Travel Day

Someone has said that a theme to Psalm 27 could be that we are not alone and that we are not in charge.  Initially, it seems that through difficulties, David cannot see God's greatness.  As he ends the psalm, however, he asks God to teach him His way and to lead him.  I especially like the last verse. "Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!"  (Psalm 27:14)  We are taking that verse literally as we wait to see Elsa on Monday.  Like David, we know for certain that we are not alone and that we are not in charge!  God is good and faithful as we walk this adoption journey to Elsa.

Our first leg of the trip brought us to Seattle. Annika and Kirstin were seated next to a wonderful woman who was interested in all we were going to be doing in the next two weeks.  She showed us pictures of her grandchildren, spoke of the faithfulness of God in her life, and when we parted ways, gave Annika a small gift. Oh, the sweetness of the body of Christ!  While waiting for our next plane, we had some Starbucks and saw Santa and one of his elves!  We also had a chance to Skype with Aunt Ingrid and Heidi & Ellie Lee.

Flying from Seattle to Tokyo is long! It seems longer when you are sandwiched in the middle seats of an Airbus 330. We passed the time by sleeping, eating and watching movies. With one more flight left for this part of our journey, we knew we needed to pace ourselves with sleep, although we all felt pretty groggy. Annika was a trooper and only woke Dad up three times to ask him to help her with the Smurf movie.  From Tokyo we boarded the last plane of the day for Hong Kong. Everything has gone so smoothly for this first part of our journey.  Our luggage was spinning around on the carousel when we arrived there, the immigration line was relatively short, and the walk to the airport hotel was a breeze. Praise the Lord!

We are now in Hong Kong awaiting our afternoon flight to Nanning.  It is Sunday morning here and we are sad to be missing our normal routine of worship.  We are also thankful that our worship is not dependent on meeting with a group of believers, as important as that is, but that we can worship Him wherever we are.  More importantly, we worship Him with our lives.  

Leaving later today for Nanning, Elsa is on our minds and hearts more intensely than ever.  Pray with us for Gotcha Day tomorrow.  We are so excited to begin this new life together with her as a part of our family.  We are so looking forward to the ways in which God’s hand will be evident.  

 On the airplane ready to go!

 Seattle Airport.

 Dad's still as strong as ever! We are waiting to add the top tier (Elsa) to this tower!

 We passed on Chinese food waiting for the authentic food. 

 During our three hour layover, we could have passed the time caroling with these guys!

Met Santa and his elf in the airport. 

 Christmas in Hong Kong.

 Hotel lobby all decorated. 

Preparations - of rooms, luggage and hearts

We are in the advanced stages of prep around here.  It's amazing to think that in week we'll be on our way to Elsa.  God is amazing in all that He is pulling together for us.  We are so grateful and blessed.  I know that I am probably taking some major theological leaps in what I share next, but my excuse is that I am not a theologian!  I had to smile today as I read my Bible.  "Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you." (Isaiah 43:5)  I know the context has absolutely nothing to do with the Lindquist family adopting a daughter from China, but still I smiled. 

The piles have begun.  Piles of papers, clothes, airplane activities, diapers, wipes...... You name it, it's probably in a pile somewhere around here.  Those piles correspond to lists, lots of lists!  I take solace in the fact that if we are missing something, there are stores where we're headed.  Except the paperwork!  I can't leave a piece of that behind.  Our wonderful agency sent us a checklist, which I have checked and rechecked.  

Our itinerary is set.  We leave on Friday, December 16th and arrive in Hong Kong on December 17th.  That's a LONG trip. Then we fly to Nanning on Sunday, December 18th.  After settling into the hotel, we are off and running on Monday, December 19th to meet Elsa!  She officially becomes a Lindquist that day.  GOTCHA!!!  After a few more days of paperwork and sightseeing, we leave Nanning for Guangzhou on Friday, December 23rd.  Staying on Shiaman Island this time, we are excited to meet the many other adoptive families that will be there.  Christmas in China will be spectacular!  Elsa's first Christmas with us. Wow, what a gift.  There is also lots more paperwork and waiting while in Guangzhou before we can fly home on Friday, December 30th.  

This whole process has brought me so many gifts from God.  He has revealed Himself in new ways as His Spirit has guided, comforted and taught us about our Heavenly Father.  One thing that struck me the other day as I stared at our manger scene (insert above-mentioned theologian disclaimer here!) was that Jesus was adopted too.  While born of Mary, He was not Joseph's biological son.  This wonderful man willingly became Christ's earthly father, raising Him as God intended.  That makes me smile.  

