News, Pictures, and Puzzles

It's been a while since my last update on the blog, and there's quite a bit of news. First, we got our final approval from China to adopt Brooklyn on October 30. On November 19 we received approval from USCIS. Our information is now being forwarded to the National Visa Center, who will then forward it to the U.S. Consulate in China. The Consulate will take two weeks to assure that all of the paperwork is ready. Once China has been notified that the consulate is ready they can issue a Travel Authorization (TA) and we can start planning our trip! We're hoping to meet Brooklyn on or before January 13!

Our agency sent a team to Brooklyn's orphanage last month and they sent us some pictures! It looks like she was having a good time.

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Can you resist this sweet face?

I can't wait to see that smile in person!

With that said we've still got puzzle pieces that we need to get sponsored. We're making progress, but we need your help to get it finished. Can you sponsor a puzzle piece for each member of your family?  Perhaps you would like to sponsor a piece in honor of a loved one. For each piece we'll write your name, or the name of your choice, on the back of the piece. Once completed we'll put the puzzle in a double sided frame so that Brooklyn will forever be able to see the names of the many people who cared enough to help bring her home.  Would it be possible to finish the puzzle by Thanksgiving so that we can get it hung in her room waiting for her? We can do it!

A Message from China!

Early this morning Deb's telephone rang. We didn't know what it was but got very excited when we realized that the call was from a family who was in China visiting Brooklyn's orphanage. We missed the call, but not the pictures that she sent. Doesn't this smile say it all?

She's taking her friend Tucker for a ride.

And taking herself for a ride.

Here she is with Tucker's Mom, Amy Abell. Thanks Amy for these precious photos!

After we got these pictures Miriam heard Deb in the kitchen this morning at 6:15 (which she doesn't do often) fixing my lunch for work. She said, "Hey M O M!! What are you doing up so early?" Deb told her she got a call from China a little after 5 a.m.! She sat up and said... "We got our LOA?" Deb said NO! Next best thing. Amy Abell sent us pictures of Brooklyn! She sat up even more... "CAN I SEE MY SISTER???" It was sweet to watch her little face as she saw her sister again.

We look forward to the the day when we can see this smile in person. Please pray that our LOA comes soon!

Can We Count You In?

We've not posted an update on the progress on the puzzle in a while. . . and there has been quite a bit of progress! About 3/4 of the pieces have been sponsored! Look at how it's coming together!

Would it be possible for the puzzle to be completed by Thanksgiving? Do you have your name on the puzzle yet? Have you been waiting for the right time? Now would be that time! We're hoping to be able to travel in January. It would be nice to go into the holidays with the peace of mind in knowing that the adoption is fully funded. If we can have the puzzle completed by Thanksgiving it gives us the opportunity to have it framed and in her room by Christmas and ready for her to come home in January. Can we count you in to sponsor one or more pieces to help us reach that goal?

For every $10 that you donate we'll write your name, or a name that you designate, on the back of a puzzle piece. Brooklyn will be able to see your name and know that you helped to make a difference in her life.

You can sponsor pieces of the puzzle by clicking on the Donate button on the left or by mailing a check to us:

John and Deb Rich

780 Sweetwater Circle

Old Hickory, TN  37138

Please be sure to include the exact names that you want on your pieces. If paying via the Paypal button please be sure to put Puzzle Pieces in the Purpose line and then click on Add Special Instructions to Recipient and put each name on a separate line in the box. If paying via check be sure to include this same information in a note included with the check.

A Gift of Bountiful Blessings

HAVE YOU HEARD THE NEWS????  

The cookbooks are IN!!!

$10

A Gift of Bountiful Blessings is the name of our adoption fundraising cookbook.  It was so named because God has blessed us with "Bountiful Blessings" through this adoption journey.  It contains 238 delicious recipes just waiting for you to try. 

Be sure to get your copy today.  It would also be a great birthday, Christmas  or any occasion present for friends and family!!!

You can get your copy today for only $10.  All proceeds from this cookbook will go towards the orphanage fee for our adoption.... so in other words... you will be helping us bring Brooklyn home!!!  

