Thoughts from the mountains...

As I write this, Jeff and I are staying at our friends’ condo in the mountains!! What a blessing they have given us! Jeff found out on Monday that he would not start his new job until next week Monday, so he had a surprise week off! Our dear friends own this condo and offered us to stay as long as we wanted!! Thank you Jack and Lisa!! It’s gorgeous. The colors are in their peak! Reds, yellows, greens, browns…a beautiful display of fall. We needed to get away. Spend some uninterrupted, un-stressfull time with each other and God.

As far as our adoption, even though we were verbally denied our visas, we still have options. We have researched the appeal process, we have looked into other visa options, and we have looked into the option of moving overseas for 2 years with the kids. We are currently still investigating our case as we have received some new information we need to process. So, we will take the next week or so discussing our options with our immigration lawyer and deciding how to move forward. Our prayer is and always has been “Lord bring your truth” and “Lord, your will not ours”. We believe Fatu and Osobie are our kids. The Lord has made that very clear to us and we continue to stand firm in His promises and truth. THANK YOU for continuing with us! Thank you for your encouragement, your prayers, your reminders of God's truth...they are all going straight into my journal project..."BOOK OF HOPE" that I am compiling with God's promises and truths he's spoken to me over the last 10 years. We are blessed by your continued prayers for Fatu and Osobie!! Until they are home, we will be on our knees!

Okay…so, this next writing is a little long but I feel like I want to share what the Lord has been doing behind the scenes over the last 2 months. Looking back on the last 2 months, the Lord has been preparing us for what we would face here and now with our kids. As we wait for more news, I will continue to blog about what the Lord has been doing and saying, maybe to encourage us all. He knows the plans he has for us!!

I wrote this in mid-August 2007 :

Last night I couldn't sleep. I felt like I was supposed to share this so bear with me. Maybe this is just for one person…I don’t know….but here goes….
11:30 pm It seems like all of us, who have embarked on this journey of adoption and listening to God’s call on our lives, have found ourselves on a very rugged and tough road. (I know someone else blogged about this?) Well, I just wanted to share our story & God’s goodness in the pain, struggles and trials we have faced since we started our adoption process.

In November, we lost my brother-in-law tragically. He died of a pulmonary embolism. He was 33yrs. old, husband to my sister, and dad to a 1 1/2 yr. old daughter. I had just chatted with him 2 hours before he died. This was a complete tragedy that rocked our world b/c we were very close to my sis and Matt. Two weeks later, we received our referral for Osobie and Fatu!! Talk about a rough time. Amidst deep pain and sorrow- God brought life and joy. God’s true joy stepped into a very uneasy situation. As we continued this process- cars broke down, dog almost died, Jeff’s Dad had serious health issues, bills, house, problems, and much more met us on this path of adoption. Just this week another whammy!!! My husband was starting a new job. He was to start his new job on Monday, and today was to be his last day at his old job. On Tues of this week, we get a phone call from his new job stating he could not start work for another month! Total Freak out!!!!!!!! We cannot afford to miss 1 paycheck, let alone 2!! I only work part time and that is ending in 2 weeks! Just hours after the bad news we had planned to hang with our friends. As we walked out the door the wind blew on my face. It was dark out; a storm was rolling over head. And there in the sky was a brilliant rainbow, every color shining! I just stared at the rainbow and thought “God, now what?” “Here we are, and now what??” “How are we ever going to do this one?” and He said to me, “I promised you, I would never leave you nor forsake you”. I felt like God was telling me, “This is it Katie. This is what it is all about…..ME, your Heavenly Father, your good Dad, your God and Savior. Everything can and will pass away, but I remain. Jobs, house, friends, cars, stuff….that does not matter as much as this, our relationship. It may all be gone in a flash, but....I AM HERE, I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU”.

