Out of Our Depths

Court went really well on Wednesday, we think - we were seen on time, and were probably done an hour and a half later. Everyone that was supposed to be there was there, and just a few things are needed before we receive our verbal ruling next Friday. We're praying that those things are done and that Friday's ruling is just as timely as court was.

It's been a week now that we've been a family of seven, and we're slowly entering into the hard, for everyone. But, adoption is born out of loss, and this is to be very much expected. Would you pray with us for love and peace and grace, for each of us, for building of trust and for breaking down of walls? Nothing is impossible with God, and we're believing in the great work He'll do - and is doing - in this family.

In the midst of the hard, I'm reminded of the sermon notes I took a few weeks ago - and thankful that He has prepared me for such a time as this: Discipleship "primarily involves the loving breaking of the disciple by God in a lifelong transformational journey. From awe of self to awe of God. From fear of man to fear of God. He humbles us in our areas of strength." Humbled in an area of strength. That is exactly how I feel right now.

May I remember to be thankful for this humbling, thankful that it brings me back to the One who is able. May I practice thankfulness for my shortcomings and my failures, grateful and sure that His grace is sufficient for me, that His power is made perfect in weakness (2 Cor. 12:9).

"Being weak makes you a cup for God's power. Being stretched thin makes you a canvas for God's glory. Being out of your depths makes you touch the depths of the Love of God." - Ann Voskamp

And Then There Were Five

We (finally!) got to meet the boys, almost four days ago now - though it seems like just yesterday. We had no idea what to expect, but it went really, really wonderfully. We spent several hours at their foster home, playing football and getting to know their foster mother; it was a really fantastic day. 

We went back the following day, Saturday, for a short visit and to bring them back to our apartment with us. The transition, though difficult, especially for them, has really gone very smoothly. 

We're slowly getting into a daily rhythm and learning life as a family of seven. There have been few tears and much sweetness, and we are grateful to be here, with these five little people.

Our hearts are full. God is so good.

All Settled In

We arrived at our destination late Wednesday night, after about two-and-a-half days of traveling. Our transition has been a pretty smooth one, thanks to kind drivers and apartment staff and wonderful neighbors. (Another adoptive family is staying across the hall, and they stocked our apartment with water, milk, eggs, bread, jelly, coffee, and the like before we arrived. What a thoughtful and unexpected welcome!)

We met a couple other families yesterday, did some grocery shopping, got a SIM card and airtime, and went out to dinner. Today, in a couple of hours, we'll be picked up to go meet the boys. We can't wait!

(The view from our balcony is a really beautiful one. AJ and I watched the sun come up this morning, and it was stunning. Hopefully next time I'll think to take a picture. I can't imagine that this view will ever get old.)

When it rains, it pours.

Seven days until we leave.

Seven days ago, we found out that our placing agency is closing. Has closed. That they're gone, and with them, some of the money that we've paid. $4,150, to be precise.

It was a shock and it was unsettling and it wasn't good news. But it was about money. Not children or lives or hearts, just money. No one was in the hospital and the doors to the intercountry adoption program hadn't been closed.

We're still moving forward. Independently, without an agency, but forward. With the support of family and friends and people we haven't met yet who have already become friends.

In seven days, we leave. We get on one plane, and then another, and then one more after that. We'll land in a country we've seen only in photographs and in our dreams, and the next chapter of this wonderful adventure will really begin.

And amidst all of the excitement and the nerves and the craziness leading up to our departure is this deep, steady peace. This grounding certainty that the Author of this story has everything planned out just so, and that by Him, all things - the difficult things, the frustrating things, the heartbreaking things - all things, will be worked together for our good. For our children's good.

And that $4,150? Well, He'd already taken care of that, too. Because when we looked at our budget after we'd gotten the news? There was just enough - just enough - left over between what we've budgeted for and what we have in our account. $4,164, to be precise.

Our God is in the details. Even details of the fourteen-dollar variety.

And it is all grace. This undeserved gift, that He would be in the small and the big of it, of all things.

And His grace, it has rained down on us every minute of every day. The more we stop to see it, the more we notice. That His grace, it pours out on us, lavish and wild, undeserved and unearned.

And we have only to turn our faces up as it falls, and give thanks. Always thanks, for the always-grace. 

Moving Forward

As of Wednesday morning, we have a court date!

Our April 2nd appointment isn't exactly the February date we'd been expecting, but it is a gift. Now we can put pen to paper and flesh out all the little details that a trip of this magnitude - and the change of duty station following it - requires. Because amidst this life-changing trip, we will be relocating to a yet-to-be-determined new home in southern Mississippi.

We're not sure yet if we'll buy or stay in base housing again, but that decision can be made later, once we know when we'll get there. For now, we'll focus on what's immediately in front of us: enjoying our last six weeks in Hawaii as a family of four, preparing to meet three sweet little boys who our hearts have been longing for, and spending at least a couple of months in their home country, soaking up the people and the culture and all that awaits us there.

For now, we have silverware and bath towels to pack. (Really.)

Figueroa, party of seven, here we come.

Filed!

We found out this morning that our dossier was filed in court last week. It's still expected - and I use that term loosely, as some families have had significant delays lately - that we'll go to court in late January or early February. But for now, that is what we know and what we will try to prepare for. That means we could leave in a month or so. We'll hope, and we'll see.

For now, we're gathering paperwork, updating paperwork that is about to expire (again), and purchasing the last of the things we want to bring with us. We're making lists and checking lists and adding dress socks to lists, because it turns out that four little boys in suits shouldn't go sock-less in their dress shoes. How could I have forgotten about socks?

We're preparing the house and preparing our hearts, and marveling at how much we love three little people we've never met before. We're eager to get on a plane and go to them, to see that they're well, to stop wondering about and start getting to know.

It might be almost time.

Waiting

Our dossier arrived at its destination at the end of October, so for now we're still waiting on a court date. Last week, we were told that it may be late January or early February. While in many ways that seems so far away, we still have much to do to prepare for our travels and the huge changes that are on the horizon.

While we wait, we would so appreciate your prayers not only for us, but for our sweet boys, and for their caregivers. We know that even this time has a purpose, and we hope that this will all be, in each of our lives, for His glory.

"Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen." (Ephesians 3:20-21)