If you live in the Greater Nashville (including Smith County), Knoxville, or Williamsburg, KY areas we will be happy to deliver them to you. Please email us at john.rich780@comcast.net to place your order. We can also ship them to you.  Please add $3.25 for shipping and handling.  If we're shipping your cookbooks you can place your order through the Paypal Donate button located on left.  Please be sure to put cookbooks and how many copies you want in the Purpose section. We will send a confirmation email that we have received your order. 

What part can you play in this adoption???   1.  Buy a copy of the cookbook for yourself.

                                                                 2.  Get 3 (or more) friends, family or coworkers 

                                                                      to buy copies too.
                                                                 3.  Pray for us and Brooklyn through the remaining
                                                                      steps of the adoption process.

With many thanks to the 89 people that wove a strand into Brooklyn's life by helping us create this labor of love. It is our hope that you enjoy A Gift of Bountiful Blessings!

Where we Are

One of the questions that we get often is, "When are you going to bring Brooklyn home?" The answer to that question is I don't know." We can make some guesses based on where we are in the process, and those guesses will get better as we get closer. Unfortunately now isn't the time that we have much more certainty in our travel time.

Our next step in the process is to have an official log in date (LID). This is when the clock officially starts ticking in China toward the next major goal, a Letter of Acceptance (LOA). This is also when our agency told us that we can get an update, including an answer to some questions that we have, from the orphanage. We received word yesterday that there is an issue in which the agency is not getting online notification of LID dates. We were assured that everything is still moving in China, the agency just doesn't have access to the information about where our paperwork is in the process. Please pray with us that this is remedied soon and we'll have a quick LID.

The step to LOA is a very unknown timeframe right now. Some come within about a month while others wait three to four months. There does not appear to be any rhyme or reason. It is our prayer that our LID is in August and LOA comes by the first of October. If we can meet this timeline then we may possibly be travelling just before the end of the year. Otherwise travel will be sometime in early 2014. Please pray that our LOA comes quickly.

Once we have received LOA the process appears to be more predictable. It is about 60 days from LOA to Travel Authorization (TA). From TA travel can be as soon as a few days, but is more likely to be in the two to three week range. Of course, as with everything else, things can change.

I also have great news about the cookbooks. We have placed the order with the printer. We expect to have a shipment in 5 - 6 weeks. Be sure to get your copy from us when they arrive!

Count Your Blessings, Name Them One by One

While we can't begin to name all of the blessings that we have received during this process we can name a few from just yesterday and, as the old hymn says "see what God hath done!"

Yesterday was an exciting day at our house. We received an email late in the afternoon that we were officially DTC. This means that our adoption agency has officially delivered all of our paperwork (which is referred to as a dossier) to DHL to make the long trip to China. This is a HUGE event! After our dossier reaches China it will be logged in by the CCCWA, the agency that overseas adoption in China. We expect this to occur within one to three weeks. This begins the wait for our next big milestone, a Letter of Acceptance, which is referred to as LOA. The timeframe for receiving LOA is hard to predict right now. Please pray that this comes quickly so that we can bring our little Brooklyn home to her forever family.

We received this information on what was already a day of blessings. As Deb and Miriam were preparing to start their homeschool day, they heard the doorbell ring and were pleasantly surprised to see our neighbor and friend, Pastor H. L. Edwards from The Merge Church where we've been attending.  He came by to bring blessings for Brooklyn...a donation from the church. Thank You to Bro. H.L. and the Merge Church family! Your support has been encouraging and Bro. H.L. your messages have been so uplifting and God has spoken to us during many of them.  Brooklyn will forever see the part you and the church played in helping bring her home with the church's name on pieces of her puzzle!  THANK YOU!

The blessing kept pouring down as I reviewed the bank account that we have set up for Brooklyn's adoption and saw a deposit from Amazon. Thanks to those of you who have taken the time to click through our blog to Amazon. It will make a difference in the life of a little girl in China. The blessings didn't stop there, though.

We were blessed with a generous donation from a dear friend from Deb's hometown.  Thank you friend for your continued support of our family and this adoption!  You were a blessing on a special day!  We love you!

On this beautiful day in Tennessee showers of blessings continued to pour down upon a little girl on the other side of the world! When we count these blessings we are reminded of what God is doing and that He is good. 

Continued Blessings

We continue to be blessed throughout this adoption process by those who give time, money, and encouragement. This weekend was no exception as I had the opportunity to talk about our adoption with some of you at Pleasant Shade. We were also blessed with a gift from Pleasant Shade Upper Cumberland Presbyterian Church to go toward our adoption. We are ever so grateful. We have added these pieces to our puzzle!

There are now 444 precious pieces of this puzzle for which people have generously donated to weave a thread into the life of a little girl in China. Each donation, no matter how large or how small, has made a difference for a little girl who doesn't know what it means to have people who love her. As you can see there are still plenty of pieces waiting to be woven together to create a beautiful picture, bringing together Brooklyn's homeland on the front with the many people who made a difference on the back. Is God calling you to weave a thread into her life? Each piece sponsored for $10 will have your name written on the back, visible in the double sided frame that we will put it in. You can sponsor pieces by sending us a check to:

John and Deb Rich
780 Sweetwater Cir.
Old Hickory, TN 37138

You can also click on the Donate button on this page to donate via Paypal.

Dossier, airplane, cookbook, and puzzle

I just thought I would write a quick update. We were able to send our completed dossier (our official paperwork that has been our life for the last 6 months) to Washington D.C. to get final authentications from the U.S. State Department and the Chinese Embassy.

Miriam was really excited to know that our dossier was going on an airplane. She kept looking for the plane. I'm not sure she understood that it was going on a truck to the airport first.

With our paperwork arriving in D.C. today we hope to have it all completed and on its way to China next week.

We're in the process of proofreading the cookbook and getting it ready for publication. We'll be sure to let you know when it's ready for sale. We believe that it's going to be a great cookbook thanks to all of you who have so generously helped. Thank you for every recipe that was submitted. They're all appreciated.

Finally, a quick reminder that our puzzle fundraiser is ongoing. Have you sponsored any pieces yet? If not you can do so via Paypal by clicking on the link at the left, or by mailing a donation to us at 780 Sweetwater Cir., Old Hickory, TN 37138.

Don't get in line with me

Have you ever got behind me in a grocery checkout line. Let me give you some advice. Don't! My line is ALWAYS the longest, even if it appears to be the shortest.

That seems to work for me in the adoption world as well. Back in 2005 when we began the paperchase to bring Miriam home the wait for a non special needs child in China was 6 months from the time that your paperwork was logged into the system in China. Today people have been waiting in that line 7 years. It's my fault because I got in line. Fortunately we were able to get out of that line and get in another one to bring Miriam home.

Once again I'm seeing wait times increasing. We got word yesterday that our I-800A application has been approved. This is the USCIS saying that Deb and I are allowed to bring an orphan into the country. This process had been taking about 40 days. Its now taking about 2 months for us and those who are in line with us. Our next step once we have our documents authenticated at the Chinese Embassy in Washington D.C. is to send our paperwork (dossier) to China and await a Letter of Acceptance (LOA). This process has now slowed to the point that some people have waited over 120 days. Once again it must be because I'm in line.

There are many other steps in the process where things could slow down. Please pray that things go quickly. There's a little girl in China who desperately needs a family, and a family in the U.S. who desperately want to bring home their little girl!

Our puzzle fundraiser has also seemed to slow down. We really need more pieces to the puzzle to be sponsored. We're planning other fundraising ideas so stay tuned!

Parallels

As I sit here thinking about all that it takes to bring our little girl home from China it would be easy to get frustrated and wonder if it's worth it. Then I think of this little face

and I know that it's worth everything that we put into it. I remember that I was once in need of a Father, and God gave his only Son to die on a tree so that I might receive the Spirit of adoption. The sacrifices that we make to bring Brooklyn home are nothing compared to God's sacrifice to bring me home.

These thoughts come to me in the midst of another wait. We're waiting on USCIS to approve our I-800A. We can't move forward now without this approval. We're hoping and praying that we will receive it this month. This will allow us to be DTC (dossier to China, meaning our paperwork has officially been sent to China) in early August.

I find waiting to be hard. I like to feel like I have control of things, but sometimes you just have to let go. This draws another parallel to my life in Christ. Sometimes I want to hang on to things when He's shouting, "Let Go and let Me handle it!" It's hard to walk by faith. Faith get's tested all the time.

So I find us in faith hoping that we'll receive an update on our little girl. The precious pictures that we received last week from our agency were special, but we would love to have more information about how our little girl is doing. Every day that she spends in China is a day that we miss out on seeing her grow. Every day that she spends in China is a day that she misses out on having a family. Every day that she spends in China is a day that she's not getting the surgery that she needs for her eyes. Please pray that the remainder of the process moves quickly so that we can have our little girl in our arms!

I would also like to give a quick update on our fundraising efforts. We had a successful yard sale in Williamsburg last weekend. Thanks to everyone who contributed, and to all of the family and friends who helped out. We couldn't have done it without you!

We're also making progress on the puzzle. We chose this puzzle, which happens to be 2000 pieces, because the scene was from an area near where Brooklyn is living. Thanks to some recent generous donations, including $350 raised by First Baptist Church in Artemus, KY during their VBS, we now have 398 puzzle pieces sponsored. If you've not sponsored any pieces yet we would love to get your name on some pieces.  No matter how many pieces you sponsor your donation will be appreciated. You can send your donation for the puzzle to us at 780 Sweetwater Cir., Old Hickory, TN 37138 or by clicking on the Paypal Donate button on the left.

Thanks again for all of your help. Soon we'll have this bundle of joy walking into our arms!

Fingerprints Done!

Yesterday was our scheduled day for our biometrics appointment to have fingerprints done at the USCIS office in Nashville. This is one step in getting approval to bring an orphan into the country. Now we continue to wait for the approval letter. Please pray that it comes soon!

We were also able to get a lot of paperwork authenticated through the county and state today. Paperwork has to go through a tedious process of authentication prior to going to China. We hope to be able to send our paperwork to China (DTC) soon after receiving our USCIS approval.

We are still hoping to get enough puzzle pieces sponsored to cover our next payment to the agency. I hope to be posting an update on puzzle progress soon. Could your donation be the one that puts us over this next hurdle?

We are also asking for recipes to include in the recipe book that we're putting together to help raise funds to cover the required orphanage fee. Please send your favorite recipes to mom4sadie@yahoo.com.

Are you the missing piece?

Praise the Lord there have been 45 new puzzle pieces which have found sponsors this week! What a blessing! I decided to show you what a difference each donation can make to this puzzle, and to the life of a little girl in China.



<=== Previous Progress
                   

                   Current Progress===>




We would like to finish out the left hand side of the puzzle (275 pieces) by July 1. Our next payment is due soon after we receive our approval from USCIS, so hopefully sometime in July. If we finish the left hand side it will give us enough to finish our next payment which is due at that time. Can you help us reach that goal? Are there puzzles pieces awaiting your name? Are there members of your family that you would like to sponsor pieces in honor of? You can sponsor pieces by sending a payment via Paypal to johnanddeb2011@yahoo.com (a convenient donate button is included on the left) or by sending a check to John and Deborah Rich, 780 Sweetwater Cir., Old Hickory, TN 37138. Please specify what name you would like put on the back of each piece that you sponsor.

Thanks

Showers of Blessings!

We just wanted to say thank you once again to everyone who contributed to our yard sale. It was a huge success. We had the opportunity to meet a lot of new people and share the blessings of adoption, and we were blessed with the amount of money made. We made almost half of what we need to make our next payment to the agency. While we were dodging rain showers throughout the weekend God sent us showers of blessings.

We are awaiting news from USCIS about fingerprint appointments. We hope to have those done later this month. Please be in prayer that we can get a quick appointment.

The Latest Dish

It's been a while since we posted. We finally received our completed homestudy this week, after weeks of agonizing delays. We've sent our paperwork to USCIS to get approval to bring an orphan into the country. We hope to have this process completed in less than six weeks.

In other news...we need your help!!!  We need recipes! We're putting together a cookbook to help raise at least half of the $5,000 we need to pay the required orphanage fee. Please help in doing this.  Send us your favorite recipes. The more recipes-the better. We need appetizers, main dishes, side dishes, vegetarian dishes, heart healthy dishes, low calorie dishes, sugar-free dishes, desserts, etc. 

You can send them via e-mail to johnanddeb2011@yahoo.com or snail mail to:  Deb Rich-  780 Sweetwater Circle -  Old Hickory, TN  37138.  We need your recipes as soon as possible.  Our cut off date is July 1st...so get your recipes in.  Be a part of helping us get Brooklyn home!!!

THANKS IN ADVANCE!!!

Puzzle Donation Instructions

For those who would like to make a donation for puzzle pieces you can do so by mailing us a check at 780 Sweetwater Cir., Old Hickory, TN 37138 or by clicking on the Paypal donate button.

We appreciate all who have donated so far and look forward to the day when we'll be able to post that all of the puzzle pieces have a name.

God Bless You!

Puzzle Update

I just wanted to post an update on the puzzle progress:

As you can see while we have a good start (this is actually over 10% of the puzzle) there are still plenty of puzzle pieces that need to be sponsored. Thanks again to all who have given! I know that Brooklyn will be happy to see your names on the backs of her puzzle pieces.

We are approaching the next milestone in the process. We had our last homestudy visit last week and expect the homestudy to be complete by the end of the month. At that point our next installment of $2776.25 is due. As soon as that's completed we'll need $890 to apply for immigration approval from USCIS. We would love for you to help us to reach these milestones. Remember, you can sponsor as many pieces as you want. It's only $10 per piece sponsored.

Puzzles, paperwork, coffee, and more

It has been a busy week at our house. We completed our 4th homestudy visit on Wednesday. Our final visit is scheduled for Tuesday. We have also submitted all of the required paperwork for clearances. Please pray that these come through quickly so that we can have the homestudy portion of our journey completed soon.

Deb has also worked tirelessly to get the puzzle completed this week. It has now been assembled and can be reassembled with names of donors on each piece. There are still lots of pieces which have not been sponsored, and lots of expenses coming soon. We've spent about $4000 so far towards this adoption, but this is only the beginning of the costs. Your generosity is needed in order to help finance this adoption. Thank you to all of those who have already given.

Also, you'll notice some changes to the blog layout. First, the Donate button for the puzzle pieces has been moved to the left side of the blog text. Thanks to a a dear friend in the adoption community we've also added a grab button on the right. Feel free to use this to share our blog.

Additionally, if you love coffee we have a unique opportunity for you to help with our adoption. We have teamed up with Just Love Coffee. They offers a variety of delicious coffee flavors. Deb and I have had some and it is really good. For every bag of coffee that you buy through our website at https://justlovecoffee.com/coffeeforbrooklyn Just Love Coffee will donate $5 toward our adoption.

Finally, we're in the process of preparing to have one or two yard sales to support our adoption. We'll post the dates as soon as they're set. In the mean time if you have items which you would like to donate to our yard sale we would be extremely grateful. If you're in the middle Tennessee or Williamsburg/Corbin/London KY areas we'll be glad to come and pick the items up. We will donate any unsold items to Goodwill unless you specify that you want them returned.

Please share this blog on your Facebook pages and let everyone know about these unique opportunities to help bring Brooklyn home!

Blessings. . .

Just a quick update on everything that's going on. With your help we were able to make the first payment of $2776.25 and move forward! Over 10% percent of the puzzle pieces now have a sponsor. We hope to post the first pictures of the progress this week. It has been a tedious process to prepare the puzzle to get the names put on it. We are very thankful for all who have sponsored pieces and appreciate your patience in waiting for pictures of the progress.

We've been frantically gathering paperwork and finishing training for our homestudy. We have our last homestudy visit on April 9. Please pray that clearances come through quickly and that we'll have a second installment of $2776.25 and the $890 that we'll need to submit in order to get USCIS approval to bring Brooklyn home. We're continuing to believe that God is already working on hearts to help us be able to make those payment.

Please keep us in your prayers throughout this process and share this blog freely. Check back regularly for new updates. We expect to be updating more regularly now.

Finally, we received pictures this week from Brooklyn's birthday party on March 20. Our little girl turned 2! While we weren't there to celebrate with her this year we look forward to celebrating her next birthday with her!

Happy Birthday Brooklyn!

Today has been a somewhat sad day for us. Our little girl turned two and we were not there to celebrate with her. We were able to send her a cake along with a care package:

We hope to receive pictures from her birthday party!

