Since the beginning of our marriage, adoption had always been a desire tucked away in the back of our minds. While we didn’t know the timing or place, it was always coming up in conversations or in plans for the future. In late August and early September, we began researching the different options available for us as a family. We have seen beautiful stories of adoption that have taken years and years to unfold, so we decided that we would go in with no expectations, trusting that the Lord would open the doors in His time. After the meeting, we were anxious to research even more.
In November, we received an email about an update on the “Waiting Children” List. This process is slightly different from the normal adoption process because these children are approved by the government for adoption and simply waiting on their forever family. Long story short, when we looked at the list of children from this specific country, we fell in love with a little boy with the same eyes and smile as our 9 month old son.
Just out of curiosity, we sent an inquiry and received additional information on him for the next few weeks. This healthy and smily boy the same age as our son had been found abandoned when he was one day old. Of course our first response was to jump on a plane and go get this sweet little one. However, we slowed down, talked, prayed, and waited.
Not wanting to act on emotion was a big thing for us. This is a child’s life–not something that we wanted to take lightly. The timeline that we had in our head was formed from watching others walk through this process. We have seen others wait 2-3 years or more for their little one to come home. Hearing that our timeline was going to move a little more quickly was shocking, but the Lord continues to call us to trust Him. We asked questions, prayed, waited, and asked more questions. Finally, right before Christmas we were officially “Matched” with this little one and started the process to bring him home!
The two of us desire to give this boy a forever family–a Mommy, Daddy, and brother–that will love him unconditionally. We desire for this little one to know that he is made in the image of God–that he is so much more than an orphan. But most importantly, we desire for this little boy to ultimately be adopted by his Heavenly Father, to become his disciple, and reach others for Him.
So, we covet your prayers during this time. We are not expecting this to be easy–in fact we are expecting it to be an emotional roller coaster. We covet your prayers spiritually, mentally, and financially–that we will continue to trust the Lord and hold fast to His promises.