Here we go!

Olivia Ruth Bickel--get ready!

Many of you may know that we received a referral for Olivia Ruth, our 5 year old little girl, on August 9, 2013.  Since then, God has sped things up drastically.  We are heading out tomorrow, Wed, 11/20/2013, to bring her home.  We have been so humbled and touched by all the support and love that has been pouring out on us here recently and would love to tell you again how grateful we are!  From friends helping me decorate Elise and Olivia’s  room to organizing meals when we return, but the most touching has been all the prayer support we have received from our church and friends.  God has “moved mountains” to get us to China before the unexpected closure of the consulate on Dec. 5!  We received the call one week ago today to let us know that we have been approved to go and have a consulate appointment on Dec. 2.  We had all of our friends praying that we could bring Olivia home before Dec. 5 and He answered that prayer with a resounding YES!! 

Excited for a new sister!

God has provided for our family in such amazing ways throughout this adoption and it has been really amazing to watch His plan unfold.  He has provided in all ways: from the finances to the perfect timing for the kids school, so that they are not missing as much as we thought!  Then an added bonus is that we are blessed to visit our friend who lives in Beijing and encourage her.  God is so good!!  He has even taken care of the smallest needs from selling our GA/KY tickets that we bought months ago b/c it was on Bryce’s birthday (had to scramble for another present idea…) to providing, through a friend, an “ergo” carrier!  God’s hand has miraculously been intertwined in this whole adoption. 

So now the real story begins….  We meet our precious girl, Olivia, Monday, Nov. 25 and we bring her home on Dec 4!!  Here are some prayer needs:  safe travel, health of everyone, Olivia's heart to be comforted during this transition (God to give her peace, strength, comfort), smooth transition for all family, Benjamin specifically to have God continue his healing process and strengthen his bond with the family and to rise to the occasion as an older brother, wisdom for parenting and to support Olivia as well as Bryce, Elise and Benjamin in any way that they need, all processes to go smoothly (no bags lost, paperwork, appointments, etc.)  =).  Thanks and we will keep you posted on our adventure…

Testing 1,2,3

Trying to blog via email.

Long Over Due...

     It has been a long time… too long, so an update is definitely in order.  A lot of wonderful things have occurred since the last blog update.  The first interesting thing is our fundraising for adoption #2.  When we were in the process of adopting Benjamin, God provided abundantly through Nanette’s job, so when we started this process again, we figured that God would provide in the same way.  But as you know, God rarely does things the same way, right?  Shortly after we started this process, Nanette’s job took a turn and was not providing nearly as it had and sometimes, she had no work at all.  Because of this, she took on another PRN job with a different company to help with the funds.  After researching grants and fundraisers, we knew that God would provide for us some way.  We decided to participate in a project called Both Hands that serves an orphan and a widow.  We had a magnificent team that supported us by sending out letters to sponsor us to work on a widow’s home—doing some needed yard work, painting, fixing fences, etc.  With everyone on our team, we sent out over 600 letters and you might have been one of the recipients!  We had a great time on the day of the project w/ God’s hand evident throughout.  It was very touching to see so many people serving the Lord together to help our dear friend!  The sponsored money went into an account to assist us in the financial costs of our adoption.  Through this project, a matching grant, and some other smaller (but successful) fundraising, we were able to raise nearly $20,000!!  We are truly blessed by our friends and family that have made this possible and it is so humbling to be on the receiving end of such a huge blessing!  We LOVE to support others financially and for God to provide for us in this way is really difficult to express our gratitude in words.  Humbly, we have experienced God’s provision for His will in our lives!!

"Both Hands" day...The Greenes and Bickels

            To update you on the adoption front: we were “logged in“ (China’s approval to adopt a child) on 11/15/2013.  We thought that it would take 2-3 months to receive a referral.  We had our Both Hands project in May 2013, so we had the finances ready, but still no referral.  This period was a true test of patience and trusting of God to be in control of this whole process for us.  Honestly, it was very difficult emotionally, for me (Nanette J).  Finally, at the end of July, we received an email from our social worker asking what age we would be willing to accept.  We had planned all along for a child 0-4 years of age, but God suddenly changed Scott’s heart to be open to a 5 year old.  So we discussed this option and replied that we could handle 0-5 years old.  That night, she called and gave a referral of a beautiful 5-year old girl.  After some prayer and discussion, we accepted the referral on August 9, 2013!!  Since we had been logged in so long we received the next step extremely quick, in 12 days!  Now we are just waiting for travel approval.  We anticipate that our sweet Olivia Ruth Bickel will be brought home in about 2-3 months!

Olivia Ruth Bickel

            We plan on taking the whole family to bring Olivia home, so we are currently applying for visas, getting excused absenses approved, sending packages with pictures to her, as well as all the kids’ Fall sports are in full swing.  Bryce made the competitive travel soccer team for Briarwood, which has been fun experiences traveling around a little for soccer!  Elise is playing softball again, in a new league w/ kid pitch and stealing!  Benjamin is trying his “foot” in soccer with Scott as his head coach.  School is going well for all of them.  Scott is busy in his job at UAB with teaching and research, while Nanette has cut down from working 4 days to 2 days a week for family sanity!  We will try to do better at updates, since the real excitement is about to begin!!  Be in prayer for Olivia and her transition to our family.  