If you'd like to give Brooklyn a gift by sponsoring one or more pieces of the puzzle you can do so by donating $10 per piece. You can sponsor pieces via the Paypal donate button on the right of the page or by mail to:

John and Deb Rich

780 Sweetwater Cir.

Old Hickory, TN 37138

We're going to be posting a picture of the puzzle progress soon. We're trying to get the puzzle together but have been busy with hours of paperwork and training in our attempt to get our homestudy completed quickly so that our dossier can be sent to China. Thank you to everyone who has joined us in this journey thus far. We still have plenty of puzzle pieces which need sponsors.

Happy Birthday Brooklyn!

Love,

Mama, Daddy, and JieJie (big sister Miriam)

Home visit

Thanks everyone for your prayers. The visit by our social worker went well yesterday. We had a good visit with her and discussed a lot of things. She did a walkthrough of our house. She also asked Miriam a few questions. Now we're working frantically to get our paperwork done so that we can have the second visit. It's really hard to write an autobiography quickly and make sure that you're properly covering all of the questions answered. We really want to make this adoption move along quickly. Please pray that we're able to complete these this week! Also, pray that all of our background checks come back quickly so that we can move on to the next phase in the process.

We're also working hard on getting the puzzle ready to show a status update. We would love for you to take part in this unique experience. Also, I encourage you to share our blog with anyone who might be interested in following our journey!

Next step -- homestudy

As we weave our way toward Brooklyn I want to keep you abreast of what's going on. On Monday our social worker is scheduled to come to our house in the next step toward completing our homestudy. She will be checking to make sure that our house is safe for a child. Please keep us in your prayers that we've not missed something.

We are also frantically working on other parts of the homestudy. There is a lot to do, and we are determined to get it done as quickly as possible. We have a lot of reading and required training courses to complete. We had to go to the police station to be fingerprinted last week. We are gathering birth certificates, financial information, and other documents that are required. We're even having to write fairly extensive autobiographies. It is almost overwhelming. If everyone had to go to this much trouble to have a child there would be a lot fewer children in the world. We know, though, that the result will be worth all of the effort. Just look at our little girl on the slide below . . . doesn't she look like she needs to be playing in our backyard?

 

On top of all of this we've been praising God for the work that he is doing through people like you. To date we have raised $1700 of the $2700 that we will need for the homestudy on Monday. Time is getting short, but I know that God will provide right on time.



PA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Praise the Lord!!!!!!!!!!!!! We have PA.

For those of you who aren't familiar with China adoption acronyms PA means pre-approval. This basically means that China has taken a look at our family situation and said that they will allow us to pursue the adoption.

So, without further ado, I am honored to be able to share with you a picture of our daughter to be, Brooklyn Miaoke Rich, born March 20, 2011 in Chongqing, China.

 

 

We are working hard to try to bring her home as soon as possible. We would love for you to come along beside us in this journey. We are progressing with the puzzle -- we already have 61 pieces of the puzzle sponsored. This is a start toward the mounting expenses. We have over $2700 in expenses which are due now, so we have a way to go. You can sponsor a piece of the puzzle by clicking the Donate button to the right or by mailing a check to us.

 

We ask for your continued prayer as we continue Weaving our Way to Brooklyn. This is going to be a long and crooked road, but with the help of your prayer we've passed the first milestone!

Praying for PA

As Deb and I lay here in awe of what God is doing in our lives we realized that we may be receiving pre-approval (PA) this week. We never dreamed when we began this journey last month that we would be here this soon, but we have a little girl in China who needs to come home as soon as possible. She's already been waiting too long. We're going to do everything within our power to make the wait as short as possible. Please pray with us that her file quickly crosses the desk in China, the mountains that need to be moved are moved, and we receive PA.

Sharing the News

Last night we had the privilege to attend a Chinese New Year celebration hosted by the Families with Children from China of Middle Tennessee. I really enjoyed getting to meet with old friends, and make new friends, who share the common bond of having adopted from China. It was exciting to share our news with others who have walked this path. It was also a time to reflect on the fact that there are many obstacles in our way to completing what God has set before. We look ahead and see significant expenses looming on the horizon. Then we see the love of God's people working as people have begun giving to help us along the way. We can't thank you enough for the gifts, no matter the size. I know that Brooklyn will be excited to see your names on the back of the puzzle showing her the love that you showed to a little girl who you hadn't even met. It really is a picture of God's love toward us. He loved us before he ever knew us.

