Oops, I guess I forgot to mention that WE WERE APPROVED!!! :)
We are now in the process of filling out more paperwork and gearing up to begin our home study as soon as we get our first payment and the rest of this paperwork submitted.
Thank you all for the support you have shown us thus far and for sharing in our journey!
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Confirmation
A lot has happened since our last post and God has been faithful in calming our fears and just letting me know we are in his will and doing what we are supposed to be doing.
Two Sundays ago during pizza, dinner, fellowship, we ended up sitting next to a gentleman we have never met. We tend to sit with friends, but the kids had a full table so we branched out! :) As we visited a bit, discussion of our families, of course, arose and we mentioned the fact that we were working on adopting two more little ones from China. He went on to tell us that his own daughter had recently adopted from Ethiopia, however, her story was amazing! He told us that she had originally begun working in Ghana, however, the program was shut down in the process, which is why she was led to Ethiopia. Two weeks after she had put in her paperwork, her agency called to say that there was a woman from Ethiopia in the US due to give birth in two months, was she interested? I don't know the whole background about why she was here, but it was what he said next that blew Isaac and I away. He went on to say that "God had literally laid this little one in her lap." Over the last few months, I have felt convicted that we were not to be looking at the orphan lists through our agency when choosing our girls, but rather that the Lord was going to bring them to us. In fact, those are the exact words that Isaac has been praying for months since we are at a loss as to how we will know who our girls are. God just confirmed that he is going to bring them to us just as I was feeling and as Isaac was praying. We are in awe of how awesome he is and how faithful he has been to continually squelch our fears and show us that what we are asking is no big deal as he has done it in the past!
Two Sundays ago during pizza, dinner, fellowship, we ended up sitting next to a gentleman we have never met. We tend to sit with friends, but the kids had a full table so we branched out! :) As we visited a bit, discussion of our families, of course, arose and we mentioned the fact that we were working on adopting two more little ones from China. He went on to tell us that his own daughter had recently adopted from Ethiopia, however, her story was amazing! He told us that she had originally begun working in Ghana, however, the program was shut down in the process, which is why she was led to Ethiopia. Two weeks after she had put in her paperwork, her agency called to say that there was a woman from Ethiopia in the US due to give birth in two months, was she interested? I don't know the whole background about why she was here, but it was what he said next that blew Isaac and I away. He went on to say that "God had literally laid this little one in her lap." Over the last few months, I have felt convicted that we were not to be looking at the orphan lists through our agency when choosing our girls, but rather that the Lord was going to bring them to us. In fact, those are the exact words that Isaac has been praying for months since we are at a loss as to how we will know who our girls are. God just confirmed that he is going to bring them to us just as I was feeling and as Isaac was praying. We are in awe of how awesome he is and how faithful he has been to continually squelch our fears and show us that what we are asking is no big deal as he has done it in the past!
But wait, there's
more!!! :)
Last week, I went to Kelso to visit my family with Sammy and Sera. On Friday, my sister and I decided to do a Portland Goodwill tour, as we love thrift store hopping. After a long day, we were really wanting to hit the big Goodwill in downtown Portland, but it was 5pm and we decided fighting rush hour traffic didn't sound fun. We decided to go to one last Goodwill on the way home that we hadn't been to in about 4 years. We got there, looked around, but didn't find anything special. On our way out, we passed by an end rack with some random pairs of shoes. Tucked between a few pairs was several pages that had been ripped out of a journal; we saw that it was a letter and, as it was worth nothing, decided to take it to read later. After getting home, we forgot about it and fed the kids and visited for several hours. Right before my sister was about to leave, I remembered about it and so she proceeded to go and get it from the car and read it out loud to all of us. Several sentences in, shock set in . . . this was not just a random journal entry from some teenager that had been thrown in a heap and brought in to donate. It was several pages of the detailed journey of a mother who had decided to give her son up for adoption. It followed her journey from about two days before the baby was born until he was around 5 months old.
Last week, I went to Kelso to visit my family with Sammy and Sera. On Friday, my sister and I decided to do a Portland Goodwill tour, as we love thrift store hopping. After a long day, we were really wanting to hit the big Goodwill in downtown Portland, but it was 5pm and we decided fighting rush hour traffic didn't sound fun. We decided to go to one last Goodwill on the way home that we hadn't been to in about 4 years. We got there, looked around, but didn't find anything special. On our way out, we passed by an end rack with some random pairs of shoes. Tucked between a few pairs was several pages that had been ripped out of a journal; we saw that it was a letter and, as it was worth nothing, decided to take it to read later. After getting home, we forgot about it and fed the kids and visited for several hours. Right before my sister was about to leave, I remembered about it and so she proceeded to go and get it from the car and read it out loud to all of us. Several sentences in, shock set in . . . this was not just a random journal entry from some teenager that had been thrown in a heap and brought in to donate. It was several pages of the detailed journey of a mother who had decided to give her son up for adoption. It followed her journey from about two days before the baby was born until he was around 5 months old.
I was blown away at how God continues to move things in my
life on this journey and bring things, tangible things that I can hold, to
comfort and bring peace to my heart. For the last several weeks, I have found
myself feeling like I am grieving over the loss of something. I couldn't explain
it at first, but God was working on my heart and had been reminding me that
although this is an exciting and wonderful time in our lives, this is also one
of devastation and loss in another Mommie's life. The night before I had been
talking to my Mom and Dad about the fact that many of these babies are left not
because the parents don't want them, but because they cannot provide the
medical care they need. I had also explained how God had been reminding me that
there is another Mom out there that had to give up her little one so that our
family could grow. We were speechless as my sister read the letter and realized that this was not a random find, but a message set there specifically
for me from God.
Monday, February 4, 2013
Purpose
A new friend lent us a book called China Lamb and it has been a true inspiration to us. It is an amazing story of faith and the Lord has been using it to speak to my heart these past few days. When Sandra, the author of this book, was first told that she was to adopt from the Lord, like me, she was taken aback and thought it was just crazy. However, she quickly "opened . . . [herself] up to the realization that God could have chosen anyone else on Earth for this mission, but he was choosing . . . [her]" (Moats, 2006). I feel the same way about our own adoption journey and am so thankful that the Lord is faithful to continually confirm, in the midst of my doubts and disbelief, at times, that he chose us specifically for this mission because he has faith that we are the right parent's/family for these two little girls!
Update:
We are still waiting to hear about our approval. I got an email from the agency and we should begin the interview process in the next 3-5 business days. Praying for good news and no hiccups with this first part of the process!
Update:
We are still waiting to hear about our approval. I got an email from the agency and we should begin the interview process in the next 3-5 business days. Praying for good news and no hiccups with this first part of the process!
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