Waiting for Glory: Month Five {Adoption Month 5-0!}

Ugh. Some months I dread these posts and wish I had never started a monthly adoption update. But I did...

The upside is it forces me to look honestly at where my heart is in this long journey, made up mostly of waiting.

This month I'm feeling discouraged and helpless. Our girl is turning one year old next week and she will do so in an orphanage. No one will celebrate the anniversary of her coming into this world. She won't smear icing all over her face and smile for dozens of pictures. That makes my heart hurt. (Side note: it also helps me to understand why birthdays are difficult for Our {collective Our} kiddos from hard places.)

What she/we need most right now is prayer. We are at a pivotol point and it seems as though the only shot we have at getting her home this year hinges on a few things:

First, pray for favor with our USCIS officer. There are a lot of confusing details (aren't there always when dealing with USCIS?) but we are waiting for our I-600A approval - giving us approval to bring an orphan into the US. We NEED this approval ASAP.

Second, pray that the US Embassy would begin their investigation into Glory's orphan status when they travel to her city in June/July. AND that the investigation would go quickly and smoothly.

Third, pray her birth certificate would be issued and that we would pass court quickly. At this point she will legally be our child and she can move to a foster home in the capital city.

Fourth, please pray for her health. She is literally in one of the hardest countries in the world to be a little one.

{This month also marks 50 months since starting the adoption process. #longestgestationperiodever}