When Dustin and I first felt the pull on our hearts through Scripture and prayer to adopt, we knew there were some things about it we just could not handle.

But there was a lot we could handle, and so we started with that. We knew that God was moving our family forward in adoption, but we didn't know where we were going, or how we would come up with the financial means to get there.

As I think back on that time one year ago, Abraham's story really resonates with me. God called him out of his comfort zone to a country he didn't know. He asked him to take those first steps in complete faith, trusting in the God who knew where He would take him, but Abraham didn't know where he was going. He had to trust that God had a destination in mind, and that He was powerful enough; loving enough; strong enough; wise enough to bring him there.

When we wrote the first check to the adoption agency that would complete our home study for us, it was a step of faith. God provided the money we needed for that first check - in spite of the fact that, at that time, we were living paycheck to paycheck. We continued down the road, sending in stacks of completed paperwork, writing down more about our past than our journals had ever seen, sending countless emails to our agency, getting our fingerprints taken more times than a felon, and continually writing those checks, walking in faith toward an unclimbable mountain.

That mountain was made up of a final payment due to our placing agency of $20,800. And let me tell you: there was just no way.

But we kept walking with God as He led us right up to the base of it.

And then we stopped. We prayed. And God began moving mountains.

Today we hold in our hands, ready to mail, the payment we prayed for seven weeks ago. We stand humbly on the other side of what was, not long ago, a mountain too huge to see the top of, and we bless the Name of our God, Jehovah-jireh, who moved hearts all across this country, in our home church, and in our families, to provide. God sees our need; He meets our need; and we see Him.

All glory goes to our Father in heaven, who will not call us without equipping us; our humble thanks goes out to those who allowed God to work through them on our behalf. May you be richly blessed by our Father as a result of your generosity!

Reading the numbers in our adoption account was awe-inspiring, and filled our hearts with gratitude.
Writing that final check was amazing. A tangible reminder that everything we have is a gift from God.
But we haven't arrived.
There will be more mountains before we're done with this process - and valleys. Our hearts can start asking a thousand worried questions: How will we help Jeremiah handle the loss of leaving his foster mother? What will we do if he won't stop crying on a 12-hour flight? How will we pay for plane tickets? What if we get lost in a city of 10 million people where we don't know the language? How long will it take before he thinks of us as his family?

And then we'll stop. And pray. God will again be our Provider. He will equip us to go where He has called when we have no strength to get there on our own.

We will not forget His faithfulness to us.

So Abraham called the name of that place, "The Lord will provide, as it is said to this day, "On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided." - Genesis 22:14

Another step closer!

Today we traversed the long and smelly road to El Paso to have our fingerprints taken (we're getting good at this!). After we located the plain little building in El Paso and filled out a short form (I'm so thankful now for those!), we waited for a few minutes before we had our fingerprints taken - digitally. I felt world-class. I mean, fingerprints, yeah. No big deal. But digital fingerprints? We're officially in the fingerprinting big leagues!

We took the kids with us, of course (because all fingerprinting aficionados do this - it's good for them to be cultured), and after we were done we visited a nearby park. I don't think there's anything as fun as a new park for our kids, unless it's a new park with their dad around to show them the ropes.

After we'd worked up an appetite, we all piled into Dustin's Back-to-the-Future car and drove to a Korean restaurant we'd found online before we left home. It was delicious, and since there were very few people to serve, our waitress struck up a conversation with us about all things Korean food. When she learned we were adopting from Korea and would be traveling there, she gave us all sorts of interesting things to try, on the house! Even the kids were excited to see what Korean water, kimchi, and Korean dumplings tasted like. Afterwards, they all decided we should make going to Korea a family trip. They'd better start saving up their allowance!

