A FRESH WIND

Greetings Dear Family and Friends,

Wow! Can I just say how BIG and GREAT oh...and AMAZING is the God we serve??!! As one of the favorite songs of our kids in our Christmas play goes..."Shout it from the roof tops, shout it in the streets, come on everybody spread the news with me...." I want to SHOUT it from the roof tops...how amazing God has been in our adoption journey. Please allow me to explain....

As those of you know who have been following us on our Rwandan adoption journey, the doors to Rwanda in August were unexpectedly closed due to a program that the government is preparing to enter into called the Hague Convention. It is a good program as it protects kids from Child Trafficking, but the time line was rough b/c we didn't have all of our paperwork completed and just couldn't make the August 31 deadline. We were so disheartened because we truly believed that God was beginning to move and then the doors were shut all of the sudden. But as a very dear friend told me, "delay in the kingdom of God does not mean denial"...that has helped me over the past few months as we've just went through the motions of waiting and praying for God to open the doors to Rwanda quickly. But little did we know He was preparing to surprise us with an all together different plan and path.

It is with that that I proudly declare that we are now adopting from Uganda, Africa (which is right above Rwanda on the map)! We are elated! There is one word to describe this process as I'm told "Whirlwind"! Things have a tendency to happen FAST in Uganda! Gulp....just teasing! Ha ha ha! Allow me to explain one of the many reasons why God is so amazing with this adoption so far.

About 2 months ago, a dear friend of ours had a African Children's Choir(called the Watoto) (http://www.watoto.com/home) come to their church. The Choir she explained had brought jewelry to sell made by Christian Women (who are Moms to orphaned children) who had Aids and were trying to earn a living. She said she noticed a beautiful hand-made wooden bracelet and her husband bought it for her. Well, when we met and I told her our story one day she said the Lord asked her to give that bracelet to me as a "symbol" of faith that God was going to do just as he promised and give us our heart-born African Child. And let me tell you when I took the bracelet and placed it on my wrist I knew that that bracelet had been made just for me! You see, I have a hard time finding bracelets that fit my wrist and it fit like a glove! Just like the Cinderella slipper, that bracelet was destined to be mine all along. Well, what I've not shared is that the bracelet and children's choir was from, Yep, you guessed it...Uganda! Isn't God SOOO neat!!!

Now, Rwanda is definitely still in our hearts and so is Malachi (whether he is from Rwanda or Uganda). And as the Lord has been speaking to us, Rwanda is not our Season right now, and who knows, that may come sometime later! We are pleased and excited to say that we are NOT going to specify a Boy or Girl...we are going to let the Lord decide that!!!! To which my Mom (who is dying for a granddaughter...even though Kevin teases her that she had 3 girls to raise) is thrilled!!! Ha ha ha! Love ya Mom!!!

So, we are absolutely thrilled and will ask that you continue to pray with us as we start this new adventure and ask that you please keep the many friends of ours that are still awaiting Rwanda to open back up the grace and peace to hold steady as they await their children!

Much love and Prayers,

Marissa, Kevin and ________ ?

UNWAVERING FAITH

Warmest Greetings our dear Family & Friends,

Well, it has been a little while since I've posted and updated you all on anything and so I thought I would take a moment and do that today!

We quite honestly do not know that much more than we did since our last post. But we do know that God is in complete control of all of this. I will have to be honest and say that I am human and have a Mommy's heart and I'm growing impatient! Ha ha...just being honest! Kevin and I talk frequently about this and dream of the day when we hear those words, "the doors are open again"! We cannot wait! As far as my impatience goes, I know God must expect that to a degree. It does not mean that I do not trust Him completely to handle everything it's just that I'm human and well...you know! But I am again and again reminded that He is in control of this and knew the beginning to the end of this and that's where we just have to STAND and believe that in His perfect timing the end will come! The end being that we bring Malachi home forever!

Some positives are that we are pushing ourselves to get as much done on our end as possible so that when things do open back up we are at the door waiting with papers in hand! We FINALLY completed our 10 HOURS of online adoption training...phew, that was a task I must say! We had quizzes (4 each) after each module completed and needed an 80% average or better....talk about stressful and feeling like we were back in school...but we managed! Ha ha ha!

