Monday, June 25, 2012

Wonderful News!

We are very excited to announce that we are moving forward to adopt a 3 year old little boy.  After a long journey of uncertainty, God answered the prayers of us and so many of you in an amazing way last week. 

I called last week to ask (and probably annoy, irritate, and harass) the adoption agency for answers on the continued delay with receiving a referral from Kaliningrad.  After being told what I expected, ("we don't know why it's taking so long") our representative Anna, mentioned a little boy who just turned 3 at an orphanage near Moscow.  She said the officials there were looking for a home for him.  Knowing this is not typical procedure in Russia, I asked why they were searching for a home for him. She told me that he had been classified as "special needs", a term usually given to children with serious disabilities and major medical problems.  This classification was due to an issue that had been discovered when he was an infant.  Because of this classification, she explained that no one has been willing to adopt him.  She continued to explain that he is doing amazingly well and the medical issue seems to be resolving itself and he is developing fairly normally.  She said " I have a video of him I can send you, if you want."  

The video was all it took.  This little boy is precious and I loved him from the second I laid eyes on him.  We have consulted with doctors who have reviewed all his medical data and all agree he is doing amazingly well and they do not anticipate any long term medical issues or other problems from his diagnosis.  We started this journey stating specifically we wanted to give a home to a child who wouldn't otherwise have one, and we feel that this is definitely the case with this boy.  We told Maddie and Dylan tonight and they are beyond excited.  We feel so blessed. 

At this point, our agency will be working to get our paperwork processed so we can make plans to travel to Moscow to meet him.  We should be able to travel in about a month.  Please pray for all of this to go smoothly and for us to be able to bring him home as soon as possible.  We still have 3 trips to Russia ahead of us before he can come home with us, so we are ready to get started on this next stage of our adoption journey. 

Thank you so much for the prayers, love and support.  I will update more soon!

Ephesians 3:20   "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine..."

Friday, June 8, 2012

Breaking the silence....

Many have been telling me recently that they are ready for an update on our adoption and I realize that we haven't written anything on here in several months.  So, I figured it was time to update everyone on where we are at. 

After the very, very difficult decision to turn down the referral last January, we were told to expect another referral within a few weeks.  Unfortunately, that has not been the case.  We are still waiting.  Personally, I vacillate between sitting on pins and needles, expecting each phone call to be a call telling us to come meet our child, and anxiously wondering what is wrong and why it is taking so long.  We have communicated with our agency, asking what the delay is about.  They do not know exactly,but have reminded us that things often do not go as expected with foreign governments and that we will get a referral someday, we just cant predict when. 

So, we really do not have news to report other than that we are waiting.  I ask for your prayers for our little one who needs a home. I hate that government red tape is causing them to live in an orphanage without a family longer than necessary.  All four of us are ready and are all learning about patience, waiting, and trusting God.

A few weeks ago, I believe God spoke to me through a verse, reminding me that He is in control of the timing of all of this, and all we can do is wait in an attititude of faith and trust.   "....If it seems slow in coming, wait.  Its on its way. It will come right on time."  (Habakkuk 2:3)  Despite not understanding, I am trusting God's perfect timing in the whole process.  Thanks for the support and prayers.