Decisions...decisions...

If you've been keeping up then you know that Mexico pretty much has closed its doors to US adoptions.  We were very upset as that is what got us to the adoption point in the first place.  We got through the sadness and we prayed through the disappointment.  We both felt strongly that God had still called us to adoption....we just had to figure out where.  We considered domestic and several different countries; we talked to Lifeline here locally and discussed options.  Today we feel like God gave us peace about the answer to that question.  We will be switching agencies and going through Lifeline here locally and adopting from...
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...drum roll please...
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CHINA!!!
We're very excited and talked to the kids tonight at dinner (well...their dinner...they were eating...I've been a little under the weather today so chose not to eat...probably too much info, but welcome to social media).

Please continue to pray for us as we go through this journey.  We still have a lot of money to raise and I'm pretty sure the kids still don't totally understand what's about to hit them (neither do their parents!), but we've learned through the years to obey when God tells us to do something!! Thank you for those prayers that have already gone up and thanks in advance for the prayers that you'll continue to pray for us!  It's amazing to me that a predominantly Catholic country isn't more helpful with getting their orphans matched with willing forever families, but a Communist country is...God's ways are higher and we're resting in that fact!!!  Come back for more updates and I'll post as we have them...

Fork in the road or flaw in the slaw...whatever you prefer

Like sands through the hourglass so are the adoption days of our lives.  Last week we received news from our adoption agency that we had hoped and prayed we wouldn't.  Mexico's CA (central authority) for the DIF (government run orphanages that we were adopting through) denied the appeal made by our agency.  We are saddened and unsure of what to do next at this point.  There aren't any other agencies doing adoptions through Mexico right now.  We knew that Mexico was one of the more difficult countries to adopt from and had been warned about that by EVERYONE.  But we believe these children deserve forever families also.  So many people shy away from Mexico because of how difficult it is and we have had such a love for the people of Mexico (specifically Matamoros in the state of Tamaulipas) for so long that it just made sense for us.  We obviously know first hand now why people told us how hard it was to adopt from there, but we still believe those precious orphans...innocent children...need forever families.

Now we're left with so many questions.  Who will be able to adopt those children?  Will they ever get forever families before aging out of the system?  Will they ever know that they were wanted...that there were families in America that wanted to take them into their family as their very own just as Christ did for me?  And the biggest question for our family is...now what?  The only way that we can answer that is the same way we answer pretty much everything else in our family...much more prayer.  We would covet your prayers for us as a family for guidance and clear direction from the Lord...that Ernie and I would be of one accord with that direction from the Lord and for peace for whatever the Lord says for us to do.  We have been and are still asking for a miracle...MY GOD STILL WORKS MIRACLES!!!!  I believe that God is Who He says He is and can do what He says He can do.  He can change the hearts of any woman or man ANYWHERE in a split second.  I KNOW and totally believe that, but if He chooses not to do that then we have some difficult decisions to make and the hardest part is that it means Mexico won't be a part of it.

God knew this when we started this process.  We know that He wasn't surprised by this and we rest in His sovereignty.  God is always good and knows what is best for His children.  We are grateful for that and know that He will reveal what He has for our family next.  He has already begun doing that in other areas of our lives so we know that He Who has begun a good work will be faithful to complete it in our family.

Thanks for sticking with us throughout this process and please continue to pray for wisdom and we'll continue to keep you updated.

Prayers Needed TODAY...

We just got notification from our adoption agency that there will be a conference call this afternoon for those of us in the Mexico program waiting to adopt.  They were supposed to appeal the denial from the Mexican government so please pray that this is good news and that the appeal process was positive!!!!  That is all that we are praying and believing right now in this.  Thanks!!!

Sadness...

Our adoption agency had a conference call last week to give us an update on what is going on with the approval and it wasn't good.  The Mexican government has decided that they are no longer approved.  They are going to try and appeal the process, but right now it doesn't look good.  If the appeal isn't positive then we will have to make some hard decisions on what to do next.  There aren't many agencies that have approved and active Mexico programs.  We haven't ruled out another country yet, but Mexico has ALWAYS been first and foremost on our minds because of the mission work that we've done there for over a decade.  We're trying not to get discouraged, but if I were to be honest I feel like the enemy is kicking us while we're already down.  Please pray that my God that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all we could ever ask or think would please intervene in this process.

