December 2017 – Casting A Stone

One year ago we got the news that China had approved us to be Joseph’s parents. On his 2nd birthday the Letter of Approval was stamped. He would be a Williams. Today, on his 3rd birthday he is celebrating in a family. It takes my breath away every time I think about the difference one year makes. Today, he was celebrated as a son. His life matters to us. He is treasured. He is 3! Can it get any better than this? Cupcakes, a ball pit, and some new Thomas the train track….we celebrated our Christmas baby big!

As if that wasn’t enough!

We got an email today – another letter of approval for a second boy. Can you believe that we got the approval on the same day one year apart? It is the Letter of Approval we have been waiting on to take us into the final stretch of adopting Benjamin. (By the way, we need to think of a fun blog nickname for this new guy! Ideas?) We still have several steps in order to make him a Williams and only a few more weeks to get it done, but we are at peace knowing that God is orchestrating this whole adoption.

Having the letter of approval gives us even more confidence. All the paperwork was turned in. They didn’t find any mistakes and all was accepted and approved. Phew! Now we pray for the same thing on the US side. We now submit all of our adoption approvals and paperwork to the US government to get the approval from that side of the ocean.

We also would appreciate you praying specifically for Benjamin in the coming days. He will soon find out that he will join our family. Hopefully he will be glad to join our crazy crew, but this also will be a difficult transition. He has lived in the Children’s Home for many many years. He will be leaving all he knows and entering a new season. Pray that he has courage, peace, and acceptance for what God has for his future. Can you imagine going and living with a Chinese family at the age of 13? Pretty crazy shocking. Pray hard for all of us.

We also want to thank you again – our matching grant to Brittany’s Hope was fulfilled because of generous gifts from you! Seriously, we are blown away by the support, love and gifts that have been poured out on us through this adoption. The financial commitment of adopting again was daunting – in two short months due to the generosity of God’s people and because of two grants we are only $1,500 short of being FULLY funded. It really is a miracle. Thank you seems so inadequate. We could not have done this alone. Thank you for being a part of the community who is praying and giving in order to bring this boy home.

Benjamin should be joining us in the next 6 weeks or so. We will be updating our blog through the process. We would be blessed to share our journey with you if you would like to follow along.

China said that he can be ours. This time it is a 13 year old boy. A boy we will call son, will treasure, and his life matters to us. That is the best Christmas present EVER. Next year there will be 6 stockings hanging from our mantel (well, um, from our bookshelf!)

Still want to give to help bring Benjamin home? You can give to our new matching grant through Lifesong for Orphans (they double dollar for dollar every gift and 100% of the gifts go towards bringing Benjamin home). We only need $1,500 more. You can give here. Direct your donation to adoption, complete the online form and fill in our family name and number (Williams 7399) Thanks again! Can’t wait to write the post that God provided every dollar we needed for this journey!

Who are we to be a part of this miraculous story?

We are beyond humbled and in absolute awe as we see how God is providing for Benjamin to join our family. What seemed impossible is possible. $20,000 came in to pay for this adoption in two short weeks. It is miraculous and we have a front row seat in watching this miracle unfold! Gifts from family who are being so supportive, friends who aren’t calling us crazy (but blessed!) and even gifts from strangers – God has planted the desire on so many hearts to help this teenager find family.

Thank you. I wish I had more eloquent words, because these two small words in no way can convey the deep gratitude of my heart. Your gifts….they have encouraged us. They are making the way possible. They are placing a boy in a family. One less orphan. They are blessing our family with the treasure of another soul, and they mean the difference between us being able to do this or not. Huge. Thank you.

The paperwork is going at lightning speed and the invoices are rolling in – every need has been met and every deadline crushed. All of our paperwork to adopt Benjamin is being authenticated this week and we hope to have it sent to China next week. (In adoption lingo: our dossier will be sent to the CCCWA and we hope to have a letter of approval soon after.) Everything is on track for our family to grow by one at the beginning of the year. 5 ~~short~~ long weeks.

In between mounds of paperwork and grant writing, we are preparing as much as possible. We swapped bedrooms. The girls are now in the smaller room and the boys are in a room that will hold two sets of bunk beds. (That is a reality I never dreamt for my family!) Little Man feels all grown up in the top bunk with Mo sleeping up under him. I look at the empty space under the other bunk and long for the day to have it filled by the newest Williams. I thought this journey – because it is going so fast – would be easier. The waiting has always been the hardest part for me. This adoption is being expedited – the wait is nothing in comparison, but there is just something about knowing your child is sleeping in an orphanage. I can’t wait for those days to be done.

We would appreciate your continued prayers over this next month. Pray that each step of this adoption is expedited and that we will have Benjamin home by mid-January. Pray for us as we continue to prepare…not just our home but our hearts. A big transition is ahead of us, and we know we will need all the grace and mercy God can provide . Benjamin also is facing unspeakable grief as he leaves one world behind and enters this new one. Pray for his heart – for comfort, healing, and peace.

I hesitate to even write this next part, because you have all been soooo generous, but a few people are still asking how to give and how to help us on this journey. We have been given a matching grant through Brittany’s Hope. They will match dollar to dollar every gift given towards our adoption up to $5,000 which means we will end up with $10,000. 100% of the gifts will go to our adoption as they have generous donors who cover all of their overhead expenses. So if you are still feeling led to financially help us bring Benjamin home, then a gift towards this matching grant would be greatly appreciated. You can give your tax deductible gift here。 You can also share about this opportunity by giving folks this link http://www.brittanyshope.org/seedling/williams With this grant we will be very close to being fully funded. Amazing!

Thanks again for following us on this journey. I hope our next update will be telling you that we have all of our paperwork approved and that we were able to tell Benjamin that he will be joining our family.