He Moved the Mountain: Introducing Nya Jones!!

My Montage 3/1/09

Every Mountain He Has Moved

We got an email last week informing us that our travel dates could potentially be pushed back a week to three weeks due to policy changes at the U.S. Consulate in ET. I went into a fit with this information! A complete lack of faith on my part that God's grace is sufficient even when I am disappointed and hope is temporarily deferred.
I forced myself out of my pity party and chose to remember all the miracles God has done in this journey. Once I considered this long enough, I came to this conclusion: We have stood in the shadow of many mountains and He has moved every single one!
The price tag for an international adoption from ET is a whopping $25,000 + sum. We sent in our $250 application fee believing that God would provide what was needed if, indeed, this was His will. We made many sacrifices to come up with our initial costs and we were able too meet all our obligations.
I've already written at length about the miracle story behind a great portion of our fees being paid, but it is worth mentioning that this particular miracle began rolling toward us in 2005, before Nya's birth!
Clayton's heart was radically, and I mean radically, shaken for our daughter and her country. The Holy Spirit testified to Clayton's heart what He had already put in mine and all Clayton's fears and apprehensions about beginning a trans-racial family were eliminated. Since then, many people in our families have come to appreciate our choice to adopt and are excited about Nya's homecoming. This may not sound like much, but it is a mighty miracle! Even more mighty than all the ways He has provided for Nya to come home, the fact that her family is ready to accept and love her and overcome any obstacle that might prevent that, is perhaps the mightiest mountain moved so far!
Clayton got his dream job and oh, the mountain that was! Nobody believed he could do it taking the path he took, but with God all things are possible! We needed this new income to provide for a larger family and the Lord made that possible.
I was living in chronic pain with a condition that many doctors warned me was hopeless. I found myself wondering if I was capable of caring for another child. Another mountain He moved! He led me to a doctor who, imagine this concept, CARED about me as his patient. He performed a surgery that changed my life.
Our agency was forced to raise fees in the middle of our adoption. Gas prices spiked, the world's economy went topsy turvy and travel costs went up. All of this added up to a sum that made me queasy. Again, I wondered, how could we make this happen? Well, we couldn't, but our God most certainly could!! Another mountain He moved!
These are just some of the ways our Lord has chosen to act on the behalf of our daughter's life. There is not enough time to tell of it all. If only the world could see the heart of our God. We must show them!!
We stand before two more mountains with firm faith that He will move them: our court date and our travel and transition with Nya. We must never forget the miracle of the love He has shed abroad in our hearts and the ability He has given us to lavish that love on others! The greatest miracle! I know that He will move the mountains of hurt, fear, confusion, ignorance, selfishness, etc. so that our family can be a light to others. How thankful and humbled we are.

New Travel Dates!!

We just got the email that our new travel dates are April 11-18!! That means that it is one month away until I will be on a plane to Ethiopia. I can not believe this is happening!
My best friend, Danielle, is coming with me!!! Praise the Lord! It is yet another miracle story of God's goodness and faithfulness of how she was able to come. But I'll save that for another post... :)
We are so happy!

It's Come Down to This...

When I first felt that now familiar tug in my heart toward the beauty of adoption, I had many visions of what it may look like, feel like. None of those visions were correct.
Something in our lives apparently caught up with our hearts, because Father God finally gave us the go ahead in October 2007. Again, what we envisioned then is nothing like it turned out to be. I recently finished Nya's "introduction" video for the day of celebration- March 26- when we can show off our girl to the world. While putting it together, I found myself reflecting on what a real journey this has been. From start, to almost finish, it has been a wild ride.
Twice throughout this journey, we felt we might adopt two different sets of children. They were placed in our paths and although we were certain we had some kind of role in thier lives, we didn't know what that would be. Each time, the Lord gently but definitively showed us we were to be helpers in their lives but not parents to these children. They had parents coming and we weren't them. It was hard to have those doors closed, but it felt right and it was right.
Twice now, we've submitted to mildly insulting questioning (you do realize you will have black descendents now?), background checks, thorough physical assessments (yep, our tickers should get us through until the kids are 18), intrusions into our finances and childhoods, etc.
For 8 months we wandered in an emotional and spiritual desert where we felt the pain of unfulfilled longing, where we became way more acquainted with the suffering of people all around the world, where our eyes were opened and our hearts were torn and we were no longer comfortable at all with living out the American dream or whatever it was we were striving for previously.
Now, it's come down to this. Twenty itty bitty days until our family is complete and Nya has parents and we have a daughter and the boys have a sister! March 26th will be one of the best days of our lives.

