A Blessing this Weekend!

Emma's file was originally with A Helping Hand, an adoption agency out of Kentucky.  We were with a different agency, located in PA.  We were blessed to work with a sweet, caring lady at A Helping Hand, named Grace.  She helped us to complete paperwork to request that we be matched with Emma, and called us on Dec 21, 2006 with the wonderful news we had been matched with her - we were in heaven!!  Our prayers had been answered!  The 2 agencies were going to work together on a "joint referral" so we could bring our sweetheart home early in 2007.  China decided they would no longer allow this, and said we would have to re-submit our paperwork through the other agency if we wanted to adopt Emma.  As we were requesting our file back from CCAA, China again came back, this time, saying they would not allow families to change agencies.  At this point, we were told that Emma would be matched with another family by CCAA.  We were heartbroken.  Sweet Grace cried with me, and prayed with me, and was very supportive.  A few weeks later, I called her to ask if she still had the file, which she did.  She had a letter done for us recommending us to CCAA as the best family for Emma, and sent it with the file back to CCAA.  At the same time, the owner of Living Hope Adoption Agency, was in China, and visited the CCAA Special Needs unit making a specific request for her file.  God knew all along that Emma was supposed to be our daughter, and, on June 6, 2007, we again received her referral.  Grace and her husband John and 2 children, now live in Ireland, where John just finished up seminary, and is now teaching in a Bible College there for the next 2 years.  John's family is from our area, and they are here for 2 weeks.  We were in touch, and we were blessed to be able to meet them in person yesterday!!  How wonderful, and what a sweet meeting it was - she was very touched to meet Emma, and, like me, got all teary!  Here are a few pics from our meeting...