L...O...A!!!

Those three letters are big in the China adoption world! LOA=Letter of Acceptance. This letter is the official approval from China for us to adopt Leah. We got the call on Friday telling us that we had received our LOA. Now we wait for travel approval. In the meantime, we get to swim in visa paperwork and travel preparations. But if everything continues to flow smoothly, we should be a family of six before Christmas!

We just sign the bottom to accept the referral!

70 pieces of our puzzle have been sponsored. The outside is almost complete!

There are plenty of pieces left to sponsor! With travel coming soon, we still have a lot of expenses left, so we can assure you that every contribution is put to good use and greatly appreciated. We love to see our friends, family, church community, and even people we do not know coming together to help bring Leah home. We are not doing this in isolation. Of course Leah will be a part of our immediate family, but she will also be part of our extended family, church family, and our local community. Our family has been called to adoption. Not all families are! But there are certainly other "pieces of the puzzle" in the calling to care for orphans. Assisting an adopting family financially may be one of your pieces. I've read a number of books on the topic of adoption, and one of my favorites is Reclaiming Adoption. In a chapter titled "Adoption and Missional Living," Jason Kovacs writes about the church's role in orphan care:

As we seek to mobilize the Church with God's missionary heart that bursts to declare and demonstrate the gospel, the question will not be, "Who is called to care for the 'least of these'," but rather, "How might we care for them together?"

We would be honored if you would participate with us in our care and love for precious Leah.