We found the Missing Piece!

 

We have been waiting for the right time to kick off our BIG fundraiser for our adoption and we think we have landed on the perfect idea! 

As many of you know, the average international adoption costs $30,000.  Yes- that is a LOT of zeros!  We have saved and raised a small portion so far but we have a LOOONG way to go to bring our son home.  Now that we are committed to our Little Man, the payments are due in much larger amounts and much more quickly, so we are kicking off a fundraiser that will help bring him home, but also show him just how loved he was before he ever got on the plane!

This is how it works:

We have a 1,000 piece puzzle.  Here is what it looks like!


But I have raised you up for this very purpose,
that I might show you My power
and that My Name might be proclaimed in all the earth.
Exodus 9:16

 





When you donate $10 for a puzzle piece, we will write your name on the back of the piece.  At the end of the fundraiser, we will frame the puzzle in a double-sided frame, so that Little Man will always be able to look at the names of the people who helped bring him home!  What a lifelong blessing this will be to him and to our family!  Names of friends, family and strangers who loved him before they even knew him! 


Here is an example of what the back may look like!

But wait!  There's more! 

Each puzzle piece will put your name in a drawing for some awesome prizes!  We will draw for 4 pre-paid debit cards! 

Here's how that works:
1 puzzle piece ($10) = 1 entry into the drawing
2 puzzle pieces ($20) = 2 entries into the drawing
5 puzzle pieces ($50) = 5 entries into the drawing

There is no limit on how many entries you can have!

When we have 150 pieces to our puzzle we will draw for a $50 pre-paid card!
When we have 300 pieces to our puzzle we will draw for a $50 pre-paid card!
When we have 600 pieces to our puzzle we will draw for a $100 pre-paid card!
When we have 1,000 pieces to our puzzle we will draw for a $300 pre-paid card!


If you would like to participate, you can use the PayPal button on the right side of the page or send your donation directly to us (in person or in the mail) - just make sure we have your contact information so we can inform you if you win a prize! 

We know that God has called us to adopt and we know that He has called us specifically to this little boy.  We are incredibly thankful for all of you who are being the hands and feet of Jesus by supporting our family.  We know that the Father is using YOU to make a difference in the life of this child.  YOU are declaring with us, "Little One, you are an orphan NO MORE!"

So who wants to put together a puzzle?!?!

What's Next?

Now that we are officially committed to our son, we keep getting asked, "What's next?"  At this point we have Little Man "on hold" for us, which means that his country has agreed that they will not allow any other families to pursue him.  In the meantime, we have 6 months to have our dossier submitted to his country.  If  When we are approved, his country will send us an official referral for him (which we will of course accept!), and at that point we will be locked in as his potential parents until the adoption is finalized. 

So all of that means that we have to get through this paperwork as fast as possible!  Our home study has been sent to our agency for approval and as soon as that is finalized (hopefully in a month or so), we will begin the paperwork for our dossier.  

As for the day to day, life looks a lot like it usually does.  I spend my days chasing Baby Girl around the house and waiting for Daddy to come home from work.  The mental and emotional aspects are completely different though.  Adoption had completely preoccupied my thoughts before, but my mind is in overdrive now.  I bounce constantly between longing for him to be home and having to shut out the thoughts of fear. 
What if he is hungry?  Has anyone held him today?  Does he know his mommy and daddy are trying to get to him as fast as we can?  Does he know he is loved beyond words? Are his legs growing stronger?  What if he never walks?  What if God chooses not to heal him? 

I knew that responding to God's call is not always easy.  I knew that His calls always involve work and sacrifice.  I didn't expect this though.  I didn't expect it to be this hard.  My son is on the other side of the world.  I don't know if he has eaten today.  I don't know if he has had any human contact.  I don't know if he has had a clean diaper in the last 24 hours.  I don't know if all of his needs have been met.  And as much as I love him, I am not promised that he will ever come home to my arms.  Adoption is sticky.  There are the stories that families in the adoption community just fall to pieces over.  Children that become sick and die before ever knowing they have a family fighting to come to them.  Children who don't ever come home because of the technicalities in paperwork.   These are the thoughts that the enemy brings to my mind.  Every. Single. Day.

 I don't type all of this out so people will feel sorry for us.  In fact, I would rather people rejoice with us that God is visibly at work.  He is working in our lives and in this process, and we all get to be witnesses to the great things He is doing!  But in order to understand the magnitude of His majesty, you have to hear about the depths of the trenches we are kneeling in. 

All of these questions leave me with no choice but to trust.  I have to trust that God is with him.   I have to trust that his caregivers are loving on him and meeting his needs.  This journey has been all about God's faithfulness for us.  He has been so faithful to secure our trust in Him.  I know that each step I take is secure, because He has made all of the steps in the past secure.  I know that as He leads us into the unknown, He sees the future and is in control.  I know that I don't have the ability to walk this path alone, but y'all, He is so faithful.  He walks with me with every single step.

