I promised an update on her so here goes.
We have pretty detailed information on her month by month starting from when she was about a month old. It details her development such as: playing with toys at 4 months, eating biscuits on her own at 7 months, crawling at 10 months. It says a few times, that she is a "bright" baby and a happy baby!! She can wave bye bye and clap her hands. She isn't fond of strangers....(uh, oh...I have a feeling it may be a rough "gotcha day!")
However, God has had His hand on this child!! This is amazing.....
I joined the Yahoo group for her orphanage. Even though she's been in foster care since birth, she's still apart of the orphanage system. Once I was approved and could read through files and see the many many other
families that have adopted from this city, I came across some information.
Love Without Boundaries runs the foster care program from this orphanage!!! Do you know how HUGE this is? That means that these Americans who are the strongest advocates for China's orphans, have been there training and working with her and her foster parents! You can go to the
LWB website and check out the Foster Care link and read all about it. What's more, the way the program works, people here in the states can sponsor a child in
FC, for 35.00 a month....in return you get pictures of your sponsored child, and updates. According to the
LWB website, there are only TEN foster children in the program from her orphanage. And someone, some, amazing someone, has been sponsoring her the entire time! I was able to email the
FC director and tell her that we were adopting this baby and she was THRILLED! She cannot send me any updated pics or information, but she said that as soon as we're home with her, she'll mail me all the pictures and
information that they have on her!!!! These documents and pictures are priceless, and a rare treat in the world of International Adoption. So many of these children come with a referral picture, a name, and the clothing on their backs.
I am so in awe of the way the Lord is writing Ashley's story. She's already made a difference in lives, and we don't even have her home yet. So many of you have emailed me
privately, or called and asked questions about adoption, and I know that God is working in hearts and lives
because of this story. As I sat in church on Sunday, after finally being able to announce our news, my constant prayer was, "to You, Lord, be the Glory...not us, but You..." We never want this to be about what a great "thing" we are doing, or how "lucky" this little girl is....may it always be for the Glory of God!!! That is our
earnest prayer!
Speaking of prayer.....here's how you can specifically pray for Ashley and us for the moment.....
1. We're still waiting for
Pre Approval. Pray it comes this week.
2. For Ashley, that she is happy and HEALTHY. That the Lord would be preparing her heart for
us as only He can.
3. For our Letter of Approval. (next step after
pre-approval). This could take anywhere from
60-120 days. Pray it comes by the end of September.
4. For our finances. That the Lord would provide the funds we need to travel and finish the
adoption.
5. For our girls here. Specifically
Annalyse. She not getting a newborn sister, she's getting a
sister that's just 8 months younger. ....who will play with her toys, and need her mama. She
is the one my heart is heavy for today.
Thank you so much for getting this far! Our journey would not be the same without the Body of Christ. Thank you for acting like the Body, by your prayers, words, encouraging notes, and gifts. It is making a difference more than you can imagine. God is taking notice.
I CANNOT wait to show you her face!!! She is just about the cutest thing I've ever seen!! She has the most squeezable cheeks!
