To God be the glory...

Just writing the title right now is making me cry again.  I cannot count the times I have sobbed, cried or teared up today...NOT IN SADNESS but in rejoicing, in thankfulness and in praising our AWESOME Creator for what He did today.

As many of you know, who have been following our journey, Uganda adoptions have been slowed and we thought almost stopped because the new consular at the United States embassy in Uganda wanted different wording in the rulings that the judges gave.  They wanted them to say that the child could be adopted back in the united states and until the rulings were changed the US embassy would not grant visas.  So in the mean time friends of ours that we have gotten to know on this journey have been there weeks and months with their children, fighting to bring them home! 

Well...things were looking pretty bad and a few weeks ago Jim and I decided to take the next two weeks and pray and seek the Lord for wisdom because we felt like He called us to Uganda but it seemed like the door was shutting so we wanted to know what He wanted us to do.  However, just two days ago Jim and I discussed that God had not given us peace about leaving Uganda and that He actually was making me fall in love with this country more and more.  God even reminded me of in the beginning of this journey when He spoke to my heart and said to go to Uganda...so we decided two days ago that even though it looked bad, we were going to keep waiting, praying and seeking the Lord and hoping for a resolution in Uganda!  

Little did we know that two days later (TODAY) we would get an answer!  I also realized that today is EXACTLY TWO weeks from when we first prayed that God would help give us an answer by the end of the two weeks so we would know what to do!!!  How awesome is that!

SO HERE IS THE GREAT NEWS.....

God has worked in the heart of the Chief of Justice in Uganda and today He gave all the judges permission to rule on legal guardianships and change the ruling to include THAT THE CHILD CAN BE ADOPTED IN THE UNITED STATES!  Praise the Lord!   All our friends over there who have been fighting and waiting are now getting court dates and will be going home SOON!  WooHoo!  We now are waiting to hear if the embassy will confirm that this new ruling is acceptable and if they will start issuing visas again.We also are waiting to hear if this just applies to the families over there right now or all of the future families like us also...BUT still this is such great news and such a HUGE step for this resolution to be completely done! So please keep praying...

To say I happy or exciting or even thankful is an understatement...there are NO WORDS right now for how we are feeling!  God gets ALL the glory for this...this was SO BIG and SO HUGE that ONLY God could do this!  He worked in the details and worked in the hearts...what a personal, loving God we have!  I have not been able to wipe this smile off my face all day!  God hears our prayers...THANK YOU FOR PRAYING FOR US AND FOR THIS SITUATION and for all of you that texted, called, asked at church or emailed/blogged and asked how the situation was doing and that you were praying...WE COULD NEVER THANK YOU ENOUGH!  God answered our prayers!

A blog friend who is also adopting from Uganda said "The challenge will be to remember this excitement and transfer it to the waiting periods and the valleys too... those ones that aren't as glamorous." ...


I agree and I am thankful she reminded us of this so that we can remember in months and years to come when we may have another trial or waiting period, we can look back and remember what our God did through this situation and the miracle He worked and that He is faithful and will also get us through whatever we are going through at that time!  It reminded me of the song "Desert Song" by Hillsong where it says..."This is my prayer in the harvest, when favor and providence flow...I KNOW I'M FILLED TO BE EMPTIED AGAIN, the seed I've received I will sow."

oh gosh...here i am crying again....please continue praying as I we still are waiting for the confirmation from the embassy and of course prayer throughout this whole adoption journey would be awesome!  We got pictures today from a friend over there, of the babies home that most likely Isabella will be from.  A wonderful pastor and his wife and their organization/church are building it and its suppose to be done by the end of April and we are first on their list of the first baby girl they find!  The building and land are beautiful and the pastor's wife even had our friend take a picture of her in the babies home hallway waving to us and told her to tell us she is so excited to meet us and have us meet our daughter!  Oh how I cannot wait!  My heart longs to be in Uganda...not just because of Isabella (which of course that will be so amazing) but also because God is putting a strong love and desire in my heart for this country and I cannot wait to love on these people and orphans and hug them and tell them how much Jesus loves them!  I want to serve and be His hands and feet!

In closing I will leave you with this... (Oh how He loves us by David Crowder band)

LYRICS:

He is jealous for me, Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realize just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

And oh, how He loves us oh
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us all

He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.

And we are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,
If His grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking.
And heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss,
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest,
I don’t have time to maintain these regrets,
When I think about, the way…That He loves us!



All glory to God,