It's Official!!!

Woot! We were praying that we would receive word today from the Dept. of Homeland Security that our adoption request would finally be approved before the long holiday weekend postponing any decision until Wednesday of next week. After 5pm and no call, we were a little, okay, a lot disappointed. However, around 6:30pm, Kathy Randall from INS called and said that it has been officially approved we may go get her at any time! They had stayed late in the office to get this through before the weekend and we appreciate so much their extra work at the last minute and to Frank Block of the Love Basket in working so quickly at getting the home study requirements fulfilled. We appreciate Melinda Stanley who worked initially on the home study and has been praying for a quick resolution. Many of you have been praying too and we are so relieved now that the long, long process is over. Dezi was able to get the earliest ticket to Taiwan which is July 8th and will return on July 19th with Raena. We thank God for giving us the strength to endure even though many times it was very difficult. Words can't express our joy at this time. We begin our last family vacation with just the boys in the morning as we travel with David & Sandy Fincher and their family to Arkansas for a week of rest. We are emotionally and physically exhausted so God's timing at giving us great peace before we left is truly amazing. Thank you all for praying so hard on Raena's behalf. She has been getting healthier these last few weeks. Dezi will spend a few days in Taipei getting over jet lag, meeting with our coworkers and Chinese friends and then go to the Home of God's Love to spend a few days getting used to a new daughter as she gets used to a new mother before returning home. We will keep you posted!

Adoption Update

We received a call today from Frank Block, the director of the Love Basket, an adoption agency. He said the home study will be sent to the Department of Homeland Security tomorrow, on Wednesday. So, hopefully by Friday we could hear some good news. We are very thankful for how fast Frank was willing to process the new home study. We have another ticket reserved for Dezi to fly out on July 9th. The Chinese are very eager to see her as it has been 3 years now since Dezi has returned so she will spend a few days in Taipei getting over jet lag. Then she plans to go spend 5 or 6 days at the Home so Raena can adjust in familiar surroundings to having a new mom and then return by the 22nd which is later than we hoped but the only seat available.

We covet your prayers now more than ever that the home study will be approved and Raena will be granted her immigration status. This is the LAST step and the most important. It can also be held up by many arbitrary things as we have seen already. We are hopeful as we believe that God is working through all these things for his glory.

Mike's Father, Sister, Nephew & Dog

Today we took my Dad down to Boone County Hospital to have two more stents inserted in ateries by his heart. They were 90% blocked. The procedure went very well and he is doing great. This should give him more strength and be less strenous for him to walk. He should be home on Wednesday. Thank you for praying for him since his heart attack in May.

Please be in prayer for my nephew and his wife, Kyle & Tracy Worstell. They had a premature son two weeks ago and the doctors are unable to stablize his condition. They are waiting for Kyle to return from serving in the Navy to take the child off of life support which will be some time today. It is taking the family pretty hard so please keep Tim & Kylene in your prayers as well.

My sister, Lillie Schoville, is flying in this weekend to spend a week with my folks. She will be staying at our home yet we will be gone on a family vacation with the Fincher family. We are looking forward to some quality time with our boys before their little sister arrives. Lillie will also be able to watch our dog Hunny, aka. Tripod. She was hit by a truck a couple of weeks ago and has lost the use of a hind leg. She's doing great though! She's taught us a valuable lesson that no matter how difficult things can get, you can just be thankful that you still have 3 legs to stand on.

New Cell Life

One of the things we have missed the most while being back in the U.S. is the cell church life we had in Taiwan. While desiring to have cells started here, we haven't felt like we had enough time to do something new. We thought we could handle the extra load of helping other core group leaders start the new Discover Christian Church that meets on the campus of Central Christian College on Sunday mornings with the hopes of starting various cell groups, but after training many potential cell leaders, we never had the time or energy to start our own cell group. We have recently relinquished our role with Discover and are attending Timber Lake Christian Church (formerly Union Avenue). Now we felt it was time to begin a cell in our home and we contacted 3 other couples who have also wanted to help. After meeting for the first time last Monday and praying for those we would like to reach out to, our second meeting brought 5 new contacts. In fact, we had 13 adults and 8 children attending in our living room! We have been very encouraged by this group of people already as they have been on the front line of encouragement through our adoption struggles of the last two weeks. That's what cell life/church life is supposed to be... carrying each others burdens and fulfilling the law of Christ.

Possible Resolution... or from Despair to Hope!

The last two days have been the most trying yet in the adoption process. We were informed by the Dept. of Homeland Security that our home study was being rejected because of the preparer not being licensed in the State of Missouri for Child Placement. The home study is the most crucial part of the process as it is used in every step. It is also one of the biggest expenses other than traveling to pick up the child. This was a devastating realization and we were on the phone for hours trying to find a way. We had to come to the point where God alone would work it out and for us to have the patient and peace that would calm our spirit. During the myriad of phone calls, we actually called the Director of Child Placement for the State and he was visiting an adoption agency called the Love Basket. It was an agency initially recommended to us and their director talked to me on the phone and said they would try and help us out. True to his word, he called a few hours later and said that he personally would conduct the requirements and come to our home in the morning to do the in home survey. He came this morning as promised and after 3 hours of interviewing and another walk through in our home, he said he will rush the process and we should have a new approved home study by Wednesday of next week!!! What could have been a disaster has turned out only costing us about 2 weeks. Once the Dept. of Homeland Security receives the new home study, they also have promised to rush it and if all is in order, will approve our request for Raena's visa immediately.

