Pray for Us Please- Treading Water

My sweet Joy-she was not too sure about this frightening ocean!

I know exactly how she feels!  Praise for a Father who sees it all- and holds us in His arms!!

"In each season of our lives, even the ones moving through murky waters when we can only see in part, we can trust in the One who views it all. There is something beautiful happening just below the surface. May God give us eyes to see it clearly.

Lord God, You are good. I trust You are doing beautiful things in my life even when I can't see them. Please help me trust when I don't see Your eternal picture clearly and hold on tightly to You until a new season of clarity. Amen."  Looking for Hidden Beauty by Amy Carroll

Murky Waters- that was the theme of my bible study this morning- and trusting that the Lord sees clearly what is below the surface.  Without a doubt we trust that the Lord does know exactly what is going on and that despite our fears and feeling like we are flailing about in deep scary waters, there is something beautiful happening.  But oh how we pray for the waters to calm and clear so we too can see it!!

To be quite honest I am exhausted from treading water and trying to not sink under the discouragement and fears of another phone call or email with disappointing news.  Instead of moving forward we seem to be staying in place if not moving backward. I won't go into details but- Please pray with us- we truly need the Lord to do miracles.  We need him to change the hearts of those in charge to be tender and to desire to move our case forward.  We need people to show up, do their work, and act in an ethical manner.  We need wisdom to know if we need to do something different, if there IS anything we can do, or just keep waiting.  We need the Lord to keep us afloat as we are waiting for His rescue.  Praise that He is a God of justice and mercy and love and He is our Father who rises to show us compassion! 

"Therefore 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 

"Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)"  Hillsong United

You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery
In oceans deep
My faith will stand

And I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Your grace abounds in deepest waters
Your sovereign hand
Will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You've never failed and You won't start now

So I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior
[x6]

I will call upon Your Name
Keep my eyes above the waves
My soul will rest in Your embrace
I am Yours and You are mine

This song, among a couple of  others has been the cry of my heart throughout the entire adoption.  I am so thankful for His embrace during this season of treading water- and whatever the next months will bring!

We also are so thankful for each of our friends and family members who have committed to pray for us!!  We need it!  We have had many of you come up and ask us how we are and let us know you are praying for us. THANK YOU!!   We need you - our family of families- to continue to lift us up and keep us afloat with your prayers!!  One of my sweet friends reminded me of Moses and how he prayed during the battle with his hands raised and as they became tired, others came and helped hold him up so they could pray to the Lord for his strength and power to defeat the enemy. Our enemy does not want our sweet Joy to come home- but our God is stronger and more powerful and He will win!  We ask you to please continue to help lift us up in prayer during this battle.  Our arms are very tired!   We love you all!
-Becky (and clan)

Still Waiting- Quick Update

"The Lord longs to be gracious to you, He rises to show you compassion.  For the Lord is a God of justice.  Blessed are all who wait for Him!"  Isaiah 30:18 

Jay and I have been waiting to update our blog. Waiting for some news to share. After all- we have been expecting to hear word "any day" about progress in our case. However, I have realized it has been way too long since we connected with you all! As Thanksgiving approaches, I am reminded of the many things the Lord has blessed me with and I can't adequately express how thankful we are! We are so thankful for the Lord and His plans and ways, for our kiddos (all 6 sweeties) and for our families and friends!  We are so thankful for your prayers and your kind words and encouragement to help us get through this time of waiting!!  

Quick Update:  We are still waiting for our "permission to leave the country with child" paper to be completed and signed.  This must be completed before we can finally move on the Embassy stage of the process.  We thought this paper would take about a week to have completed- that was back in August. Delays have been a result of  mistakes found and corrected, a change of social services director in the area, waiting for them to get used to job etc., and now a high profile adoption case in the media.  We are praying that we will be able to have our form completed and signed soon. 

Major Blessing- we love Skype!We are able to call and talk with Joy each week (we are headed to church about the time she has gotten home from church).  Some days the conversations are a bit disheartening (picture making your kids stop playing with their toys to come talk on the phone with their grandma- whining ensues!). Of course we are quick to just tell her we love her and let her keep on playing. But most of the time they are short but very sweet.  It is a blessing to be able to maintain our contact with her and hear about her week.  She is very happy and giggly when she gets to talk with the kiddos.  (And they love it too of course!)  She loves to say hi to each one.  Recently when asked what she learned in school she said "ABCs...DEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ!" so cute!  We are thankful for the care and love she receives in our absence.  As the days come and go and our finish line/starting line keeps moving- we are extra thankful for her foster family!!  

