On a new Path
Hello Friends and Family and those I have not yet met! I've been able to talk with some of you and update you on the process but we wanted to make sure we filled everyone in on where we are with our adoption process as of now. Since our agency closed the Uganda program, we've been praying and researching other options for us, and like I had mentioned in the last post, there are lots of different ways we could go - all which present different challenges.
Over the past two months we've felt pulled towards seeking a domestic infant adoption. Our current home-study agency has recommended some options to us and we are in process of applying. The cost is still pretty high - anywhere from $18,000-30,000. Thankfully, the agency we're hoping to work with is on the lower end of that number typically, and the average wait-time after application to placement is just 6 months! This seems a little scary to me (even though we've technically been waiting 2 years already). With this new direction there are a lot of new things to think about - like getting all the stuff we'd need for a newborn, and like thinking about not sleeping. :) I'm still missing Uganda and the children I met... I think about them so often and wish I could take a quick boda ride down the street to say hello and give them hugs. But I'm at peace with this season, and trusting this path. As of today, we have handed in most of our new paperwork and then we will submit our "adoptive parent profile" to the agency so birth-moms can see us and decide who they'd want their baby to go to. This is a strange experience, trying to figure out how to write about ourselves in a short little book with a few photos! After we send in this profile (along with $7000) we may be waiting anywhere between one month and 8 months, if it all works out.We would really love prayers for this new process. There's always a chance that the expectant birth mother could decide to keep the baby after we've been matched. There's always the chance of really anything happening, so we really just need to trust God and ask that you'd be praying His covering over the details and the big picture.We have quite a bit saved right now which will cover all the up front costs (the application fees, homestudy update, fingerprint updates, agency fees, etc) but we are continuing to do some fund-raisers and apply for grants as we keep trying to save as well! When the baby is born, we will owe another $8000 plus any expenses that the birth mother will need us to cover (this really is a crazy and expensive process). I've added some info about fund-raisers and ideas we have on the "support our adoption" tab. We have two upcoming fund-raisers planned for those of you who live near us... a wine and painting night hosted by our dear friends Wendy and Craig, and a clothing swap planned for August with our good friend Nicole. Let me know if you want details!Our hope and prayer is that one day we will still adopt from Africa or another nation in which children are so so vulnerable. One day, we trust it will happen. For now, we're feeling lead to move in this direction and are just grateful God knows the exact children He has for us.