Now, we are going to patiently wait until we get the news that the home study is approved and then arrange for Dezi's flight and we are anticipating it could be as early as next Friday now. We have had a family vacation planned for the first week in July for almost a year and were hoping to bring Raena along. We will have to wait and see what transpires for now.

Thank you so much for your prayers. We have coveted them and are thankful for the many emails we have gotten encouraging us. It was especially comforting to know that there are other adoptive parents out there who have gone through similar circumstances. There has also been an outpouring of very generous friends and family who realized the extra costs of another home study as well as the travel we are expecting and return ticket of Raena too. We thank God daily for your thoughtfulness.

So close but yet...

We really, really need everyone to pray right now. We actually have a reserved ticket this Friday for Dezi to fly out to go pick up Raena, yet we haven't been successful in resolving the issue with the Dept. of Homeland Security. It appears our Home Study preparer is not on the licensed Child Placement Agency list for the State of Missouri and that is the hold up. It wasn't an issue with our previous agent but now is the one thing holding it up. Without this approval, Raena will not be allowed in the US. We have been calling various agenices but have yet to find one who will sign off on the home study in a timely manner. Some want 6 months of process and insane amount of fees. This is a huge roadblock for us and only God can give us a way through. His grace is sufficient and we need you to pray for us right now.

The Model of Compassion International?

Everyone in the U.S. that is a part of Christianity has probably heard of Compassion International or a similar organization that sponsors children in poverty stricken areas of the world. If you were to become a member you would send in a rather small monthly amount and in return you would receive a picture of 'your' child and a small biography with quarterly updates on the child's educational, physical and sometimes their spiritual condition.

I've been thinking about that model and I need your input. Perhaps it is just a passing thought, but maybe we should consider this model a bit more in other applications.

For example, we had a couple come over to our home last week that have just graduated from Central. They have been wanting to go to the mission field, and of course, they are interested in China or Taiwan. :-) The problem is they are new to the faith. They really do not have a relationship with any churches that would want to support them and most of their Christian friends are their age and either in school or similarly just graduated and looking for positions too.

They are definitely worthy of support. They are mature, have a heart for the lost, have a plan, and could leave tomorrow. The problem? They have no support nor do they have a support base to draw from.

While we encourage churches to raise up Timothies from their own congregations and fully support them, what about potential candidates like this couple? What about unchurched people that become Christians and feel called to go yet have no one to turn to for support?

Perhaps, we should start a program like Compassion International. We could send you a picture of new recruits, send you a regular update from time to time on their physical, emotional and spiritual condition, how they are progressing through language school and their various accomplishments. In turn, you could support them with a certain amount each month. Why, we could even have an automatic withdrawal system to make it so convenient for you!

Well, what do you think?? Post a comment and give us your thoughts... ;-)

Yet Another Road Block ... (insert the sound of tires screeching to a halt here)

In less than 10 days the orphanage should receive confirmation from the local judge that Raena is good to go from their perspective. However, we have run into a significant roadblock with the Department of Homeland Security who now handles all immigration details. The new agent that is handling the case wants every 't' crossed and every 'i' dotted and she has found semantic issues in the home study that she wants corrected. For example, the home study reads, "the Worstells are recommended for adoption" and apparently it should read "the Worstells are approved for adoption". There are 6 similar problems that our social worker needs to correct and one larger issue concerning licensing that is paramount. Our social worker isn't approved for child placement and needs to have one that is to sign off on her prepared home study. With the new Homeland Security rules, this has become very specific and even though we have gone through the same people and process as our coworker, Sherry Wallis, as she adopted her two children from the same orphanage, the rules are now different and more difficult for us. This is a very, very important issue and only God can make this work out without our needing to redo the entire home study with a new social worker, a SIX WEEK PROCESS! Our current social worker is negotiating today with the DOHS and she called and asked for our prayers that she can be convincing and they realize what is in the best interest of the child and not the bureaucratic system. PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO PRAY with us. We are so close to the end and do not want to go back to the beginning!

Great News on the Adoption!

The past two days have been going so quickly it has been hard to get time to put this update in. We were going to ask you to pray over the court date that was moved up from June 20th to today, June 8th and yet, with the time difference, Ted Skiles has already written and said that it went well.

In his own words, "“Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land.” Proverbs 25:25

We’ve been back from court for about an hour. Things went very well, except for the slight dressing down I got for being so “Ji” (in a hurry if you don’t recognize this romanization ). Anyway, the judge was pretty nice about it, but he said he hoped this wouldn’t happen again as they have so many cases to deal with. I assured him that we don’t try to push like this normally, but that Raena’s case was special!

Anyway, after all was said and done, he said he would speed it up. I actually expect to receive her first paper sometime next week and her final paper the next, so Raena could be ready to go by the end of June, Lord willing."

This is really good news and the only thing we need to receive now is approval from INS here in the U.S. We called the agent this morning to find that she had retired and all her cases were being handled elsewhere and that it may take time. After explaining Raena's medical condition, they said they would try and expedite it. Once her visa is approved, and Ted receives both papers from the Judge, we can send Dezi over to Taiwan to pick her up! Praise the Lord and keep praying!!

Past Newsletters & Updates Reminder

We want to remind everyone to please send us your email address if you have not received an update from us in awhile. We are trying to stay away from printed mailings because of the costs. Our mailing lists had become corrupted and we are still in the process of rebuilding it and need your help in this way.

Our website is also being updated, www.candleonchina.org, and you may go to our Newsletter Archive area to see the latest updates as well as our newsletters from the past.