The mountain

Yesterday and today we were able to participate in the Bethany bi-weekly conference call. It honestly feels really good to by-pass our coordinator and get it semi-directly from the source. Even though we aren't speaking directly with the staff in ET, we are talking to the people at the national branch that filters through all of the information. We found out some good things: 1) 3 cases have been approved for embassy appointments and one of those is a Shalom case! 2) They have NOT requested any further information regarding our particular case, which indicates they have all that they need. 3) The Vice Consular Chief is suppose to travel out to the orphange this week. 4) Bethany will be in contact with the Embassy again on Thursday. 5) We are still hopeful for the Feb. 1 Embassy date. I know this does not seem like a lot of information, but it is more progress than we have seen in over a month. We are still trying to remain optimistic about it. Andy just has a feeling that we will be hearing something in the next few days. I hope he is right. To be honest I have really been struggling and I need some Hope to grab onto. I know Jesus is our source of Hope, but sometimes we simple minded people need something tangible, some kind of confirmation. I know in the grand scheme of things this wait does not seem like a very long time, but with all of the unknowns hanging there it seems like an eternity. I appreciate all of your support and prayers as we traverse this journey. This portion of our sojourn is almost complete, but it feels like the last 100 yards before the summit... tough, grueling, tiresome, draining. But once we reach the summit, what a sight we will behold! We will have our girl in our arms!