Two Adoption Notes...

1. Thursday of this week, June 10th, is the big day! Please pray as our adoption agency, Gladney, will be trying to work things out with the people in government in Mexico to get everything straightened out with clearances so that we can proceed with adoption (among many other people)!!!

2. Another way that you can help us bring our daughter (or daughters) home from Mexico is buying a Boston butt July 4th weekend (and your participation would be a wonderful way to say "Happy Birthday" to me as I share a birthday with our wonderful country on the 4th)!!! We will be selling some of the best BBQ ever for $25 on Saturday, July 3rd at Cahaba Heights Baptist Church. We're only taking advance orders so money is due June 25th (checks made payable to either Ernie Willis or Michele Willis...or both!). Remember that we have to do advanced orders to know how many to smoke all night the night before so please print out the form below and turn in to one of us with your check or cash.

Thank you all so much for helping us in our journey...we love you all so much!!

Order Form -

God is so good!!!

We've been praying about this adoption stuff with the whole Interpol issue and have been a little discouraged quite honestly and we're just in the begining! Anyway, we were on the internet tonight doing a little research and came across some blogs of other adoptive families from Gladney...both Mexico adoptions!!! Anyway, this blog gives the best explanation I've heard so far of what is going on currently with all of this stuff. Please pray on June 10th!!! You'll see what to specifically pray on that blog. Thank you for joining us in prayer and believing in faith with us and for going on our journey with us!!! It was so sweet and good of God to encourage us through other believe in cyber world that we don't even know!!! Thank You, God!!!

Please pray...

Quick update just to ask for prayer. Our agency is having a few issues with Interpol clearance in Mexico. I don't understand it all, but basically adoptions can't happen until that is cleared up and there are families that are a lot further along in this process than we are. We knew that Mexico is a challenge for adoptions, but since when have we done anything the easy way? :-) Anyway, please pray that this gets taken care of so that we can move forward with everything!!!

On a more positive note, we had our first meeting regarding our home study today and we're very excited! Next we'll do fingerprints and background checks and get this party started! Oh yeah...and more fundraisers on the horizon!!! BBQ and July 4th...great combination!

May thoughts...

I'm about a week from leaving for Mexico on another mission trip. There are so many things that go through my mind before these trips. It's probably not what you think though. I was talking with some friends the other night who are getting ready to go on a mission trip to Africa in August and they've had some of the same questions that hubby and I get as well. People asked us if we're scared about going...scared of getting sick or for our safety. As we were talking to our friends the other night we all said that none of us had really given that much thought. We truly feel called to go on this trip and when you feel called you know that there isn't a choice anyway and that nothing will happen outside of His will. I'm excited more than scared honestly! We've been so many times but each trip is always very unique. We will be doing back yard Bible VBS clubs in different areas with the kids, medical missions and food drops.

Please pray for us as we're gone for safety, health and for the glory and power of the Lord to be in all of our service. We want people to see Christ in us more than anything. Last prayer request regarding this trip is a little personal. We've been praying for quite some time about adopting a daughter from Mexico. We are going to talk to the orphanage that we will be working with there about doing that directly and what will be involved in that process and if it's even possible. This will be a time of fact finding to help us make an informed decision that is best for our family. We want what God wants in regard to this decision so please join us in prayer for clear direction in this area.

Please also pray for our house to be shown many times while we're gone and that the Lord would send the buyers for our house that week. I think that would be just like the sweetness of the Lord to do that while we're working for Him in another country! We desire so badly to be closer to our church family so that we can serve them as they deserve and get to know them better.

Thank you so much for your prayers in advance. I'll be sure to post about our trip when we return. Sorry that it has been so long since my last post. Time seems to tick away more quickly with each passing day. 24 hours ain't what it used to be! :-)