LOI (letter of intent)

Last Friday (11/9) was the day that we officially submitted our LOI (letter of intent) to adopt this sweet little one. Brodie and I woke up the Thursday morning before and as I mentioned in our last post, we were really wrestling with the doctors reports that we had received and what we thought the Lord was pressing on our hearts. We were praying for clarity - we prayed together and then each had our own time seeking the Lord. As Brod was praying, he saw this sweet one sitting in the room in which we saw her in the pictures and he saw a very bright light shinning on her. He also saw joy on her. He felt as if Jesus was showing him that His light is on her and He will fill her with joy.

Earlier that morning as I prayed, I felt as if I could see a door opened with God's Hand welcoming us in - we couldn't see anything through the door - everything was unknown...all we knew was that God was inviting us in; inviting us on a journey where we would see His glory. We had the freedom to choose whether we went or not - it was our choice and He wouldn't be upset if we didn't. But if we didn't, we would miss experiencing Him in this way. It was an invitation - not a demand or something we were being told to obey. I felt as if the Lord was saying, "Come with Me on this journey, take My Hand and come and see My Glory!"

We have to "officially" transfer agencies (which we are already in the process of) and then we will wait for PA (pre-approval). Once we receive PA we wait for LOA (letter of acceptance) - this is the one that usually takes the longest to receive -  in which we will be officially approved to adopt this particular girl. Then we have a couple of other quick approvals and we will be off to China :)

Just like every other adoptive parent, we are praying that we will get these approvals quickly and be able to travel soon - especially since she is already over 2! We know that the first 3 years are SO critical in brain development so we are asking the Lord to make a way for us to get there soon and begin forming those critical attachments. Above all, we know that HE alone has carried her since HE knit her in her mother's womb and HE WILL continue to carry her throughout her whole life! His timing is perfect ;)

Over the last week we have researched and gathered so much information that has been helpful in getting us prepared to bring our sweet one home - our agency has been so wonderful in helping us!

We will post some pictures of what we've been up to this last week once we have some down time next week before Thanksgiving ;)