An Update on Our Adoption

Hey, friends! It’s been a while since I updated everyone on our adoption, so I thought I would let you know what’s been going on in our world.

Peter and I have completed stacks and stacks of paperwork and all five of us have had medical exams, blood work, and tuberculosis skin tests. (Not fun for the kids!) While working on our criminal background checks for all the states we have lived in, we discovered that we needed our home study agency here in Georgia to help us with a few of those background inquiries.

Well, let’s just say that our home study agency was less than helpful. They wouldn’t return my phone calls or my emails, so we were stuck in no-man’s land, waiting on people who apparently weren’t too concerned about what we needed.

It was frustrating, to say the least.

I had already gotten a not-so-good feeling from this home study agency. It took them 2-1/2 weeks to mail out our initial paperwork to us where it should’ve only taken about 2 DAYS for us to receive it. So, even from the beginning, I had a weird feeling about this agency.

And after not hearing from them when we desperately needed their assistance on these background checks, I felt in my spirit something wasn’t right.

I talked with Peter about my anxiety regarding this agency. We discussed all the issues, particularly the fact that if our home study wasn’t completed by the end of February, we wouldn’t receive a referral for a child before we move in June. And then we would have to completely start over.

The way things were looking, there was absolutely no possibility of our home study being completed by the end of February.

I called and spoke with our adoption agency, Children of the World, and told them about our concerns. Our case manager agreed that our home study agency was not doing their job and it would probably be best if we put everything on hold until we move to Tennessee this summer.

So that’s what we decided to do.

And although we were disappointed, we have seen God’s hand in this delay.

First, we received two huge financial gifts: one from family and one from some very sweet friends. These friends had actually been in the process of adopting a child from India when they discovered they were pregnant. Crazy how God works, isn’t it? This precious couple had already raised some money to help fund their adoption so when they found out they were pregnant, they contacted me and asked if they could donate those funds to our adoption.

I was floored! Their generosity astounded me. Of course, money is definitely an issue when you’re talking about international adoptions, but more importantly, I felt that the Lord was using these friends to pour into me, to encourage me to keep going. I had reached a low point (one of many, I’m sure) on this adoption journey, feeling stressed about the financial aspect as well as the paperwork not getting done in a timely manner, and I was beginning to question whether we were supposed to even be pursuing a child in India. But God used these friends to confirm His call on our family to adopt a child. I am grateful for their financial gift, to be sure, but mostly I am grateful that they allowed the Lord to use them in such an encouraging manner.

Second, we have been reminded that God’s timing is always best. As we now look to delay things for a few months, we are seeing that God has an ultimate plan which will be better than anything we could imagine. Who knows? Maybe He is waiting on our child to be born and that’s why our plans needed to shift. I have no idea the reason for the delay, but what I do know is this: It will now be at least 2 years before we are able to bring a child home, which may actually be better for our family. Peter will be in Physical Therapy school for the next two years and I will be working full-time outside the home during his time in school. It is preferable that I am at home once we bring a child into our family, and hopefully by the time we adopt, I will again be a stay-at-home mom.

I am trying to keep a journal of all the ups and downs of this adoption process so that we can look back one day and see God’s hand in everything. We are able to reflect on Jonah’s adoption process – so many disappointments and failed adoptions – which brought us to that precious boy, so we know that God is good and He has a plan for this adoption as well.

Will you pray with us as we prepare to move in a few months? Pray that we would find a home study agency that is a perfect fit for our family. And pray for the child who we will one day adopt.

Thank you, friends, for following us on this journey. I will update again on our adoption once we get settled in Tennessee this summer. If you would like to help us bring home our child, you can donate here. We are already almost halfway to meeting our first financial goal!

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