We came out of the fingerprinting building knowing that now we needed to wait for the form that it generates. It is known as the 1-171H form and those of us who are internationally adopting also know it as “THE” form.Well, as we exited the building, Pat turned to me and said, “We’re going to get ours in 2 weeks."I laughed. Yes, I laughed.
I laughed because this form generally takes at least 2-3 months to receive. We had even read that it can also take up to 5 months!Occasionally someone might receive it as soon as 2 weeks after fingerprinting, but after having read blog after blog on the internet of how long it has taken people, there was only one blog of it having taken 2 weeks.And so I laughed.
“Pat, you just have to accept that we’re going to have to wait.”
“Why?” he said.“Don’t you think God can do it?” Ouch.Certainly I thought God could do it.But patience is a virtue and this is one of those things that we just have to learn to be patient about. Right?
The next day, I stopped laughing. God convicted me that I was like Sarah of the Old Testament, laughing because she really didn’t believe that God was big enough. Or was it, like me, a lack of beliefthat He was caring enough?God also brought to mind the verse, “You have not because you ask not.”So we began to pray.
We also involved our children in our prayer for a miracle. I explained to the kids as best I could that this would indeed be a miracle.I also explained that if He didn’t give us the form in 2 weeks, it’s not because He isn’t big enough OR caring enough, but because He has a far better plan that we don’t know about.
Two Sundays ago, Pat had run into a couple who had two adopted girls from China. They told him that after three months of waiting with one of their adoptions for “THE” form, they called the Senator's office and asked for their assistance - a call that yielded positive results in two days. Pat left that conversation thinking that he should simply write Senator Dole immediately! But he hesitated because it seemed too forward to do such a thing.
The next Sunday, 5 days ago, Pat ran into a friend who is a federal prosecutor. Pat asked him about the idea of contacting Senator Dole. He not only thought Pat’s idea was good, but he gave him key pointers for how to craft the letter and told him to do it right away. Pat wrote the letter on Sunday and sent it on Monday.
On Thursday, it was exactly 2 weeks since our fingerprinting, and I opened our mailbox with expectation. Nothing.That’s OK, Lord, I trust you with your perfect timing.
On Friday, I went to our box and expectantly pulled out our stack of mail. There sitting on the very top was a thick envelope from Homeland Security.Could it be?Or is it more paperwork to fill out?The people who fingerprinted us informed us of the possibility that we might be required to be re-fingerprinted if our fingerprints didn’t meet FBI standards.
I took a deep breath, opened the envelope, and began to read, ”Notice of Favorable Determination Concerning Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition."Was this IT?Was this THE form? There, at the very bottom in tiny print was written “Form 1-171H." This WAS it!This was the form we had prayed about, and it had arrived 2 weeks and 1 day after having been fingerprinted!
I ran into the house screaming and waving this paper around. I scared my kids to death!Then they started jumping around and saying “Praise God! We’re getting a sister!!”
Pat wasn’t home yet so I called him and said, “We got our 1-171H form!” And do you know what he said?He said, “You’re kidding, right?”Now who’s being a Sarah! HA!
We immediately faxed it off to our Dossier Consultant, Overnighted the original document, and then celebrated by ordering pizza! If all goes well, we could have our Dossier being sent to China the first week of March.The year countdown can now begin (more or less). And we are rejoicing at God’s huge “YES” to our prayers and for allowing our children to see the hand of a great and mighty God working on our behalf. (Sharon)
I laughed because this form generally takes at least 2-3 months to receive. We had even read that it can also take up to 5 months!Occasionally someone might receive it as soon as 2 weeks after fingerprinting, but after having read blog after blog on the internet of how long it has taken people, there was only one blog of it having taken 2 weeks.And so I laughed.
“Pat, you just have to accept that we’re going to have to wait.”
“Why?” he said.“Don’t you think God can do it?” Ouch.Certainly I thought God could do it.But patience is a virtue and this is one of those things that we just have to learn to be patient about. Right?
The next day, I stopped laughing. God convicted me that I was like Sarah of the Old Testament, laughing because she really didn’t believe that God was big enough. Or was it, like me, a lack of beliefthat He was caring enough?God also brought to mind the verse, “You have not because you ask not.”So we began to pray.
We also involved our children in our prayer for a miracle. I explained to the kids as best I could that this would indeed be a miracle.I also explained that if He didn’t give us the form in 2 weeks, it’s not because He isn’t big enough OR caring enough, but because He has a far better plan that we don’t know about.
Two Sundays ago, Pat had run into a couple who had two adopted girls from China. They told him that after three months of waiting with one of their adoptions for “THE” form, they called the Senator's office and asked for their assistance - a call that yielded positive results in two days. Pat left that conversation thinking that he should simply write Senator Dole immediately! But he hesitated because it seemed too forward to do such a thing.
The next Sunday, 5 days ago, Pat ran into a friend who is a federal prosecutor. Pat asked him about the idea of contacting Senator Dole. He not only thought Pat’s idea was good, but he gave him key pointers for how to craft the letter and told him to do it right away. Pat wrote the letter on Sunday and sent it on Monday.
On Thursday, it was exactly 2 weeks since our fingerprinting, and I opened our mailbox with expectation. Nothing.That’s OK, Lord, I trust you with your perfect timing.
On Friday, I went to our box and expectantly pulled out our stack of mail. There sitting on the very top was a thick envelope from Homeland Security.Could it be?Or is it more paperwork to fill out?The people who fingerprinted us informed us of the possibility that we might be required to be re-fingerprinted if our fingerprints didn’t meet FBI standards.
I took a deep breath, opened the envelope, and began to read, ”Notice of Favorable Determination Concerning Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition."Was this IT?Was this THE form? There, at the very bottom in tiny print was written “Form 1-171H." This WAS it!This was the form we had prayed about, and it had arrived 2 weeks and 1 day after having been fingerprinted!
I ran into the house screaming and waving this paper around. I scared my kids to death!Then they started jumping around and saying “Praise God! We’re getting a sister!!”
Pat wasn’t home yet so I called him and said, “We got our 1-171H form!” And do you know what he said?He said, “You’re kidding, right?”Now who’s being a Sarah! HA!
We immediately faxed it off to our Dossier Consultant, Overnighted the original document, and then celebrated by ordering pizza! If all goes well, we could have our Dossier being sent to China the first week of March.The year countdown can now begin (more or less). And we are rejoicing at God’s huge “YES” to our prayers and for allowing our children to see the hand of a great and mighty God working on our behalf. (Sharon)
