Before Maycie was born we were advised that we need to take her as soon as possible to get her Social Security card and Birth Certificate. The process of getting those documents has been known to take more than six weeks. In fact, our planned departure for the Philippines is set for August partly because we didn’t think we could get Maycie’s papers together any sooner, and partly because we need to finish raising support.
The biggest hurdle to us, was the paperwork. We are happy to say that we received her birth certificate and social security card one week after she was born and applied for her passport yesterday! Praise the Lord! Passports can take six to eight weeks, but we are well on our way to having her papers in order before we leave.
Many people have asked us if it is scary to move to a developing country now that Maycie is here. The answer is always, “yes.” We felt so strange bringing Maycie to the Passport office when she was only two weeks old because we are taking her to another country to live. Do you think the government guy behind the counter understood that? I don’t think so either.
We are confident of all this because of our great trust in God through Christ. It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God. He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant. This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit. The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life.
2 Corinthians 3:4-6
Please pray for us as we continue to prepare for our move and prepare to take Maycie into a new environment. We know that God has led us to do this, so we know He will protect us and give us wisdom along the way, but it is still really hard. Especially when I think of how my heart will break if Maycie ever gets Malaria or some other wonderful tropical disease. We have seen God’s goodness already poured out on us so clearly and abundantly that we really do know and trust in His faithfulness. Just as He has already expedited the paperwork process, we know He can do excedingly and abundantly more than we could ever ask or imagine!