So as we begin to jump full swing into the Holiday Season, Kevin and I just ask that you continue to pray for us and ask for God's favor and (quick) timing! Hee hee hee...that's my ONLY Christmas wish this year!

We will continue to update you all as soon as we know anything!

Many, Many blessings and thanks!

Kevin, Marissa & (Baby Malachi)

STREAMS IN THE DESERT

Greetings Family & Friends,

This is just a little update...not much has changed as of yet. We are still counting on God to move our "Mountain" and bring Malachi home to us soon.

As I have said before, I do have mostly good days where I'm strong and ready to wait as long as it takes for him, and then there are the "ugly days" when all I want to do is cry because I just long to hold my little man in my arms. But then, I give it all back to Jesus and say...get me through this rough patch...and He always does. It just hurts my heart so much sometimes. But I guess we are human and He understands that and He continually supplies "Streams in my desert"! It definitely is just such a miracle of God the creator to place a love so deep in your heart for someone you have never even met yet. He may not be our "biological child" but as I have said before, he is our HEART BORN son and it's so neat to see God's plan unfolding....even if we are on a "slight detour"....! Let's just hope and pray it's not one of those "6 hr out of the way detours"! Ha ha ha...just teasing!

I wanted to share something with you that the Lord has been speaking to my heart lately. We sang a song in church a few weeks ago entitled...God will make a way...and it goes a little something like this.... "God will make a way, where there seems to be no way. He works in ways we cannot see, He will make a way...." and when I heard and sang that this is also what I heard him speak to my heart. He said, get ready, I'm about to move mountains on your behalf. He said, all I ask is that you have faith the size of a mustard seed (and if you've ever seen one you know just how small they are)...so all He is asking for is faith, hope and trust to which we have given all to him! His word and promises do NOT return void....so we will just wait and stand and believe that this is ALL part of His plan and that He knows what's best for timing and situations! We want to be in His "Perfect Will" for our lives and family!

We will truly rejoice when Malachi comes, it will be a celebration and feast for all to see! But above all God will get the glory because He has orchestrated this thing to perfection!

So PLEASE just continue to pray with AND for us as we continue on this journey and that God would begin opening doors and moving mountains just as He has promised! Remember...He IS a God of the impossible making ALL things possible!

With love,

Kevin & Marissa ( & Malachi)

A Steadfast Heart

Good Morning Family and Friends,

We first want to thank you all who have either emailed, called or spoke words of encouragement to us during our "storm". We truly are blessed to have you all! And we know that God is in ultimate control and is working on our behalf!

I do have to say it has been a very hard two weeks since we have found out the news. I will have "good days" and "sometimes bad days". But I know that God is SO faithful to carry me EVERY day in His hands! What a reassurance that is that we have HIM to lean on. I must say, I truly do not know what we would do without Jesus in our lives. He is the center of our family and our solid rock. If you don't know Him and want to have a personal relationship with him....just ask me how! It's EASY! ;-)

But Kevin and I have done some heart-to-heart talking through this all and we have come up with one definite decision....we will WAIT for Malachi from Rwanda. As we were chatting a bit last night, he IS our "heart" and even though he does not have a "face" yet, in our hearts he DOES...and if in the meantime the Lord would see fit to bless us with a child of our own, great, but otherwise, we will "patiently" (sometimes easier said than done) WAIT for our little Rwandan child. I was doing some exploring of other avenues and African countries these past few weeks and every time I would look into it my heart would just "ache"....and as we were talking last night it definitely showed us that our "heart" is in Rwanda and we will be steadfast and wait....

But with waiting comes anxiousness...and that is where we are going to need YOU our friends and family to help us continue to lift our hands in prayer through this....you are all so near and dear to us and we know you will ALL rejoice with us when we finally bring Malachi home!!! But until then....we will continue to be steadfast and wait on the Lord!!!

Much love and prayers for all of you!

Marissa & Kevin

Praising in the midst of the storm

Greetings Family and Friends,

If you would have asked me to update this blog a week ago tomorrow I would have said no way...last Wednesday we received some rough news. The Rwandan Government has temporarily shut down all international adoptions. As their country is growing and progressing they are trying to make things safer for the their children as well. So they have decided to become part of the Hague Convention. They are one of 27 other countries in the world right now that are a part of this group. This is a good thing, as it protects the children being adopted out from all forms of trafficking etc. But for us hopeful "mommies and daddies" it's rough.