All night I was still in shock, scared, confused, and uneasy and wondering what would happen. The next day, a miracle took place, Jeff’s old boss said Jeff could stay and work a couple more weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Total answer to prayer!!!!!!!!! Thank you GOD!!! What a relief this time!!!
Unfortunately, many of the trials and hardships we have run into along this adoption path have not ended with such joy and relief!! Matt’s death still shakes us everyday, the bills still pile up, cars are still broken, house is still not fixed up…weird odd problems still arise, heart aches continue to happen…

BUT…

“NEVER WILL I LEAVE YOU; NEVER WILL I FORSAKE YOU. “-GOD

THE LORD IS MY HELPER; I WILL NOT BE AFRAID. WHAT CAN MAN DO TO ME?” Hebrews 13

“NOTHING CAN SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF GOD THAT IS IN CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD” Romans 8

Okay, so I was suppose to blog this a month ago but I did not. It’s funny, a month ago, my biggest trials of faith were jobs, bills, and life stuff. Never did I think we would be in a place like this a month later. All the worries and cares I had are all put into perspective when faced with the possibility of losing our kids whom we have grown to love tremendously. Without us ever knowing it, God prepares us for what is to come in our lives. God was giving us opportunities to trust him and showing us again that He is faithful. Thanks God, for being our good Father. As we walk through this current hard situation of the unknown of adoption and the painful waiting, we will choose to remember He is good and He is faithful.

WE HAVE HOPE IN HIM

“I met them. I met our kids”. These were the first words Jeff spoke to me after we hugged and cried. Tears streamed so I asked him to hold off on telling me anymore because my eyes were blurred, it was dark, and I didn’t want to run us off the road. So it wasn’t until the next day, after he got some rest that we had our conversation.

I asked him…”Jeff, be totally honest with me. Tell me…Did you know they were our kids…you know, like in marriage, when you just KNOW that this person standing before you is your husband. (at least, this is what happened to me). Like when I just knew, or at least I really believed that you were to be my husband. ??? Jeff looks me in the eyes and says. “They are ours, Katie” “They are our kids”. He said, “It’s funny you used the marriage analogy, because as I was thinking about how I would tell people about our kids, I would tell them that I know like I knew Katie was my wife”.

Originally we both agreed it would best not to meet our kids, as to not confuse them. It turned out that Jeff went to the little kid orphanage at nap time and so they were groggy, confused and probably thought it was all a dream. Patty introduced Jeff as her medical friend, not as their father.

Then I proceeded to see the pictures he took. Wow…..They are sooo little in his arms. They are our kids. Jeff told me that as much as we thought they were ours before he went to Liberia; he said it is confirmed 100 times more now. He also said he needed to see for himself if our kids were as amazing as all of our friends, who have met them have told us.Jeff said they were even more amazing, sweet,and beautiful!!!! I am happy he met them. I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

*Here is some of Jeff’s random journal notes just thought I’d share a little, of course with his consent
Thursday

The embassy said no. I am desperate for options. Don’t even know what I can do for options. As far as I can tell they are orphans. They are definitely completely impoverished. They don’t want the kids. I can’t send them back to where they came from. Could I get a visitor visa? Keep them for 2 years? Live abroad for 2 years? Did I do everything I could have? I asked God to make a way. Is this the way?

I’m sitting here in a café. Need some hope now. I leave tomorrow; I can’t bear flying home with no hope. I will not give up this fight. What are our options? A guy just walked by holding a sign that said “Nothing can take God’s place”. Kids outside are washing the UN vehicle on their own without being asked, just to make some money. I can’t allow the picture in my mind to be Sobie and Fatu doing that. They wouldn’t even get this chance because the UN is not in their Toe Community. Whose car would they wash? The poor don’t have cars. The UN land rover looks good. My kids would have done a better job. But they’ll never get this chance if I can help it.
Final day in Liberia:
Exhausted, definitely numb. Feel like I failed, I know I did all that I could. Why????
I met our kids today. Patty introduced me as her medical friend Jeff. It was nap time at the orphanage so they were groggy and confused. I don’t know what they thought, they seemed tired and confused. Fatu was shy and Osobie was responsive to whatever I asked him. They smelled so sweet. They were so soft and they were very small—tiny actually. Fatu was almost as tall as Sobie. They were beautiful. They showed me where they slept. I didn’t want to let them go. They both sat on my lap and fit perfectly. They were beautiful. I am flying home as we speak. I miss them already. I feel depressed and miss my wife. I wish I was there, when I heard the news. I wish I was with Katie. She is taking it very hard. I have mixed feelings. I wanted to see the kids to assure myself that they were as beautiful as I thought. They are more beautiful. They were stunning and sweet and tender. I thought maybe I’d be on this flight with them, trying to figure out how to be a parent and loving it. I would have given anything to fly 30 hours with 2 crying kids with me. I am tired, I miss my wife, I want my kids. Of the 4 trips I’ve had to Africa, this is by far the worst. My days were full, late nights. The trip was a blur and what do I have to show for it? Couple stamps on my passport. That’s it. No kids!!!

