Ethiopia Update

Greetings!

Two and a half years ago, Stephanie and I felt called to begin our little family through adoption.  God called us to an agency (AGCI) and a country (Ethiopia) that we've grown to love.  We anticipated a two to two and a half year wait before seeing our child's face for the first time, but due to changes in requirements and practices in Ethiopia, this timeline has been significantly extended.  We remain fully committed to growing our family through adoption. 

As a result of the new timeline, Stephanie and I decided to instead begin our family with a biological child.  This, too, turned out to be quite a journey, but we are now so blessed that Stephanie is pregnant with our baby boy (due in May).  As we prepare the house for little hands and little feet, we are facing a very difficult decision related to the adoption, and we need your prayers.

Recently, our adoption agency shared some discouraging news related to the outlook of adoption in Ethiopia.  It has been since June 2014 since a child from Ethiopia meeting our parameters was referred to AGCI.  We've been told that it may be a question of if, not when, we are referred a child.  This is heartbreaking considering the need in Ethiopia remains great, but the requirements and corrupt practices are preventing orphans from joining their forever families.

Our agency has presented us with a small handful of options to continue our adoption journey.  While it seems impossible to choose an option, we know God remains with us as we continue to seek his will.  We ask that you pray that we may have wisdom as we make this decision by the end of January. 

Thank you for your love and support!

Happy Fall!

We can’t believe another school year is starting!  Steph had a very busy summer as she wrapped up graduate classes and earned her Master’s Degree.  For the first time since we met, she doesn’t have any extra curricular fall activities (coaching or classes) so we’re looking forward to enjoying campfires, Michigan football, and October baseball (we hope)!

As we’ve run into many of you the past several months, we’ve noticed a recurring theme.  We’re learning that our family and friends are hesitant to ask about the adoption.  We understand this hesitance comes from an empathetic heart as you don’t want to open a wound, but please know that we’re happy to talk about the adoption!  While the process isn’t moving as quickly as we had hoped, we’re patiently waiting on God’s timing, trusting that we will soon hold our miracle(s) from Ethiopia!

There is still a great need to connect children with forever families in Ethiopia.  Our adoption agency has reiterated time and time again that the reasons for delays in the process are due to increased Ethiopian government requirements, not a lack of children who need a home.

This brings us to a request.  We believe in the power of prayer, so we ask that you say a prayer for the children in Ethiopia who are waiting to be joined with their forever families.  We ask that you pray that these children will feel God’s love, that they’ll find peace and comfort in His arms.  Please pray for the biological mothers and fathers who made the painful decision to give their children up for adoption, that they’ll feel this same peace and comfort.  Finally, please pray that God will remove the barriers that keep these children from going home.  Pray now, and pray often!  Thank you!

An Amazing Prayer

In 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, Paul discusses weakness in an uncommon way:

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Keeping this in mind, check out the song Give Me Faith by Elevation Worship.  It's a great way to humble yourself before our all powerful God.  Give it a listen on YouTube!

I need you to soften my heart
To break me apart
I need you to open my eyes
To see that You’re shaping my life

All I am, I surrender

Give me faith to trust what you say
That you’re good and your love is great
I’m broken inside, I give you my life

I need you to soften my heart
To break me apart
I need you pierce through the dark
And cleanse every part of me

I may be weak
But your Spirit’s strong in me
My flesh may fail
My God you never will

Enjoy your day!

Remember Who You Are

“Remember who you are.”

Our pastor at Ada Bible weaves these words into his sermons about once a month.  The application can be used in a variety of circumstances.  Take, for example, the context of our current series, being satisfied and content in a material world.  If we remember who we are as God’s chosen people, adopted, purchased by His blood, and sealed with the Holy Spirit, how can we be unsatisfied?  We find joy and wholeness and identity in who we belong to, not in a new house, expensive car, or the clothes we wear.  Material purchases result in short-lived satisfaction; no material possession can fill a void that God desires to fill in our lives.

Steph and I have recently discussed this idea of wholeness in a different context.  While we anxiously await the arrival of our child(ren), we must be whole today.  If we’re not whole today and we feel as though we’re missing something, we’re placing the source of our joy and wholeness in a child who will be born over 2,000 years after the birth of the child who is actually the source of joy and wholeness.  This doesn’t mean we can’t be excited about our future child(ren), but if we aren’t content now, surely we won’t be content as our family grows.

“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”

                                                                                     ---  Philippians 4:12

 

We highly recommend listening to the current series at Ada Bible.  Jeff Manion eloquently explains the historical context of what it meant to be adopted, redeemed, and sealed in Ephesus at the time Paul wrote his letter to the Ephesians.  Check it out here à  Ada Bible Satisfied Series

If you’d rather read Jeff Manion’s book, Satisfied: Discovering Contentment in a World of Consumption, let us know!  We’ll grab one for you!

Dear Sweet Child of Ours.... 1 Year.

October 2, 2013

Dear Sweet Child of Ours,

You are worth every second of this wait.  We’ve have been on the wait-list with All God’s Children International for officially 1 year today.  The time has flown by and yet slithered by so slowly.  

When we entered this process on Mother’s Day in 2012, we knew the wait would be long.  We knew the journey would be wonderful and yet difficult, but we had no idea how difficult this wait would be.   There is not a day that we don’t think about you and your birth mom.  We pray for health for your birth mom as she prepares to carry you.  We pray for health for you and your mom throughout the pregnancy, birth, and infancy.  

We think about you so much.  We wonder what you will look like.  Will you be a boy or a girl or even siblings?  We wonder what your personality will be like and what your interests will be.  We can’t wait to love you for exactly who God is making you to be.

There are so many people here that are anxiously awaiting your arrival.  You have two wonderful sets of grandparents that love you so much already.  Your cousins can’t wait to play with you!  You have 3 cousins right now: Kayla, Zach, and Jayden.  Your aunts and uncles can’t wait to hold you and spend time with you.  There are so many friends that ask about you often.  They wonder when we can expect your arrival.  Our answer is usually the same: we have no idea, but we can’t wait to meet you!  There are also two little puppies, Sophie and Lola, that will love to meet you and give you kisses.  They are such gentle and loving pups.  You will grow to love them, I’m sure.

Whether this is our last full year of waiting, or if we have to wait one, two or three more, we want you to know that we have prayed for you since before we were married, we have prayed for you since the day we started our journey will All God’s Children International, and we will continue to pray for you until you are in our arms, as well as when we enter the journey of parenthood.  You are a blessing.  You are worth every second of this wait. 

We love you.  

Until we meet,

Mommy and Daddy

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There is a time for everything...

There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

²     a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
³     a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
⁴     a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
⁵     a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
⁶     a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
⁷     a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
⁸     a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace.

The time to update this blog was several months ago!  We apologize for the delay since our last post. Since so much time has passed, we have a few things we need to talk about!

First and foremost, we don’t want our lack of communication to create any doubt that we’re still adopting.  We want to be very clear; we have not wavered in our desire to follow God’s plan and adopt our child(ren) from Ethiopia!  I suppose our lack of communication can be attributed to a selfish desire to not obsess over the adoption.  We knew the process would be a long journey, and there’s not a day that goes by that we both don’t think about our little Ethiopian child(ren).  The struggle we face is that we understand we likely have the majority of the journey ahead of us.  We apologize for the delay, and we promise it won’t happen again!

There have been a handful of changes to the Ethiopian adoption process through All God’s Children, most of which are non-substantive.  The most notable change you’ll experience with us is the fact that we are no longer receiving wait list numbers.  Instead, we’re provided monthly updates of all referrals and corresponding dates that the adoptive families completed their adoption paperwork.  The most recent update indicated paperwork completion dates of December 2010 and October 2011.  We completed our paperwork in October 2012. 

What does this mean?  In short, nothing; however, with no numbers to cling to, the ambiguity surrounding our place in the process multiplies, and we won’t be able to share our progress, however small it may be, with you in an easy-to-understand way each month.

The verses shared at the start of this post, taken from the beginning of Ecclesiastes 3, have adorned our living room wall since the week following our garage sale fundraiser last summer.  I’ve spent several nights meditating on these words over the past year.  While the thoughts on my mind and the triumphs and troubles of each day have changed each time I’ve read this passage, I always find myself in awe of the vast amount of choices and decisions we make each day.  How do we know which behavior is appropriate given our circumstances?  How should we handle fear, uncertainty, disappointment, loss, excitement, anticipation, and ambiguity?  In those quiet moments, I simply ask God!

Today is a gift.  Enjoy it!