Hello!
I have more to write about what we've been up to lately but here's a link to our first blog post for ABBA Canada. We are so thankful that they granted us $3000 toward our adoption expenses!
ABBA Canada Blog
Picture to come!
Marcie
Showing posts with label Adoption. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Adoption. Show all posts
Sunday, November 23, 2014
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Adoption: How long will the wait be?
Hello!
It seems like every time I see someone that I haven't seen for a while they ask, "How are things going with the adoption?" The short answer is, "Still slow." We updated our police clearances while we were in Canada this summer (since our province now requires them yearly) but that doesn't really have any impact on our wait time.
The longer and more complicated answer is that we're 48 "days" out. Our file was logged into the system in China on January 29, 2007. They (people in China) have currently processed files up to December 12, 2006. Forty-eight days' difference. That doesn't sound too far off but, considering that they processed less than 35 days' worth of files in all of 2013, it will still take a while. That's an average of almost three days per month. This year started off at a faster pace but seems to have slowed down again. So my best guess right now is to expect a referral sometime next fall. But you never know what might happen. I'm praying that we can travel to China before all of our paperwork expires again (the beginning of 2016.)
It seems like every time I see someone that I haven't seen for a while they ask, "How are things going with the adoption?" The short answer is, "Still slow." We updated our police clearances while we were in Canada this summer (since our province now requires them yearly) but that doesn't really have any impact on our wait time.
The longer and more complicated answer is that we're 48 "days" out. Our file was logged into the system in China on January 29, 2007. They (people in China) have currently processed files up to December 12, 2006. Forty-eight days' difference. That doesn't sound too far off but, considering that they processed less than 35 days' worth of files in all of 2013, it will still take a while. That's an average of almost three days per month. This year started off at a faster pace but seems to have slowed down again. So my best guess right now is to expect a referral sometime next fall. But you never know what might happen. I'm praying that we can travel to China before all of our paperwork expires again (the beginning of 2016.)
Thanks for asking and for praying for us!
Marcie Cooper
Friday, June 13, 2014
Waiting
Waiting.
Sometimes it's hard to wait. It's hard for my kids to wait for birthdays, vacations and visits from grandparents. They can't wait for a trip to Canada. We wait for mail to come every two weeks and for missionaries to come back from being away. And we've been waiting to adopt a baby from China for a very long time. I first wrote about it on here in 2012. In 2013, I thought it would still be over a year of waiting but now, in 2014, it might still be another year. We wait for news from China that comes every few weeks or couple of months. It seems like forever in between. I check an adoption forum and Facebook group more often than I'd like to admit. I calculate the days in between referrals and average the amount of files processed to guess when we might get a call. Then I start to question if we're really supposed to be in this process after over seven YEARS of waiting and more to go. But every time I question it, something significant happens. Take this week, for example. I felt like I was waiting for a lot of things. I was waiting for replies to several e-mails and to hear about an appointment I was trying to book for our time in Canada. I was waiting for news from other missionaries and waiting to find out if we were approved for an adoption grant we had applied for. I was distracted and kept checking the computer every time I walked past it. I started to wonder if we were really supposed to keep going with our adoption. Then, last night, I went to prayer meeting at church. I debated whether or not to put our adoption on the list of prayer requests. I heard another lady share about her daughter getting into a private bilingual high school that cost way more than her family could afford. She was praying for scholarships. A humble mom was trusting that if God wanted her daughter to go there, He would provide the finances to make it possible. I added our adoption to the list and prayed that God would, once again, provide for our needs and make it clear that we were to continue.
Today, I got a lot of e-mails. I got my appointment booked and heard from our missionary friends. But the most exciting e-mail was from ABBA Canada telling us that we're receiving a grant to help with our adoption agency expenses. It was an answer to prayer for us and for family and friends praying with us. Our wait for a baby (or toddler?) from China will continue but we trust that it is God's plan for our family and that His timing is perfect. Thanks so much for praying for us.
Marcie Cooper
But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31
Friday, June 28, 2013
Summer Update
Hello!
Since it's been a while since I've written, I thought I'd give you an update on our family and ministry here in the Dominican Republic.
1) Paul has kept busy as Director of ANIJA with hiring, scheduling and planning for the fall. We've also attended a couple more graduations.
Our school only goes through Grade 8 but students can continue to be sponsored through high school if they get good grades, are part of our high school club, and continue to attend church.
2) I am relieved to be done planning Bible curriculum and doing training sessions for our summer program. I have been on antibiotics for two weeks for a painful cyst in my nose and haven't had a lot of energy. Prayers are appreciated!
3) Our three kids have probably been watching too many movies but have also been enjoying the summer.
4) We have been quite discouraged by the Chinese adoption process. We haven't had any news from China for a couple months since, apparently, they've had some bugs in their new computer system. Please pray for us as we update our homestudy in Ontario again this summer. We just applied for International Police checks today so our paperwork has begun once again!
Since it's been a while since I've written, I thought I'd give you an update on our family and ministry here in the Dominican Republic.
1) Paul has kept busy as Director of ANIJA with hiring, scheduling and planning for the fall. We've also attended a couple more graduations.
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| First Grade Graduation |
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| High School Graduation |
2) I am relieved to be done planning Bible curriculum and doing training sessions for our summer program. I have been on antibiotics for two weeks for a painful cyst in my nose and haven't had a lot of energy. Prayers are appreciated!
3) Our three kids have probably been watching too many movies but have also been enjoying the summer.
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| Our bookworm has opted to attend the summer program every morning at ANIJA. They're studying Oceania and learning about Daniel and Esther. |
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| Our little climber is still at it! |
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| We build with blocks and trains EVERY day with this boy! |
THANK YOU to those of you who are praying for us and supporting us financially. We cannot adequately express how much we appreciate you!
