Catching up on the status of the girls

Hey Friends & Family,
Well...we need your prayers again! At the court hearing yesterday, the Guardian Ad Litem didn't tell the judge the girls should be placed with us. He said that there were "2 good options" and he hadn't decided which one to go with. The Casa workers were a little stronger on their stance that the girls should stay with us, but not as definite as we hoped them to be. We're very dissappointed with his double-talk (as you can imagine). We're down - but not out!

They've set up a time on Wednesday, June 30th to "mediate" a decision. Please pray that the GAL and CASA workers would be bold and decisive in demanding the girls be placed with us permanently, that God would advocate for the girls and speak to the hearts of those involved, and that His will would be done.

Also - please pray for our hearts. Duffy and I love these little girls with all our hearts and are devastated at the thought of losing them.

Thanks for all your support!
Charis Boone Johnson



(If you haven't heard the whole story - look to the end for the history of how we got here..)

God has answered our prayers!
The caseworker has agreed to NOT officially move the girls out of our house until July 1st!!!! Even better than that - the girls don't have to have an overnight visit with that lady until after the court date (June 22)! Hopefully NEVER!!!

She's going to have them this Sunday (June 13) from 11am-6pm - hopefully long enough to drive her crazy. Then she'll get them for a short time the next Saturday (June 18),but we get to take them to church on Father's Day and they'll still be living with us when we go to court (June 22)!!! Great leverage in court and an answer to prayer!! God is moving!!

If the court places them with that lady, then they'll stay that weekend with her (June 25-27) and then move in with her fulltime on July 1st.

Tonight we're meeting with the Guardian Ad Litem and if he decides to let the girls stay with us - he can stop all of this in it's tracks - and the girls won't even have to go to the visit on Sunday (June 13).


Please - everyone be praying for us from 5-6pm tonight CST!!!!! Please join us in this journey, as our family in Christ, and lift us up in prayer. That the Lord would put the right words in our mouth, attitudes in our hearts, and open Charles' ears to His will for these girls.




History:

Duffy & I took in 2 foster daughters in March - they were 5 (Rylie) & 19 (Karlie) months old. Now they are 8 & 22 months old. We were told they would be coming up for adoption this summer, but CPS has been approved to move them into another "permanent" foster home. This is easier for the CPS worker as she wouldn't have to terminate the parent's rights (that's alot more paperwork). The new home is with a 50 year old single mom, who has 3 teenage boys of her own, and will be fostering 4 kids under the age of 4 in a 3 bedroom home. Duffy and I do not feel that this is best for the girls and felt called to advocate for them to the court system. In the process of the battle, we've fallen in love with them and see them 100% as our daughters.

Recently, CPS & the Guardian Ad Litem approved the move for June 18th, which left it looking like we'd lost the battle, BUT...don't count out GOD just yet! In a miraculous turn of events, the Lord led people at our church to get the girls a CASA worker, Johnna, appointed and contact the Guardian Ad Litem, Charles, and get him to agree to meet with us and consider changing his decision. We meet with the GAL tonight at 5pm and the CASA worker tomorrow at 3pm to discuss their decisions about letting the girls stay with us.