What Are We Waiting For Now?

We received our Referral (that's when we got matched with Song Jia He and got her info & pictures =), we turned in our LOI (Letter Of Intent- important step once you've been matched), and we even got PA (Pre-Approval- that means, upon review of our LOI, China likes us ;)!

These are all wonderful milestones- milestones you may not completely understand, but wonderful, important milestones nonetheless! So what are we waiting for now?

When we received our Pre-Approval, our adoption agency told us that the next step to come is when they will inform us that our dossier has been moved into the "Match Room." That is when our dossier "formally" gets matched with our child's information. When we receive that happy news, we will receive "Travel Packet 2" from our agency. The window of time for receiving this news can be quite large- some get it in 28 days, others get it in 128 days! There's no rhyme or reason to why it goes so quickly for some and slower than molasses for others- we are basically at the mercy of the CCAA (China Center for Adoption Affairs).

So "What happens when we receive news of being moved into the Match Room and Travel Packet 2" you ask?

To be honest, since I haven't been there and done it yet, I don't completely know! I know our LOA (Letter of Approval) should follow shortly thereafter- and that's a very important step towards going to get Kelly. But basically, from all that my sister's told me, once we get Travel Packet 2, that's when things start getting crazy! That's when we start running around like chickens with our heads cut off doing everything we need to do to prepare for travel to China- because it will probably happen within 4-8 weeks from that time. (Did I get that remotely right, Jen...?)

So what can you pray for with us?

My prayer is to bring Kelly home for her first birthday, which means we would need to get our
LOA by early to mid-March. EEK!
I know God's timing is perfect, so I don't mean to impose MY timeline on His perfect plan, but He does tell me to ask Him for those things my heart desires, so I'm asking...

I realize that if this happens and we do indeed travel to China in late April, this means that our timeline for paying for the remainder of the adoption costs gets shorter- EEK!
So my next big prayer request is that God will provide the rest of the money we need for travel & all. We have applied for a few more grants we are waiting to hear if we got approved for, so it would be wonderful if we're approved for those grants and they come at the perfect time. (BIG REQUESTS- BIG GOD!)

I hope that answers some of your questions about this crazy International adoption process!
THANK YOU, my precious peeps, for all your love, support, and prayers!