Back up on the rooftop...

Three months...

Three months of furlough in America.

Wow, the time flew by so quickly. We were incredibly blessed by people. Hosted graciously. Fed marvelous meals. (And, our waist belts show the proof. YIKES!) Blessed with free use of cars. Hung out with Elk in Estes Park. Palmed $20, $50, even $100 every once in awhile, just when we didn't know where the next penny would come from. The Lord was so incredibly faithful to us. In every way. We raised over $6,000 in one Sunday at our home church, The Grove, to go towards our adoption. WOW!!!!!!!! How amazing is THAT?


This huge Elk was standing about 10 feet from me in Estes Park. Amazing, huh?

So, here it is, late January 2012 and we're finally settled well back into our home and lives in China/Tibet.

It was so good to reconnect with our friends, that we consider family, here. These are relationships that we'll have for the rest of our lives. It was as if we didn't skip a beat in conversations and life.

Justin has started back teaching...

This is a picture of Justin last summer with some of his students on a field trip.

I got a new haircut...

Thanks to my wonderful neighbor for her cutting skills.

This place really IS home now, I guess. ...Tibet. Where we teach English, get our haircut, go the market...do life.

It is strange to say that...but, it's true. It started to become evident about midway through our time in the States. It's as if God sent down a lightning bolt of confirmation for both of us. It was almost palpable. We could literally taste his goodness and promise on our lives. We ARE being obedient to his call for us and we are incredibly excited about this next season.

The next season...

What does it look like? We're not 100% sure. We've said this to many of you, "We're taking it one step at a time"...or more like, one "contract" at a time. We will continue in the ministries that we are currently a part of (See previous blog posts) and listen and pray about anything else that comes our way.

Our new "contract" is for another three years here. With the promise to each other that if things / situations change, we'll be flexible and make what ever steps are needed in order to keep us healthy and happy. Our marriage is our #1 ministry in this world and we WILL fight to keep that our priority.

And baby makes three...

January 14th marked the one year anniversary of being in the adoption process. And, yes, we're DEFINITELY still in it. The process is broken down into three sections...sort of. The homestudy, customs and immigration, and the dossier. We have completed the homestudy (which is the hardest part) and are in the middle of the customs part and on our way to completing the dossier. Then, we start the waiting game to be matched and travel.

A Bulgarian adoption costs around $33,000 - $36,000. YIKES! We've raised around $10k (see thermostat chart to the left) and have a long way to go. We've applied for grants, but have yet to hear anything back. It has been 90 days since we applied for them. Maybe "no news" really IS "good news"?? We're hoping so. We "assume" that when the money comes in, things will start moving MUCH faster. So, we'll keep you posted on it.

Prayer requests...
1. Pray for our child that is (more than likely) already born and sitting in an orphanage in Bulgaria. Pray that they will be rocked, hugged and played with daily. Pray that the workers of the orphanage would be women and men of integrity with a heart to love children.
2. We wanted to raise an additional $800 a month while we were home and were only able to raise about $160. Please pray that more money comes in, and/or our current supporters would give us a "raise". After all, we're about to be a family of three soon.
3. That we would receive APPROVED letters from the grants we applied for and the money for our adoption would no longer be an issue.
4. For our family back home that is having difficulty again, letting us go. Pray that the Lord would give them complete peace.

Lastly...
We STILL have t-shirts for sale.



They are at the Grove church in Fayetteville. If you would like one, please contact us so that we can get one into your hands. :) All the proceeds will go towards bringing our baby home from Bulgaria.