Thank you!

Wow. I haven't written the words "thank you!" so many times in one weekend
since our wedding. You are all amazing. John and I have received so many words
of congratulations and encouragement this weekend and our faces are beaming!
We feel so loved and cherished.

We've also received over $3,700 worth of donations!! I am not one who is quick to
cry, but my eyes are brimming as I type this post because I am so overwhelmed with
your support and with God's faithfulness. The financial piece of this adoption is the
scariest part for me and has been my biggest source of doubt in this journey. I'll be
honest and say that when we sent out our letters asking for support, I was so worried
that people would think we were greedy or irresponsible for trying to adopt when we
didn't have the money put away first. I was a bit embarrassed; I was prideful. Two
things pushed me forward: picturing my baby in an orphanage, waiting for me (and
I'll tell you, that feeling will give you enough motivation to do just about anything!)
and the Spirit's resounding voice in my head saying, "I will provide."

Still, it is amazing to me that while I've witnessed God's faithfulness so many times in
the past, I still doubt it in the present. Hello, fallen self.

So I've been praying two prayers a lot (a LOT):

1) “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24) and
2) "Drive the dark of doubt away!" (from the hymn Joyful Joyful)

You are the answer God is giving me in the face of these prayers. Your loving kindness
is melting away my doubt and unbelief. I feel as though I could tell you, "THANK YOU!"
every day from now until I die and it would not be enough. I'll probably still say it in every
blog post, though. I have a lot to be grateful for.

John and I sent our home study fee into our home study agency this weekend, so
hopefully we'll be matched with a social worker this week and we can get the home
study underway! For your pray-ers out there, I'm going to be posting our weekly prayer
requests in a Sunday blog post called, "Sunday Supplication." If you're like me and have
a hard time remembering who to pray for, I'd love it if you would say a prayer as you read
the post. If you're memory is sharper than mine, I'd love your prayer throughout the week!

I once read a quote that said, "One should never initiate anything that he cannot
saturate with prayer." I ask that you would join with me in saturating our adoption
process with prayer.

Sunday Supplication:
Please pray that our home study process will begin this week and move
as quickly and smoothly as possible. The sooner we compete this phase,
the sooner we will be in Russia!

Thank you!