NVC, DS-260 & PREPARING A ROOM

Our DS-260 was submitted on Monday and we received NVC approval this morning!  The DS-260 was the last piece of paper to fill out before receiving travel approval, so now we wait.  There is nothing else to do on our part between now and getting approval to travel (TA).

1-800 to NVC & DS-260: 1-2 weeks  

NVC to Article 5: 2 weeks   <-- We are here!

Article 5 to TA: 1-3 weeks

TA to departure: 2 weeks

Once we receive TA, the following two weeks will be a zoo of travel planning and paperwork.  That being said, we've started getting our home ready for Benjamin.

Benjamin currently sleeps in a crib in a room full of other children.  In an effort to make his transition as least traumatic as possible, we’re seeking to replicate that the best we can by placing a crib in our bedroom.  Our bedroom is oddly long so there is plenty of room for both our bed and Benjamin’s crib.  He’ll be able to see us at night and we’ll be able to hear him if he needs anything.

Everyone has been so kind to us during this process.  Along with everyone’s financial support, our neighbors graciously allowed us to borrow a crib and have also passed down their son’s clothes.  We had a friend generously give us a car seat and my sister is passing along a stroller.  As parents of a 6 and 7-year-old, it’s funny how quickly the time that having toddler/small child items flies by, and there has been some nostalgia creeping in as I set up a space for Benjamin.

It reminds me of the beginning of John 14, where Jesus tells his disciples that he is preparing a room for them in heaven.  Jesus is speaking and he says,

“My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”

I love that Jesus says he prepares a room for us.  Jesus doesn't say, "Bring a sleeping bag, you're gonna be here for a while."  He prepares a room for me in advance.  

Preparing requires forethought.  Preparing requires time.  Preparing is done with purpose.  Preparing is executed with expectation.  Preparation even takes sacrifice.

Think about the last time you stayed with someone who prepared a room for you. 

I just recently stayed at Brad’s supervisor’s house.  They live close to Albany and I had an early flight.  I asked if I could stay with them the evening before my flight to make getting to the airport in unpredictable weather easier.  It was a quick visit – in by 7pm and out by 4:45am.  All I needed was a couch and a place to park my car for the night. 

But that’s not what I received.

It was obvious that Becky had prepared a place for me.  Downstairs, in their bonus room, a futon was laid down, sheets and comforters spread out and gently tucked in, pillows and towels neatly placed on the bed.  As I descended the stairs to the room prepared for me, there was a teeny chalkboard on a shelf that said, “Welcome, Brooke”.  And, even though I was leaving before the sun, I was still offered coffee in the morning.

Becky prepared a room for me.  She sacrificed her time to think through and make space for me.  She prepared for me in advance, everything in its place by 7pm.  And she had the forethought (and kindness) to include that little chalkboard note down the steps. 

I was thought of before I was physically there, I was cared for, I was expected by someone else.  And I felt loved.

Jesus does the same. 

And then he says, “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”

We don’t generally prepare a room without a purpose.  When a room is prepared, it is meant to be used; lived in.  So the rooms Jesus prepares, he prepares with the purpose that they will be filled.

A prepared room is worth nothing without the purpose for which it was prepared.  It’s the life inside the room that is where the worth is, where the value is.

It’s been incredibly special to think about Benjamin with forethought, to prepare a room for him, and to plan to go to him so we can bring him back with us so “that you also may be where I am.”

Together 💛

Getting closer every day,

Brooke

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Financial update:  We’re only $3,379 away from being fully funded!!  If you’d like to help us close the gap before we leave for China, 1) we would be over-the-moon grateful and 2) you can do that by clicking here 😍