   

Extra Blessing!We were given an extra blessing recently.  One of our friends (Jay and Andrew met the family at Flapdoodles- and we discovered they had recently adopted 2 kiddos from Ghana) emailed us to say they were headed to Ghana and would be happy to bring some pictures/stuff for Joy. We didn't think they would be able to see Joy and our POA was to give the stuff to her- but look what showed up on my FB.  A precious peek into Joy's life. Thank you so much Danielle!!  I can't wait to hear the rest of the story and see more pictures.  

Joy Headed to School

We were so thankful for a peek into Joy's life.

Thanks for keeping us in your prayers!!  Please pray that we would indeed get our required paperwork soon and that through it all we can rest in the knowledge that the Lord has it all under control.

Joy and Jay reading and singing.

It is hard to believe it has been 2 months since we were with our sweet Joy.  Although we get to briefly chat with her each Sunday, we sure miss her!  We wanted to share one of our favorite moments with Joy. I was so happy to get this moment of bonding and her adorable voice on tape.  Enjoy! 

 http://youtu.be/aCptq4Gu1B0

Joy and Jay reading a book together (her favorite counting book) and Joy singing.  So sweet!

Sovereign

Sovereign Over Us – Aaron Keyes, Jack Mooring, Bryan Brown
There is strength within the sorrow, There is beauty in our tears
You meet us in our mourning, With a love that casts out fear
You are working in our waiting, Sanctifying us
When beyond our understanding, You’re teaching us to trust
Your plans are still to prosper, You have not forgotten us
You’re with us in the fire and the flood
Faithful forever, Perfect in love
You are sovereign over us
You are wisdom unimagined, Who could understand your ways
Reigning high above the heavens, Reaching down in endless grace
You’re the lifter of the lowly, Compassionate and kind
You surround and you uphold me, Your promises are my delight
Your plans are still to prosper, You have not forgotten us
You’re with us in the fire and the flood
Faithful forever, Perfect in love
You are sovereign over us
Even what the enemy means for evil
You turn it for our good, and for Your glory
Even in the valley You are faithful
You’re working for our good, and for Your glory

Thanks Karmen for introducing me to this awesome song by Aaron Keyes.  This is the cry of my heart and the sum of many of my prayers- put to beautiful song.

He is working in our waiting.  He is teaching us to trust.

He is sanctifying me- that's for sure.  He is calling me to take care of some things that I didn't even realize needed dealing with- (like forgiveness for past hurts, forgiving people now for hurtful comments etc.).

He has not forgotten us! This is truth!  When I am tempted to listen to the enemy telling me otherwise,  I choose to remember the truth. I KNOW that He has not forgotten us.

And what the enemy means for evil- He WILL turn it for our good and for His glory! -
I am so thankful that in this time of waiting and in this valley- our savior never leaves us and He is faithful to complete what He started.

This last week was another one filled with delays (multiple times the court documents have had spelling errors so our POA has been unable to take them and submit them to the embassy).  We have also heard about a potential new "fee" that will be added now due to what seems to me like personal agenda/ political issues.  Sigh!  The last 2 times I got to try to talk to my sweetie she was having meltdowns and didn't want to talk.  All things that to be honest discourage me a bit.  It is easier to wait when you know it is either unavoidable, you know you are making progress, or it's for a good reason.  It is easier to pay huge fees when you know the reasons for the expenses, when they seem to be legit.  It is easier to be there when your daughter is melting down. To be able to see what is going on and be able to try and comfort and provide.  BUT- we haven't been called to easy- we know this.  We are called to pray, to rest, to trust and to praise.  Pastor Kevin talked about how lament/prayers and the praises to our Lord are partly for our healing - and I wanted to shout AMEN in church.  Praising Him through the struggles and disappointments has brought joy and healing to me and remembering the Lord's sovereignty and goodness has been a balm.  He has all of us under the shadow of His wings and no way will He allow the enemy to win. He IS in control.   He WILL turn all these disappointments and frustrations and roadblocks into blessing.