He has provided every single payment we have needed so far.  The money just shows up in the strangest ways.  (Which is actually what I have prayed for.  I don't want any of this process to ever bring glory to us or be anything we can boast in.  I figure the stranger the miracle, the harder it will be for me to ever look back and say, "I did that.")   Sometimes the money comes from people who just randomly hand us a check for the adoption, sometimes it comes through fundraisers, sometimes it comes from us pinching pennies and taking out of savings, and sometimes it comes from odd jobs that randomly appear for us.   Even though we are only 1/3 of the way through our payments and even though they will be due MUCH sooner since God led us to him so quickly in the process, I know that He will continue to provide.  So for those who have been praying or have answered His call to donate to our adoption through fundraisers or donation, THANK YOU!  You are a part of the miracle He is doing and You are taking part in Him revealing His majesty. 

Here are some things you can pray for:
~  Pray for his healing.  Healing of his hydrocephaly.  Healing from the results of his spina bifida. 
~  Pray for his caregivers to love him and meet each need.
~  Pray for God to continue to provide the finances and to make the path straight and smooth in front of us.
~  Pray for our faith to be strengthened, even when our Little Man feels like a lifetime away.

Hello My Name Is...

  What LOVE the Father has lavished upon us that we should be called His children!  And what a great honor to be able, in return, to pour out that love on a son!  We love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19).

   Everyone has been asking to hear the story, so here it is!  We saw his picture on a Friday, prayed and fell in love with him before we even saw his file on that Monday.  Some of his medical conditions were very scary so we had an adoption medical specialist look over his files.  Her news was not totally positive, but we knew that he was the one God had been preparing our hearts for.  From the first time we saw his picture to submitting commitment papers was exactly one week.  God confirmed over and over that he was the one for us.  He had been working in our hearts for the last two months about totally releasing all of our "specifications" on our medical needs list.  Ultimately, we would never have been matched with our son if we had not surrendered to His plan, as he didn't meet our "specifications" medically or age-wise.

    I think the biggest surprise of this part of the journey is the intensity of emotions that come with finding your child.  Here is an excerpt from my personal journal from two weeks ago to sum up some of those feelings.

                                                                                    ~

   "Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion.  For the Lord is a God of Justice.  Blessed are all who wait on Him! ~ Isaiah 30:18

  The last 30 hours have been a complete roller coaster!  I didn't even get through his first video without weeping like a baby at him calling for 'mama.'  We should hear back from the international adoption doctor by this time tomorrow.  I think in my heart, I am already calling him mine, but I know my logical side must be satisfied with all the facts.  We know we must make the decision God chooses, not what we think is right.  We will meet with our pastor tomorrow in an attempt to find complete clarity.  Despite all the emotions, I sat down to listen to some worship music to quiet my heart.  I landed on "Came to My Rescue" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAMbEPZfWCY

) and was just ushered into the presence of Jesus.  Everything else faded away and all I could think was of everything He has done for me and how I wanted to share His story with this little boy.  I heard His familiar whisper as I prayed.

  - What about his medical issues?  Surely we aren't prepared to handle them.

  - I am the Healer.

 -  What about his age?  He is older than Baby Girl.

 -  I create families.  

 At this point I'm remembering that without God there is no concept of family.  He created it.  Who am I to tell Him how to put mine together?  I am feeling like a sheep who has been tapped with a Shepard's crook and nudged back in line.  Of course, I am ashamed at my disrespect and lack of trust until I hear His sweet voice again. 

  -  Oh, Beloved.  Follow Me. 

  I don't know if this answers our questions, but it fills me with such peace.  There is such an overwhelming satisfaction in simply being still and knowing that He is God.  What an amazing gift to be loved by Him.  Instead of agonizing over what we are supposed to do, I find myself excited to just see what He will do.  I do love this little boy and I desperately hope we make the right decisions.  If we became pregnant, there would be no room for doubt because God would have already given life. It is much harder to think you are responsible for making the right or wrong choice.  

  One thing I have found particularly interesting is that his birth mother and I were pregnant at the same time.  When I was pregnant and convinced God was bringing us a son, was I right?  Was He preparing me from the beginning?  This mother's heart has peace knowing that the Good and Perfect Father orchestrates all things according to His perfect plan.  

  Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, 'This is the way; walk in it.'  Isaiah 30:21"

                                                                                 ~

 

  So with all of those fears laid to rest, we are thrilled to announce that Baby Girl is now a sister to a big brother!  He is 2 years old and we can't wait to bring him home.  Adoption has so many similarities to spiritual salvation, it is hard to not draw comparisons from there.  Just as the Father seeks us, brings us to His table and heals our brokenness, He also makes us a new creation.  And for our sweetie, a new life means a new name too.  For us, we couldn't see a greater way to express our love than to give him the name of his father.   What a precious thought to know he is fatherless no more!  His birth name is very special to us and will still be used in our house also.   However, for privacy reasons, we will not be posting either. 

We are hoping to travel to meet him sometime in early Spring, and hopefully we will all be home together by this time next year!

 So there you have it, folks! We are now the proud parents of two precious kiddos! 

Here are some specific prayer requests:

~ Pray for Little Man to develop strength in his trunk and legs.  He was born with spina bifida which has affected his development greatly.

~ Pray for his hydrocephaly to heal completely so he will no longer need a shunt.

~ Pray for God's glory to be shown to his caregivers.

~ Pray for our hearts to prepare for him and his heart to be prepared for us.

~ Pray for God to provide all of the funds necessary to complete his adoption without delays.  Our fees will be due much faster than we originally planned, since our timeline is much shorter, and we still have a loooong way to go on our fees.  But God has provided for every need so far and we have no doubt that He will continue to do so.