Little Miss So Sad

   WOW.....do I have exciting news to share with you!!!  On January 28th, we were "pre-approved" by China to move forward to adopt a specific little girl!  Only our great God could weave the "red thread" to our daughter!  We are still amazed and  my heart and mind are still spinning as I type this.You will want to read the whole way down where you'll see a video link which shows her sweet "sad" face!

   Let me back up several weeks and tell you the story from the very beginning.  On December 17th, I received a phone call from one of my best friends who told me I needed to get on facebook NOW and look at a post that a mutual friend (and orphan care advocate) had just posted.  It was a you tube clip.  I had been working on adoption paperwork and gladly laid it aside for a few minutes to check out what she was talking about.
   I watched the clip and immediately called Merle to come and check it out and then blabbered out loud , "I've been praying that God would make it unequivocally clear WHO HE wants us to adopt" - I guess if He brings her to our computer screen - that would be pretty clear!"  I had said it off the cuff without a lot of thought and not really thinking "oh this is the one God wants us to adopt."  But I did have the feeling we should at least call the phone number at the end of the clip and inquire a little.  So after Merle and I discussed it, we both decided we should indeed at least  inquire and "make a call."  I dialed the number and got a voice mail message stating that he was "out of the country" and would return calls once he was back in the states.  Didn't bother to leave a message.
   We gave his number, the link to the you tube clip and the limited information we knew to our adoption social worker, she too called but she did leave a message.  A few days later, she said that she hadn't heard back yet (now we know that's because the creator of the you tube clip was only returning from China), so I decided I'd try calling once more.  Dave answered the phone!  I gave him a short synopsis of who we were and he in turn gave contact information to share with my adoption social worker.  At the end of our conversation, I remember telling Dave that we believe in the sovereignty of God, and if she is meant to be our daughter, God will lead us to her.   He told me that he had several people who called and were interested in getting information.
   Our adoption social worker had tried all avenues she knew of  but was unsuccessful in reaching the point of contact person in China.  By this point, it seemed as though all the doors had closed.  And I had peace about it because I was asking God to please open and close doors so that we would know His leading.  In fact my friend (who had originally told me to check out the link on FB), inquired at the end of December - "what's up with Little Miss So Sad" -- I told her that "it looks like God has closed the door, we did all we could and we have peace".  In reflecting back on that time, I'm pretty sure that God was chuckling as the words came out of my mouth.
   January 3rd, I received a totally unexpected  e-mail with direct information on "Little Miss So Sad."  I remember thinking - "Oh, the door must still be open a crack?!"  So, I did what again I felt like God was telling us to do and proceeded to give the information to our case worker.
   Fast forward a few weeks to January 21st.  Our family is taking a long anticipated vacation to another state and I get a phone call from guess who?  YEP, our adoption worker.  She excitedly tells me that she has "Little Miss So Sad's" file!  We will have it (electronically) by midnight.  WHAT????  Is this really happening?  We're not home and we know that once you have a file you have 3 days (yes that's right 3 days!) to decide if you want to proceed with adoption.  As I excitedly relay to Merle the phone conversation I just had, he said to me....."and what Kimberly in that file will cause us to say no?"  My heart was saying the exact same thing.  God is directing us specifically to this child, no matter what her "file" may tell us (or not tell us), He is "making our path straight" to her!  So in a step of faith and obedience (and already a heart of love for her) -- we write our "letter of intent" to China asking for permission to adopt her.  A few days later on January 28th, we received an e-mail from our agency stating that we had "pre-approval" from China to adopt her!!! Wohoo!!  Praising God for HIS faithfulness.
   So....what does "pre-approval" mean?  The short version is... we're kind of "tagged" with "little Miss So Sad" (her file can not be given to anyone, etc.).  Certain paperwork will need to get to China (after having been authenticated and reviewed by either our adoption agency or the United States government or both) be approved, etc.  This process will still take many months.   Possibly in another post, I'll explain in more detail some of the elaborate "process."

Surely by now, you've asked yourselves repeatedly - why does she keep calling her "Little Miss So Sad".  Well....we didn't have a name for her and after watching the below link -- it will all make perfect sense.  Here is the video that started our journey to our daughter.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbcEtVUNBjU&feature=youtu.be
We will let you know in an upcoming post what her name will be!!  So you'll have to "stay tuned!"

   MORE GOOD NEWS...... the man who God used to advocate for her and record her story (David Peters) is a fabulous producer of documentaries https://www.facebook.com/pages/Global-Story2-Films/235934549778334.  He has a heart for the "least of these."  He uses his incredible talent/gift as a tool to help these voiceless little ones!  He is currently working on  putting together a phenomenal documentary about Chinese orphans and former orphans.  There's a very good chance that you will get the opportunity to follow "Little Miss So Sad's" journey to her forever family!  If you'd like to see a sneak peek at a trailer click here https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10200462078143302

If you'd like to have fun and help our little girl on our journey home you can check out the on-line auction currently running (February 1 - February 7, 2013).
On-line auction for Little Miss So Sad

Or you could purchase gourmet cupcakes in time for Valentines (order by Feb. 9th)
Gourmet cupcakes
100% of money raised from both fundraisers will help pay the adoption cost and in turn help turn "Little Miss So Sad's frown upside down" !!

Please join us in praise to our graciously Heavenly Father for His guidance and direction and we would covet your on-going prayers as we continue our journey!!