Leap of Faith

You may have noticed the change in our blog header... we have changed the name of our blog to...
Waiting on SEVEN.

Yes, it's true.  We are taking a complete leap of faith and following what God is calling us to do.  We were provisionally approved by AWAA for a concurrent adoption.  In these last few days I have spent numerous hours on the phone and online searching out agencies, timelines, costs, etc.  The way this all came about is just crazy and seems quite spontaneous....but we have no doubts this is right for our family.

(If you haven't read my previous post, you may want to do so before reading this one...may be a little easier to understand)


Many different agencies will tell you that you cannot adopt from the DRC if you have more than 2 children already at home.  When we first started the adoption process we didn't even consider the fact that those types of requirements could be waived in certain cases (and therefore didn't even look at the DRC).  When we decided to go ahead with a concurrent adoption we would have totally overlooked the Congo if it weren't for our social worker, Larissa. 


As soon as we told her we were thinking about a concurrent adoption she was thinking the DRC for our family (her family has recently accepted a referral from the DRC!!).  She did know one of our big concerns was the funding, but being a Godly women, she knew we should not put monetary concerns as our road block. 

Larissa quickly got me in contact with A Love Beyond Borders and from there we were hooked.  As I said in the previous post, we always knew we would SOME DAY adopt two children....just didn't know it would come this quickly.    God obviously had a plan for our family and the children we will welcome into our home!!!!!  How absolutely perfect will it be to have two African children to grow in our home together?!?!??  They will share some cultural background and will have each other to share their life experiences with.

Soooo....we have mailed in our application to A Love Beyond Borders for a baby girl from the DRC!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I still cannot believe it.  We are still unsure how the funding will come together but we are certain this is right.  We are certain this is God's plan for our family. 

A few details into what this is looking like for our family:

1.  ALBB agency does not currently have a wait list for the DRC.  That means we are (as soon as our contract is in their hands) #1 on their baby girl list.
2. They are anticipating (not set in stone but a good guess) that as soon as our paperwork is ready we will get a referral for a baby girl within 1-3 months.
3.  After we accept our referral our dossier will be sent, a court date will be set up, certification and paperwork will be done in the DRC, we wait for the USCIS to give us the okay to bring this child home, and then we travel to pick our baby girl up!  The process from referral to being home will be a 5-6 month time frame.
4. We are currently # 70 on the unofficial wait list through America World for our Ethiopian adoption. 
5. After welcoming home a baby girl from the DRC we will be changing our request for EITHER gender 0-2 from Ethiopia.
6. Nothing is official (as things continue to change with wait times in Ethiopia) but we are expecting a wait time of 1-3 years for a referral from Ethiopia. 
7. We will have at least a year between welcoming our two children home.  If we feel like we need more time, AWAA will allow us to keep our "spot in line" until we are ready to welcome our second child home.

To be honest, I am scared.  I have no hesitancies about welcoming these children into our home.  BUT, the finances are going to be tough.  We are willing to sacrafice so we can help these children.  I cannot even type the numbers we will need for both adoptions...but we are open, willing, and ready to face what is needed to make it work.


PLEASE be praying for our family and for the finances to come together.  I will be posting many updates...posts, timeline, info about the DRC, etc in the next few days!
Our inspiration today:

You are the helper of the fatherless. LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will prepare their heart; You will cause Your ear to hear, To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, That the man of the earth may oppress no more. 

Psalms 10:14,17-18

On Thursday night after I wrote my last blog post, Bobby and I were sitting on the couch and Eli came up to me out of the blue and said, "Mommy, you should trust Jesus."  He had no clue what we were wrestling with.  I asked why he said that and he responded, "I just wanted you to know that."  I just love when God uses my children to open my eyes.  I pray each day that they continue to live their lives with faith like a child.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Love from our family to yours!

Here we go again!

Well, it looks like God may be answering some prayers in a VERY different way than we had expected!  If you read my previous post you know that we have really been praying and hoping to welcome a little one into our family in 2012.  Of course we thought if that were to happen, it would be a child from Ethiopia. 

We signed an application today with America World to pursue a concurrent adoption.  The wait times for Ethiopia have increased in the last few months and it is projected that the wait times will only continue to increase at this time.  Not only do the wait times continue to increase, but we are #70 on the "unofficial" wait list through our agency.  Nothing is confirmed, but Bobby and I feel we are being realistic in thinking/preparing for a MUCH longer wait than we had anticipated (maybe into a couple or a few years).

That realization made us really start questioning what our role is supposed to be NOW in caring for orphans.  Our hearts are 100% open to welcoming a child SOON.  As soon as we decided to adopt we knew we'd either adopt siblings or adopt two children at some point.  We really feel that for two adoptive children to grow up together would be very beneficial for them and their experiences/loss/etc.  BUT we never considered the fact that could mean another adoption BEFORE our Ethiopian adoption.
God quickly showed us that sometimes we just need to ignore the excuses and listen to what He is telling us.  Both Bobby and I feel that we are ready and willing to bring home a child NOW. 


On Tuesday I spoke with our family coordinator from AWAA and our social worker who did our home study.  We were first throwing around the idea of adopting through the foster care system, as that would mean hardly any extra costs.  Larissa (our social worker) informed us that the wait for an infant/toddler through foster care is very long and a rare situation.  She suggested if we were wanting domestic, we look into a domestic infant adoption (which typically means $20-30K). 


Obviously our only hurdle at this point is the funding.  I was up all night asking God, "HOW? There is NO WAY we could afford another adoption right now.  Our hearts are there and we are willing, but it's impossible." I woke up with a reassuring feeling that God has led us down this path.  He equipped us both from a very young age to work with children and be parents.  He has led us into a ministry of caring for orphans and He is using us to bring hope to fatherless children.  The numbers are overwhelming and large, but He is MUCH bigger.  If this is the road He has laid before us we are willing to suffer a little.

Wednesday morning I got a call from Larissa telling us that the adoption agency her family is using for the DRC (Congo) is looking for a family for twin girls.  Unfortunately I was in meetings all day but as soon as I got home I pulled their picture up and almost fell over.  We know now that these girls are not meant to be our daughters, but I cannot explain the feeling that came over me!  I couldn't stop the tears from falling and my heart from racing.  There is just something about those black babies that gets my heart just a pounding!!!  God definitely has given me a heart for Africa and this confirmed those feelings I knew all along. 

 

Though nothing is signed and set in stone, Bobby and I are leaning at a concurrent adoption through the DRC.  The agency we have been talking to for the DRC tells us we would be #1 on their list for a baby girl....and the baby could easily be VERY young.  But, the process through the DRC is quite different than Ethiopia.  We would more than likely receive a referral within 1-2 months after we submit our paperwork.  BUT, for this program we would not travel there for another 5-6 months (AHHH...I can't imagine seeing our baby's face and waiting another 5-6 months to meet her!). 

I wanted to share this info with all of you so you could pray for our family through this tough decision/process!  Pray that we get some guidance in our decisions and that if this is where we are meant to be that we will figure out a financial plan to make an adoption work SO QUICKLY. 

Just as He has rescued us, we are called to stand in the strength of His unconditional love to embrace the homeless children of the world.  He is calling us to redeem lives crushed by the circumstances of their birth.  He is calling us to save them, to lift them out.  And then, like the Father has carried us, we must carry them in love, with the strength of His mercy....and bring them home.
 --Jan Beazely "The Strength of Mercy"

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart.  In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight." Prov 3:5-6

Love from our family to YOURS!