Matt and Margaret

We received a call from our social worker at 4:07 pm on Monday, December 12. Debra was so excited as she asked, “Did you check your email?” I was at work, sitting in front of my computer, so I frantically searched my inbox to see if I had any new emails. Hearing the excitement in Debra’s voice, I was secretly hoping that this was THE EMAIL we’d been waiting for! Nothing . . . but a few seconds later I saw a new email from our adoption agency. I clicked on the email and was speechless as I looked at the cutest little boy who has been matched with our dossier!! I picked up the phone and told Matt he needed to come over!

Matt and I learned in November that we would receive a referral for our adoption in January or sooner, but had no idea we would be matched with a child before Christmas! I was praying for God’s perfect timing and we have definitely seen His hand in the timing of our adoption process. We truly received the best gift ever, the picture and referral of a little boy in Moscow, and trust that this is the child God has for us! It was so fun to share our exciting news with friends and family over the holidays. Our gift was a great reminder of the wonderful gift we have been given in God sending His Son, Jesus to earth as a baby.

Our little boy seems to be healthy and happy. He’s definitely a cutie! We’ll find out much more information about his history after we travel for the first trip.

Last week we learned of a new policy change in Moscow that will require us to travel to Russia 3 times (instead of 2) before we bring our little boy home. It wasn’t what we wanted to hear, but I think God had already prepared my heart to receive the news – I was honestly okay! To look on the bright side, we’ll be getting a few more frequent flier miles than we originally expected. And its easier to ask someone to watch our dog, Myles, for a week vs a month! I know it will be so hard to say good-bye to our little boy after the first 2 trips, but we hope to have him home around May.

Last night, Matt and I began talking about our clothing needs with the cold winter weather in Russia. Matt is used to these temperatures from his years in Iowa. I still have my boots and thick socks from my mid-winter trips to Russia when I worked with Campus Crusade at Eastern Kentucky University. I laughed as I remembered that Russians, especially in Moscow, are often very stylish and wear muted colors. So, I won’t be wearing my bright red winter coat. I’ll take my black one instead! It goes without saying . . . the weather in Russia will be very different from the Florida winter weather.

Please celebrate with us and keep praying. I’m so excited about all the Lord has in store for 2012!

What if Joseph and Mary had Twitter, Facebook, and today’s other social media – how would they announce the coming of their baby?

We are now the proud owners of a crib and dresser for the baby’s room! This was our second trip to look at baby furniture at the Crib 4 Life store and each time I gave Matt a hard time for not parking in one of the “Expectant Mothers” parking spots! Our sales associate was very helpful but it was evident he felt a bit awkward as he looked at my belly and said ” . . . when will you need this by??” I tamed my sarcastic side and said, “We’re adopting a baby!”

The proud owners of a baby crib

There have been many memorable moments so far. We had to take pictures of our home, including a picture of the “baby’s room” to send in with our adoption paperwork. I emailed our social worker to ask if I should label the picture. How would they know this was the baby’s room since it there was a full size bed in the room?!

I spent last Saturday rearranging rooms upstairs to clear out a bedroom for the baby. Matt really wants to get busy painting, but I hope to pick out the bedding first. We hope to go gender neutral with the colors (going with my favorite color – green) since we don’t know if we are getting a boy or a girl. I’ve only looked at bedding at 2 stores, but no one seems to be selling bedding that would work for a boy or a girl.  I’m sure our parents did not have this problem since they didn’t know our gender ahead of time! Any suggestions?

The Ritsema family is growing! On November 19 we took 2 pounds of adoption paperwork to FedEx.  I (Margaret) was giddy as we packaged up almost 4 months of work to mail to the Florida Secretary of State and US Immigration Services!  We put so much prayer, time and effort into each form, and it was a step of faith to hand the documents over to the young woman behind the counter. We had to get pictures, of course, to celebrate this milestone in our journey! Many thanks to all of our “notary” friends at work who helped notarize over 70 documents for our adoption!

