So lately I've run into folks who've said, "Any news? I haven't been by the blog lately." To which my response has been, "I haven't either!" Life is busy. Summer is busy and fun! In our little family, we squeeze all we can out of summer. In fact, we slept in a tent last night, in our backyard! Good times, except I never realized how many trains go by in the middle of the night, and I live probably a mile from train tracks, and they blow their whistle in the middle of the night, so then I got concerned, and the mind goes.............anyways. Coffeeeeeee.....
We do have NEWS! And this is especially exciting, because about 4-5 days after my last blog post asking everyone to pray, which was something God laid on my heart, essentially, "ask others to pray too!" So I did, and you did (THANK YOU!!) and a few days later we received news from our agency that Benjamin Tae-Ju would be submitted for Emigration Permission the following week! WOW! What an answer to prayer!! I was amazed at this really, and felt God had answered ALL of your prayers for Benjamin with movement in the process. Well, the next week came and went, and no news......instead that he would be submitted for Emigration Permission on July 30th. Thus the ups and downs of the process - get excited, get a little disappointed, hold onto the prize, and conclude there's nothing we can do except pray and love and be thankful and trust the Lord. Then on July 25th, we wake up to an email to find out, Benjamin Tae-Ju had been submitted for Emigration Permission! YAY!! (That's the funny thing about a South Korea program - they're a day ahead in a way, because while we are sleeping it was daytime in Korea (really, about 12 hours ahead), so we can wake up to news).
This is the "next step", the step we have been waiting for since March 1, 2012. You would think I'd go screaming it from the rooftops. I looked at Adam across the room, and smiled and felt thankful, yet surprisingly nervous a little. I think through the process, we have become more hesitant, careful with our hearts in interpreting whatever news we receive. We feel nervous to celebrate sometimes, nervous the news was wrong or worried for a delay, but this news is happy, and we should rejoice, not worry.
The next step has happened and we praise God. Our son is one step closer to coming home. :-) His paperwork which has sat (though it has been compiled, reviewed, and translated at our agency) has moved in Korea, off a desk and sent to the Ministry of Health and Wellness. His case has been "submitted for Emigration Permission". The ball is rolling..............
Awesome! I've actually feel like dancing like the Israelites after they crossed the Red Sea and the water crashed back down on Pharoah's army and they finally felt safe! Think about the movie "Prince of Egypt" at the end.........(Belle LOVES that movie!)
So we celebrated! Took the kiddos to Hoffman's Playland and had a family day.
So what now? We continue to pray! And ask you to pray for his process to move along steadily. It is our hope he will be home for Christmas. We would love to be with him for his third Christmas. There are still a few steps to go........
- Steps -
Emigration Permission submission - DONE - July 25th- Emigration Permission approval (will take 6-8 weeks - mid-late Sept.)
- (Under the old laws this is where we would travel a month laterish, but now under the new laws the following steps remain and unfortunately add a few months to the process).
- Benjamin's paperwork submitted to Family Court for review (about 2 weeks later - in October)
- Assigned a Court Date which dictates first trip (not sure how long this takes, 2 weeks?)
- First Week-long Trip to South Korea (includes meeting Benjamin and appearance in Family Court)
- 14 Day Waiting Period (Hoping for November)
- Second Week-long Trip to South Korea (Despite the waiting period only being 14 days, families seem to be traveling about 3 weeks later for Second Trip. Goal of this trip: Bring Benjamin home! Hoping for December.)
As I write out those steps my stomach gets all weird, realizing just how close we'll be cutting it to Christmas, that we might not make it and just looking at the remaining steps. But its okay.
I've learned not to stay in the sadness that creeps in. Some days its hard to let go of, and I have to ask God to help me give him my worries and longing for my little boy. Other days, its easier, and I look at my daughter now in the backyard soaring on her swing without worry, and she reminds me of the joy God wants me to feel, delight in the moments, to live with gratitude, and to just plain trust Him.
Thank you for praying. I will say our summer months have been filled with a peace that passes all understanding and when I think of Benjamin, I don't feel sad. I feel excited and blessed to be his mommy, and while 6 months feels LONG, its also really short compared to the wait that's behind us now. Can't wait, can't wait, can't wait!
Oh, AND on the day we got news Benjamin was submitted for "EP" (Emigration Permission" - we received 3 new photos of him in our email (again, answer to prayer, thank you Lord!) - ask me to see them (I carry his pic with me)! He looks super cute!
Before we know it, we'll be crossing the ocean to be family!
