God's Provision and a Little Bit About Ellie

It’s been a little while since we’ve blogged.  We’ve been chasing papers back and forth between here and China.  During this time, though, God has been providing in amazing ways, and I am so excited to announce that we are fully funded!!  J  That’s right, that huge number ($30,000) that sounded so daunting just eleven months ago, and God has provided every single penny of it!  We are so very thankful to our HUGE God, and to everyone who allowed themselves to be His instruments!  And to those of you who might be reading this and are considering adoption, but the cost seems so overwhelming that you feel like you wouldn’t even know where to start….please don’t let the finances hinder you!!  If God is calling you to it, He will provide what is needed!!

 

So many of you have asked where we are in the process and how much longer until we can go get Ellie.  Every step in the process bring us just a little closer to her, and thankfully these steps at the end are going pretty quickly.  We are currently waiting for our I-800 (the petition to classify Ellie as our daughter) to be approved.  We are hoping we get that approval at the end of this week, but it could be longer.  The next step will be getting the information to have our Article 5 put together and sent to the US Consulate in China (this is to ensure that she will qualify to obtain a visa so we can bring her home.)  A couple of weeks later this will be picked up from the consulate and then we’ll be waiting on TA (travel approval) – this step will hopefully take about a week – and then our Consulate Appt (CA) will be made, our travel dates set, and we will purchase our plane tickets and get on the plane about a week later!!  We are getting close, folks!!  We are looking to travel sometime in March at this point, but there are still many delays that could happen.  It’s just all in God’s timing.

 

In the meantime, I wanted to share a little bit about what we know about Ellie, which is not a lot.  Ellie is very small.  When she was found, she weighed 3 lbs, and she had a hard time getting nourishment and growing for many months at the beginning of her life.  You may know that many long-term difficulties can be associated with low birth-weight, so we will just take those as they come, knowing that she is exactly the little girl that God intended her to be!  Ellie just turned a year old and she is currently in foster care at night, and goes to the orphanage to be cared for during the day.  We found out that behind her orphanage there is a large apartment complex with retired folk, and they foster the babies.  So while we don’t know specifically about Ellie, it is likely that she lives with a “foster grandma.”  I love the idea of that, by the way, that Ellie may just be bringing joy to an elderly lady, while the lady is providing love and safety for our girl!  Just my mama mind wandering, though, we likely won’t know her situation until we get there. 

 

Ellie’s paperwork describes her as “a very pretty, active, and happy baby girl.”  She can roll, crawl, and sit alone for awhile and is very noisy when she is happy or upset.  She is not shy with strangers and loves to be held (YESSSSS!!!!!! J)  Her nannies feel that she is a very happy and easy-going baby.

 

Can’t wait to go get that sweet baby!!!

 

-allison

 

Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord! Psalm 27:14