New Court Date!!! Prayer time!!

Our original court date was April 3 and we found out today that this has been moved to March 26th! While we are THRILLED at the prospect of becoming Nya's legal family sooner than expected, we are also a little concerned about paperwork issues. Short explanation: We moved from Louisiana to Mississippi in September and Clayton also changed jobs and income brackets. Because of all these changes, we have had to RE-DO our homestudy (aka THE GOLDEN KEY OF ADOPTION!). This is a time consuming process to say the least. We are nearing the end of the document re-gathering phase, but a few pieces are out of our control: FBI background check, social worker's final draft, and MOST IMPORTANTLY the updated homestudy being sent to USCIS and then forwarded to Ethiopia ON TIME (before I travel). So, once again we go to the Lord in faith that He will cause this to be a YES all the way through. We have watched Him move mountains that seemed so large throughout the course of this adoption and throughout our lives. We need to pass court on March 26th and we need to bring this beautiful, amazing person home to be with her family. Please join us in going before our God on her behalf so that "the poor have HOPE and INJUSTICE SHUTS ITS MOUTH!!!" (JOB 5:16).

Loved

We received our monthly update on Nya this week! Her head was shaved about a month ago and it is beginning to grow back. She is so amazingly beautiful. I know I say that all the time, but it is so true. She is 85 cm tall according to the update. So we measured her compared to Levi yesterday and she comes to his shoulders. So small still. She is 30 lbs though!! That tells you how chunky our Nya is- it's no wonder, since the update also included a note that she loves to eat pasta. :)
Her little shirt said, "Loved." Seemingly insignificant, just a little girl's tee that you can pick up anywhere. It probably even doesn't belong to her alone. Yet I stared at that shirt for more than five minutes this morning, looking back and forth at the word Loved and her smiling face.
Her face. Loved. Her smile. Loved. My girl. Loved. She is indeed.
What a priceless, indescribable, irreplaceable gift...to be loved. Until I met Jesus and got to know the Father and was filled by the Holy Spirit, I never felt consistently and particularly loved. The longer and closer I walk with Him, the more I perceive that I am loved. By the Lord and by others.
There is no greater poverty than an impoverishment of love. Orphans around the world will never understand God's love because they have never received the love of a person or a family. We can't heal the hurt of every person. We can't right every wrong. One day the Creator will do that and that day will be magnificent. But right now we can heal one. We can right one wrong. We can be one family that does reflect God's love to others because we experience it together. Many other families have come to the same determination.
What if one more family does the same? What if one more orphan learns to receive God's love because they have received the love of a family? Then, what if one more family does this too? What would happen? What if every able Christian family decided they were going to bring in a child and love them with the healing love of Christ? What would that look like to the world, to our God?
I've heard all the reasons people give for why adoption is not for them. I suspect that many reasons are valid and some are not so valid. I'm not the judge of their reasons. I just wonder how valid all our reasoning will seem when we stand before the Lord? Or what about when we look into the eyes of the beautiful child who just wants a home and a few people to care? Our reasoning had better be very, very good.
Right now I am rejoicing because my baby girl is coming home and she is most certainly loved beyond measure. But I'm also hurting because so many children will be left behind. Unless...

Travel Dates!!!!!

We received our tentative travel date email today informing us that we are expected to leave for ET on April 25 and return to the U.S. on May 2. I was a little disappointed that we will have to wait 22 days from the day she becomes our legal child until the day I leave to get her, but now I am just plain excited!! I've waited all my life to get to this child and I am just thrilled that day is closer than ever before. I am also very honored to be sharing this travel experience with the Van Druff, Watson, Moffat, and Dubose families!! We've been through a lot together these past months and it so wonderful to know the caliber of people who will be in my travel group.
I keep saying my travel group because Clayton is not coming with me. We both decided a long time ago that it is in the boys' best interest if he stays behind to comfort and prepare them for their sister's arrival. We are a very close knit bunch and they are still very young, so we didn't want them to experience any negativity associated with our absence and Nya's homecoming. Hopefully, I will have a travel buddy; but, if not, I couldn't be travelling with a better group of families!!
Oh, Nya, we're so close!!

