TWO MORE DAYS.....

Micah and I will be arriving in Southern California!!! We are both very excited to see everyone!!! Micah's been counting down the days for the start of Summer and our trip to California. He gets out at noon, and a few hours later we'll be on an airplane. It will be a long day, but well worth it. Our trip will last 12 days, which will be the longest both of us have been away from Soowan. =( But at the same time 12 days doesn't feel like it is enough time to spend time with everyone we want to see. I know we'll have short visits with most of you, though I am extremely happy that we get to see our family and friends.

See you all soon!!!

Thanks For Your Love & Support!!!

We want to thank all of you for the tons of emails we received the past couple of days. It's so nice to know how much you all love and support us. So this next 6-8 months will be our waiting period. Time should pass fairly quickly (as I'm praying it will). I'm hoping to keep busy, and as I look at our calendar I notice we will be busy between now and November!

Let's see.... Micah and I will be in So. Cali. for 12 days in late May-Early June. Maggie (my sister) is coming to visit us here in Texas for 3 weeks! We'll be heading on up to Branson, MO for the 4th of July week. Micah will start second grade the first week in August, and I will be "Room Mom" this year! Then Fall soccer, golf lessons and choir rehearsals will begin. In October Micah has Fall Break and we are heading east to Hilton Head Island, SC. Once November 5th hits that's when I'll pretty much be a basket case until we get our phone call from Holt saying we have a baby! So if I seem a little edgy then, I ask you for your forgiveness now! :)

I'm sure we'll be fine, just a bit anxious when the 6-8 month period comes along! We know the hardest part will be after we receive the referral. It will take 3-4 months to bring our child home. :( My friends who have adopted call it "labor of the heart". You know your child is out there, yet he/she still can't be in your arms until all the paperwork is complete. This is when I will truly be a "basket case". But in the end we will have a child, and our child will have a forever family.

ROLL CALL!!!

I'm just curious on who's following along with our blog. I would love to know! Please click on the "comments" link below, and leave a message if you can. If you don't want to register, choose "anonymous" and leave your message. You can just add your name at the end of your comment if you'd like. Thanks!!!

Still No Word Yet

We are still waiting to hear from the USCIS to be fingerprinted. UGH! Still trying to be patient, but we did receive some promising news! I talked with our case worker at Holt, and she said that we may be put on the waiting list for referral before we get our 1600-A form processed. Holt says considering the back log that the USCIS is receiving by immigrants trying to get their paperwork in before the deadline, has backed-up other petitions requests. Holt is taking this into consideration, and will be looking at each applicant, case by case who are waiting on pending 1600-A forms to be processed, to be put on the referral list prior to this approval. Praying that we will be put on the referral list very soon!

Harry Holt: The Heart of a Humble Servant

His wife said he never changed a diaper... Until he followed God's leading in Korea.

Harry worked on the land, moving earth, running a combine, growing wheat, raising cattle, milling flour, mining coal or cutting and milling timber. Though he attended school only through the third grade, he had a genius for building nearly anything he needed.

Following a heart attack at age 45, Harry dedicated his life to God.

"Many people say that they received the Lord Jesus and they do it with their head and their mouth," Harry said in a message he recorded for Martha Sue Surdam, a girl whose life he saved in Korea. "Many are willing to receive Him as their Savior, but many don't go all the way and receive Him as their Lord, and that's the most important thing."

Harry spent the final eight years of his life changing diapers, rocking babies and singing songs to them providing medical assistance, rescuing children from imminent death , and burying hundreds of babies that he wasn't able to rescue.

He continues to farm, fell trees and move earth, bringing equipment to Korea to build an entire village for the care of children with disabilities.

Some might say he not only moved earth, he moved heaven and earth. But this simple man-who once lived in a sod house in South Dakota-would most likely say it was heaven that moved him.


Halmoni: Beloved Grandma

She was simply "grandma" to thousands of children who were adopted through Holt International, to all of the adoptive families including birth children, and especially to thousands of children who waited and hoped to be adopted.

Bertha studied to be a nurse, but she put that aside to raise her six children and blaze a trail to Oregon, where she helped farm, raise cattle, and do the multitude of tasks required of a farmer's wife.

When Harry was struck down by a heart attack, Bertha joined him in praying for his recovery with a promise to serve God in whatever way He showed them. She and Harry were keepers of promises.

When the time came to mobilize efforts to adopt children on a large scale, she rose to the occasion, proving that beneath the simple farmer's wife appearance, she was every bit as capable and committed as her husband.

When Harry died in 1964, Bertha had the grace and courage to continue the work. Over the next 36 years Bertha's faith inspired the growth and development of Holt International. She never took a back seat. By the time she, too, passed away, Bertha had been named "Mother of the Year," logged more than a million flight miles traveling for Holt International and advocating for homeless and disabled children, and set a world record for her age group in the 400 meter run.