It just means more waiting...but it's in those waiting times that the Lord really starts to show you who you are in "Him". I must tell you, I really don't know if we could get through something like this without the Lord's help. Up until this point in my life this is one of the most "emotionally hard" things I've had to deal with. Last Wednesday, I truly felt like I had miscarried a child. My heart hurt so deep that I didn't think it was even possible to ache that much. But God's strength is made to carry us through those hard times.

Throughout this past week as we have been digesting this news so many thoughts have been running through my mind. I must say, I am a "thinker"...and sometimes that gets you into a wee bit of trouble. As my loving husband says...I think too much sometimes! Ha ha...to which I will agree! ;-) But as we've been trying to sift through this situation and see the light of it, the Lord has given us words of HOPE through several close family and friends of ours...(these messages have come from various people but all have a "common thread"...

1.) Have FAITH

2.) Our God is a God of the impossible that is going to make something possible...so have FAITH

3.) He is moving mountains right now out of your way...so have FAITH and HOPE

And then just this morning in my prayer and devotion time He gave me this scripture...(I'll give you two different versions b/c they speak equally and just as well)...

NIV ~ "Wait for the Lord; be STRONG and TAKE HEART and WAIT for the Lord" Psalms 27:14

Amplified ~ "Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and of good courage and let your heart be stout and enduring. Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord" Psalms 27:14

So with this we are as of now, waiting on Rwanda. We are not sure at this point how long it will be until the door is opened back up but our "hearts" are there with this country. We don't know what it will "look like or what procedures we will have to conform to" when it is opened back up, but we DO know that the Lord will be with us through the ENTIRE ordeal...so we will take heart and wait!

I did want to mention that the Lord has blessed some of the other "Mugisha Ministry" families and they were able to get their Dossiers to the Rwandan Embassy in D.C. yesterday before today's deadline! God has been moving mountains for them and our hearts go out to them and are SOO happy for them! We rejoice with them and can't wait to see God continue to move!

We love you ALL and are so grateful that you are standing behind us and agreeing in prayer for God to move our "little mountain"..!! And oh what a day that will be when we "Lift our eyes unto the hills of Rwanda" and "KNOW" that our God is a MIGHTY mountain mover!!!

We will continue to keep you updated as we know more!

Our love,

Marissa and Kevin (and Malachi) <3

Gaining Steam

Greetings our Family & Friends!

As a dear friend of mine pointed out to me at church on Sunday, "Well, it's been a month, it's time for an update"! LOL....Thanks RUTH !! ;-) And my Mom thanks you too....because she was just "casually mentioning" that it was about time for an update! ;-) LOL

Well, as you can imagine (or might not be able to if you've never really explored the adoption cycle) there is a TON of paperwork and things to gather! We are working on gathering things for our upcoming HomeStudy! Gulp! I'm SOO nervous, but from what everyone who has ever been through one says there is NOTHING to be nervous about. They seem to think we'll have no problem passing! But, as all parents that have to go through this sort of thing do, you second guess yourself and think, oh what if my home isn't perfect...! LOL...but, that's when you have to take a step back and think to yourself, "relax, don't forget to breath and know that you are HUMAN"! Ha Ha Ha! ;-) Just a wee-bit nervous...can you tell? I'm the type of person that likes my house "neat and tidy" more than not....so I"m VERY picky and get anxious when I know people are coming over! I want it to be perfect! But as some "Moms" have already told me, I need to get used to it being "not perfect" all the time! I'm sure that will come when we bring the little man home! ;-)

Also, I've been known to lately be hitting the "sales" racks at let's see....Hmm....Target, Kohls...Carter's Outlets.....LOL!!! I'll come home and Kevin will ask....what "little things" did you pick up today!! I cannot help myself!!! :-D First of all, I L-O-V-E sales, and secondly, it's for Malachi!!! Such a win-win all around!!! Hee hee hee.....

But seriously, there is a MOUND of paperwork to be completed. It's hard to believe what they want to know, but as I recently posted on facebook, I will jump through hoops to do whatever I can to bring Malachi home! Heck, I'd fly to the moon and back if that meant getting him....now a "roller-coaster"....hmm? Just kidding! Yes, I would probably even do that! Now, I might need some help during and after....for the shock I would be in....just kidding!!!