Nya could very well be the most beautiful girl in the world...

We received a few very becoming pictures of our girl!! Our friends, Joshua and Bethany, just picked up their lovely kiddos in ET and delivered our care package to Nya. She is even more beautiful than the previous pictures showed. Some of the pics were of her looking at our pictures. She looks so serious, like she's trying to figure out how these people could be her new family. My baby!! I wish I could hold her right now.
Bethany described Nya in the following way:
"Your Nya is absolutely wonderful! She has such a fabulous personality and is very affectionate and loving. Also, she loved the little backpack you sent and it was certainly the coveted item among the toddlers. We're still trying to put video clips together to send out but we'll try to do that this week. Can you email me your address so that we can send a little dvd to you? You'll laugh when you see her dancing for sure! Hope you enjoy the pictures of your sweetie! "
You can bet your bottom dollar I got our address to them in no-time flat!! What an amazing gift to have a DVD of her dancing? In the world of adoption, this kind of treasure is unheard of! She will also prize this video in the future as it will give her a glimpse into her previous life in her homeland.
We're moving into our new home this week and that means I will be putting Nya's room together...FINALLY! I will post pics as soon as possible.

Court Date!!

I got the long- awaited email today that we have a court date set for April 3, 2009. What does this mean? It means that on this date, if we pass court, then Nya will legally become our child! I will post cute pics and then I will travel to get her in mid-April. Here is what you need to know about court dates though- they can be tricky. Here is a little of what was in our email today:

* Roughly 30% of families do not pass court on their first issued court date.
v If a family does not pass court initially, a new court date is usually issued approximately 1-1.5 months after the original court date
* Families who received referrals on the same day (or within the same week) as other families will not necessarily have a court date within the same week or few weeks. Each adoption is unique and court dates do not always fall within chronological order of receiving a referral. The paperwork needed to secure a court date, and the timeframe to acquire the paperwork, is unique for each adoption. These factors, along with the court’s appointment availability, will affect the timing for your specific court date. Please know that we have done everything in our power to get the earliest possible court date for your family.
* You can expect communication from America World within 24-48 hours after your court date. It is our desire to contact you with the news of court as quickly as possible. America World will have no additional information to offer you until we receive confirmation from Ethiopia. Unless an urgent issue arises, we request that you refrain from contacting us regarding updates or questions on court. Please rest assured that we will be contacting you as soon as we have any news.

So, we need to be in prayer that we pass court the first time. Nya needs to come home! We are asking for your prayers, fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. This child has come into our lives as a result of prayer. Her very existence has been upheld by prayer. The Lord will hear our cries and act to bring our daughter home. I know this. Once again, thank you for supporting us and we will keep you updated.

Exiting Cloud 9

As they say, the honeymoon is over! I felt myself shift a few days ago from the post-referral euphoria to a gnawing sense of "I want Nya!!!" Looking at her pictures and realizing that we will not likely get a court date until mid-April, has served to increase my longing for my child.
I can not explain to you how much peace I feel when I see her mega-watt smile in each picture and hear of her beautiful spirit (this is a recurring statement from all those who know her!). The staff and nannies at our agency's transition home are simply beloved to me because of what they are providing for Nya during this wait. What words can I ever find or what token of gratitude can I ever bestow that might begin to touch on what they've done for my daughter? If there weren't people in this world who love the Lord and who sacrificed some of thier lives for the sake of the orphan, Nya would not be coming home to us. Only God knows where Nya would be.
I am waiting by the phone and/or email to find out when exactly our court date will be. Please pray that we pass court the very first time so that Nya's homecoming will not be delayed! We will need the effectual and fervent prayers of the righteous to bring Nya home and accomplish this mighty thing that the Lord has set in motion. Thank you for standing with us.

Our First Gifts for Nya!