On February 3 we got a phone call from Lifesong, whose mission is to bring joy and hope to orphans. We knew, because they had called the week before, that we were going to get word soon on the application we sent in. At the end of December, we finished all the paperwork, prayed over a large manila envelope, and sent it in to Lifesong, asking if they would allow us to do a Both Hands project, and if they would consider us for a matching grant.

When the phone rang that day, Dustin answered, and it only took a few seconds for the grin to spread across his face. Standing across the room, I knew.

We have officially been accepted by Lifesong to receive a matching grant for our adoption, and to work with Both Hands!

So now, let the work begin! We're praying that God will lead us as we put together a team of people who will wrap around us in this adoption, and asking that He will make our efforts successful. We are blessed to serve Lourdes Banegas in this project as we work on giving her house a "face lift" with a team of volunteers in April. Until that day, our team will be helping us send out sponsorship letters to everyone they can think of. It's sort of like a sponsored 5k: the donated money (tax-deductible, thanks to Lifesong!) all goes to our adoption fund, except instead of running or golfing, we're serving a widow. A beautiful way to live out James 1:27.

_While we were still standing amazed at how God delights in equipping us to do His work, we received an email just three days later from our adoption agency. Our sweet case manager let us know that she had a referral she'd like to send our way. As she watched God working to provide for our adoption expenses, she felt that she might have the information for our son in her hands. So, with our blessing (and jaws dropping, hearts pounding, hands and feet tingling), she emailed us the name, age, medical information, history, and photos of the sweet little orphan boy we hope to soon see face to face and call our own.

Getting the referral was a little surreal - a lot like seeing a first ultrasound. It's amazing to look at your baby's face for the first time. And I love that he's sitting in a little throne to get his picture taken. Our little prince!

And while we can't spread the pictures of his charming face on the internet, we had to show you something...

If you would like to make a donation to support our adoption, your gift will be doubled up to $3000. 100% of your donations (up to the full amount of the adoption still owed) will go directly to our adoption account. Send your check with Preference: Leonard, Dustin #2570  written in the memo line to:
Lifesong for Orphans
PO Box 40/ 202 N. Ford St.
Gridley, IL 61744

Please leave any questions in the Comments section.

Thank you!

In spite of the fact that I am perpetually 10 minutes late to everything, I like to get paperwork done on time. We've been pretty diligent in doing just that, and in sending in every check needed when it was due. Nobody's had to wait for us, and it's been a nice feeling to know that.

God has clearly shown us the adoption road, and we want to walk well and not falter.

And when it's time to wait, we want to wait well.

We've received several emails this last week from Regina, our caseworker, regarding our place in line. She told us recently that we were number 7 in line, and she let us know this last week that, while we are currently at number 5 in line, the three families ahead of us in line will not be ready for their referrals for a few months. So that leaves...drum roll, please...us!

After reading the email, we looked at each other (with HUGE smiles on our faces) in disbelief, both of us wondering how we were going to come up with the remaining $18,000, but more than that, so completely excited that everything was finally happening.

I'll confess, we thought about shortcuts. Should we borrow from a bank? After all, if anything is, adoption is a cause worthy of borrowing money for! Or maybe borrow from our inheritance (with our parents' permission) with the intention of paying it all back?

Or maybe...

Maybe remember that God is on time, and that He has a child picked out already for our family - a child who will be ready for us exactly when we are ready for him. Because sure, it's possible for us to borrow from people and then spend years paying for the child who will be so worth it. But if God has been so faithful to provide everything we've needed up to this point, it would be foolish for us to assume that we have to take the rest into our own hands.

I read a story once of a man named Edgar who runs an orphanage in Mexico. He and his boys had run out of food, which wasn't unusual, and he sat down with them to pray. After they prayed that God would provide for their needs, Edgar had a choice: either he would go out and ask friends and neighbors to give them any extra rice and beans they had on hand, OR he would wait for God to answer his prayers. And keep praying.

After they were done praying the first time, the littlest boy piped up and said, "What kind of food does God deliver?"