I just said to my Mom the other day that I can't wait to get through the paperwork process and ship our Dossier to Rwanda. But you see, when we do that we are taking it "completely" out of our hands and control! Not that it's "all" in our control now, because only the Lord truly has control of it as I'm learning through this process, but I'm at least able to be proactive in this stage. When we ship it to Rwanda we will begin the 7-9 mth (approx.) wait of time for them to review our file and pick Malachi for us! I think now, boy will I be glad when all of the paperwork is done and I can just "wait", but in a way, I guess I think that will be TWICE as HARD because there will be nothing "tangible" that I can hold on to other than the Lord! But that's a GOOD thing, because for the past 7 1/2 years that's all I've had to hold onto. That precious promise from Him that we would indeed have a child(ren) and oh how awesome it is to see HIS PERFECT plan unfolding before our very eyes! Gosh, I have to say, every time I truly stop and think about this whole process, I couldn't imagine our lives without Malachi! I really can't. Just as I know that God has given me a heart for Africa from a very young age (and I never truly understood that love until now), little did I know that my "heart" for Africa would be in the form of our precious African "Son"!!!

Thank you Jesus for blessing us BEYOND what we could ever have imagined or hoped for! He's been "worth the wait, and tears"!!!!!

Love to all and will probably post more frequently now, that things are progressing!!!

Marissa (and Kevin)!! <3

Marching On!

Greetings dear Family and Friends!

Well, it's been a month so I thought I might as well update! ;-) Hee hee hee....goodness, where do I start? Okay, from the top!

Well, we are in full paperwork mode! I feel like I'm "elbow deep" in it and it's just the beginning! We're moving ahead and are working on getting our Homestudy set up (gulp...just kidding)! We are SO excited! I'm going to try and include a few pics in this post too!

One thing I did want to touch on was the book I just completed reading, it's called " Left to Tell" by Immaculee Ilibagiza. All I have to say is wow, I was totally blown away by this heart-wretching yet amazing story of hope and forgiveness. If you have never read it or fully understand what happened with the Rwandan Genocide, I highly recommend this as a must read! It's amazing how the Lord can take something SO bad and bring so much good from it! Just shows you how POWERFUL and FAR His forgiveness can extend to!

As you can imagine I've been "nesting" and buying things here and there..! I think I"m going to need to clean out a closet just for all of the "baby stuff" I've been squirreling away! It is SO much fun and something I honestly for a time thought I would never get to do! I'll tell you, Malachi will be one spoiled/lucky/blessed little boy!! Ha ha ha!

So there's the update.... P-A-P-E-R-W-O-R-K! ;-) So if you are wondering how to pray...pray for us for perseverance and that the Lord would remove ALL obstacles that may arise and would just clear the path and move things along quickly! :-)

We love you all and so enjoying being able to share our incredible journey with you!

Until the next post.....blessings!

Marissa (and Kevin) :-)

NO TURNING BACK!

Family and Friends!

Just wanted to give you a quick update to let you know that we've mailed the much anticipated paperwork to Mugisha Ministries today (wednesday...pics to follow soon) .....so it's FULL STEAM AHEAD! We in-turn will get a ton of paperwork back showing just what exactly we have to do!

We are at the point of no return (and we don't want to return)!!! We're running (just as fast as we can) to our little Malachi!

Blessings,

Marissa & Kevin :-)

SHOWERS OF BLESSINGS

Greetings Family and Friends!

Wow! I know....I'm FINALLY updating our blog (thanks to my Mom pointing out that it is about time for an update)! Ha ha ha! What can I say but life has been VERY busy for us the past month and haven't really gotten a "window of time" to sit down and gather my thoughts to put them on "paper" ....well computer screen anyway! Ha!

