Orphan Statistics

These last few days have been so hard! We are waiting for our home study to be finalized so that we can take the next major step in our paperwork process - filing a form with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, an orphan petition.  And our social worker doing our home study is just AWESOME, we feel so blessed that she is our home study worker... so I am trying so hard to just let her finish and not rush her...but it's so hard, I am so ready to finish our documents!

To keep myself from going crazy I thought I would just look up some information on Tanzania, and on orphans and adoption.  Here is what I came across from "The Joshua Tree" Blog, I thought it was worth sharing:

via the SHOW Hope facebook page

*  The births of nearly 230 million children under age 5 worldwide have never been recorded, depriving them of their right to a name and nationality.

* As of 2013, an estimated 17.7 million children worldwide had lost one or both parents to AIDS. Most of these children live in sub-Saharan Africa.

* Last year, 9000 children were adopted internationality.

* 81.5 million Americans have considered adoption. If just 1 in 500 of these adults adopted, every waiting child would have a permanent family. 

Wow. Is adoption something that has ever crossed your mind? I wonder if so many people have considered it at some point because at the very heart of our Creator IS adoption.  Have you ever dug into the Word of God and seen how many Bible stories involve adoption? Including our own adoption story for those of us who love and follow Jesus Christ as our Saviour? 

July 2015

We had so much fun this HOT fourth of July.  

Below are a few photos I took out at a friend's house that night, before the fireworks...

We purchased our tent when we lived in Tacoma, WA, and I think we used it once there, and then once again in North Carolina when I was pregnant with Aubrey.  We finally felt ready to take it out of storage and the older kids went camping with daddy at Lewis and Clark State Park last weekend.  They loved it! 

The other major thing that we have been doing this summer is diving into a pile of paperwork.  The time has finally come where we felt the Lord leading us to start the adoption process for our next baby.  It has basically been a couple of months of just "hurry up and wait" as we fill out, file, and wait for many documents to arrive so that we can just keep filling out more documents, and pray that the already received documents don't expire before our packet is finally complete and ready to send off to Tanzania, the country that - God willing - we will be adopting our fourth baby from.  This part of it sure doesn't feel very exciting, and the hurdles in the road can often take the wind out of my sails, but I trust the Lord and I believe in His timing  - He will make it all come together and work for our good and for our baby's good. Praise the Lord that HE is in control even if we aren't!