Punched in the Gut

I feel like I've just been punched in the gut.  And I'll tell you, my gut has not been well this week.  So this was the final blow.  

I just got home from spending the last several hours talking to the Chinese police.  And if that doesn't sound like enough fun, I got home and got more discouraging emails.  All of them adoption related.  Outside the box questions throw most people here into a tailspin.  At KFC, you want fries and not corn?  "no, we cannot do that."  At the bank, we lost our card and need a new one.  "no, we cannot do that."  I want chicken instead of beef in that dish..."no, we cannot do that."  

So in going to the police and asking for a simple letter stating that we haven't committed crimes while living here in China was received with a "huh?!  Why do you want to adopt?  And you want to adopt from WHERE?!  How are you going to feed it, clothe it, send it to college???"  All I wanted was a simple letter and it has now turned into a 2 week ordeal.  It's still not solved.

I know that the Lord wants us to do this.  I cannot tell you the incredible amount of paperwork we are trying to get done.  It's expensive, time intensive and emotionally trying.  But as I have been praying this afternoon, the Lord has reminded me just how costly His sacrifice was for us.  

So I will press on, because our sacrifice is nothing compared to God's.  And our gain will be great when we get to meet our new little one.