Marcie Cooper
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Eternal God
Hello!
At the end of every month, we watch for adoption news of referrals from China. I just saw a rumour today that they have matched SIX days of files. This is the most that they have matched since October. We are counting down the days until it is our turn although it looks like it will still be over a year to wait.
This week, my Bible study group is looking at the Eternal character of God. We are so finite in our counting of days but God is eternal. Listen to what these verses say:
At the end of every month, we watch for adoption news of referrals from China. I just saw a rumour today that they have matched SIX days of files. This is the most that they have matched since October. We are counting down the days until it is our turn although it looks like it will still be over a year to wait.
This week, my Bible study group is looking at the Eternal character of God. We are so finite in our counting of days but God is eternal. Listen to what these verses say:
Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
(Psalm 90:1-2)
"I am the Alpha and Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."
(Revelation 1:8)
What an encouragement! I'm out of internet time since we're on vacation for Semana Santa or "Holy Week." If you don't hear from me before then, have a Happy Easter!
Marcie Cooper
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Adoption Days
Hello!
"So, how is your adoption going?" is a question that we are asked on a regular basis. "Slow" or "really slow" has been our answer for quite a while. Everything is based on when our file was logged into the system in China. January 29, 2007--almost six years ago! Every month (it used to be every couple weeks) files are matched with babies in China. For a long time now they have only been matching a few DAYS worth of files each month. From June to September this year they were only averaging 3 DAYS per month. They were up to September 24, 2006. People on an adoption blog that I follow started to speculate that China was going to close down the program we are in and just do special needs adoptions. I was discouraged. Even at that rate, it would take YEARS for us to get a referral (name, picture, and info about a baby.) I started to pray. I prayed that the program wouldn't close down before we got a baby and that things would speed up.
In October, China matched 13 DAYS worth of files! It brought them up to October 8, 2006. The statistics-keeping adoption website had only predicted that 1 DAY's worth of files would be matched. It was 13 TIMES what they predicted! Thank you, God! What an encouragement in a very long and often discouraging process.
I don't know if the speed-up will continue or if it was just making up for slower days in the previous months. But I do know that I will continue to pray and trust that God will bring us the right child in His perfect timing. 113 DAYS of files more to go.
Waiting and praying,
Marcie Cooper
Click here to read the beginning of our adoption story
"So, how is your adoption going?" is a question that we are asked on a regular basis. "Slow" or "really slow" has been our answer for quite a while. Everything is based on when our file was logged into the system in China. January 29, 2007--almost six years ago! Every month (it used to be every couple weeks) files are matched with babies in China. For a long time now they have only been matching a few DAYS worth of files each month. From June to September this year they were only averaging 3 DAYS per month. They were up to September 24, 2006. People on an adoption blog that I follow started to speculate that China was going to close down the program we are in and just do special needs adoptions. I was discouraged. Even at that rate, it would take YEARS for us to get a referral (name, picture, and info about a baby.) I started to pray. I prayed that the program wouldn't close down before we got a baby and that things would speed up.
In October, China matched 13 DAYS worth of files! It brought them up to October 8, 2006. The statistics-keeping adoption website had only predicted that 1 DAY's worth of files would be matched. It was 13 TIMES what they predicted! Thank you, God! What an encouragement in a very long and often discouraging process.
I don't know if the speed-up will continue or if it was just making up for slower days in the previous months. But I do know that I will continue to pray and trust that God will bring us the right child in His perfect timing. 113 DAYS of files more to go.
Waiting and praying,
Marcie Cooper
Click here to read the beginning of our adoption story
Monday, March 5, 2012
Adoption
Hello!
Today I want to share with you about a dream that we have to adopt a baby from China. It goes back to when I was nineteen years old and volunteered in a Chinese orphanage. Healthy baby girls had been abandoned just because they were girls and they did not have enough people to love them and care for them. I fell in love with those beautiful babies and knew that, no matter what other children I had, I wanted to adopt a baby girl from China. The problem was that the Chinese government said that I had to be thirty-five. That seemed like a long way off. Later, that age changed to thirty and, even later than that, I turned thirty! By then I was married and had a little girl who I knew would love to play with a little sister from China. We filled out lots of paperwork that got approved, translated, and sent to China. Then adoptions from China slowed down. And then they slowed down some more. We had one baby boy. And then we had another baby boy. But we still wanted a baby girl from China!
We have been waiting with a file in China since January 2007. Today, we found out that the paperwork we updated in the summer has been approved and is good until February 2014. We hope to have a baby from China before then but it still looks like we're a long way down the list. It may take a while but we'll be sure to let you know when it happens!
Have a great day!
Marcie Cooper
Today I want to share with you about a dream that we have to adopt a baby from China. It goes back to when I was nineteen years old and volunteered in a Chinese orphanage. Healthy baby girls had been abandoned just because they were girls and they did not have enough people to love them and care for them. I fell in love with those beautiful babies and knew that, no matter what other children I had, I wanted to adopt a baby girl from China. The problem was that the Chinese government said that I had to be thirty-five. That seemed like a long way off. Later, that age changed to thirty and, even later than that, I turned thirty! By then I was married and had a little girl who I knew would love to play with a little sister from China. We filled out lots of paperwork that got approved, translated, and sent to China. Then adoptions from China slowed down. And then they slowed down some more. We had one baby boy. And then we had another baby boy. But we still wanted a baby girl from China!
We have been waiting with a file in China since January 2007. Today, we found out that the paperwork we updated in the summer has been approved and is good until February 2014. We hope to have a baby from China before then but it still looks like we're a long way down the list. It may take a while but we'll be sure to let you know when it happens!
Have a great day!
Marcie Cooper
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