We feel His presence. We feel His peace. He is our peace. We are surrounded by such a blanket of His love. We feel your prayers. We know you are praying because the Lord is here among us. You have faithfully lifted our family for many weeks now, when I know your lives are just as busy and just as hard. We never thought we’d be on this journey this long, nor did we think it would be his hard. We said it before and we continue to say that we want to be in His will, no matter what it looks like. The Lord has been speaking in so many ways to our hearts through this all. I hope to capture it all in the days and weeks to come. It’s all still in process and marked on tear stained journal pages. Even now…we have received phone calls and emails from people all over the U.S. There is a common theme.

Do not give up hope
This is not the end
Do not give up
This is not it
God can do the impossible!
God raised Lazarus from the dead!!
Galatians 6:9- And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
Hope, Hope, Hope,
GOD IS NOT DONE!!
This will bring GLORY to God!!

We are still sifting through paperwork and getting our bearings. We are planning on meeting with an immigration lawyer, writing letters to as many folks as we can, and are discussing our other options. For now we have to sit tight for a little bit while we figure out our case and how we will present it to the Senators and Congressmen. Once we have a plan, we would be so blessed, so grateful, so stoked if you all would join us in our fight! We will need each and every one of you to help us fight for our kids! You have journeyed with us, you have held us up, and you have fought for Osobie and Fatu already with us in prayer! We Thank You!!! We love you all! Your emails, your words, your love is a huge blessing...just huge…words cannot express.

Denied

The visa consulate denied our kids visas!! The new information didn’t change her mind at all. We have no idea what to do or even if there is anything left to do. I am utterly sick, soaked in tears. I am at a complete loss of everything. Our hearts are just broken, an absolute mess. This pain feels unbearable!

I don’t have words…

I just wanted to post because I know there are soo many of you out there that are walking with us in prayer, waiting to hear the outcome.

Thank you for your hearts, your friendship, your prayers.

We are soo in need of God’s comfort right now…so in need of HIM!!!!

3 days in...

Jeff has had two productive days of going over paperwork, meeting with family members, and working with AOH to try to figure out the best steps to take in our case. Jeff and AOH have an appointment on Thursday at 9 am with the visa consulate. I guess at this point the prayer request is that Alma would look at all the new information and change her mind on our visas and give us an approval. This is still obviously going to take a miracle of God, but He can do it if he wills! This appointment is pretty important- so please pray for HUGE amounts of favor with Alma. Of course, the mama heart in me is on my knees praying that the .01% chance that we could get our visas would become reality, and Jeff would fly home with Fatu and Osobie in his arms!!! But, I also trust that my Heavenly Father has a plan that is and always will be the best, whatever the outcome may be. (Jeremiah 29:11) Jeff flies out Friday and lands in Denver on Saturday.

Thanks to all of you who have emailed and posted to encourage us and pray! We know we are being prayed for and feel the blanket of love surrounding us! Thank you. We wouldn’t be here now if it weren’t for all the people who have held us up so that we could stand in this. We love you and pray for God’s love to shower over each of you!!

PRAYER POINTS:
PRAY FOR THURSDAYS APPT. (9 amLiberia time) WITH ALMA

(They are 6 hours ahead, if anyone wants to rise early& join me for an hour of prayer)
PRAY FOR ALONSO'S THURS. APPT. AS WELL!

PRAY THAT ALMA WILL ACCEPT NEW INFO ON OUR CASE

PRAY THAT SHE WILL CHANGE HER MIND

PRAY FOR WISDOM FOR JEFF & AOH

PRAY FOR HEALTH & SAFETY FOR JEFF & CHARITY

PRAY FOR THE ALONSO’S!

Thank you!!

Katie

First Day in Liberia!!

