What Beautiful Treasures God Brings!

Real quick while I have a free moment I want to report that all went well with our very memorable "gotcha" day. So many memories to share and we will catch you up on them just as soon as there is some time, but in a nutshell we were set to meet at 2 pm so we leisurely went to breakfast with hopes to pass some of the time later getting ready for our afternoon meeting. As we were just wrapping up breakfast we were met by Alexandra, our interpreter, who said they were ready to meet us earlier, and that we needed to be there at 10AM. What a surprise to us, because this news came at 9:45am meaning we must hurry get ready. They called again as we were enroute to let us know the children had arrived and they were eager to meet us. The meeting went so well and when we met the children there was no doubt in our minds how much God's hands were there. We met also with the wonderful foster mothers who had taken such wonderful and loving care of our children, and I was very emotional and so very thankful for meeting with them and showing the appreciation they are so incredibly worthy of! We will eternally be grateful for the love and direction they have shown to the children! They are very good kids and just a joy to be around. Fabian is mastering the english language quite nicely. I will write more when I have a chance. We just got back from the pool (which they loved) and we are hungry. Pictures later, I promise!

Love to all and thanks for your prayers! God is so good!
Genece

We've arrived!

This will be a short post to let everyone know that we arrived safely in our travels to Cucuta today. We love it here and they weren't kidding when this place was described as HOT and HUMID. The real funny thing is that today they are experiencing the coldest of days here and sadly so it's in the 70s and it's considered cold outside.

I'll give more of an update tomorrow, but wanted to thank everyone for their prayers and there's no doubt about it, God has been leading the way for us and His wonderful presence surrounds us in such incredible ways! This has been shown in so many ways and through the many wonderful people who we've encountered along the way on this journey so far.

We love our hotel and Colombia is really a beautiful place. More tomorrow.... but until then may God bless you abundantly. He sure has done that for us and we're so close now to experiencing the many blessings He has in store for us. Hours from now... it's hard to perceive!

Love to all!

We made it to Oregon safely!

We are in Oregon and made it safely here. We are certainly exhausted as we are surviving on less than 2 hours sleep in the past almost 2 days, but we are hoping to rest for a few days before we pick up our next leg of the travel on our journey to Colombia. Our visas arrived here in Oregon today so we are cleared to go. So far the only item we left in Alaska is the laptop, but with the help of our great (and trusty) friends, the Reno family, we hope to receive that by way of Fedex either tomorrow or Wednesday. It is a much-needed item for our trip and I can't believe we left without it, but in our rush-enhanced state of mind we were so frantically racing in the midst a treacherous snowstorm to get to the airport. I'll explain in more detail a little later, but wanted to let you know we made it to Oregon! We've met some wonderful people as we're traveling whom we need to thank & we want to extend our thanks to them also.

The journey continues... and when I have a fresh mind I'll write more. We're counting our blessings and looking forward to the countdown as we are only days away now! Praise God!

Love, Genece

The date is set!

Alright, so much has transpired in the past few days, and complete chaos has ensued, but with great enthusiasm we report our date is set! We'll meet our children on Monday, November the 19th! How fitting that the 19th would be the date issued as our "Gotcha Day" because and for the past 2 months now faithfully every week I would check airfares and availability on flights over to Colombia, and ALWAYS kept with the same dates... and oddly so, it was always with the assumption we would receive our children on the 19th! Never once did I deviate from the thought of preparing for travel around the 19th. It just amazes me so. Looking back it's hard to believe now that all along I've had that particular date pinpointed for such a monumental event, and I'm learning to be thankful for and to discern the wisdom God places upon me! This one was clearly a sign from God on His perfect timing, but all along I didn't want to wait. So many times I wanted to hit the fast forward button, but hey I'm learning to be patient because I know of His faithfulness!

I'll write more tomorrow as I am just drained after staring at computer screens displaying flight possibilities and potential routes and fares for the past day and a half. I'm happy to say we've locked in our flights and I still have all limbs intact after paying -- but only barely... LOL! Really, it was a huge enlightenment process, and to think that for years I actually dreamed of being a travel agent! Just INSANE!! Wow, back in the day I really was a little jealous of so many of my friends who went on to "travel school". I can honestly say that after spending over one and a half days parked right in front of the computer searching for the best online deals, I'm wiped out! I could not imagine making a career of it.

I'll write more when I'm thinking more clearly.

Many Blessings,
Genece

Signed Acceptance

Today we sent off our official Acceptance Letter to Colombia stating how thrilled we are to accept the referral of our three children! We will hear back within the next few days when we are set to meet the children! The ICBF will coordinate a date for us to appear to meet the children and we must adhere to that date. We'll have to apply for and receive our visas before traveling, which we're hoping will go smoothly and very fast. Our visas are processed out of the San Francisco consulate's office and since we're in Alaska, this might be fun to arrange sending the documents back and forth. We fully expect the Colombian officials will set a quick travel date for us to appear due to several reasons. Mostly because we are approaching the holiday season and need to move on this so we are able to finish the adoption in time for a return to the U.S. before Christmas. We're so looking forward to having a wonderful Christmas this year with our children, so the rush we're prepared for is well worth it! We'll have so much more to celebrate as we honor Christ on His birthday!

It is worthy of noting that some of our online friends who are also adopting 3 children and turned their paperwork in just one week ago got issued their date and they gave them a presentation date of less than 2 weeks away! In that short timeframe of one and a half weeks they must make their travel preparations, apply for visas, arrange for lodging, etc., arrive in Colombia, and meet their children on that specific date. Amazingly QUICK!! We fully expect our timeframes to be quite similar! Approximately 2 weeks time to prepare -- YIKES!!! A bit overwhelming? Well definitely! But we know that God will help us through it and that through Him ALL things are possible!