Praise update:Jay was able to connect with Joy on Sunday (so thankful for Skype phone calls!)and she was feeling happy and chatted with him and it was so good to hear!  She started back to school this week so all of the Homme Clan has officially started back to school! :0)
Huge Praise Update!:We got a wonderful email this morning (about 4:30am) that our document was printed without errors and signed by the judge!  PRAISE!!!!  

Next step- a document that needs to be made/printed and signed that gives us permission to take Joy out of the country.(Since we have an Interim decree rather than the full and final decree).

Adoption blaahg......

Blog, what a weird term.  Yes, I think it's a mash-up of web and log but if it were me who picked the name I think I would have chosen something different.  Blog is a lot like blaah which is kind of how Becky and I are feeling right at this moment.

We were hoping to write that everything went perfect at court today but, alas, that is was not the case (a court pun for the purists).

The good news - the judge (finally) heard our case.

The bad news - the judge said he was going to issue an "interim adoption decree" rather than the "full adoption decree."

The GREAT news!! - we will now be considered Joy's parents in Ghana (Yeah! Praise the Lord!!)

The uncertain news - what does this "interim decree" mean?  As best as we can piece together it means that we're kind of in adoption parent try-outs.  If we take good care of Joy over the next two years then we can go before the court again in Ghana and they will decide at that time if they will issue the "full and final" decree.  What?? does that mean that they could take her away from us after two years????  In theory that's possible but from what we've been able to read (and talk to others with more knowledge) this is highly unlikely.

I'm a guy who likes certainty.  I really only like surprises on Christmas morning and my birthday - if the rest of the year was fairly scripted with nice like check boxes in front of my various assigned tasks - I'd be a pretty happy (type A) camper (who would rather not sleep in a tent and gets to shower at least once or twice a day).  This ruling introduces some more uncertainty into a process that has already be faith testing and faith building.

We both know (and trust) that the Lord has everything under control.  We've heard an encouraging story about a family who were told they had an interim decree and when their power-of-attorney (POA) went to pick up the paperwork it had been changed to a full decree -- [God - that would be awesome and we'd be perfectly okay with that kind of surprise move] but we want to thank and praise Him for bringing us this far.  The adventure continues and we're not jumping off the roller coaster no matter what.

I asked our POA what Joy's name is now and he said "Joy, something, something, Homme".  That's pretty much his typical communication style but no matter what "something, something" means as long as the first and the last part are right we're good to go!

So, this started out blaah-gy but I want it to end on a much higher note.  We're Joy's parents!  We're humbled, thankful, and excited.  We truly appreciate all of you for your thoughts, prayers, support, and friendship and we will keep you posted as we know more.

And now for the big reveal.... (we feel like we can now show more pictures since we've come through court minimally-scathed) here is our beautiful little girl Joy something, something Homme.

With love,
-Jay & Becky (on behalf of the Homme Clan -- of 8)

Never Give Up

    Never Give Up

 The title of my devotional today was "Never Give Up".  I have been using my You Version app for my devotionals each morning. Title: "100 Days of Hope". Today was day 100.  When I first started the series, I was struck by how many days the message seemed to line up with what was happening in our adoption world.  I even had the thought that maybe by the end of the 100 days, we would be bringing our Joy home. This could have been the case, IF... if judges did not go on leave, to return for only a few days before going on leave again... if representatives had all the paperwork together on time... if other judges did not leave and miss appointments- over and over.  As each development has happened, we have rested once again in the Lord's goodness, and in His sovereign plan.  We KNOW His ways are not our ways, His ways are perfect.  (We have had the privilege if seeing some of the blessings of this new time frame.  We praise Him for allowing us to see them!)    Well- today was our court date (AGAIN) and on the 100th day of Hope!  I began to think that the timing could not have been more perfect for a good court outcome.  What a faith story that would be!  How cool to be able to share that with others.  Well, you can imagine the conflicting emotions this morning when the devotional title was "Never Give Up".
 This journey is all about living in limbo and having faith. And it's also about living out that faith daily with prayer, and by actively resting in His plan.  We really have no control and that is OK.  After all- we fully trust our savior and Lord.  He IS ABLE.  EVEN IF- judges go home early, judges leave for vacation/sabbatical without notice, or papers come in late. HE IS ABLE.  He is good and loving.   He IS loving and really does "talk" to us and help us in His way  .For me, that is often through scripture, devotionals, sermons etc.  So when the "message" seemed to be that a huge disappointment was coming, I began preparing my heart for that. Well, you can probably tell by my tone that disappointment came yet again.  Here is how Jay stated it in an email:

Friends and Family,

Many of you knew that we were scheduled to have our adoption case heard today in Ghana after having it fall through on several previous occasions (including when we were in country).  Today brings another delay/disappointment because, once again, the judge decided to adjourn court before hearing our case (or several other adoption cases which are on his docket).    We don’t have a good explanation for why this continues to happen but I called and spoke with our Power of Attorney (POA) and he seemed frustrated as well (this was the first time he didn’t just tell me to remain patient).

They are going to try again next Friday (August 16^th) but if it’s the same thing as today our POA plans to withdraw our case from this particular judge and re-submit to another judge who he say is “very good.”  That will likely delay any hearing for at least a couple weeks while they get it scheduled but it may be better than continuing to be strung along in this fashion.

He doesn’t think that I will need to return to Ghana for the hearing but if we switch judges there is always that possibility and he’ll let me know.

Thanks for your thoughts, prayers, and support during this process.

-Jay

Once again, we would covet your prayers.  To be honest, after the latest disappointment, we are a bit ticked off (at people who make appointments/commitments and then don't keep them- just because), and I feel a bit wounded. I am so thankful for a tender Lord.   He knew I would need to "hear" in my devotional that He is near, and that I should keep on going and believing, just like our hero's of faith in scripture did.  And He has blessed us with so many awesome friends and family members- you guys!-  who love us and pray for us while we "lick our wounds" and get back on our knees, and rest in the knowledge that He is able to do immeasurably more than we can hope or imagine! Thank you for praying for us!!!

Here was my devotional today (for those interested):

Never Give Up    (YouVersion, 100 Days of Hope)

John 21:6  "He said to them, "Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some."  So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish."

These words of Jesus encourage us to keep going in our calling.  The disciples were ready to give up.  They had been fishing all night and had caught nothing.  But Jesus is quick to come to our rescue.  Every giant in the Bible passed through such moments in life.  One example is Moses before Pharaoh.  Every time resistance increased, God was always present and proved that He was there with Moses.  Moses is now known for his persistence.  David is known for his daring faith.  The entire army of Israel was afraid of the giant Goliath; they had given up.  He could have followed their example.  But he trusted in the Lord, and God made him victorious.  Jonah is remembered for his reluctant obedience, but God rescued him, turned his hopelessness into obedience to Him, and an entire city received God's mercy.

When difficulties come, it is easy to give up.  When we face illness or death in life, it's hard not to get discouraged.  As we serve in various positions in God's ministry or in any business, it's easy to be overwhelmed sometimes due to lack of success, lack of resources, or lack of support.  We often reach the point of despair.  Has anything like this happened to you?  We feel it's time to give up, just like the disciples who tell Christ that they had caught nothing.

If discouragement ever comes to our path, let's know that we have Christ on our side to help us through.

Prayer:  Father, thank you for the example of your Word to see individuals who had to face trying times, but who recognized that you were near to them.  Amen.

Love you all!  We are so very thankful for you!!!
-Becky (& the rest of the clan)

We Have A Court Date! (again)

Hello friends and family!
We have been patiently waiting for news from our POA about court. Jay finally received a brief text then email. Despite days of waiting-trying to have our case heard by the Judge, up to this point our POA has not been able to have our case heard.  BUT - he has now been given a new date by the Judge.  August 9th!!!  PLEASE pray that all of the people who need to be there - will be!  That includes the social services rep., the lawyer, the POA, and the Judge. Most importantly-  Please pray that we receive a final adoption decree!!  Please pray that in the meantime, our Joy will continue to be well cared for in our absence.  Also, we are missing our girl!  We treasure every picture and video we have of her and are so very thankful for all the time we got to spend with her (yes- even those hard times).  However, we long for the day we can see her again and bring her home!!(I think Jay would be hopping a plane to attend court if I had not restrained him ;0)- we all know the date could change ).  Please pray for us- to feel the Lord's presence during this period of waiting and that we will rest in His loving arms and trust His sovereign plan.

Psalm 56:3 "When I am afraid, I put my trust in you."

Joy and Momma- finding safety in loving arms!