I just talked to Jeff on the phone!!! He met with AOH this morning and with Fatu and Osobie's grandpa and Uncle. AOH has talked with aunts, uncles, in hopes to confirm Grandpa's story of our kids parents death, and to get affidavit's to submit to the Embassy. Jeff believes that the grandpa is telling the truth and even asked him point blank several times. He told him it was okay if they were alive, but that we just needed to know the truth. The grandpa shared the same story that their parents were in fact dead.

SO... what next??? Well, Jeff is going to go over all our paperwork tomorrow with AOH. They are also supposed to pick up the parents death certificates from the Ministry of Health tomorrow. (hopefully) Jeff and AOH have an appointment with Alma, the visa consulate on Thursday. They plan on bringing our whole case with all the new supporting documents and info with them to submit to her.

WE CONTINUE TO NEED YOUR PRAYERS!!!!!!!!!!!!
PLEASE PRAY THAT THE VISA CONSULATE WILL ACCEPT

& LOOK AT THE NEW INFORMATION!!
If she denies us again, we could have a long road ahead of us
WE NEED WISDOM, DISCERNMENT, SENSITIVE EARS TO THE LORD'S WHISPERS
WE NEED GOD TO DO WHAT ONLY HE CAN DO!!!!
Please pray for the death cert's to be issued and for the Thursday appt!!!
*Please continue to pray for Alonso's as well...I am not sure how their case is going.

Okay, so now for some amazing news!!! Jeff received another confirmation that Fatu and Osobie are ours!! The Grandpa told Jeff the meaning of Fatu's name. It means "SMALL SOMETHING" or "LITTLE ONE" in their tribe. When I was born, my dad wrote a poem about me and he called me "Klienen" which means "LITTLE ONE" or "SMALL ONE".!!!!!!!! Can you believe it??? I am in tears!! Here we have been praying for months on end for the Lord to give us a new name for Fatu because we found out it means something like "daughter of Mohammad"...but it doesn't!!!!! This is why God NEVER gave us a new name for her!!!! Her name is FATU!!!! I have been really struggling with this for sometime now and little did I know the Lord had an even more wonderful plan ahead for her name!! I am overwhelmed with joy over God's amazing answer to prayer! We absolutely LOVE the name Fatu and now we get to keep it!!!
Also, we found out Fatu and Osobies moms name is Katherine!!! Wow!!!!

ALL our love and thank yous for continuing to pray!!!
We are praising God for all his confirmations that we are exactly where He wants us to be!!!

LIBERIA!!!

Jeff called me this afternoon and has landed in Monrovia, Liberia safely!!! He started his trip with a delayed flight and came close to missing the Brussels flight, but he made it!! Praise God!!
He sounded good, but tired of course. It sounds like tomorrow afternoon he will be meeting with AOH folks and begin to work on our case. Please pray that together they can come up with God given ideas and strategies to bring our kids home! He has already heard from a nanny that our little Sobie is quite a smart little guy and Fatu is sweet! As we prepared for Jeff to leave we had many talks about what to do about meeting the kids. We had decided it would be best for them if he did not, in the event the worst case scenario happens. The night he left we decided he would just wait and see how the Lord leads him in that area. I'm sure now that he is just miles from the kids, he's probably feeling very torn. Please pray for him as he makes the decision to meet our children!! Please continue to pray for the Alonso's as well. Charity is a brave momma! I am blessed to have been able to get to know her through this process. Please continue praying with us for God to move in mighty ways!!
When I was driving home from the airport yesterday I heard a song on the radio. The chorus is as follows and it was such a great reminder of the fact that God is with us in all of this!! He is holding us safe in his arms!

"knowing clouds will raise up

storms will race in

but you will be safe in my arms

rains will pour down

waves will crash all around

but you will be safe in my arms "

-Plumb

Thanks everyone for holding us all up in prayer! You are such a blessing to us!!!

