"Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."
Romans 5: 2-5
We have a lot to look forward to in this upcoming year; hopefully being placed with two kids, the next family house being started, learning more Spanish and growing in Jesus.
It is also fun to look back on what has happened, right? These are some of the highlights of the year. Of course, there were hard moments and seasons, but that is when we grow the most. And we will choose to be joyful and grateful.
In January Josh and I completed the first step in the adoption process. We met with P.A.N.I. (Children's protection service of Costa Rica) where they informed us about the whole adoption process.
As our ministries have grown there was a need for more staff. So we prayed to have the ranch grow with staff. Mema, Alayna and Chris became full time staff. Glory to God!
When we moved into the first family house, it was livable but needed more work done. So for the time being, we closed up a hallway and let it sit for over a year. Little by little, with teams and free time, the school room, hall closet, bathroom, two bedrooms, were completed from floor to ceiling and the first family home was officially finished.
El Pozo was moved to a bigger location. We are amazed by the growth and what God is doing there. El Pozo is the community outreach center in Horquetas "where we conduct community ministry programs that allow people to drink the living waters found in the gospel of Jesus Christ." It is exciting to see it grow and impact so many children.
We had a fun but a very busy year with 15 interns and 24 church that came to minister along side of us. They were also instrumental in helping us build a new fence lines, lay new water lines, and complete several building projects one which was a playground for all the kids to enjoy. There were many lives changed and new friendships built.
In May a social worker and a psychologist came out to interview and built a portfolio on us for the adoption. That was an incredibly emotional weekend that we were happy to do but also very happy to have it completed. We were grateful for the opportunity to learn more about each other and to move another step forward in the adoption.
Adoption fundraising was a complete success. We are so grateful for everyone who was involved in the purchasing of a shirt or financial donation.
On July 13th, we made it a family day to pick up and drop off our portfolio. We met our paralegal in San Jose to pick it up. It was a lot bigger than I thought it would be. We then drove it to the P.A.N.I office. The rest of the day was spent together dreaming, praying and being excited for our future. We hope it is something the boys will remember.
In October after a long 3.5 months of waiting for the official approval to be adoptive parents we received notice of our approval. We took another step forward. We were invited to the last seminar class at the end of November. We completed that class and received notice in mid December that the matching process had begun. Now we wait for a phone call.
Josh and I celebrated 10 amazing years of marriage. God is so good! Those 10 years went by really fast. A lot has happened.
We flew to the states for two weeks and soaked up time with grandparents. It was a refreshing time to get away where we enjoyed, simple foods, fishing, throwing the toilet paper in to the toilet, swimming, Micah learning how to play chess, Judah swimming with more confidence, exploring Saint Augustine, celebrating our 10th and my parents 32rd anniversary.
Caleb’s public profession of faith where Josh and I baptism him in the river. That was pretty special!
We are grateful to see the change and all that God has done this year. It makes us even more excited to see what God is going to in 2019.
Please pray with us that we would be matched quickly
We thank you for your prayers, financial partnership and your friendship.
We are Blessed to be a blessing.
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