Edgar smiled at the boy and said, "God desires to lavish His riches on you. Let's see what He provides.," They prayed again. Again, the little boy spoke: "Do you think...Will God bring us...meat?"

The faith of a child: to ask for the best in their time of need.

The man challenged that little boy to believe that God heard them as His children, and to ask again.

The same day, a man had flown into Monterrey, Mex. for a business convention. He told Beth Buckenberger, author of Reckless Faith, that he had lots of extra "product" that was no longer of use to him. Beth, embarrassed, told the man that she had forgotten what his business was, and he explained that he represents a meat company, and had brought choice cuts for potential vendors. Beth, connected to several orphanages in the area, said yes, of course she knew of people who could use it! She called Edgar and as she explained, he whispered, "Praise God!" and then turned away from the phone and shouted the news to his boys, that the Lord's response to their prayer was on its way over!

__And the boys at Edgar's home ate meat that night that would make a king jealous.

That man could have prayed, and then gone out on his own to do what needed to be done. But instead, he stayed on his knees in a room full of children who had the faith to ask for the best.

God likes to be asked for what we need.

So even though a small part of me - a part of me that's getting smaller every day -  would like to go out and ask every bank in town what rate they could give us on an adoption loan, I'm going to tell my soul to be still.
I'm going to keep praying, and I'm going to ask my children to pray with me. Because they know how to ask for the best, and I have a God who delights in giving it.

"If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so provie to be my disciples." - John 15:7,8

It was one of those dreams that's strange to wake up from because it seems so real.

It started out in a giant white building that was simple but elegant, and I was inside. I was walking up a long flight of stairs to a higher floor where I met Regina, our case worker with our international adoption agency. Regina and I then continued on together, talking as we walked. It seemed as though we were preparing for a meeting of some sort; the feel of the event was serious, but full of an excited anticipation.

We came to a large room that was set up like a lecture hall. I went in and sat down with a hundred others, and listened to someone who spoke about what to expect next. It was very vague, and the focus of that part of my dream wasn't so much the content of the meeting as it was an introduction to the rest of what happened. When the meeting ended, people got up and went on their way to various parts of the building. Regina and I walked toward the South Korea room.

As we meandered through the other people toward our destination, we passed various other rooms that belonged to different countries, and housed children ranging in age from infants to teenagers. I remember one little girl in a room we passed, who was clearly in control of her little world. She was about 6, had bobbed brown hair and brown eyes, and was feared by all of her peers. I don't know which room she was in but as we passed by, my heart went out to her and I wished she could feel love.

After passing the China room, which was completely full of small babies and their caretakers, we arrived at the Korea room. I looked at Regina, who nodded, and then opened the door and walked in. Inside were three children, quietly playing. My eyes went immediately to a little boy who was about 4 years old. He was with his father, a sweet old man with graying black hair and a tiny frame. The little boy looked up at me with beautiful brown Asian eyes, and he smiled.

I went to the boy and his father, and sat on the floor to watch them play. There was no talking, but somehow we were all connected. There was an intense love between the boy and the man, and they drew me into it. We spent many hours together, which may have been days or months - I don't know. And then, the man looked at me and told me something with his eyes. I knew then that he was dying, and so did the boy. He didn't have much time left to spend with his son, but he wasn't worried or anxious. He had been preparing for this day, and that was why I was there.

There was a ceremony to celebrate the life of the old man. He was dearly loved and respected by all who knew him, and I felt privileged to have been a part of his last days.

The little boy held the wisdom of the old man in his eyes now, along with a deep sadness. But he was content and he was happy in spite of the tragedy of his story. He looked up at me again with a smile that held a thousand sorrows, and he took my hand. And together we walked out of the giant white building, hand in hand.

The old man spoke then, for the first time in my dream, as if he were speaking directly to my heart from heaven. He thanked me for the gift I was giving this little boy, and in my heart I thanked him for the gift he had given me.