Drawing Ever Closer

We are finally going to be able to make some tentative travel plans! We were informed that we will PROBABLY travel in April! This feels like a momentous day! Especially as we are drawing very close to the one year mark. It was February 14th of last year that I sent an email to A's agency. Two weeks later we found out they had accepted us as her family.

There have been multiple phone calls, many emails, hundreds of sheets of paper. Fundraising, prayer upon prayer upon prayer, months of waiting with no news of our girl, days when I open my email to discover the beautiful gift of a new photo or 30 seconds of her little personality, a cancer battle fought, holidays celebrated with the nagging notion that someone is missing, knowing that next time, next time we celebrate, A will be here. We've all been waiting and praying so long, she's a famous person around these parts. Her picture is everywhere. Her story is on many hearts. Will she really be ours? Do I really get to be her mama?

With the joy, there is also much to ponder and much to be done.

Here's a glimpse into my brain at 5:30 a.m., lying in bed with thoughts whirling like a hurricane.

Malaria, TYHPHOID, Yellow Fever, Luggage, Two months, parasite, bills, homeschool, UGANDA, dirt roads, transportation, emergency, HOSPITAL, packing list, GET IT DONE, food, foodborne illness, mosquito, skirts, summer clothes, sunscreen, DEET, guest house, walking to town, three kids, four kids, sign language, anemia, HOME, no hot water, paperwork, delay, water, visa, tickets, what if, leaning in.

God's words rise in my mind as I type these words, to paraphrase what it means in my words "You're not supposed to be worrying about anything Gina. Pray about it. Let ME take care of it." "You have only to be still and watch the Lord defend, protect and fight your battles."

The Israelites were gripped in fear. Why had Moses led them to this dangerous place away from all that was familiar, where they would surely DIE? But Moses, representing Father God, reminds them:

“Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the LORD rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again. The LORD himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.”

The Lord Himself has brought us here. The Lord Himself was with A every time she was deathly ill and her mama was not there. The Lord Himself has allowed our paperwork to all go through so far. The Lord Himself has moved in each love-motivated heart that sacrificially gave towards the redemption fund of our girl. Allowing us to be FULLY FUNDED, so that we could focus on packing, preparing, cleaning and do a little dreaming of our new daughter too! These are HUGE battles that He has won for A, for us, for our family.

I should not be worried, but I do feel twinges of anxiety. We love to know that there are friends praying for us! It is no small feat, to pack, to prepare, to plan, to bring three young children to a third world country, to stay for two months, and sustain all those little lives, with another joining us, with trauma, and strive to keep them healthy and happy. But it's my job. I can do everything I need to, with Christ giving me strength. Please pray that He would be tangibly near to us, from here on out.

To those who are reading these words and have already been praying, have donated money or time to our adoption fund, who have kindly encouraged or given helpful travel advice, I am so deeply grateful. It shows His love in you, beautifully.