Not The Call We Had Expected

If you have been following our journey for long you know that right now we are in a holding pattern.  Just about everything concerning the adoption journey is hard, but, for whatever reason, this time around seems to be much harder than the first time.  Maybe it is because we have already met this sweet boy .  It might be because he is older and has watched his friends come and go at the orphanage.  For reasons unknown  for sure, it just seems like all we do around here is wait for "the call" to come.

And, this week a call did come - not the call we wanted though.  On Wednesday afternoon we got a call from our adoption agency.  Just to let you know that whenever the phone rings around here the kids go crazy trying to see who the call is  from.  And, of course, they saw that our adoption agency had called.  The message on the machine said that there was some news - not the good news we want - but there was an update. "Please call my cell phone if you get this after hours."  She tried to reassure us that it wasn't horrible news - just an update.

As you can expect, hearing the news was hard. We were told that the Philippines had sent an e-mail saying that they were waiting on some official document from Jacob's orphanage.  In plain terms it means that they need the original document, not a copy.  As soon as they get that document, they said, Jacob's visa appointment can be scheduled - sometime in February is what they are hoping.  Human error.  Ugh...  So, if Jacob can get his appointment scheduled sometime in February, we could be flying sometime in the middle of March; although, it could be in April or May or even later.

We don't understand the reasons why we have to wait so long.  We can't possibly understand God's ways. We know that He is our provider and has shown His goodness to our family.  He has called people, many we don't even know, to send us funds to help cover expenses.  It is God who has called people to continually pray for our family during this time.  He is the same today as He was when we began this journey.

Naomi holding her father's finger before
she boarded the airplane

As you might expect, flying in March and later is more expensive than if we were able to fly in January or February.  Everyday the cost of airline tickets is going up.  We cannot purchase our tickets now because we have no idea when we will be traveling.  It hurts my heart to even look for tickets at this time, as I can see the price rising and there is nothing we can do.  Or is there?  We can continue to trust in our Lord's provision.  We can continue writing on this blog, sharing our story and asking you all to get the word out about Jacob.

If there ever was a time to ask humbly if you would support our family, the time is now.  How wonderful it will be when Jacob can see all the names of the people who helped him, prayed for him and loved him so much to bring him home-to his forever family - never to be abandoned again.

Lorrie