Homestudy.......Approved!

We just got word today that our homestudy has been approved! This is a great blessing and answer to prayer, so thank you so much for all of your prayers, well wishes, and good thoughts!

We are now moving into a time that will be very difficult for us. We have done all that we can do; there is no longer anything that we have to fill out. It is a good thing in a way, since we have finished our side of it, but this is where our trust in the sovereignty of God will really be put to the test. So please pray for us, that we will trust to God's timing and His will in this.

Also pray for Ciahna, that the Lord would be opening her heart to be receptive and loving toward her new brother(s) and/or sister(s). She has been so sweet with the babies of our friends, which we are taking as a good sign, but it will still be tough on her. She's still only (almost) two!

If you are interested in the theology of adoption, please check out this article I (Conor) just wrote on my hubpages account. It is a short introduction into the theology of adoption, the implications for us as individuals, and the applications for our lives as individuals and members of the church.

Thanks so much for your past, present, and continuing prayers. We desperately appreciate and need them!

Conor, Carling, and Ciahna

Finished Homestudy

Hooray! Our certified investigator finished our homestudy last week. It was 21 pages long! No wonder it takes a while.

Now we have to wait until the DSS Adoption coordinator approves it, and we are put into the pool of potential adoptive families. We're so excited for this, but it will be very difficult to wait. People who are familiar with international adoption always ask if we know who we're getting, but we will have no idea until we get a call saying that we've been matched up with a child (or children!). So the waiting will be very hard for us.

We would love it if you would pray for us: that God would work out His will in our lives with our children (even the ones who aren't here yet), that we would trust in His will as the sovereign will of the Almighty God, and that we would have patience in our waiting.

Thanks!

Conor, Carling, and Ciahna

Orphan Ministry Awareness Meeting

Hello everyone. I am sorry that I have not updated as regularly as I should. We finished all our inspections, and are waiting for our homestudy paper to be finished and approved. We will be sure to let you all know what that happy moment comes.

The Orphan Ministry at Clemson Presbyterian church is having an awareness meeting tomorrow morning. If you would like to know some details, as well as read a (hopefully) detailed explanation of why I think you should consider coming, please check out this link at my worldview blog: Adoption.

Thank you very much for your emotional and spiritual support through this. We thank God for you!

Conor, Carling, and Ciahna

Inspection Updates

Hey guys, we just wanted to let you know what's up.

Our Fire Marshall inspection went really well; the first half of our home inspection went well (the second half is sometime in the future), and our DHEC inspection went really, really well (Carling really did a great job with all this stuff).

We just have a training class this Saturday, and the second half of our home inspection (hopefully) soon.

Thanks for all your prayers and support! We really appreciate them!

Conor, Carling, and Ciahna

Updates, Prayer Requests, and a Great Article

Here's what is going on with the Aubry family and our quest to adopt.

We had our inspection with the Fire Marshall yesterday, which we passed with only one suggestion. Praise the Lord! And a big thanks to Carling, who was home when he came.

We have our inspection with DHEC tomorrow afternoon, and our first inspection with the certified investigator (they need to come up with a less ominous sounding title for this person) Thursday afternoon. We would really appreciate your prayers for us in these. We know we are ready for them, but it is still nerve-wracking to have to sit through. Pray that the Lord would be faithful - that as He called us to this ministry, that He might see it to fruition. And even more so, that we would trust in His faithfulness, which is never ending!

Lastly, if you are interested in the theology of adoption (our adoption into the family of God), read this great article by Dan Cruver, co-founder and president of Together for Adoption, a ministry in Spartanburg.

Thanks so much for reading, caring, and praying. We all appreciate it so much!

Conor, Carling, and Ciahna

Paperwork Done

Praise the Lord! This past Friday, Carling copied all of our paperwork and I took the whole packet over to the post office.

After this, we have our home inspections, our fire inspection, and then we are done with our part, and will just be waiting to get referred.

Thanks to everyone who has prayed for us through this process. And thanks to our Lord for His sustaining grace. We will definitely keep everyone updated on when we get our inspections, and how they go.

Thanks again for praying for us. We really appreciate it.

Conor, Carling, and Ciahna

Update and Praise

Today Carling got a call from someone at Heartfelt Calling, which is somehow involved with DSS in adoption. They were just asking how things were going with our adoption. It is very encouraging having the people we work with who are helping and checking up on us.

Anyways, Carling told her where we were in the process, and she was very impressed, and said we were about halfway done with the whole process (minus waiting time)! That is an awesome thing, considering how overwhelming the giant packet of stuff was at the beginning.

It is also a huge testament to Carling's diligence and hard work in getting the paperwork done soon. If it were up to me, we would still need to call to get started :). Diligence in paperwork is not my strong suit, but praise God He gave me a wife who is great at it!

Even though we are relieved at this great news, we still need lots of prayer for continued diligence and patience.

Thanks for reading and praying.

Conor, Carling, and Ciahna