China Bound!

Dear Family and Friends,

It is with abundant joy that I am writing to inform you of the news we received last Friday! We received our Travel Approval from the Chinese Consulate and we are departing for China on December 3. We will return on December 18. What has been a dream for so many years is about to become a reality. We are in the process of pinching ourselves saying, "We're going to get Rosalie!" How truly grateful we are that God is bringing it all to fruition. He is so very faithful to equip and fulfill each individual call in our lives. "You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised." Hebrews 10:36

We have a few very specific prayer requests as we prepare for our travel. We had NO idea that we would be traveling in the "thick" of the Christmas season. Our children have committed to quite a few singing and playing events over the weeks leading up to Christmas. Trying to put together an "itinerary" for them and organizing where they will be and where they will go is quite a challenge. Please pray for clear discernment as we plan for our 4 children to be cared for. Peter and I will miss a Christmas play, a Christmas cantata, a Christmas concert, piano playing at the mall, and a trio at Sandhurst (all of which our children will be in) while we will be in China. Although we are so sad to miss so much, we are reminded that God chose these dates. What a joy on Christmas morning when we look into the face of Rosalie Grace and think of the baby Jesus in a manger and the fact that a child can indeed be the BEST Christmas gift ever!

Our son, Vincent and his wife, Rebecca, will be having little baby Dillon while we are away as well. Dillon is due December 5 although Rebecca may deliver before then. Please pray for a healthy and safe delivery. Rebecca is high risk due to her RH Negative blood type. We look forward to spending Thanksgiving with them.

Due to the holiday season, the rates for flights are much higher than normal. It is very important for us to find rates that are as low as possible. With Christmas right around the corner, we do not have the extra funding to spend on expensive airline tickets. Please pray for the Lord to lead us to the right tickets- the ones He has chosen for us.

Please pray for God to continue to prepare us for our daughter and for her to be prepared for our family! As a child, I was a VERY homesick child and hated to leave my mama on most occasions. She was just too wonderful to leave! Satan keeps telling me that Rosalie is going to be so homesick for her foster mom and will not want to go with us. While that may be true, we are trusting God wholeheartedly to meet every need and to fill every gap once we meet her on December 7 and take her back to the hotel to officially live with her. I keep thinking of Cindy, a dear friend who God brought into our path months ago, who along with her husband, adopted a little boy (Caleb) from China about Rosalie's age. They were so nervous about how he would respond and when the nanny was bringing him down the hall to see them, little Caleb opened up his arms and embraced them once he was placed in Cindy's arms. She was just not prepared for how easy the first meeting was. Oh, I pray for that but mostly for us to just respond in Christ-like love regardless of how Rosalie reacts to us. Whatever the case may be, we know it will be beyond what we can think or imagine. God is just in the business of "throwing" our expectations right out the window!!

Finally, please pray for our children to be safe while we are away. We totally entrust them into the hands of Jesus (as always!) We will miss them terribly!

We will keep you updated as we prepare to leave and hope to keep the blog updated while in China.

We love you all and can never thank you enough for your love and support! Rosalie will be so blessed to know you.

"Who am I, O Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that You have brought me this far?" 2 Samuel 7:18

In the mighty joy of the Lord as our strength,
Nancy for the Kennebecks