Our next adoption and SFCV

Many of you know we are trying to adopt Ting Ting.  I was keeping a blog at www.journeytotingting.blogspot.com, but it's too hard keeping up with 2 blogs right now, so I'm just going to post on here for now.

A little background for anyone new to my blog.   We started praying for Ting Ting back in the summer of 2008.  We had just gotten matched with Grace and found out she was a SFCV.  A new online friend was praying over adopting Ting Ting and asked us to pray with them for Ting Ting's family to be made clear.  Because there was no way to know when, if ever, her paperwork would be done, my friend and her family decided to move ahead with another adoption.  We had been praying for her for almost 6 months at this point...for her to feel God's love, for protection, and for her family to find her.  We traveled to get Grace in December of 2008 and I had the joy (LOL) of holding precious Ting Ting and kissing her and hugging her and falling in love with her.  

(Yes, that's her on my lap!)

After coming home, we continued to pray for her, but now the children and I were praying for God to allow US to be her family and for Troy to be on board with us.  Last summer before our vacation, Troy surprised me with a special gift:  (still brings tears to my eyes!)

He agreed that we should pursue adopting her!  We started our paperwork, but we had several holdups with our previous social worker being overworked.  But as it wasn't our first adoption, we had learned that God always has a plan.  Earlier this summer, our social worker suggested we work with a different one.  Our new social worker got our homestudy done in record time and was an amazing person to work with!  During this time, China changed plans again and you had to be logged in to lock a file.  Well we weren't logged in, so we didn't press to have her paperwork started.  

Jumping to today and our prayer request:

We just got back from BLR today and our I800A APPROVAL was in the mail!  So I can now finish certifying everything and then send it off to Cindy at MyChinaDocs to do our authentication in Houston.  Then we can get logged in!  We are close enough now that we are praying that God will "encourage" her originating orphanage to do her adoption paperwork AND that we will be able to find it when it gets to CCAA!

Which leads me to our other orphan prayer request:

Our Ting Ting is at SFCV.   If you're on my email list or a facebook friend, you know that SFCV hit a speedlump a couple weeks ago and needs to raise $70,000 before September 16th.  We are asking everyone to pray for SFCV: for the ayis who left--to have their hearts softened, for the ayis who remain--to keep their eye on the eternal reward and not earthly, for Tim and Pam Baker who have dedicated their lives to caring for orphans, and for the children at SFCV--that they will feel His love and will be protected and cared for through the storm.

And one of my favorite (and yet, saddest) pictures:

Someone sent this older picture to me and imagine my surprise and delight to not only see Ting Ting (with her ADORABLE smile), but if you look in the back right, who should you see?  Our Grace!!   They lived together in the same house during their time there.  Grace calls Ting Ting "my Ting Ting!"  Why is it also a sad picture?  Laila (left) was adopted earlier this year.  Fiona (3rd from left) passed away earlier this year.  And our Grace is at home with us.  It makes me sad to see her friends leaving her behind (of course I'm THRILLED for those that are adopted!)

If you're interested in helping SFCV financially, please check out my most recent posts.  I have an artwork auction and also selling bracelets, etc. to raise money for SFCV--ALL the proceeds go to SFCV!  Donations can also be made at ChinaOrphans under Ways to Give.

I'm linking this up to Linny's Crazy Love Prayer Challenge at A Place called Simplicity!  Pop on over and read some of the other amazing stories and prayer requests and join us tomorrow as we join together with prayer warriors from all over to fast and pray!