Birthdays...

Today is Benjamin's birthday...a day that most people enjoy having some cake, people treating us special and just celebrating.  However, for some, a birthday could be a reminder that you were abandoned, left for others to take care of.  So, should I celebrate or should I be sad?  Today started out a little rough with Benjamin, he was upset, pitched a fit for what we thought was no reason.  Could it be that he was thinking that there was nothing to celebrate?  Or could he be thinking that the person who gave birth to him had abandoned him?  I'm not sure, but it's possible...

 We are fortunate to have some baby pictures!

Here's what I think on Benjamin's birthday.  There are many things to celebrate.  Yes, your birth mother gave you up and you were raised in an orphanage for the first 3 1/2 years of your life...but we know that God had another plan for your life.  I'm thankful that in this day when a simple "medical procedure" could have ended your life that your birth mother loved you enough to give birth to you and let others raise you up.  That's a type of love that is often forgotten in today's society.  So when someone says, I don't see how a mother could "give up" her child...I say, that is a form of love that I'm thankful for...

Cute kid!

Benjamin, you are fearfully and wonderfully made.   Some families are put together in non-traditional means and ours is one of them.  You bring a unique aspect to our family and fill us with great joy!  You are a blessing to many and we are thankful that you were born.  While your birthday may bring back a painful memory, it will be a day that we always celebrate...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BENJAMIN!!

Fundamental Truths that we are Learning While We Wait

If anybody knows anything about adoption, there is a lot of waiting.  We joke…”Hurry up and wait!”  While we are yearning to know our daughter and bring her home, we rest in God, knowing that He sees the entire picture.  Because we know that she is living in an orphanage in China right now, the wait is very difficult and we desire to bring her into our loving home.  So, while we wait, we are using this time to learn valuable truths that can transcend to all areas of life that involve waiting. 

1. God is in control.  Amidst all the paperwork and long processes, God is ultimately in control of all of it.  We have a Lord that causes the sun to rise and fall.  “He determines the number of the stars; He gives to all of them their names.  Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; His understanding is beyond measure” (Ps. 147: 4-5).  God’s response to Job during his trials that he experienced is classic.  In Job 38:4-12, God states His authority over all creation since He is the Creator.

2. God’s timing is perfect.  God knows the future and sees all the pieces of the puzzle, while our sights and thoughts are significantly limited.  Romans 8:28 tells us that “all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.”  Which brings us to the point that this is God’s story/ adoption, not ours, and we need to be satisfied and trusting that He is all loving and all knowing and completely good!  Psalms 139: 13-16 “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.”  God knows the plans for our little girl and our family and we need to just trust in Him. Jer. 39:11 states that God has plans for our future that will draw us to Him and bring Him glory.

3.  God loves her more that we ever can.  We desire to bring our little girl into our loving home, but God is caring for her right now.  He never leaves us or forsakes us and nothing can separate us from the love of God.   Psalms 68:5 lets us know that God is caring for her because He is the “Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.”  His love is far greater than we can even fathom. “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him” Psalms 103:11.  We sometimes feel like our little girl needs our love, but must wait, knowing that she has the love of the Father right now covering her until He gives us the privilege to take care of her.  This is so comforting to cling to during our waiting process.  We are just instruments of God’s love that He gives these gifts of children to us!

            4.  It is alright to yearn as long as you remember points #1 through #3.  There are several scriptures where people have longings but they are trusting in God for His ultimate plan.   Ps. 107:8-9 “Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man! For he satisfies the longing soul,
and the hungry soul he fills with good things.”  Then also David questions God multiple times in the book of Psalms but is always reminded in the end to trust in our all knowing, loving God.  Ps 13 is a perfect example of this point.

            5.  Only God can give us peace during the wait.  We may seek other things or even stress and worry about things that are not in our control…but it is fruitless.  We need to trust in our Creator knowing that He desires for us to “not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  (Phil. 4:6-7)  Some days (even hours) are better than others with this point but I am being stretched and trying to be satisfied with all these things that God is teaching us.

            The main verses that I am clinging to that sum up all of these points is to “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” (Ps. 46:10) and Prov. 3:5, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.”  Things are not in our control, but do we really want them to be??  We have a God that sees all the puzzle pieces and knows all things and desires to bring Himself glory through our adoption process.  We would not want to be anywhere else besides where He has us right now!  In conclusion, all we need to be doing is to “be still” and “to pray without ceasing”.  I know that this has been long but I really desired to let everyone know the truths that can be learned while waiting for the Lord.

