What a blessed opportunity!

Dear Family and Friends,

Well, blessed is the appropriate word to describe this journey we are on. Why God would ever choose to bless us with this precious child is a reminder of God's amazing grace. Her name is Rosalie Grace Kennebeck. We have not seen a photo of her, nor do we even know in what province she lives, but God has already chosen her to join our family!

The journey began in October 2007 when God filled our hearts with an overwhelming desire to adopt an orphan from China. He clearly put a vision before us-we like to say a promise- very vivid- the vision that would strengthen us and remind us months later that God's promises can not fail!

"God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and then not act? Does He promise and not fulfill? Numbers 23:19

International adoption is a complicated process. One such process, no one can fully understand until you are in it. The regulations, the investigations, the paperwork, the certification processes are enough to scare someone from pursuing a child from a foreign country. Praise God that He has "stuck with us" through this process! The Kennebeck family was the first family to apply under a set of brand new Hague Convention regulations with the US Citizenship and Immigration Services. This was not our decision, simply where our application fell on the calendar. As a matter of fact, we were on a first name basis with all constituencies involved in a matter of weeks. It seemed no one quite knew how to answer our questions since the regulations were so new to everyone involved.

Through this, God gave us a perseverance that we would most definitely need down the road and throughout our adoption journey! Some days we felt we would never finish paperwork and just be in the "waiting" phase. However, finally on July 18, 2008, we received a call from USCIS (Immigration) telling us they had approved our case!! We had only to have that appoval form certified and we would send our dossier (our entire file of certified paperwork) to China and await a call about our little Rosalie!

However, a few days later, we received another call from USCIS stating that there was a huge glitch in our case. Apparently, when they entered our fingerprints into the computer, an arrest and charge on Peter appeared from 1975. Normally, this would not present a problem in an adoption request, as adoptive parents are given opportunity to state any arrest and charge they may have in their past. Peter certainly knew about the incident but because of the nature of the charge and the fact that the judge threw out the case, Peter did not list it with USCIS. There was absolutely no intentional failure to disclose information. USCIS denied our case due to penalty of perjury. We were dumbfounded!! How could this have happened? We had come to the very end of the laborous "paper-chasing" phase only to be told we could not adopt from China. As much as we wanted to fall apart, God spoke clearly to us that He expected us to fight- we must fight for our daughter! God strengthened us tremendously and put within us a faith that would not shatter!

We prayed and prayed God's Word and asked God to look deep into our hearts and grant us peace in the storm. We asked for a miracle! He specifically gave us this Word:

"I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me.
Yet, this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:
Because of the Lord's great love we are not consummed,
for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning;
great is Your faithfulness.
I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion;
therefore I will wait for Him." Lamentations 3:19-24

We set to work to find an immigration attorney to take our case as we would present our case before the US Immigration Court of Appeals in DC. An attorney from Columbia, SC, agreed to take our case. In the meantime, we discovered that the police department from where the arrest and charge took place, had no record of the incident on file. We contacted USCIS and expained the situation fully. Within 24 hours, USCIS called us to tell us they wished to re-review our case and that our denial was on hold. Our file was taken to headquarters in DC and re-reviewed by the US Immigration legal team. Within 5 days, they called to tell us that they have thrown out the denial and will approve our case!! The God of wonders, answered our prayers in every way! He knew we did not have the funds to pay for legal fees and blocked us ever needing to appeal the case. His compassions indeed never fail!

We are back on track! After receiving our approval letter from USCIS, we will take it through the final steps of certification and our paperwork will be sent to China. As we finalize these steps, we ask for your continued prayers. Intercessional prayers are so important to us!

"Indeed, in our hearts, we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might rely not on ourselves, but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us. You help us by your prayers, then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many." 2 Corinthians 1:9-11

We also bind the enemy in Jesus' name who seeks to destroy our efforts to bring Rosalie home. Our children have grown so much in their faith in Christ. They have seen His power and marvel with us, their parents, in His awesome deeds.

Has God put a vision before you? Do you feel the affliction of the situation before you? Do you feel it is an impossible situation? Do not give up hope. Put ALL of your trust in God for He will work miracles if you believe as if you have already received. Pray His Word over your situation and never forget that God is ALWAYS doing a greater inner work in us than we can ever imagine- it is His #1 priority, for through that inner work we come to know Him better and by knowing Him, we learn to trust Him completely.

"See I have refined you, though not as silver;
I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this. How can I let myself be defamed? I will not yield My glory to another." Isaiah 48:10-11 Amen!!

We will keep you updated on this miraculous journey!

"Come and listen all you who fear God; let me tell you what He has done for me.
I cried out to Him with my mouth; His praise was on my tongue.
If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened and heard my voice in prayer.
Praise be to God, Who has not rejected my prayer or withheld His love from me."
Psalm 66:16-20

Believing Christ,
The Kennebeck Family

Peter, Nancy, Kathleen, Genevieve, Margaret Ann, and Sam