"The hopes and fears of all the years are met in Thee tonight." 

~ O Little Town of Bethlehem~

Christmas is over and the New Year is upon us. Nathan and I went to a Christmas celebration with his brother and our sister-in-law recently, and the words of this familiar song really stood out to me. What truth is found in these words. All of our hopes and deepest fears find rest in the person of Jesus Christ! This little child was born to bring peace through His life, death and resurrection. 

"For a child will be born to us, a Son will be given;

And the government will rest on His shoulders;

And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, 

Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace."

(Isaiah 9:6)

It is with this hope and peace, Nathan and I enter into the New Year. Although we have been silent on our blog, we have been diligently working to gather all of the necessary paperwork for our home study. A home study is a compilation of documents ranging from our birth certificates, criminal background checks, detailed information about our personal family history and plenty of education. There were moments where we felt like we were flying through this portion of the process and other days where it seemed like nothing was happening. However, we are happy to report all of our documents are in, and we are just waiting for our home study to be finalized! Once we receive our finalized home study, we can apply for immigration with the USCIS, and begin the process of registering with the Indian government. 

There will be many long days and weeks of waiting from this point forward, and this process has already shown me how bad I am at waiting. However, I am reminded of the truth that my hopes and fears have already been met in the person of Jesus. I find comfort in knowing He is in control. I find comfort in the reminder that so many, including the prophet Isaiah, spent their whole lives waiting for the One who is now my Savior. I am not looking for His coming. He has already come to be my peace!

Please continue to join Nathan and I in prayer as we continue along this journey. We could not have made it this far without all of your prayers and support. We love all of you and look forward to sharing more in the future!