And the wait goes on, and on, and ...

Yes, we are still waiting, but we have learned some new information that we wanted to let everyone know about.  After hearing from the orphanage weeks ago, we asked Lifeline, our adoption agency, to see if there was a problem.  On Monday a week ago, Karla from our agency sent David a message asking us to call her.  We were more than a little apprehensive.  She did that when we were waiting for Hannah, and we were told our special seeds application had been rejected, but that we were welcome to use our non-special needs application to adopt her.  We used our second application and got to adopt Hannah anyway.  This time we weren't sure what to expect before we talked with her, but we did know there was not a second application available for us to use if they rejected us.  We praised the Lord when we learned that China had just lost one of our documents, the one that says Andrew has been approved to receive a visa to enter the USA.  Karla tried to send them a photocopy, but they require the real thing; therefore, US Citizenship and Immigration has issued a new document, and we are waiting for it to be certified and authenticated by the county and state governments and by the Chinese consulate in Houston.  Karla says this process will take two weeks, but that we should get our Letter of Acceptance soon after China receives the missing paper.  It has already  been a week; so, we hope it will come next week.

God is so good and prepared us ahead of time. The day before we learned all of this, Pastor Dennis preached on waiting during both the morning and evening services.  Sunday morning, Pastor Dennis said, "Waiting on God time is not wasted time." He went on to say that while we're waiting on God to finish what He's working on, we need to go on and do whatever He's called us to do. That reminded me of John Waller's song, "While I'm Waiting." It has encouraged me often during these years of waiting for Hannah and Andrew.  The lyrics say, "I will serve You while I'm waiting; I will worship will I'm waiting."  We are trying to carry on with life when it would be so easy to put everything on hold while we wait to travel.  Sunday night Pastor Dennis said that Isaiah 40:31 says that those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength, not those waiting on people, circumstances, or events. We know we are waiting on God, not the Chinese government.  It brought back a lot of memories of the things God taught us while waiting for Hannah.  Here are some other verse that means a lot to me:

Yes, LORD, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts.  (Isaiah 26:8)

Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.  (Psalm 27:14)

We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield.  (Psalm 33:7)
Here are some praises and prayer requests:

Praises:

• Our application has not been rejected. 
• We know why it has taken so long to get LOA and have some idea of when it will come.
• Andrew knows we are coming and is waiting for us.
• My friend LeighAnn got her travel approval and will travel soon!  (We were hoping to travel with them, but it won't be possible now.)
• God is sovereign over everything and is always trustworthy.

Prayer Requests:

• That nothing will hinder us from traveling when God wants us to travel. 
• That God will continue to prepare all of us and Andrew for the changes that are coming.   
• That if it is God's will, we will travel and return to the US in time for Hannah and I to be in a wedding on May 12.  (I know this may seem trivial, and Tammy would understand if we couldn't be here, but she has waited a long time for this, and we would like to be here to celebrate with her.)
• That my (Lois') knee will be ready for travel.  (I had knee surgery at the end of January and began physical therapy last week.  I can get around very well and can even walk a mile with the child and the dog, but we do pray that my knee will be ready for the stresses of long plane rides, walks through airports, carrying children who weigh over 30 pounds, and the other stresses of travel within China.)

Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement!  We really appreciate you all!