We have been SO blessed this past month with our adoption process! I'm telling you there is absolutely NO doubt that the Lord has ordained this adoption from the get-go! I was at a Women's Conference last month and the guest speaker who is a VERY dear friend and fellow prayer warrior for Kevin and I's infertility journey said something that was so profound but so directly from the Lord. She said, "the Lord saw your family portrait from the beginning and knew that there was a little child in Rwanda who's last name one day would be COKE"! Even now typing this brings tears to my eyes and goose-bumps because I KNOW that I KNOW that I KNOW that He from the very beginning ordained this for Kevin and I's life. We've had a few recent opportunities come up to perhaps adopt State side and you know I said something to Kevin the other night that he was also thinking but hadn't voiced. I said going through all of this now and knowing that our "baby boy" is in Rwanda right now, perhaps not even born yet, I can't imagine our life with out him. And ya know, he just smiled and said he was feeling the same thing! So we BOTH know that we're going FULL steam ahead!!

We were OFFICIALLY excepted into the Mugisha Ministries family last month and are now making our plans for the journey ahead!!! YIPPEE!!! Pictures to come (as soon as I figure out how to post them through this blog)! Ha ha...any helpers or advice would be appreciative! :-)

Also, we were blessed last week by one of my cleaning customers/friends! She had twins last year and was wanting to get rid of her car seats and swings...so she graciously offered us one of each! They are absolutely beautiful and the color of the car seat is so very close to the nursery colors we've picked out! :-) So now we have that "extra car seat" for our other car....we'll probably use the car seat that will come with the stroller that we're looking at for the car we'll drive mostly! Isn't it SOO neat how the Lord works everything out! It is so much fun to be now planning these things...wondering through the Baby Isles at Target together dreaming and picking things out....something I thought I would never get to do!

We'd also like to announce that we've picked out our little guy's name officially now! His first name will be "MALACHI" which means "Messenger of God"...and his middle name will be whatever his African born name is!! We're Soooo excited...can you tell???!!!

Ha ha..so that is the latest from The Cokes and we'd LOVE to hear from you all!!

More to come....stay tuned....this story is just getting started!!! HA HA

Blessings,

Marissa (and Kevin) ;-)

And We're Off!!

Well Dear Family and Friends,

We are SOOO happy to report that we have "officially" started the process! :-D After years of waiting we took our first "GIANT" step toward parenthood and mailed our application to Mugisha Ministries (www.mugishaministries.com) yesterday! HOORAY! We cannot begin to tell you how very excited we are!!

When we are PRAYERFULLY accepted into their program we will begin to gather ALL of our vital paperwork and seek out a locally licensed Social Services office that has experience with International Adoptions. When we have found a suitable one for us we will go through the process of completing a "home-study". We're a bit nervous with all of this, but then again what do we have to worry about when the Lord is there to walk us the entire way through?!

I must admit I now find myself walking through stores with my head held a bit higher knowing that "finally" I'm well on my way to becoming a "MOMMY"!! Yeah!!!

Please keep checking back with our blog as I have a feeling we'll be having LOTS to post in the coming months!!! HOORAY!!!

Blessings,

Kevin and Marissa :-)

GOD'S AMAZING GRACE!

My dear Family and Friends,

My heart is overflowing with joy and heartfelt gratitude. Allow me to explain!

We had a very unexpected blessing/miracle happen to us last night at church! After we had gotten all of our bus children onto their buses at the end of the night we came back into Kevin's office to "unwind" for a few minutes before journeying home. As Kevin was straightening up his desk he noticed an envelope laying upside down. When he turned it over on the front was written "Baby Coke". We opened it up and there was a check from an anonymous giver. We have NO clue who came and blessed us and our "baby"...but whoever you are...may God richly bless you for not only your sincere kindness but your willingness and obedience to listen to His leading! We humbly THANK YOU! I don't know if we can EVER truly express HOW MUCH this has BLESSED us and MEANS to us! We honestly were speechless (which if you know me at all...that doesn't happen very often)! HA HA HA! Our hearts are SO full of joy! I cannot begin to tell you what it felt like to go to bed and wake up feeling like my heart was going to burst out of my chest with joy and anticipation to know that we are on our way to our BABY in Rwanda!!!

Along the lines of blessings I feel I must share that I received (through a very precious friend) a "word" from the Lord concerning our baby! He said for her to share with us that our little Baby has not even been born yet!! Isn't God SO amazing! He knows our hearts and knows that we want as close to infant as possible and to think that for us He's just as concerned about the details! Wow, God you NEVER cease to amaze and surprise us!!

So it is with JOY that we ask you to continue to pray for us as we continue walking on this journey and draw nearer to our little baby boy!!

