Court Date a Comin'! Yeah!

Our papers were submitted to the legal system of Taiwan! Now we wait for a court date. It will take around 2 weeks until we hear back about a date. The court date itself will probably be somewhere between 2-6 weeks after that. And, then we will travel somewhere between 4 weeks to 4 months after the court date. There are a lot of unknowns and that is a wide time span of possible travel. In addition to that, it is almost Chinese New Year. Chinese New Year is the biggest holiday in Taiwan. Unfortunately for us, things may slow down during the Chinese New Year which is February 14.

Please pray with us and for us as we wait!

Pray that God will give us peace. I have heard through the grapevine that there are only 2 judges that we could receive (one has a reputation for working faster and one is slower). Of course we would chose the fast judge if it were up to us. But, it isn't. Pray that God will steady us as we wait and that we will joyfully accept His timetable in this adoption. I want the peace of Christ to rule my heart and mind. If you know me you will know that I feel deeply. I need the Lord's help. I know He is good.

Pray that God will give us favor with the judge, the social workers in Taiwan, and A.I.T. (The American consulate in Taiwan). There are so many glitches that could pop up and we hope and pray that God will send us through with as few "snags" as possible. Pray that things will move as quick as possible.

Pray for Maren. We pray that she will come to know Christ. We pray that she will bond to us quickly. We pray that she will be accepted by our community. We pray that she will know how loved she is by God, her birth mom, and us! We pray for her to remain healthy (so far so good). Please join us in these requests.

Please continue to ask God to bless Maren's mom. We pray that she will put her trust in Christ and that He will heal her broken heart. She is a precious young woman.

Pray for Maren's caregivers. They have such an important job in helping these precious little ones start out in life. Pray that God will bless their health. Pray that God will give them physical, spiritual, and emotional strength. They do such a wonderful job caring for the babies and get very attached. I can only imagine what it is like to give so much effort & TLC to so many beautiful babies only to say good-bye and watch them go to the other side of the world. You can pray for them by name: Glenda, Mary Joy, Xiao Mei, Jenna, Rae Fang.

Please also pray for Holly and Trena. They are trying to become registered as an orphanage which would allow them to take in more babies than they can currently take in. The process is long, hard, and expensive. They work so hard! Pray that God will strengthen them, bless them, and provide for them so that they can bless more expecting moms, save babies, and waiting Christian families who wish to adopt. If you would like to learn more about their ministry or contribute to their work please visit www.hishandstaiwan.org

We thank God for how He has led us so far! It is amazing! His timing has been perfect. We thank God for His provision this far as well. He is so faithful. We know He is placing Maren into our family and it is one of our greatest joys.