By this time tomorrow...

Several people have asked me lately, "so how are things going with the adoption?" I reply by saying that its good and that we are really excited with our progress. I tell them how we submitted our I-600 form at the end of November and will be mailing our Dossier by the end of February! Most people then give me a smile that says "I want to be really excited for you but I have no idea what your talking about." :) It just blesses my heart that they want to be really excited with me but I forget that most people don't know what the heck an I-600 form or a dossier is! I didn't know before this whole process began either.

So, the I-600 form, for which we have applied and are awaiting approval, classifies an orphan who has been or will be adopted by a U.S. citizen as an immediate relative to that citizen therefore, allowing the child to enter the U.S. Oh! My heart just skipped a beat and I am smiling from ear to ear! It says, "immediate relative" and "child to enter the U.S." I CAN'T WAIT FOR THAT DAY!!!

While we wait for the immigration approval (90 days) we are compiling a dossier. This is a collection of very detailed papers about us. Even photos too! They all have to be official and notarized. The dossier is what the agency in Ethiopia will use to match us with our child. It's all very exciting, even with all the detailed papers and long waits. Each form we fill out gets us one step closer to baby Burnett!

We have found that encouragement from the Lord comes when we least expect it. This is a huge blessing while we wait....wait....wait. Our good friend Victor came over for dinner in December right before he moved out of state. He also asked us how the adoption was coming along and got the same answers you all have heard. He began to tell us about a time in his life when he was told that it would take 2 years to receive the papers he needed to work in another country. However, he got them in 6 months!!! He told us that he and his wife had taken hold of an Old Testament story, 2 Kings 6:24-7:20, and prayed that the Lord would move on their behalf...and He did! Victor encouraged us to do the same with our adoption process. 

So, that night we read the passage which tells of a time when Samaria was in a famine and under siege by the Arameans. The famine was so bad that the people were eating their children to stay alive! In distress, the king called for the prophet Elisha to come. Elisha prophesied that "by this time tomorrow, a seah of flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria." In other words, the famine will be over! An officer next to the king could not believe the prophets words and Elisha told the officer that indeed it would happen but he would not partake of it. 

Here's how it went down. In the middle of the night the Lord caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots and horses so that they thought they were under attack. They fled their camp leaving EVERYTHING behind. Some lepers went out to the camp and found all their goods. The next morning they told the king what they had found. As you can imagine the people of Samaria stormed the city gates, desperate for the food and supplies and in the process trampled the kings unbelieving officer to death.

Every time we speak to Victor now, he always says "by this time tomorrow...by this time tomorrow...keep believing the word of the Lord Nate and Rachel! Your child will be here sooner than you think!" And this is what we pray and believe,

BY THIS TIME TOMORROW...