Affirmation comes in the darndest places....

Affirmation.  It's what we all need whenever we're doing something hard. It usually comes in measured instances, sometimes its even rare - but when it comes its just what you need and right when you need it.  Today Lorrie and I dedicated much of the day to find out exactly what we had to do to get our first child from the Philippines (Naomi) her US passport.  We'd been told by some:  "...ohhh yeah... you got to fill this out then that takes about 6 months to approve and then you can apply for a passport and that takes a couple of months so yeah uh 6-8 months..."

You see Naomi is going with us to get her brother Jacob along with everyone in our family.  The rationale:  we want Jacob to see the family not just Lorrie and I but all of us when he meets us again.  We want him to know we're all in, we all love him and he belongs.  Picture this: We arrive at the orphanage Jacob comes into the room where we are...he sees...Naomi....Naomi his friend now his sister.  I can't get that out of my head - it is going to be the end of not belonging, being abandoned, not having a place - forever.

So really - we just don't have time for that 6-8 months.  So we head up to immigration prepared to drop 500 bucks on filing a lengthy form for some nameless, faceless bureaucrat to approve when they get around to it.  We arrive cynical (well me because Lorrie is too sweet to be cynical) not expecting much but waiting and hoping the time for them to do their thing will be shorter than what we heard.

Naomi and Hannah - Sandblasted, Great Sand Dunes NP

I love God.  He shows up in the weirdest places.  So we get this former Marine helping us and he says - "you don't need this form to get a passport - really you don't"   Lorrie and I were stunned - really!?  The guy goes onto say - "you can go to this address and go get it right now if you have all your documents"  Lorrie and I:  Really !? Really!?  So we are out... we head over to the passport place (having kept the 500 bucks that it would have cost to file the form to use toward more pressing adoption fees).

Now get this...We just want to find out what to bring when we apply for Naomi's passport and how long it will take etc.  So the guy that helps us - Adopted from the Philippines from the same adoption agency we're working with a boy now 11 from the same region as our Jacob.  Of course he's animated as he starts to help us understand what we need to do to get Naomi's passport.  Today we went from an expected 6-8 months to a week.

I don't do coincidences.  But I do recognize God showing up.  And today he did.  He affirmed what we are doing,  I believe he is "well pleased".  We needed his affirmation today and he gave it.  Never subscribe to coincidences, chance or fate.  Know that God speaks through his word, through people and through your circumstances - you my friend are never alone.