Its been absolutely way too long since my last post, and I probably won't touch on the majority of what has happened in our lives, but I'll try to give an update that answers the most frequently asked questions.
How is the adoption going? The adoption is going well. We've been officially on the waitlist since August. That's pretty much all we do until God brings us our forever child/children. The estimated wait time is about 24+ months. Once we are referred a child, it's about a 6 month wait to bring our little/s love/s home.
What are your parameters and why? We are currently on two of the three waitlists. We are waiting for a boy, 0-36 months or siblings with at least one boy, 0-36 months. We chose a boy for several reasons:
1. We have not had a boy or experienced the loss of a son.
2. One day, shortly after losing the twins, I had a conversation with God (Yes, God speaks to me. He speaks to all of us. It's a matter of whether or not we know and listen to his voice). I asked God about our children and felt like I got a picture of 2 boys and a girl. It seemed as if the boys didn't come from me (which made me think they were adopted) but the connection between the girl and I was different (which made me think she was a biological child). Now I could have completely misunderstood or took this experience the wrong way, but when I felt called to adopt, I felt certain that we needed to adopt a boy.
3. Before pursuing adoption, someone in my life also gave a prophetic word that we would have a son like Samuel. The quick gist on Samuel was his mom was barren for many years, she said that if the Lord gave her a son she would give him back to the Lord. The Lord gave her a son and she gave her son to a man named Eli. It's a beautiful picture of adoption.
Are you going to ever 'try' again? Yes, we intend to try to have a biological child in the future. The agency we are working with had policies that strongly discouraged pregnancy during the adoption process. They have become more flexible on their policies but we don't want to pursue pregnancy until we are finished with the adoption. I have no fear for future pregnancies and I believe we will one day walk out of a hospital, joyous, with a child! We have the option to do a simultaneous adoption while we wait for our Ethiopian child/children because the wait-time continues to increase. Luke and I are currently praying if/how to pursue this option. We would love your prayerful support as well.
There are so many orphans, why do you have to wait so long? I've asked that question myself, and I do have a lengthy answer, but I'll give the short version. Our agency has partnerships with several orphanages. These partnerships are always changing. Each orphanage chooses which agency to work with for each child. So the way I see it is, I'm not only on a waitlist with my agency but I'm competing with other adoptive parents who are working with other agencies around the world. There are many legal requirements that have to be settled for a child to be available to be adopted. Many of the orphans may not be available for adoption because the legal requirements might not be met.
How is your brother/brother-in-law doing? You may or may not remember that in October 2011, Luke's brother had an unexplainable, massive brain bleed. Throughout 2012, we saw him progress beyond expectations and experienced some regression. In the summer, when he seemed to be at the peak of his recovery, he chose to make Jesus his Lord and Savior. What a glorious day that was! He continued to make progress, but in October he had a set-back that landed him in the hospital for a few weeks. He was able to come home, but he wasn't bouncing back like we had expected him to. On December 23, he went home to be with Jesus, our girls and his heavenly family. Though our hearts break with his passing, we are so thankful that God gave him an opportunity for salvation. We know that his body has been completely restored. He is made new and is whole again! It makes my heart glad to think of him worshipping and dancing in God's presence with my girls. We are so appreciative of all the love, support and prayers we've received over the past year and presently.
You guys have been through so much... We will be celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary in July 2013 and we've experienced some really heavy stuff in our married years. Luke and I both have begun to respond to these 'hard times' with "God must have something really great in store for us." Satan must feel very threatened by our faith. He is the joy stealer and destroyer of hope. As we walk through these really difficult seasons, we find victory because of Jesus Christ. He is our strength giver, our rock and mighty fortress. How we wish more people knew the hope that comes from not just knowing, but trusting God! The verse I always come back to is: Genesis 50:20 NLT-You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people. Romans 8:28 NLT-And we know that God causes everything to work together for good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
Prayer requests: We strongly believe in the power of prayer. Here are some ways you can be praying us through this season of life.
1. Comfort for Luke, his parents and family-that they would experience the closeness, love, comfort and peace that God has for them.
2. Protection for Luke and Pastor Tom as they travel to/from Uganda. Prayer for open eyes, ears and hearts for the word of God. That there would be many healings and salvations as they do the work that God has called them to do.
3. My mom-on January 14th she has an appointment to discuss the results of her blood tests that show a high number of white blood cells. I believe that the blood of Jesus that was shed on the cross is covering her, is running through her and has defeated any cancer or other diseases in her blood and body.
4. Guidance, clarity on whether or not to simultaneously adopt in the U.S. as we wait for our Ethiopian child/children.
5. That God would give my patience in my waiting. I often feel like I'm being pushed back in the area of motherhood (which I know is not true). As I expressed this frustration to God, He reminded me that he is also waiting for his children, and sometimes he waits their whole life. God knows exactly how I feel. I know God's promises are for me and they will be fulfilled, but I'm struggling to be patient with his timing (which I know is PERFECT and is the BEST. It's better than anything I could do).
6. That we would have our child/children soon, like January 2013 soon (that's a sun-stand-still kind of prayer)!
