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Thursday, October 30, 2008

Fingerprinting!

Yesterday we finished up our I600A procedures by being fingerprinted.  We had to be at the US Immigration office in Durham at 1:00 to have our fingerprints taken.  The staff was very friendly and very thorough as they got a fingerprint of EVERY single finger, multiple times!  As the lady was taking my fingerprints and I saw them coming up on the computer screen in front of me, it made me think "WOW!  What an awesome God we serve!  There is not another fingerprint, anywhere in this world, like that one on the screen!"  


"For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother's womb.  I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well."  Psalm 139: 13-14

Where did Marek Joel come from?

Many of our friends have asked about how we came up with the name Marek Joel for our little angel.  Well, it goes back to a dream that April had when we first were married.  First of all, April NEVER remembers any of her dreams so when she woke up in the morning vividly remembering her dream, we knew something was different!  haha  Anyways, in this dream that April had, she and I had adopted a little boy from Africa and we named him Marek Joel.  So the next morning when she woke up and told me about the dream, we decided to look up what the meaning of these names meant.  Marek means "rescued from a desperate situation" and Joel means "righteous man; the Lord is God."  After reading this definition, we knew that God had given us this name through a dream.  Such a relief to let God name your children...one less thing for us to do!  haha

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Addition to the Fam!

To our dearest prayer warriors,

Hello from gorgeous North Carolina!! We hope that this letter finds you all doing well! Please know that if you are in need of a little vacation get away, our door is ALWAYS open! As the summer season simmers to its’ end, the leaves will soon change into the boldest and brightest shades of fall that you could ever imagined! It is a sight that you don’t want to miss!! Come and see us and our beautiful city! We would love to see you and spend some quality time with you!

As we are enjoying the beauty of the upcoming fall season, there is another life change that is so greatly anticipated that it makes each day seem as though it is a lifetime of WAITING! Several months ago, God began speaking to us loudly about putting into action the commitment we had made a few years ago concerning the international adoption of a child. Although this is not the time that WE deem the most convenient or conducive for adoption, God continues to reassure us that HIS timing is PERFECT! So, we are trusting Him with all of our hearts and leaning not on our own understanding, but in everything we are seeking to acknowledge Him as He directs our path.

Over the course of the last few months, we have spent much time in prayer. A few of our major prayers have been:
· God direct us toward the adoption agency you would have us to use….His answer came to us through some wonderful friends, Trevor & Keva, who recently adopted a baby through the Gladney Center for Adoption. After having dinner with Trevor & Keva and then researching Gladney on our own, God confirmed that Gladney is the organization for us! They are super personable, helpful, and family friendly! www.adoptionsbygladney.com
· God show us the country from which we should adopt….this matter took us several months of seeking God’s face and heart before we confidently knew His will. During this time, He spoke to us through numerous circumstances, people, dreams, and His word to show us that we are to adopt a little boy from Ethiopia!! http://www.adoptionsbygladney.com/html/ethiopia/index.php The baby should be between 6-12 months old when we travel to Ethiopia to pick him up. We are required to stay in Ethiopia for 10 days during this time! WOW!! We are so excited!
· God please show us how to pay for this adoption.....I mean, we couldn’t help but ask ‘Why now?’ In our finite understanding, taking on such a financial task as adoption while we are still in school, makes no sense financially. However, God has reminded us that He is our Jehovah-Jireh and He has already started answering this request as well. His answer has come through a variety of means. God has provided Dustin a part time job at Thales Academy (where April teaches school) facilitating the after-school program. He has also brought a few private tutoring opportunities into April’s path. So, both of us now have 2 jobs and are doing our very best to pocket every penny possible for this adoption! Through research, we have found there are many adoption grants, scholarships, and no interest loans. However, we cannot apply for these things until we have completed the Home Study (lots of paper work regarding our family and its’ inner workings as well as interaction with a social worker who will grant approval for us to proceed with the adoption) portion of the adoption. We are grateful that God has provided thus far and are even more excited to see how He decides to provide in the future!

Please know that we are so ecstatic that there will soon be a new member of our family! It makes our souls smile to think that this little one who will soon be born into a desperate and hopeless situation with no family will one day, not too long from now, be introduced to the most loving and caring family and friends in the world---YOU!!! Thanks for being such a support to us!

We want each of you to be a part of this journey with us so we will promise to keep you all updated. If you have any questions, concerns, thoughts, or anything in between, please feel free to call us anytime of night or day!
Home – 919-761-8563
April’s Cell – 919-215-2892
Dustin’s Cell – 919-215-2852

Love you lots,
Dustin, April, & Hollis