As more info becomes available I'll try to get the word out. Keep the prayers going up as we are still in need of many! I could use more specific prayers for my own sanity to remain intact here in the final stretch! Feel free to intercede on my behalf as much as you wish to... I feel a great need for some help!

Thanks for your support and we'll write more when we have a free moment.

Love, Genece

We got their pictures!

Our agency sent pictures of the children and they are much more wonderful than we ever imagined! They’re just perfect in our eyes. Marissa stated they didn’t even look Colombian – as if Colombians had a certain look to uphold and couldn’t stray from having that particular look! Silly Marissa! I must admit, there’s clearly a resemblance between our new daughter, Karen, and her new sister, Marissa, so perhaps Marissa wasn’t expecting her new sister to look so much like her. The boy, Fabian, also resembles some of Rick’s side of the family members when they were younger. It’s just amazing how God weaves us together so intricately when He brings families together! Then there’s the baby – naturally precious just because all babies to me are like that. Make no mistake, he’s simply adorable! It reminds me of when Marissa was born and one of my most voiceful and opinionated friends remarked upon seeing her in the hospital nursery, “She’s actually beautiful and I’m not telling a lie like I normally do when I look at newborns. She really is a beautiful baby!.” She went into full explanation detailing the essence of cuteness that all babies naturally have, but most didn’t carry beauty… whatever that means! She was never the best of my friends, but presented a different take on things, for sure, and somewhere in that huge explanation I’m sure there was a compliment or two.

I wish I could post their pictures right now so you could see what I mean, but I have to wait a bit for that. For now you’ll have to take my word that they are very beautiful children and it’s clear to see why God chose them to become part of our family! God’s loving touch is so amazing and to witness His extravagant works has been magnificently rewarding!

We are expecting the information on the children to come on Monday. We’d love to see it earlier, like maybe today, so we could read it over the weekend! We are all so very excited to learn much more about the children, and more eager to get moving along with this adoption process. I know I’ll certainly rest a bit easier once they assign our presentation day (which is the day we’ll meet the kids), and we’re able to finalize our travel dates and make our reservations, etc. Great relief will come upon completion of that phase of this adoption, I just know it!

We thank everyone so much for the support and encouragement sent our way! It means everything to us! We ask that you continue to keep our family in your prayers as we embark upon this journey. Please pray specifically for God’s protection of our precious little Colombian children, Fabian, Karen, and Luis.

May God bless you all in many wonderful ways!

-genece-

Our REFERRAL Came!

Our apologies for not posting sooner about our referral coming, but I can attest firsthand how easily things move from a smooth/steady pace instantly to an out of control spin when the actual REFERRAL call comes in. Simply WILD!! At least that's what it seemed to do for us. We now have more of our composure intact and are able to more accurately depict the miraculous transformation God has been (and continues) making in our lives. My, my, my, what surprises Our Father brings! We are so grateful -- truly blessed in ways immeasurable!

Read on and you'll know what I'm referring to...

On Thursday late afternoon we got "the call" we'd been officially matched which brought a sense of elation beyond imagination! To hear those happy words that we'd been assigned a referral left me with joy filling my heart. As I peaked to a level of excitement that was almost scary, and as I hung on every word my case manager was saying, a little pause came followed by her speaking the word BUT which usually warrants a 180 degree turnaround of emotion. As she told of the referral, gave the children's ages and genders, then followed that with saying, " ...BUT, we as an agency don't recommend you take this referral!" I immediately went into tough-mama-bear-protecting-her-cubs mode! Honestly I couldn't believe how negative the agency was being then. Still, as the days pass they haven't swayed from their position still offering negativity and trying to discourage us from taking this referral. Nothing really new to encounter as we've certainly experienced much disappointment handed down from the agency thus far in the entire adoption proces. Our gratitude goes out to God for strengthening us in those troubling times we've endured! The turmoil we endured was painful at times but so necessary for the fight that was to come. We thank you God for stretching us and preparing us for our future!

Okay, back to the referral....sorry for getting off base, but had to give a little shout out for God's protection and guidance for all He's done for us! Our referral is one the agency finds to be extremely rare, from what they keep saying. Rick and I are as happy as happy can be and cannot wait to meet our children.

It's for a sibling group of 3 children (2 boys and one girl) -- the oldest who is a boy, age 9; then a girl, age 7; and then a baby boy, age 8 months. Yes, that's no typo... a baby boy! What awesome gifts from God!

We will receive their information in a few days as it is being translated right now which takes a few days. We will post more information as we learn more. We're excited to learn about their personalities and wondering what they will be like! As you can tell we are very anxious for those materials to get here. We know they were placed for us by God! There are too many instances in this process where God has lifted us up and opened our hearts in order to prepare ourselves for the infant and the other children we are about to receive! It's just amazing! So very humbling!

Thank you for your prayers. We need them!

So now we at least know who is waiting in Cucuta, which is a pure blessing -- 3 little blessings as a matter of fact! Luckily I even still have some baby things from when I was doing child care years back, and some even as far back as when Marissa was little. Rick had been hounding me for the past year even to part with all the baby/toddler toys & stuff we'd accumulated, but I wouldn't stand for it Crazy how that works!

As soon as more info comes in, I'll report it. I've been learning to stand firm with our agency as they continue to strongly advise us against taking these children as a referral, but with our trust firmly placed in the Lord, our Saviour, He will give us all the strength we need to fend off anything the enemy brings forth. Even though our agency doesn't back the decisions made for our family, WE DO, because we know God stands with us and He is the divine matchmaker! He makes NO mistakes! God works the many miracles in our lives -- HALLELUJAH! Your prayers, as always, are greatly appreciated! We thank you for your support!

Love, Genece & Rick