Update

No news yet on the advisory boards decision. After much prayer and discussion, we decided Jeff would be flying out to Liberia tomorrow. He will land in Liberia on Sunday and stay for one week. He is going to work with AOH in trying to resolve our current situation in our adoption. The constant theme we have gotten through prayer, scripture, and friends is to not give up on Fatu and Osobie. Our hearts are abounding with love for them and we believe the Lord has blessed us with these children. It will be a bitter sweet trip for Jeff since he will not be seeing the kids. Jeff is an amazing dad already!! He knows it would best for Fatu and Osobie to not see him, in case things do not get resolved. I am blessed to have such a wonderful husband with such a huge heart for our kids!!

Thank you for praying and fasting!! We just simply love you all, some of you we don’t even know very well, but we have been absolutely humbled by your praying hearts! We have seriously felt all of your prayers this week. God has been speaking to my heart about his promises and I am trying to stand in those. (Eph: 6:10-18) We know you and your families also have your own struggles and prayer needs so thank you for remembering us in the midst of your lives. We continue to pray for all the families in the process! We can testify that God uses this time to purge out the junk in our hearts that gets in the way of us receiving more of HIM, to reveal His deep LOVE for us, to help us learn to trust him fully, to bring His word to LIFE in our lives, to change us, heal us, and to set us free to love him with all our hearts, all our minds, all of our strength, regardless of our circumstances!! I pray that the Lord speaks to each of you today exactly where you are; if in need of encouragement, I pray for His assurance to come, if in need of clarity, that He would give you wisdom, if in need of comfort, that he would wrap his arms around you, if in need of faith for the impossible, that He would remind you of His mighty power to do the impossible, if you are celebrating, I pray God would give you a song to sing and of course, a sweet new dance move to go with it!! Thank you for your prayers…we sure could still use em’!!!!

SOME PRAYER POINTS

Pray for safety in travel for Jeff and Charity Alonso
Pray for news from the U.S. Embassy board
Pray for strength, wisdom, and discernment for Patty, Charles, Eric, Jeff, Charity
Pray for the visa consulate that her heart would be softened
Pray for creative problem solving for Jeff, Charity, and AOH
Pray for truth to be revealed in our kids cases & Alonso's
Pray for God’s comfort and peace for Fatu, Osobie, Malaya, and Aries!
Oh,…and if you could pray I don’t go crazy at home alone wondering what is happening in Liberia!!!!

God has given me an assignment a long time ago and now might be the time to do it. I have a ton of journals I have kept since I met Jesus. God has told me to go through them & write down all his words, promises, pictures and scriptures he has given me (us) regarding Africa and our future. So…here goes!!

If you feel led, please join us in fasting.
We have a community of friends who will be fasting one day for each day of next week

No word yet

As I sit down to update the blog, my 2 yr old niece Mackenna is sitting on my lap watching. I opened our blog and she yells "There's Sobie"..."There's Fatu...Sobie and Fatu" "they're my cousins"!!!
Wow...talk about a heart breaking moment!! Mackenna has seen every picture, shopped for toys with us, heard us talk daily about Sobie and Fatu coming home. Lord, hear her cry for her cousins! Hear our cry for our kids! Make a way Lord where there is none. Do what only you can do Lord! We trust you completely!

The advisory board has not yet come back with a verdict. So...we will continue to pray and hope for news tomorrow! In the meantime, Jeff, myself, and the Alonso's are looking into what actions we can take to figure things out and get our kids home.

THANKS again to you all for fasting and praying with us!! We love you all!! Your encouragement and prayers are holding us up! Below is our last blog to keep folks up to speed on what's happening.

__________________________________________________________________

At the moment the U.S. visa consulate is not issuing visas due to discrepancies in our case. The consular is presenting our case to the state department advisory board to be reviewed. They will decide by Tuesday if the whole case will be re investigated or not. If they decide against reinvestigation....we would be at risk of losing Fatu and Osobie, which we cannot even imagine. Only God knows what will happen at that point. If they do decide on reinvestigation, we are hoping and praying this will give AOH a second chance at presenting our case. It would delay us probably a month or so, but at least in the end we would be able to bring home our dear children.
We really-really need your prayers!!I know we just keep asking for them...and I know you are all praying, This is all we have left. God's mercy. God's hand over and in all of this.
THANK YOU!
All of you who have walked this LONG journey with us.

