Tears Abundant

I'm worn out from crying over these blogs, so I'll give you the links and let them speak for themselves. Praise God for uniting these families earlier than expected! What a beautiful Thanksgiving weekend.

The Spores
The Dorbands
The Bowers
The Smiths

Good news for other AWAA familes!

A few busy days kept me from checking blog updates from other adoptive families, and I'm happy to say that in that time it looks like most of them were able to get court dates in November! In fact, one of them passed court this morning and they now officially have another child. :)

It looks like this group of families from our adoption agency will be traveling to Rwanda mid-December. Please pray for peace as they will most likely be missing Christmas with the family members they leave here in the States during their journey.

The Latest

I can't believe it's already been 3 weeks since my last post! Unfortunately, I don't have much to report, other than the fact that our family coordinator approved our dossier and told us we would hear from her again when it is officially on its way to Rwanda.

My understanding is that our agency took the dossier to the State Department in D.C. last Monday, November 9. So it probably went to the Rwandan embassy last Tuesday or Wednesday. We were told that it usually takes 10-14 days to clear the embassy before heading to Rwanda, but I don't know if that calculation refers to business days or calendar days. I'm hoping we get some good news before Thanksgiving, because it would be amazing to celebrate being DTR on Thanksgiving Day! (DTR is adoption speak for Dossier to Rwanda, BTW.)

Either way, this coming week will be one of celebration, as we will be watching (via blog) as a fellow adoptive family travels to Rwanda to pick up their two precious boys! What a blessing it has been these past couple of weeks as referrals have finally poured in for waiting families. I have cried so many joyful tears as I have read about the boys and girls at Home of Hope orphanage who don't even realize their photos are being kissed and treasured by loving parents and siblings on the other side of the globe.

Unfortunately, most of these families are still waiting to pass court (this happens in Rwanda through a Power of Attorney, and it is when the children are given their new families' names). Families cannot make travel arrangements until after this legal proceeding. To complicate matters, Rwandan courts close for the month of December, so if court dates are not arranged and successfully completed before Dec. 1, these families will be forced to wait another entire month before being united with their children! Please pray with us for these families as they discover God's timing and eagerly anticipate the reunions to come.