He is preparing our hearts as we prepare our home for this new, little one.  I'm not sure she'll ever fully understand how much she was loved even before we actually set eyes on her.  We trust and pray that He is preparing her to be who she was born to be, Elsa Mei Yue Lindquist. We know there will be major adjustments all around as we get to know each other.  Language, food, smells, sounds.  Everything completely foreign to this little one.  God, grant us all patience, peace and immeasurable, unconditional love as we begin our new family life half-way around the globe.  He is faithful.  He will do it.

"I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you" Isaiah 42:6

"I am the Lord; that is My name; My glory I give to no other." Isaiah 42:8

Our prayer is that we will hold tightly to the hand of the One who is faithful and true.  He has set this in motion and He will accomplish His plan.  We pray that His name is glorified and lifted up.  None of this is done in our own strength.  We are not foolish enough to believe that we could do any of this without Him.  Resting our hope in God, we look forward with great anticipation for what He will do in the three short weeks ahead as we go out as six and return as seven.  Praise His holy name!

We Have TA

God is so good!! His mercies are from everlasting to everlasting and GREAT is His faithfulness!!! The author of Lamentations puts it this way; "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness." (Lam. 3:22-23)

My phone vibrated against my ankle while at Bible study this morning, so at our break I took a look at it, noticing a voicemail from somewhere out east.  My curiosity got the better of me and I slipped away from the other women to listen.  Hearing Sara's sweet voice on the other end, my knees began to feel a little weak.  She was calling with good news!  Madison had received our Travel Approval (TA) that morning!  Quickly, I called her back and we talked over setting up a Consulate Appointment (CA) of our choosing.  So excited, I returned to my small group with the phone still in my hand and a silly grin on my face.  What a time of rejoicing with these precious ladies who have been praying for God's will in all of this!  It was very sweet of the Lord to time it in such a way for them to be a part of this good news.

So, Elsa is coming home.  We could not be more excited and I am simply vibrating with energy!  We will know more specifics about our dates for travel and "gotcha day" in the near future.  For now we praise the One who has put all of this in motion and stand in awe of how He works.

Amen and amen!

An "A-ha" Moment

Anything we do these days usually involves some imaginative play. Annika is just at that age when every other sentence begins "Ok. Pretend that...." The last few weeks the end to that sentence has usually had something to do with Elsa. Most of the time we pretend she is with us where ever we are going. I like this game too. The other day I asked Annika what she was looking forward to teaching her new little sister. Oh, did she have ideas! Topping the list was soccer and basketball along with spitting her toothpaste in the sink. All essential skills in Annika's mind. Then I told her she was also going to have the job of teaching her little sister how to be a Lindquist.  That's when I realized I had stumbled upon yet another picture of a believer's adoption into God's family.

When God awaked my heart to see my sin, my need for Him and the grace offered through Christ's sacrifice on the cross, I responded in faith and gratitude, humbly trusting in this gift for my salvation.  I was adopted into God's family, a true child of the King!  Paul explains it beautifully in his letter to the Ephesians 1:3-10.  As a new child of God, I walk in obedience to His plan for me.  Though once I was far from Him (Ephesians 2:13), but now I am saved by His grace to do those "good works which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:10)  I need to learn how to live as His child and how to reflect my Father in heaven.  This can only come, through the Spirit's help, by humbly being obedient to His word and allowing Him to work in me for His good pleasure. (Philippians 2:12-13) I need to be taught how to be a child of the King.

I am thankful that He has saved me and is daily chipping away at the parts of me that are not very Christ-like.  It is a slow process and I am grateful for His tender patience with me!  As we teach Elsa what it means to be a Lindquist, we will also show her what it means to be loved by the One who set this whole crazy adoption in motion.  "Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them." (Psalm 139:16) We are even now praying for her heart to be ready and open to hear of this loving Father who gently draws His children to Himself, awakening dead hearts to walk in new life.  His awesome love and grace brings me to my knees in worship.  What an amazing God who thinks of crazy ways to gather His children to Himself and gather the Lindquist family from the far corners of the earth.

Praise His Holy name!

This is not a new photo, but I wanted to refresh everyone's memory on just how cute the newest Lindquist is.  Love her to pieces!