Blessings!

Marissa (and Kevin)!

IN LIKE A LION....

Well my friends and family,

March has FINALLY arrived!! The promise that yes indeed, Spring is on it's way! We've made it through the long grueling months of January and February (here in snowy PA) and we're on the uphill swing to SUMMER!! Yeah!! As you can tell this is my most favorite season!

But you know, Spring is probably a close second that. It is during this time of year that things begin to awake from their winter slumber and "rise" to greet the warm weather! Isn't God's handy work amazing? It is during those times when I see things growing and blossoming all around me and think, Wow, how can people say there is No God? I guess for me, growing up in a Christian home and witnessing all of the great things He has done in not only my life but those around me I just can't keep quiet! Isn't that after all exactly what we're NOT to do...keep quiet? The Bible says if we don't cry out the rocks will in our place! And I know for me I'm not letting rocks declare the goodness of God in my life...I am gonna shout it out loud!!!

I said to Kevin the other night as we were driving down the road, that I felt as if we're not doing enough to get toward our goal of adopting our little one from Rwanda. And he said to me, we are, it's just taking a bit longer than either of us would like it to. We're waiting for a few things to fall into place and we know God's timing if "Perfect"...after all, we've been waiting 7 1/2 years to get to this point and we firmly believe that He's going to be faithful and continue to lead us! If you all would like to pray and believe with us the two things we're mainly "praying in" right now are Health Insurance and Financial Support. As you can imagine it is not "free" to go through the adoption process. The Lord has answered a prayer in one way in that Rwanda does NOT charge for their adoptions. Some countries charge an astronomical fee for just the "privilege" of adopting a child from their country, but thankfully Rwanda just wants to see their children go to loving homes! But all of the other expenses come from the "legal stuff" so to speak and travel! In my life I always worried about "money"and just plain "worried" about things...but you know what, I would say within the past year the Lord has taught me so much about allowing "Him" to be the provider for my family! And instead of saying...Oh Lord, we just don't know how you are going to provide for us to be able to adopt, we are saying and believing (with confidence) that the Lord WILL provide! To quote my most favorite scripture from Jeremiah 29:11... "For I KNOW the plans I have for declares the Lord, plans to PROSPER and NOT HARM you, plans to give you a HOPE and a FUTURE!! God is SO amazing and His word NEVER fails!! So if you are with us and going through something right now, I just want to personally say to you...remember what the Lord has promised you! Keep your eye on that PROMISE and His word WILL NOT return VOID!! Thank you Jesus!!

So we say as Kevin and Marissa (and baby "Rwanda Coke")...."By FAITH He's already provided everything we need for this adoption"!!!

We love ALL of you who have been following us and please continue to pray with us as we continue to seek His will for our "future family"!!!

Marissa (and Kevin) ;-)

LOVE IS IN THE AIR

Greetings Everyone!

Well, January has come and gone and we are quickly accelerating through February on our way toward Spring! But next stop is Valentine's Day! Boy do I LOVE this holiday, with the exception of Christmas I think Valentine's Day is my 2nd favorite holiday! It is a time where we focus so much more, (more so than we usually do) on our loved ones (or ones we love in our hearts and haven't gotten a chance to meet yet...as in our case)!!

We just wanted to write a little update and let you know that we are still chugging along toward our heart's desire! The Lord is continually laying before us and placing people in our paths to give us information and help us take one more step closer! I have recently been in touch with a dear family from Michigan who just returned from Home Of Hope in Rwanda (the orphanage we'll most likely be going through) with two precious gifts of their own (two of the most adorable little boys)!! She has provided me with a WEALTH of information and guidance as to where to even begin! God is SOOO awesome! In light of the fact that we will be completing this independently we've also been directed to a Christian ministry called Mugisha (means "blessing" in Kinyarwanda) Ministries (www.mugishaministries.com) who helps families that are going about this independently! So know that when I say the Lord is directing us I truly mean ALL steps!!

We are SO anxious to get the ball rolling but there are just a few "minor" (to Him) details that need to be worked out and then we'll be ready to go FULL STEAM AHEAD!!

So please keep praying and standing in agreement with us and we'll keep being led by Him on our way to our "Heart-Born Child"!!!

Blessings,

Kevin and Marissa :-)