Fasting and prayer

THANK YOU ALL FOR STANDING WITH US IN PRAYER!

no new news...Just wanted to update and let you know we have a whole community of friends & family fasting until this gets resolved! People are picking a day of the week to fast, so every week gets covered until Fatu & Osobie comes home! So, if you can, we'd love you to join us in prayer and fasting! We are not giving up,..we will continue to fight for our kids! We love you all and our hearts are overflowing with gratefulness for your willingness to cry out to God on our kids and Alonso's kids behalf.

I continue to meditate on Jeremiah 29: 11 "For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future".
______________________________________________________________

Thank you for all your prayers! Well, an update...boy, this is tough. At the moment the U.S. visa consulate is not issuing visas due to discrepancies in our case. The consular is presenting our case to the state department advisory board to be reviewed. They will decide by Tuesday if the whole case will be re investigated or not. If they decide against reinvestigation....we would be at risk of losing Fatu and Osobie, which we cannot even imagine. Only God knows what will happen at that point. If they do decide on reinvestigation, we are hoping and praying this will give AOH a second chance at presenting our case. It would delay us probably a month or so, but at least in the end we would be able to bring home our dear children.

We really-really need your prayers!!

I know we just keep asking for them...and I know you are all praying, This is all we have left. God's mercy. God's hand over and in all of this.

THANK YOU!

All of you who have walked this LONG journey with us.

With heavy hearts,
Jeff and Katie

Update: Please PRAY

Thank you for all your prayers! Well, an update...boy, this is tough. At the moment the U.S. visa consulate is not issuing visas due to discrepancies in our case. The consular is presenting our case to the state department advisory board to be reviewed. They will decide by Tuesday if the whole case will be re investigated or not. If they decide against reinvestigation....we would be at risk of losing Fatu and Osobie, which we cannot even imagine. Only God knows what will happen at that point. If they do decide on reinvestigation, we are hoping and praying this will give AOH a second chance at presenting our case. It would delay us probably a month or so, but at least in the end we would be able to bring home our dear children.

We really-really need your prayers!!

I know we just keep asking for them...and I know you are all praying, This is all we have left. God's mercy. God's hand over and in all of this.

THANK YOU!

All of you who have walked this LONG journey with us.

With heavy hearts,
Jeff and Katie

SOS! PLEASE PRAY!!

So below is the blog I was about to post an hour ago..…Then I got a phone call from the Alonso’s who spoke with the director of AOH. It turns out there was no meeting today. They scheduled it for Friday. Well, I don’t know what to write other than we really need a miracle to happen. If the visa woman does not issue the visa…we will have serious problems. This is it! This is on the floor, crying out to God time!! There is nothing else we can do but CRY OUT on behalf of our kids and the Alonso girls! LORD HELP US!! LORD we ask for your spirit to go before Patty and Eric and the visa woman, Alma. Lord we ask for you to move in mighty & miraculous ways for Fatu and Osobie and Malaya and Aries!!

COULD YOU ALL PLEASE PRAY FOR THIS FRIDAY’S MEETING!!!

Please pray for Alma’s heart to be softened and for resolution!

We cannot even begin to fathom our lives without
Fatu and Osobie. It's hard to believe our bags have been packed for 2 weeks and we were planning to travel
in 2 days and now we're faced with this!

We ask for your hand God, your truth, your way, your will Lord!

Wow…now I need to go read my previous blog

and ask God to help me really hang on to this truth!

________________________________________________________________________

God is good ALL the time….ALL the time God is good!

I cannot tell you how many times I have heard this proclaimed from the lips of African men and women in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, and the DRC (Congo). Let me say it again.

God is good ALL the time….ALL the time God is good!

In the midst of heartache; heartache that comes from saying good bye to your child, husband, wife, brothers and sisters from war, AIDS, disease…in the midst of poverty; poverty that shows itself in the swollen bellies of village children and young women selling themselves to support their family… in the midst of suffering, desperation, loneliness, hopelessness….In the midst of all of this… We hear…

God is good ALL the time….ALL the time God is good!

How is this possible? One word -Jesus. God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, to die on the cross for all of our sin, so we could be united with him in relationship forever. So we could be set free in the love of Christ, in the truth of God’s love, in the hope of resurrection, in the floods of God’s healing. This is how. This is how we get through the storms. This is how we stand when our knees are weak. This is how we do it. This is the only way I know how to get through times like these. TRUST, HOPE, BELIEVE in the ONE and ONLY, GOD the Father, who is loving, caring, kind, generous, comforting, peace-giving, trust worthy, faithful, and GOOD!!!!