But the title she held dearest to her was Halmoni, grandmother in Korean. She should also be remembered as Bunica in Romania, Lola in the Philippines, Ba Ngoai in Vietnam, and Khun Yai in Thailand, and other designations of grandma.

Articles taken from Holt International Magazine 2006: Vol. 48 No. 2

Here is a link to learn more about the history of Holt International, and to learn more about the incredible faith and servant's heart of Harry and Bertha Holt.

http://www.holtintl.org/historical.shtml

WE GOT AGENCY APPROVAL!!


Our social worker came over Tuesday night to show us the report she wrote up on our family. It was amazing how well the report was written. We had three, two hour meeting with her for the home study. She asked tons of question, and she mainly wrote down on her note pad as we answered. It was a bit nerve racking, but now we know she truly was listening, and was able to put all of our words so eloquently in her report. My favorite part in her report says:

I recommend Soowan and Nancy Scheuermann as suitable adoptive parents for the placement of one child under the age of two of either sex from Korea.

I know it sounds sooooo technical, but that is really all we needed see, hear, to know THIS IS REALLY GOING TO HAPPEN!!!! We are so excited, and it just feels extremely wonderful that this part is over. We still have to wait for the government to accept our petition to adopt a foreign orphan, but with Korea the agency says all petitions are accepted, unless the couple petitioning has a criminal past. Which neither of us have, but we still have to be fingerprinted, and go through all the technical steps the adoption requires. But "HEY" we are one step closer in the journey, and we are filled with joy!!!

Thank you for all your prayers and notes of encouragement you have sent our way! We are so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends who support us in this adoption process! We love you all so very much!

Love,

Soowan, Nancy and Micah

Jeremiah 1:5

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart;
-Jeremiah 1:5

I love this verse, knowing that my God knew me before I was ever conceived and has always had a plan for my life. Although I may not understand His plan, and try to make my own plans, my faith tells me that His plan is more glorious than mine.

Soowan and I were talking last night and discussing plans for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Should we stay here in Dallas, go to California again to spend time with family, etc. Then it dawned on me that during this time we should be receiving our referral. Once our home study is accepted, then we wait for a referral of a child. Currently the agency is stating that the referral time is taking somewhere between 6-9 months from the acceptance of the home study. We are hoping our home study will be approved by the end of April. So with this said, we are anticipating our referral sometime between October-December of 2006.

With the Korea program, generally the baby is 1-2 months old at time of referral.... Meaning our child has already been conceived. He or she is now growing in the womb of a mother who is about to make a huge decision for her child's life. First off she's already chosen life for a child she knows she cannot care for. Most likely she is an unwed mother, and she knows the pressure that will fall upon her from her family and society. In Korea it is unacceptable to be an unwed mother. A woman is considered a shame to her family, and is shunned from her family when they find out she is pregnant. Most women turn to abortion in Korea, usually forced by parents who are pride-full and are more concerned about their family honor than the life of a child.

Soowan and I prayed for her last night. We can't imagine all that is going through her mind at this moment. She already knows she's pregnant, and most likely will not be able to hide her secret much longer. Knowing all the judgment that will fall upon her, and her unborn child. It's hard for me to put myself in her shoes. I could never grow a child inside me, and give it to someone else to raise. It's hard for us to fathom.

That's where our faith begins in this adoption process. I may not understand God's plan, but I know he has a plan for each and everyone of our lives. He knew this child would become part of our family, before he/she was conceived. I also believe he has a plan for the life of this child's mother. And from this day forward I will lift her up in prayer and be forever grateful that she chose life for her child.

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for
and certain of what we do not see.
-Hebrews 11:1

Finished With The Interviews!!!!

AAAAAAHHHHHH!!! This part of the process is finally over. We had our last visit with the social worker on Wednesday. This visit went much smoother, considering that we did not touch on the topics that we knew we disagreed on. I think we've agreed to disagree, and like Soowan says, "At the end of the day it is our adoption, our choices, and there is no way she could not say we are not deserving parents!"

So the next step in the process is kind of a two part process. The social worker will write up her report on our family, (we get to see the report before she turns it in) and we need to send in a form called a I-600A visa petition form. This form is to request an immigration visa for the child we will be adopting. Later on we will file what is called I-600 form once we know exactly what child we will be adopting, and put all his/her information of the request form. So sometime next week our social worker will turn in our home study to the U.S citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS), and we will mail in our I-600A form simultaneously. Once the USCIS reviews both the home study and our I-600A form then we will need to go to our local USCIS office to be fingerprinted. Then once our clearance check comes back we wait to see if our request to adopt internationally is accepted or not. We hope to know by late April/early May!!! So basically we sit and wait.