Visa delays

I'm afraid that there have been delays in the visas, so the children will not be home for Christmas.

This is very sad for Lily, as she has really hoped to get her children home for Christmas. She said that all she wanted for Christmas was her kids. Please pray for her, as this is very stressful for her especially.

The U.S. consulate in Liberia has restricted all agencies to 2 appointments per week. Each family needs 2 appointments, so that means that only one family per week could bring home children. In addition to this, all embassies take both U.S. holidays, and the holidays of the country that they are in - so this took further time away from visas in Liberia this month.

Hopefully the situation will improve soon - we are waiting to see. There is supposed to be help coming to the consul in December, so we hope that maybe that will speed things up.

Hopefully soon things will get moving again. We are waiting on a homestudy update as well, as we moved rental houses within Tipperary (we hope this will be in the next couple of weeks). Patty Anglin, the director of AOH will be doing our update.

Please pray for us that the children will get to come home soon.

Here are some pictures that I don't think we have posted.

Love,

Susan

Under His Wings

After much trouble adopting and having to fly to London because my fingerprints were not bold enough and flying to Liberia before the adoption was finalized in Liberia (required) and many delays it has been very hard. There is a scripture verse that has been helping me to get through this stressful ordeal. I have managed to memorize the first half which is 8 our of 16 verses from the NIV. It is Psalm 91. Here it goes from memory and the remaining 8 verses I will do when they are thoroughly memorized.
1. He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2. I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."
3. Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence.
4. He will cover you in his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day,
6. nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.
8. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.

Attractive Liberia

This is Lily.
When we were in Liberia we witnessed tremendous commitment to the calling that the Lord gave the workers for the children. In this war torn nation, urgent needs are a daily event. I don't feel free to speak directly about much of it, but the struggle to survive is out in the open. Watching the comings and goings, I was drawn to it. It was hard to leave, but not right for us at that time to stay. We are where we are supposed to be at the moment in Tipperary, Ireland.
Part of the attraction to Liberia is that it is easy to imagine a useful and clear-cut urgent purpose in work. In part, it is absorption of the purpose we have been given by God to fulfill on a daily basis that allows us to forget ourselves. Yet, it is not simply in activity alone, just complete involvement in each moment of life.
Once I had a dream that I was walking in nature with Jesus. I asked Him how it was that He was able to spare the time to be with me. He said that many people are busy doing for, but not being with Him. There I was, a nobody, all alone with the King of Kings!
Yet, it does not mean that we should read His word, pray, and then fail to do anything. Yes, we need time alone with Him, but we also need to do all that we are given as we listen to the quiet voice of the Holy Spirit within us. It's more like we are singing in harmony with our Savior. I can still do this even in Ireland, where the people are more comfortable and it is harder to reach out. I cannot afford to fail to listen to Him and walk in His love, even for a split second, for there is no love without Him, just darkness.
A man that Doug and I both like naturally, but who is a self-proclaimed atheist, wanted to know why we would adopt children when we can't solve all the problems of the world. Doug said something like he wants to save the two he can save. (Children without parents and handicapped do not have much hope for survival in Liberia.)
For as long as I can remember, I wanted to adopt children and imagined a big white house filled with children, most of whom were unwanted generally. It was a childhood dream and may never come true, but we have a start. Then I think to myself, how can I be good for this or much of anything and the verse comes to me about the one who loses his life only to get it back. “--and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Matthew 10:38-39

When I've been called to speak or sing before a group, if I start to allow vanity to take over and get too concerned about what somebody thinks of me rather than the purpose God has given me, it seems a lot like what happened to Peter, when he started to sink trying to walk on water.
Good performance in anything comes not from the outside in, but from the inside out. The wind is a distraction, and those of us who are weak, need to reach out like Peter did in Matthew 14 when he cried out, "Lord, save me!" It goes on to read: '--Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him.' Well, that’s something to think about. To go from day to day being a good Christian seems pretty challenging, but to go daily with the attitude of living each moment hand-in-hand with Jesus is uplifting. To give, in love, whatever we have to offer and allow it to flow out with the only concern being to please our creator is how we can lose ourselves.
It won't always keep a person from doing poorly or from being unfairly received, but at least we may perform our purpose in a more loving, precise, and focused manner with sincerity and a good conscience. Lily

Merry Blessing photos!

Our newest photo of Merry Jane Blessing (Merry will be her new first name; Blessing is her old name and her new second middle name).


Merry Blessing standing, as best she can.

Peter Teddy's photos

Peter Teddy (new first name Peter, old first name is now his middle name of Teddy), in one of the most recent pictures, and my personal favorite.

Peter Teddy looking much happier now that he knows he has a home! His old pictures all looked so sad - even when he smiled it was never as full as this!

Waiting for Christmas

We have received some lovely photos from AOH (Acres of Hope) and I'll try to post a couple of them today. One of them shows Teddy behind a blue wall and is my favorite picture. The day we met them in Liberia was the same day they were told that they have parents. Since meeting with him, Teddy smiles more happily when his picture is taken. Maybe it is sinking in that he really has a mom and dad. Patty, AOH director, told him when we met that we would be back for him after more paperwork.
When we met with Blessing, she had a physical at the same time. We had very little time with her. She is expected to need surgery on her crossed eyes and we will need to look into her motor control challenges. Though she is not talking yet and will be two years old December 27th, being in an orphanage, it is hard to tell how she will progress until we get her home. It doesn't seem likely that she will be able to walk without braces or physical therapy since her ankles are extremely weak and turn in.
Good news for Blessing is that she has gained 1 pound since we were in Liberia less than a month ago.
We wanted to adopt a special needs child, and will be thrilled when they come home. We inquired about an older child who is deaf, but God had Teddy in mind. Teddy has no physical differences, but his mother is in heaven and he needs a home.
We have been told that the children at AOH are shown their photo albums from time to time and read them like books. We brought a photo album for both of our African angels and imagine that they have probably received the albums. We put a photo of both of them in each album as well as photos of our son, daughter, son-in-law, 4 grandchildren, us, and Romeo who is our cat. Teddy and Blessing are in separate orphanages, but at least they can see each others photos. Perhaps they have met, but we don't know.
At home, we have their photos on our walls. Susan, our adult daughter, put pictures of Teddy and Blessing on the walls of our rooms and hallways. It saves us time to not have to keep walking to the one spot the pictures used to be in. So we admire the pictures throughout our days while we pray for them to be home on or before Christmas.
Lily