THANK YOU AFRICA! Thank you for your hearts full of trust and confidence in our good God. Thank you Ruth, Vivian, Charles, Arthur, Mike, Mudekerezza….and all the other beautiful lovers of Jesus across Africa, who we have met and who have impacted our lives forever. Thank you for the reminder of truth, for the song I can sing even in the midst of all my stinkin’ doubt, anxiety, and fear!

Yes, I agree, I agree… I will sing with you all...

God is good ALL the time…ALL the time God is good!!!

No news. Not a word from Liberia. So….we wait. We wait and pray. We pray for God’s will to be done. We pray for Liberia, the consulate, Patty, Eric and for the other families (Alonso’s) who are also walking this hard journey. Thank you friends, family, strangers for all your prayer support and sweet encouragement! Thank you…we are feeling all the love!! You’re all just awesome!!! We are blessed to have you in our lives!! Thank you!!

Even more PRAYER!!!!

Hi friends!

Well,....the saga continues with the Borchert's!
We sure could use some prayers TODAY!!!.

We are waiting to receive our kids visas in order to travel. The visa woman requested our children's parents death certificates and then requested to interview the grandpa. Well, they found grandpa (answer to prayer) and he went in for his interview today. It did not go well. The grandpa was nervous and he was inconsistent with his answers. The visa woman did not issue Fatu and Osobies visas. I am unclear of all the details but basically she does did not believe the grandpa. She is cracking down on the visa process because of child trafficking issues (which is a good thing), and because there have been other orphanages in Liberia that have been deceitful. AOH has never had any problems or grievances. Tomorrow Patty (founder of AOH) and Eric (director of AOH) will have another meeting with the visa consulate to try to resolve our adoption issues and the Alonso's adoption. Our friend, Charity and her family are also in a bind similar to ours. They are waiting to bring home their girls too! You can check out her blog below.

Could you please pray for us &
For the Alonso family!!! (www.internationlmommy.blogspot.com)

-pray for the right words for Patty & Eric
-pray that the visa consulate's heart would be softened
-pray they can solve any problems in paperwork
-pray that the truth is spoken and that there is understanding of Liberian culture
Could you also pray for Jeff and I... we're a bit distraught over all of this, as you can imagine. We are also learning how to trust our Father at a whole new level!

We love you all! Thank you for seeking God with us. It feels so much better to know we are a part of a God seeking, Jesus loving, prayer warrior community!!

PRAYERS

No word yet....they are still looking for the grandpa. This is concerning because many folks have shared that it is easy to contact people in Liberia as most have cell phones. The hope and plan is to find the grandpa and bring him in on Tues. for a visa appt. This is of course if they find him, if he can make it in, or if he even wants to go the the appt. Wow....talk about continual surrender, crying out to God, and finding ourselves in desperate need of God's hope and comfort.

Also, other friends of ours, the Alonso's are in a troublesome spot as well. She was supposed to fly out Sept. 13 th to pick up their girls and now the visa lady is talking about requiring a DNA test for the grandma of the girls!! Please pray for their family as well!! Their blog is www.internationalmommy.blogspot.com.
We are in a battle! We are asking God to move in miraculous ways!!
Could you please be praying for breakthrough!!!

In the midst of all of this, Jeff & I are celebrating our 5th year anniversary!!!
We spent the day and night in Denver, and stayed in a sweet hotel in Denver called the Hotel Monaco! We've had a great time overall! (except for a minor thing like food poisoning or something, that kept me in the bathroom all night! ) yikes! I'm not a good sick person at all. We're enjoying our morning at our favorite coffee spot downtown called 'The Market'. We are about to crack open our 5 year bottle next! On the night of our wedding rehearsal dinner, all of our friends and family wrote on a sticky note where they thought we would be in 5 years. They loaded them in a glass bottle and now we get to break open the bottle and read our notes! This should be very interesting!! We'll post the funniest ones & let you know whose prediction was the closest!