 The steps that we have to finish for our adoption of little Selah are just flying by. We are so blessed with how fast each approval has come! Right now, our paperwork is being approved by the American embassy in China, and as soon as it is approved there, it will be sent to the Chinese Center for Children’s Welfare and Adoption, for the VERY last approval we need (travel approval) before we can book our flights and bring home Selah! There is a possibility we could be traveling in May, depending on how quickly this last approval comes. We cannot wait to have her in our arms! Please pray for our approvals and for little Selah's heart as she adjusts to a whole new way of life. We’ve had so many people encouraging us throughout our adoption process, and we are so incredibly thankful for that. We’ve had people tell us that we are special people, and that Selah is so lucky to be in our family. I really appreciate the encouragement, but I want to really clarify. I am not a perfect person, and we do not have a perfect family. I struggle with anxiety, fear, and worrying; I am too controlling and obsessive compulsive, I try too hard to make things go my own way instead of God’s way, and I could be a lot more helpful to others. Anything that is good in me is truly because of Jesus, not because of me. God has guided us through this adoption process DESPITE all of our shortcomings, NOT because of how great we are. We don't deserve any of it. 1 Peter 4:11 says, “If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.” I am nobody special, but Jesus is! We are BLESSED to have God call us to this adoption, not the other way around. We are so thankful that we get to be Selah’s family. This process hasn’t been without its difficulties; we’ve struggled to complete multiple layers of paperwork, we had trouble waiting for the daughter God had planned for us, and the finances were incredibly daunting. God has been with us through it all and He will continue to be, because I know the difficulties aren’t over (they are probably just starting). I am so thankful for being so close to bringing Selah home, and I can’t help but think about all of the thousands of other orphans that do not yet have families and some that may never have a family to belong to. We live in a country where I can take my child to the doctor if he’s sick, I live in a home that always has a full pantry, I have a family that loves me, and I have a Savior that died for me. Frankly, I am blessed. Jesus loves me very, very much, but He also loves all of those precious orphans just as much. That’s why Dan and I are trying to fill up a suitcase (or two) of much-needed supplies for the hope foster centers in China. These foster centers take in orphans who are very sick and many need specialized care in order to survive. They house and care for over 300 orphans with lots of different medical needs. It takes a LOT of supplies to care for that many sick kids, and these supplies are not always available in China and are very expensive to ship. We have a list of their most-needed items, and we want to take them as much as we can! If anyone wants to help us out and pick up some items for us to take with us, here are the things they need the most! (We also have an Amazon wishlist with some needed items, but they also welcome any generic brand items if you want to pick something up next time you're at Wal-Mart or Target). This list is in order of most-needed:
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