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.