It has been way too long since our last update! The biggest reason for that has been- nothing encouraging to report. We have truly been "stuck" in the court system waiting (and waiting!!) for progress- of any kind. We have tried many different things ( I won't get in to all the details) but essentially we have been waiting mostly for people to complete paperwork. And now we are filing a petition to get this done- before a different judge. We have been blessed by very wise counsel by Jay's friend and lawyer whom we trust and that has been invaluable!!!
In the waiting...
Sigh- The Waiting....
Our most recent picture of Joy- she's so big! And so skinny!
Blessings!
**One of Jay's residents recently visited Ghana and was able to deliver some birthday gifts to her (She turned 4 in May) (including a recordable book with Jay and I reading to her)- and brought us back some new pictures!!
** We get to hear Joy read us the same book (with our voices in the background)! She is very possessive of her "under the same moon" book and tells people if anyone touches it while she is at school they are in big trouble! so cute!
**She has been talking more and more of the things we will do when she comes to us and is very happy to chat with us and sing to us and the kids each week. In fact she gets very upset if we don't connect (phone not working etc.)!
**We have learned much more about her background and family and this will be a great blessing to Joy when she is older. And a blessing to us all.
**The Lord continues to sustain us and send us just what we need (you friends!) just when we need it!
**We have been refined- (are being refined)- and continue to grow closer to the Lord, each other and to Joy through this long long year!!
"When I thought, "My foot slips," your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up. When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul." Psalm 94:18-19
Update!:
**We have filed for all paperwork to be submitted to the court and we hope to have the Judge see it and give her permission to leave country (praying for court in the first weeks of August). We cannot move on to the embassy until this is granted.
**The Judge we are to see is currently on vacation and we pray she is back very soon!!!!! We will wait for her before submitting any documents to the court.
**We received our embassy papers yesterday - hooray!! They all had to be updated before they expired- Whew!
**JAY GET'S TO TRAVEL TO GHANA(he will be teaching and connecting with Africa Partners Ghana for work)!!!!! HE GETS TO SEE OUR SWEET JOY AND WE CAN FACETIME!!!! I am so jealous ;0). I wish there was a way to bottle her scent and the feel of her hair and the touch of her precious hand in mine! At least he can bring me back another 100 pictures of her precious spunky smile. And video her reading and singing and chatting away!
A CALL TO PRAYER!!!
We trust the Lord and His perfect plan- we KNOW that He is GOOD and LOVING and we pray first and foremost that His will be done. We are praying all hinderances to His plan would be swept aside. We are asking you all to join us in praying specifically for the following, trusting that whatever the outcomes-our true HOPE and JOY is in the Lord and He has our best in mind.
"Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!" Isaiah 30;18
Come along side us to boldly go before the Lord and ask the following in His name:
**For justice. For the person who needs to complete paperwork (his job)-to honor his commitment to do so.
**For the Judge to return from vacation before Jay goes to Ghana.
**For the Judge to grant Joy permission to leave the country.
(and if possible to change our 2 year decree to a full and final decree- we are already a year into it).
**For the final reports to be ready to go to the Embassy - It would be awesome if Jay could submit to the embassy before returning home.
**For an amazing visit with Joy- that Jay would be able to have a lot of time with her.
**For all of Jay's travel/hotel/transportation and work details. (August 10-17th) He is going solo on this trip and while that gives a bunch of flexibility (he doesn't have to protect us)- He also has nobody from home to lean on. Praise that he has many Ghanaian friends that love him and would help.
**For Jay's safety- driving there is an adventure to say the least.
**For the home front- I am actually cheering him on to go! You know how it goes though- when he leaves- the kids get emotional, someone gets sick, something breaks or leaks, and I don't really sleep.
Thank you so much for supporting us and loving us through this season! We are so thankful for you!!
"We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield." Psalm 33:20
