Unexpected Blessings & Remembering Dec. 18-19th

This is the season that we remember the birth of Immanuel, another name for Jesus Christ. It's my favorite name of his, because it means, "God with us". That is so comforting to know since we live in such an imperfect world. He keeps showing us over and over again that He truly is with us and caring for us because He loves us so much. He has been showing Himself to Penny in so many ways, too, especially since she entered into our family. She didn't know much about Him before because she grew up in a state-run orphanage that pretty much pushed the kids to "worship many gods". That is a quote by Penny. She grew up with many fears, as she could never be sure if she was pleasing the many gods, those being spirits, the Buddha, monks who are revered as if they are gods, etc. So, when she came to hear about Christ, she was curious to know more about one God who truly loves her and forgives her. This was not a message she had ever heard. Now she totally believes that Jesus is with her.



Back on the 18th and 19th of December she saw both of her new parents struggling to remember this reality. We were getting so frustrated with the circumstances of not being given an interview with the USCIS. One of the problems was that one of our important documents, called the I-171H, was set to expire that Saturday, the 20th. We called our adoption coordinator who took care of our homestudy back in Denver. She said she had finally got all the state clearances and was literally running around, hand-delivering the paperwork to the proper offices, asking them to expedite our case since we were stuck in Bangkok with time ticking down and still waiting for an interview. Meanwhile, my mother also had the Senator of South Dakota contact USCIS to ask them to speed up the process. She had inside connections, since she had done the wedding flowers of the Senator's lawyer and had stayed in touch with them. On Friday, we were told by USCIS that they were waiting for something called a Visa 37 Cable from Denver, because they wouldn't even acknowledge our original I-17H, since our address had changed since the original document was drawn up. They would not accept the addendum that had been attached. They needed a completely new I-17H. We explained that it we had started the process to update the document two months prior and that our coordinator was doing all in her power to make sure it would come through soon. But, they blew us off and said they were very busy and couldn't guarantee when they'd be calling us. They certainly would not be ready to move forward until the cable came through. And they explained that with they holiday season approaching their offices would be closed for several days and their staff would be lean and that we may have to wait several more weeks. So, we spent most of our time just holed up in our room, playing card games, watching t.v., etc.

Fastforward two years and we've been seeing God provide and remind us of His goodness, kindness and faithfulness is so many tangible ways. This year we've struggled financially so that we fear we won't be able to pay our bills. But, all of a sudden, I've gotten another little part-time job offer, Jay has gotten a new voice student and two VERY unexpected checks showed up in the mail, all in the span of one week. Thank you, our Immanuel. What would we do without you?!