Yes!  Our adoption is moving along! We have a lot to pray for and give thanks over this holiday season – including you!  Thank you for being a part of our journey even now as we, by God’s grace, prepare to welcome our first child home. We’re blessed to have a wonderful team of encouragers in life and ministry.  We are excited to give our child an opportunity to have a new life, a loving Christian family and most importantly, the opportunity to know Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.

Our social worker and adoption agency both feel that we will be traveling to Russia by March 2012!  This is will be the first of two trips to meet with Russian court officials, complete additional paperwork, and then bring our child home.

One of the most enjoyable parts of our adoption journey is sharing this experience with you.  You’re part of the work that God is doing to bring three lives together!  Your partnership in prayer and/or finances is God’s provision for us to continue the ministry to which He has brought us, and you.  We cannot thank you enough!

It’s hard to believe that it’s almost Thanksgiving. After a busy October and first 2 weeks of November, here is an update for you. Our Adoption Home Study has been completed and approved. So we are now waiting it finish some other paper for Russia.

November 2011 and Adoption Update

Here is our September 2011 update. Enjoy! Feel free to send us a comments – we would love to hear from you!

September 2011

Matt and I are so excited to be adopting a child from Russia! My heart is overflowing with joyful expectation and anticipation of the road ahead. We love the heart behind adoption, especially in light of the fact that our Heavenly Father has adopted us as His children. John Piper does an excellent job sharing The Foundation of Adoption:

The deepest and strongest foundation of adoption is located not in the act of humans adopting humans, but in God adopting humans. And this act is not part of his ordinary providence in the world; it is at the heart of the gospel. Galatians 4:4-5 is as central a gospel statement as there is: “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” God did not have to use the concept of adoption to explain how he saved us, or even how we become part of his family. He could have stayed with the language of new birth so that all his children were described as children by nature only (John 1:12-13, “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”). But he chose to speak of us as adopted as well as being children by new birth. This is the most essential foundation of the practice of adoption.

As those adopted by God, Matt and I want to extend this blessing to others!

God gave me a heart for international adoption when I was a kid. I still remember the conversations girls would have at the lunch table in elementary school – how much do you weigh? what’s your bedtime? how tall are you? and . . . do you want to adopt kids?! Since God gave me this desire to adopt when I was young, I’ve had many years to pray for my kids and their birth parents.

Almost 4 years ago (October 2007), God gave me a tremendous blessing: Matt called to invite me to a pumpkin carving party. I was thrilled since I really liked him (and wasn’t sure if he liked me)! In the course of our conversation at the party Matt mentioned that he was adopted. I was so excited to learn this, and later wondered if Matt thought I was strange!

This dream of many years has come true as Matt and I adopt this child that the Lord has for us! Will you join us in praying for our child and the journey ahead?

We have some exciting news to share! We would love to hear from you. Also, you can subscribe to receive our updates automatically by submitting you email address. Or feel free to check back as we will be periodically posting updates about our story.

August 2011

Click here for our July 2011 Prayer Letter. Here is a wrap up of our summer and our staff conference. For more details, questions, or concerns, feel free to contact us or go to www.ccci.org/cru.
July 2011 Letter

And here is what John Piper had to say about the name change.

Here are other endorsements from Christian leaders.

May is Internet Evangelism Month. Everyday millions of people are on the internet, and what a great place to reach them – at a time they are in need. People have questions about God, Jesus, and life topics. They may not know anyone who they trust to provide the answers to their questions. They want to know Jesus and how they can have a personal relationship with Him.

I’ve been an Online Missionary for about a year, and have corresponded with over 300 people, from all over the world. That’s over 300 people who want to know the truth about Jesus. Being an Online Missionary is evangelism in slow motion because email is slower than face-to-face conversations. With internet evangelism, I’ve had conversations with people I’ll never would have met otherwise. Watch the video below to learn how you can be involved. Technology has given me the opportunity to share the truth about Jesus and how He loves us, with people from different cultures, countries, and stages in life. And you too can do this too!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItVsZzhQFJ0