New Pictures

Earlier this week, we received a package from our adoption agency. The orphanage in Taiwan sent several pictures. These pictures were taken about one month ago. They also sent some baby pictures taken around 6 weeks of age.

The final paperwork is in the mail and now we pray everything was done correctly. The paperwork will be translated and then authenticated. Once that is complete, our case goes to the court system in Taiwan. We are at the mercy of the judge. Please pray for a speedy court process. Also pray that all the paperwork is correct and that there is no hold-ups. We were told to expect 9 months until we travel. We are praying for a faster process.

God continues to answer our prayers. He provided all the money that has been needed up to this point and for that we are very grateful. Thanks to all of you who have bought shirts and gumbo tickets and given donations. We appreciate it more than we will ever be able to express.

URGENT PRAYER NEEDED

I just spoke with Jill, our adoption worker, and now have an urgent prayer need. Please pray for our family, our newest son, Yi-Fan, and the entire adoption process. I am unable to share with you the nature of our request, but trust that you will pray nonetheless. Please take time and pray...really pray....and if you think about us throughout the week, keep the prayers going. Thanks and we will update this site as things change.

Finally Some News

Late yesterday evening, we were able to talk with our adoption agency. The conversation was both encouraging and discouraging. I'll try to explain.

For the first time, we were given a timeline. Jill, our adoption worker, explained that from this point until travel is generally nine months. Obviously, this is not what we wanted to hear. We were hoping to travel much, much sooner than that. But now we can plan for next summer as a travel time. We were encouraged somewhat when she told us that our case seems to moving much faster than others. We heard in 9 days what most wait 2 months to hear and then our dossier paperwork came in very fast as well. Our prayer is that we would be able to travel and pick up our son before his 2nd birthday which is July 27. Please join us in this prayer.

The dossier paperwork should be to us by tomorrow. This is paperwork that we will have to sign and notarize and then there are some things that we will have to gather to include. Once we complete the paperwork, our agency will translate it and it will enter the court system for final decree. Depending on the judge, our wait time could be shorter or longer than the expected 9 months.

Jill also told us that tomorrow we will be receiving some updated pictures and information about our son. We can also begin to send him care packages, although there are some very strict restrictions on what we can send. We are excited about both the updated info and the opportunity to send stuff over to Taiwan.

We would like to thank all of you who have helped our family by purchasing adoption shirts. We have reordered shirts and added two new colors. Those shirts should be in by the first of next week. On Nov. 14 we will be at FBC Harrisonburg and will have shirts with us. The next week, we will be at FBC Livingston. The Franklin Family will be singing a benefit concert for us there and we will have shirts for sale as well. If you would like a shirt mailed to you directly, please message us with the shirt color and size you would like. We also are asking that you add $4 per shirt for shipping costs.

On Nov. 5, we will be in the parking lot of Triangle Pharmacy selling gumbo lunches from 11am until we sell out. The cost for the lunch is $5 and includes gumbo, rice, crackers and dessert. Everything needed for the fundraiser has been donated so all $5 will go directly into the adoption fund. We thank you for your support financially, but more importantly for your prayers.

Harder than we thought.

It has been almost one month since we received the news that we were approved to adopt our son. Since then we have not received any updates from our agency or from the orphanage in Taiwan. The waiting is incredibly hard. I emailed our adoption worker last week to ask for any information or at least a time frame, but have not heard back from her yet. While we are busy raising money and completing our adoption classes, there is not much else to do. And the waiting is hard...much harder than we thought.

Everyday we hear from people that are following our adoption. There are many of you who read this blog that we are unaware of who you are and how you pray for and support us. Over the past few weeks we have received anonymous donations and donations from people we do not know. I cannot tell you how encouraging that is to our family.

But it seems with every conversation, the question always comes up, "When will you get your son?" That question, although well intentioned, is hard for us to hear over and over and over. It is so discouraging, because we don't have an answer. There is no one more excited and more eager to hold that little boy than Heather and I. Not knowing when that day might come makes the waiting so much harder.

We cannot thank you enough for reading this blog, for praying for our family, and supporting us financially. We have been so blessed by each of you. .

WOW!!!

God is blessing us in unbelievable ways. Thanks to so many of you who have purchased shirts and went above and beyond to donate additional money. We know the Lord will provide and we have been encouraged so many times in just the last few days. We cannot say thank you enough.

Shirts are still available. If you have not gotten one yet, you can contact us directly, contact the Franklin Family, or stop by Girlfriends Gift Shoppe in Jena. If we don't have the shirt you want in the size you need, we will try to find it for you. It looks like we will need to order more shirts in the future so keep checking.

We do not have any more news on our son. We are hoping to have an update soon. We do not know when we will be able to get him. That is likely several months away. Thanks for your continued prayers.

More shirt pics

Here are just a few more pictures of the shirts we are selling to raise money for our adoption.

Shirts are Here!!!

Our adoption shirts came in today. We are offering the shirts for a donation of $20 each. We have two styles with two colors of each style. The shirts are available by contacting us personally. If you are in the Jena area, you can also get them from Girlfriends Gift Shop. We would like to thank Jeanette Richards for allowing us to place the shirts in her store. Also, the Franklin Family will be selling shirts at the churches that they visit over the next few months. You can contact us for a shirt by email at reidterry1974@gmail.com. Thanks in advance for helping us raise the money needed to bring our son home.

A Word of Thanks

Ever since getting word that we were approved to adopt our son, we have had very little to do other than just wait. The waiting seems like the hardest part. I have called our social worker several times in the past week and asked her what we could do. Her answer is always the same..."Not much." It is a helpless feeling. Not being able to do anything to speed the process along. However, we are grateful to the orphanage workers and our social worker who are busy doing paperwork that will help bring our child home.

The Lord continues to encourage us as we get closer to a travel date being set. Last night, East Jena Baptist Church (where I served as Student Pastor for 3+ years), took up a love offering for our family to help offset the adoption costs. I can't tell you how much that means to our family. It encourages us by reminding that the Lord is in control and will provide. We would like to thank all that gave at EJBC toward the adoption. You have been a blessing to our family. And we are extremely grateful.

The only update that I can give today is that Heather's passport came in last week and was sent to Taiwan. Also we completed a short application form for the orphanage in Taiwan and sent it back as well. We are hopeful that the process is moving fast, but really don't have any idea how long it might be before we can travel.

Thanks again for all your prayers. Keep praying.

Passport update

Yesterday, Heather and I went to New Orleans to get her an expedited passport. The appointment went well and the passport should be arriving at our home on tomorrow. Again, we have seen the hand of God at work through this process and through the lives of friends and family. The cost for an expedited passport is $195. Last Thursday, a friend of our gave us $200 to use in the adoption process. God is so good. He is faithful.

One more thing...our shirts are ordered and should be in later this week or early next week. The cost for ordering the shirts has been covered by a generous donation. We will be selling the shirts for $20 and every penny will go toward the adoption. If you would like to purchase a shirt, email us or call us and we will work out how to get one to you. We will be selling shirts at Howdy Neighbor Day in Jena as well. As soon as the shirts come in I will post pictures. There are two designs and several colors available.

Thanks for your encouragement to Heather and I and thanks for your prayers.

God at Work

First off, I would like to thank each of you for the kind and encouraging comments you have left on Facebook and for calling and encouraging us. We are thrilled that we are in the final stages of bringing our son home. We still do not know how long it will be before we are able to travel (a good estimate is 4-6 months), but we are anxiously awaiting that day.

This morning as I prayed, I asked the Lord to encourage me in some way today that Heather and I were in His will with the adoption. It was a prayer from my heart to see the Lord at work. I hate that I love affirmation from people, but in my flesh I do. And I do not want to adopt a special needs child because it garners the approval of people, but my only desire is because I am led of the Lord. So this morning I prayed the Lord would encourage me in some way to know that our family was centered on Him. The Lord answers prayers.

Today, a businessman offered to notarize all of our adoption paperwork free of charge. I don't know how much money this will save us, but it gave us peace of mind that we won't have to worry about it. Also, Heather does not have a passport yet. Taiwan needs our passports immediately to begin processing our paperwork. It takes several weeks and possibly months to obtain a passport. However, thanks to my cousin, we have an appointment for Monday morning in New Orleans to have Heather's passport issued. So there will not be any delay in getting our paperwork to Taiwan and the adoption process can move on as planned.

Keep praying.