God's Grace

He has done it again!! He has placed another wonderful child in her family.  We are so excited to follow our friends the Lees as they bring Ellie home.  Today was Ellie's "Gotcha Day" and I read, prayed and cried as I followed their blog entry. (www.elliesjourneyhome.com) It is amazing to me how God works in our hearts, nudging us to follow Him in obedience so He can display His glory.  Seeing Ellie sitting on Heidi's lap, snuggling with her new sister Ava, and smiling over a KFC meal, all I can do is worship. He has done this wonderful thing!  Praise His holy name!

In other Elsa news, I learned this morning that our Article 5 was picked up from the American consulate in Guangzhou and will be delivered to the CCAA in Beijing either today or tomorrow.  This means that we are now about two weeks away from our Travel Approval (TA), Lord willing!  This is wonderful news as we pray about when we could possibly travel to bring Elsa home!  I wish I had new pictures or other Elsa updates for you, but I don't.  God is allowing us a bit of blindness at this point which is stretching for this mama!  His sovereignty remains steadfast and He will bring us through.

Pray with us as we are on the final stretch of waiting.  Pray for peace, travel planning, timing, transitions, schedules, shopping trips and anything else you can think of!  Pray for Elsa that she is being prepared for this transition into family, for her heart to be open to us, and for God's peace to reign in her.  We know that He is faithful and He will do it.

"For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure." (Phil. 2:13)

We look forward to His work in our lives as He brings us to Elsa soon!

Amen.....

A Sea of Acronyms and Initials

Everywhere you turn in the adoption world there are more letters thrown at you.  There's being LID when your papers are "logged in" over in China.  Then there's the PA and LOA which bring you closer to seeing your new little one.  Yesterday we received via USPS our PA for our I-800 from the USCIS.  Alphabet soup, right??? Well, we love those letters in this house!  God is good and continues to open the doors to bringing Elsa home in His time.  Yesterday's mail is simply one more hoop before Elsa has immigration status here and can be released from China.  So exciting!

We continue to pray, dream, prepare and pray some more.  Each of us is anticipating the newest Lindquist every day.  Annika especially can't wait for her sister and playmate.  In fact, most days we buckle an imaginary Elsa into her car seat and talk to her about all we are doing as we run errands.  Annika's little heart is full as she asks the God of the universe to look after her sister until we can get there.

I wish I had more pictures or information about Elsa to share, but my attempts to ask for more from the orphanage were not successful.  We simply wait, trust and pray for her.

"God settles the solitary in a home"  Psalm 68:6    Elsa's home awaits.  God is good and true to His word.  ALWAYS.  

LOA Is Here

God's timing is wonderful.  I can't wait to someday look at my life from His perspective and see even more clearly how He is working His plan.  We were marking our 60th day of waiting for our Letter of Approval when the phone rang late in the day.  Some adoptive parents who are waiting know when the DHL truck makes scheduled deliveries to our adoption agency.  I'm sorry, but I can't remember what I went in the pantry for let alone remember that type of information!! Hence, we were not expecting any call from Madison when the phone rang.  I heard Aleda's voice on the answering machine begin talking about some great news she had for us.  Up to this moment I was casually looking for the phone, but when the words "good news" and "LOA" came out of the answering machine's speaker, I went from casual to frantic!!! "Where's the phone?????", I yelled to no one in particular.  And no one jumped up to help! :)  Anyhow, I found it all on my own and answered it just in time to hear the wonderful news that our LOA had shown up unexpectedly at their office door sometime this afternoon.  What a wonderful surprise!  We were told to expect to wait 60-90 days for this precious piece of paper from China.  We are overwhelmed with gratitude to the God who has all of this in His care and timing.  Such fun!  Now we have a few more hoops to jump through before we can get that all important TA (travel approval) and begin packing our bags.  Each step closer gets us that much more excited to see Elsa face to face.

While we have been waiting, we have not been completely idle.  With some time before we get to bring Elsa home, we decided to send her a care package.  The picture above shows the contents of that package. There is a wonderful service in China that will receive a package and send it securely to the orphanage. We carefully packed a box with some clothes, toys, a photo album of us, and a recordable book of Mommy and Daddy reading to her. Then we shipped it all off on the slow boat to China. Literally!  It seemed to take forever to arrive in Guangzhou.  But Ann at Red Thread took it, translated all our papers and photo album labels and sent it to our sweet Elsa.

"Come and see the works of God;  He is awesome in His doing toward the sons of men."  Psalm 66:5