Come Along and Weave

Many of you have been through Henry Blackaby’s study, “Experiencing God.”  If you haven’t I would encourage you to go through it.  I went through the study many years ago and God is using it again to work in mine, John and Miriam’s lives.  In “Experiencing God”  there are 7 realities of God that lead you to experiencing Him.  The 7 realities really flow together and begin with- God is always at work around you and then He  invites you to join Him in what He is doing.  He speaks to you through the Bible, prayer, church and circumstances.  His invitation leads you to a crisis of faith that requires faith and action.  Next you must make major adjustments in your life to join Him in what He is doing.  This is where we find our family today, making major adjustments in our life to join Him in what He is doing.  It is with much joy and excitement that we are officially announcing our calling to adopt a little girl in China who we will name Brooklyn. We hope to be bringing her home in late 2013.  It is through our completing this call that we come to the final reality of experiencing God which is we come to know Him better by experience as we obey Him and He accomplishes His work through us.

The past few weeks God has begun weaving a beautiful tapestry in our lives by bringing us to Brooklyn. He wants to continue what he has begun in her life and ours. We are asking you to join in this work by coming alongside us and weaving a strand into Brooklyn’s life and helping complete what God has started.

We are asking you to sponsor a piece of the puzzle you see here for $10 (you can sponsor more if you would like).  We will write one name on the back of each sponsored piece of the puzzle. After the puzzle is completed it will be framed in a double-sided glass frame and placed in her room as a visual reminder to her of God’s faithfulness. A little girl that had so few invest in her life early on will be able to see all the people who cared enough to make a difference in her life now and help complete God’s work.

You can sponsor a piece of the puzzle by clicking on the Donate button on the right or by mailing a check to us:

John and Deb Rich

780 Sweetwater Circle
Old Hickory, TN  37138

Please be sure to include the exact names that you want on your pieces. If paying via the Paypal button to the right please be sure to put Puzzle Pieces in the Purpose line and then click on Add Special Instructions to Recipient and put each name on a separate line in the box. If paying via check be sure to include this same information in a note included with the check.

Will you please join us in completing the seven Realities of Experiencing God? We will post updated pictures of the puzzle as God completes His tapestry. Please pray about what God would have you do. 

Please keep us in your prayers as we are being faithful to what God has called us to and welcome with open arms our beautiful and much loved daughter.  We cannot wait to meet her and to share with everyone all God has done to make this happen.  We look forward to hearing from you and you sharing in our adoption of our precious little Brooklyn.

Prayerfully and Thankfully,

Deborah, John and Miriam Rich

LOI!!!!!!!!!!

We were finally able to get our LOI to the agency today after receiving the letter from the oncologist that we had been praying for. Thank you for your prayers. We still have many hoops to jump through in order to bring Brooklyn home, but this was a great step. We are praising the Lord today.

We are of hopes that we will have PA (pre-approval) in a couple of weeks. Please pray that everything goes smoothly and we can begin the homestudy process.

Once we receive PA we should be able to share more information about our precious little Brooklyn!

One step closer

Today we set up a special bank account to use specifically for our journey to Brooklyn. We were surprised with a wonderful donation to help us along in the journey. Over the next few days we are going to unveil a unique way that you can come along beside us in this journey, becoming a thread in the tapestry that is being woven in the life of a little girl in China.

We ask for your continued prayers that Deb's oncologist gets a letter back to us as soon as possible.

May God richly bless each and every one of you!

The Journey Begins

We're using this blog to document our journey to adoption. As most of you know we have one daughter who was adopted from China in 2007. As she has grown she has expressed an interest in having a sister who looks like her. As the new year approached both Deb and John felt a calling from God that it was time to grow our family once again.

We have taken a huge step of faith and begun the process to bring home a little girl from China. After talking with three agencies, and asking about several children who were on photolistings, a file was presented to us by a Christian agency that we believe is our Brooklyn. There are many obstacles in the way for us bringing her home. First of all we must get approval from China to adopt. We have been gathering paperwork and are currently waiting for a letter from Deb's oncologist that is extremely important. Please pray that he will get the letter to us soon.

Once we have the pre-approval from China we will be moving quickly toward bringing her home. We'll share more information about her at that time. We encourage you to follow us as God weaves this tapestry in our lives and the life of a little girl in China.