Well, today we had the privilege of sending Nya a care package via our friends Joshua and Bethany Taylor who are going to Ethiopia next week to pick up their precious kids!! Needless to say, we had a time in the girly boutique yesterday picking out Nya's very first gifts from her forever family. I was almost floating out of the store! Above are the pics we took to memorialize this occassion. We sent her a "lovey," a little mini-blanket with a little flower so she can smell us and have something soft. We also put in a new backpack which was soooo cute- very soft w/ a little frog toy made of the same soft material attached. Caleb insisted we send her the white bear, which he is holding in the pic above. We, of course, included a photo album w/all of our smiling faces labeled. We put a pic of her in there as well and a pic of each of us packing her care package. In the package also went a package of jelly beans to share w/her friends. We also put in a cute little bracelet! Last, but not least, a bunch of cute and freshly washed new undies! We heard she needed them. ;) We fit all of this in a gallon size Ziploc bag! Astonishing! :)

Praise God- this was the day!!!!!!!!!!!

Today was the day we’ve been waiting for all this time! It is the day we met our daughter through a picture and small profile chronicling her life. I can not give out any information about Nya until after we pass court and she is officially our child. Until then, I can tell you how absolutely amazing she is. Her smile is unbelievably beautiful, her eyes are breath taking. This post is going to be in two parts: one to my fellow adoptive parents who may be reading this blog and the other to my little girl.
I know that throughout this journey, I have always wondered what it was like to get the call. The fact that I was unprepared to get this call today probably colors my perception, but let me tell you it was nothing like I thought it would be. When I saw the area code of our agency, I knew that they were calling to address some concerns I had written and called them about the week previous. In fact, the sweet lady who was on the other end began the conversation as if she was calling for that purpose. About a minute into the call, she said, “Well, I’d like to address your concerns. But first let me give you some information that may shed a little light on the issue. This is your day! It’s your referral call.” You know how I responded? “Seriously?” :( I had always expected to cry, scream, and generally lose it- but, no, I said “seriously?” :)
After that, the day is a blur. I ran into the front of the house where Clayton and the boys were. I whispered, “This is the call!” It seemed to take forever for the email to get there with her pic and info in it. I made a lot of phone calls while waiting. Finally, we got the email, opened it and saw her. Wow! She blew us away for many reasons that I can’t share yet. But her beauty was one of them! She looks like light.
How does it feel? Man, it is really hard to describe. The love we felt for her instantly seems impossible, but it’s there and so real. I had prepared myself for anything: maybe I won’t feel an instant connection. Maybe the love will grow over time. Those things didn’t happen. A perfect and overwhelming sense of rightness settled in on us. She’s ours. We’re hers. Our God did this. No man can separate it.
Later, I did cry, scream and generally lose it. It was when I was reading her story, the one of her little life. Waves of mother-bear protectiveness washed over me. My child has been through this. Lord, You brought her through. I’m so unspeakably grateful.
A little later, when all our friends and family had been called, we went out to dinner- the four of us- and celebrated the fact that soon we will be five.
Now, I sit reflecting and I can’t believe this has happened. To all of you waiting in the endless adoption waiting room, just hold on! I am telling you it is all worth it. Every bit of it. Every agonizing day, minute, and hour of waiting. All the bitter disappointments, the fearful longing, the burden- when you see your child’s face, you know it was worth it. I thought the pain of the process would all melt away after this day, but it didn’t for me. It lingers. I have decided it’s my badge of honor. I labored for her in my heart and with my God. I was feeling pain simultaneously as she was and I find that fitting and it gives me great peace. The pain drove me to the Lord and He acted on her behalf. It’s beautiful.
To my little girl, Nya: you hold on, baby! We’re coming and nothing will stop us! You’re life is going to be changed forever. Your Father in heaven knows your name and He has been with you from the beginning. He’s what binds us together. Every day we will be with you in our minds and hearts. Only a few short months and I will be holding you and I will not let go as long as there is breath in me. We love you…

Happy New Year!

You may notice that there is a perfectly empty space in between Levi and me. This is where our little girl belongs! The Jones family is happy and we're even content. But we are NOT complete yet! May 2009 bring our girl home and may God prosper each of you reading this blog in the upcoming year!