Merry Christmas and the Year in Review

   We did not send a letter with our Christmas card this year, but instead provided our blog address. We have not been the best at keeping this up to date, but you can see in the past posts that we have had a great year.  The kids are all doing well in school and their activities.  I will simply provide a few bullet point highlights of a great year:

• We were blessed this past November to celebrate our 15 year wedding anniversary...pretty incredible how time flies!  15 years, 3 kids, and 1 on the way from China!
• To celebrate our 15 years, we returned to San Francisco for the first time since our honeymoon.  Scott had a conference and Nanette tagged along but it was fun nonetheless.  While there, we were able to connect with two of Scott's cousins.
• Scott was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure (a big milestone)
• Nanette has been very busy as a taxi driver--taking the kids to all of their activities.  Bryce played a lot of soccer, Elise played softball and had girl scouts, and Benjamin played baseball and started kindergarten.
• We added a puppy to the family, an 11 pound Shih Tzu named Shelby.

   As I mentioned, we are in the process of our second international adoption.  This time we will be adopting a little girl from China.  We have often received the question why we choose to adopt and even more specifically, why we choose to adopt internationally "when there are children here who need a home too".  The short answer is that we didn't choose to adopt but rather adoption chose us.  As Christ followers, God commands us to care for orphans and widows (James 1:27).  We do not believe that everyone is called to adopt, but we do believe that God wants each of His followers to support and take care of orphans in some form.  A few statistics about orphans: first, it is estimated that there are over 143 million in the world!  Some groups estimate the number could be as high as 200 million, but while the number may not be exact, the fact is there are a lot of children that are living in situations that are not optimal.  If these precious children are not adopted, 10 to 15 percent commit suicide, 25 percent become homeless, 60 percent become prostitutes, and some statistics say that up to 70 percent become hardened criminals.  Every child DESERVES parents and every child NEEDS parents.  We feel like we have been led to make disciples of all nations through international adoption and that is the simple reason why we are going this route.

   Our first adoption was funded solely through the Lord’s provision of enough work for Nanette to provide the necessary resources.  We were able to fund the first adoption without debt, however it took another year or so to replenish our cash reserves with the help of the adoption tax credit, which to our knowledge has been significantly altered for 2013.  The downturn of the economy and the recent changes to the health care system has resulted in Nanette’s work becoming less steady and highly volatile.  Therefore, we will be soliciting donations from family and friends to assist with the expenses associated with bringing home our little girl from China.  We also anticipate that Nanette will stop her part-time work when we bring our little girl home, in order to focus on the attachment/bonding that is critical during the first year home.  This will significantly reduce our monthly income and make it difficult to replenish dipping into our emergency fund.  

If you would like to help, there are two primary ways:
1. Prayer—please pray God would tenderly care for our little girl in China until we are able to bring her home and that God would prepare all of our hearts to be together.
2. Financial support—Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to help us pay the remaining expenses to bring our little girl home.

Our church (www.brookhills.org) and Lifesong (www.lifesongfororphans.org) have graciously given a matching grant of $4,000 to help pay some of the fees.  If you would like to help, you can send your tax-deductible gift to Lifesong, a trusted organization administering the funds on our behalf and will pay adoption expenses out of funds received.  There are no administrative fees charged and 100% will go towards qualified adoption expenses.

Please make checks payable to: Lifesong.  In the memo section of the check, please write “preference Bickel #3150 adoption” to ensure the funds are credited to our account.

Mail checks to: Lifesong for Orphans

                          Att: Bickel/#3150

                          PO Box 40

                          Gridley, IL 61744

We deeply appreciate all the support that our family and friends have demonstrated towards our family.  It is exciting to see how God provides for us in this adventure to bring home our little girl!  Hope that all of your families are well and enjoy the Christmas season celebrating Christ's birth. 

“Father of the fatherless...God settles the solitary in a home...”—Psalms 68:5,6    

PHOTOS FROM 2012

Alcatraz

Golden Gate Bridge

Hiking in Birmingham

Family picture

Fishing fun!

Benjamin's first red snapper!

Elise loves dolphins!

Shelby--the puppy

Fall 2012

Time flies when you're having fun!  We have had a fun and busy Fall.  Benjamin started Kindergarten and is doing fantastic.  He starting to read and is constantly amazing his teacher with what he knows!!  He has tolerated the long days at school like a champ!  Elise is doing well as the oldest in the elementary school (3^rd grade) and enjoying her friends and teacher.  She had a fun fall softball season making new friends.  Bryce has made a very smooth transition to the Intermediate school and we are so blessed to have wonderful teachers.  He is doing great in school and has enjoyed another active soccer season.  He just turned 10 on November 23.  Scott and I are amazed that we have a kid in the double digits!! We celebrated our 15-year anniversary this November and we marvel at all the Lord has blessed us with!  We are so thankful for all He has done in our lives.   Scott was a world traveler this fall, going to China in September and Brazil in October, as well as teaching his classes, research and writing grants!  Nanette continues to work 3 days a week and some weekends to raise finances for the adoption.  Her job has slowed significantly reducing the finances coming in, so we are going to have a fundraiser for this adoption.  (We will have more on that later.)  Everything is on track for adoption #2, our dossier was sent to China in October and we were logged-in on November 13.  This date is significant because all documents have been translated and we are ready to receive a referral for our little girl!!!  The family is very excited and we pray for her every night.  We look forward to what this next year holds for our family!!

Some pictures from Halloween:

 Benjamin--black belt

 Elise - veterinarian

Bryce - hobo