month for teachers, and well, life is just as busy in summer with 4 kiddos! Nonetheless, I LOVE being at home! Still not much time to blog, so here I sit at 12:28 am, finally with a little time to catch up.
My last post was rather vague. We had to make some tough decisions about the "type of child we are willing to accept." That whole idea is rather yucky to me. In our application stage, we had to do a similar thing, and it was so hard for me, on many levels. This time, the biggest help was acknowledging that the Lord is sovereign, and He already knows the children that will one day join our family, AND we cannot mess that up. However, if we are not earnest in seeking Him and His will, we could get in the way and make things not as efficient as His design. Throughout this whole process, the Lord has led very clearly, and I want to stay right behind Him. As impatient as I may get, I do not want to pretend that I know the way and jump ahead of Him; neither do I want to get lazy and fall behind. I want to walk in the path that He directs, knowing that He is leading me and expecting me to follow closely. This knowledge helped so much. We spent diligent time in prayer and had others pray for us as well, asking that the Lord direct our path and give us peace, and again, He was faithful. We were able to proceed with peace and confidence. Thank you for your prayers!
We are now in the stage of more paperwork in completing our dossier, which will go to Ethiopia. This is a somewhat tedious process of ordering new birth certificates, marriage certificates, statements of health, employment verifications, etc. . . . We have to order all new things so that the dates are current as our dossier will only be good for 2 years until we have to renew it. Since things are moving kind of slowly in Ethiopia still, there is a good chance that it could take that long. Once our dossier is complete, we will have to submit another hefty fee to process all this paperwork and have it translated to Amharic. So, the dossier-phase is also a fund-raising, grant-applying phase!
As I work on all these things, I am reminded that the Lord is faithful. The timing of this intense phase is summer, when I am home and can do it! God also continues to show us that He is the Great Provider. Each step of the way, He has provided EXACTLY what was needed, just when it was needed. I have just gotten a new job, still teaching first grade, just in a new school and school district. It "just so happens" that next year, Jude's tuition for school increases, and as God is the ultimate Provider, this school district pays my National Board Pay monthly, and it more than covers the tuition increase! Thank you, Jesus!
Today's sermon at church was about God calling us to things. When He calls, He will graciously give us signs, gift us to do what He has called, and Empower us with the Holy Spirit. Though the call may not make sense or be easy, the Lord will walk us through it and bring it to fruition as we are obedient to Him. Adoption is something to which our family has been called, so we can rest in the knowledge that the Lord will make the way! Please joing us in praying for our children, for funding, and that we would continue to follow as the Lord leads!
A few upcoming fund-raisers:
1. Thirty-one party - June 23rd at 7 pm. If you can't attend, you can shop online, and your purchases will still benefit our adoption.
2. Chann and Niles are playing at Sayagos's in Baxter on June 30th! More details to come!
3. Scentsy orders! If you are interested in ordering anything, message me at kylienchann@gmail.com
