Off it goes! (12/30/06)

Today we mailed our box with all of our paperwork in it (our Dossier) to Oregon. It had all of our certified documents, our home study, a photo album of our family that we created for the birthmother, as well as a video tour of our house with some words from Brian and I (also to our baby's birth mother). We chose to use Federal Express because we were told it was the most secure method and it can be tracked every step of the way. Short of handcuffing it to someone and sending them on a plane to Oregon, I guess this will have to do! (Last night Brian and I each spent some time praying over the box – essentially placing it and the entire process into God’s hands… as we have tried to do with everything that has been required thus far.) It cost $80 to mail the package, and as I left I told the lady, “Please take VERY good care of this…it is paperwork for our little girl in Guatemala”. It will be a TREMENDOUS relief to hear from SooJin that it has arrived safely!

Almost ready... (12/29/06)

This is the second evening that we’ve been up past 2:00 a.m. trying to get our Dossier ready to send. Our goal is to ship it on Saturday so that it is the first box received when the agency opens up again on Tuesday (from the holiday break). I’ve been working on the birthmother book and Brian has been trying to figure out how to burn a DVD for our video that we need to send to her. What do you say to a woman who is choosing to give you her child because she can not even afford to feed herself, or provide for her child? It is so amazing to me that once the agency receives this box of documents, we will be assigned a number - representing the life of a child. I know that God already knows who the birthmother is and which baby we will be assigned, but it is still an incredible thought.

The Office of the Great Seal (12/28/06)

Today we had to make a trip to Grand Rapids to pick up our home study (at Trish’s house) and then continue on to “The Office of the Great Seal” which is located in Eastbrook Mall. It has been amazing how everything has fallen into place. When I entered the Secretary of the State’s office, there was a sign indicating that the computers were down indefinitely. I stayed in line, just praying that they would be back up soon. At that point, having to go home and make another trip back to GR seemed very overwhelming. Once I approached the desk and indicated my purpose for being there, I was sent over to another desk and that one woman’s computer began working again (JUST HERS!) All of our documents were perfect and in about 30 minutes they were all state certified and we were on our way! We are told it is fairly rare to have all of your documents certified in just one trip. What a blessing!!

"Mom! Come quick!"

Today I was at the office supply store getting some mailing materials for our documents. Joel and Grace were looking at the stickers. Suddenly I heard Grace yell (very loudly), “MOOOOMMMMM!!!! Come QUICK!” I ran across the store to find her squealing with delight in front of a man carrying a darker-skinned baby. She continued to shout, “Mommy- I found a really cute little baby that looks JUST like my baby sister will look!” She then explain to the crowd she had attracted that she was going to fly on an airplane to get a little baby sister from Guatemala. It was slightly embarrassing, but incredibly touching!

Home Study (12/12/06)

Last night we spent from 4:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. with Trish Borgdorff (our social worker) who is doing our home study. She shared some very encouraging information with us regarding an estimated timeframe. Right now, providing no one else turns in Dossiers for Guatemala before us, we would be #32 on the waiting list. That means that yes, our baby has already been conceived and that we could get a referral as early as this summer. That also could mean that we could bring our baby home, sometime next winter. That would be ideal, as in January of 2008, there are some new restrictions that will go into effect and Guatemala may shut down adoption processing for a period of time to become compliant with these regulations. If this happens BEFORE our baby comes home, it could mean months of her just waiting at Hannah’s Hope. We will pray boldly to avoid that. Trish also shared with us the risks involved in any international adoption. Two situations that have come up this past year seemed rather disheartening at first. The first situation (because they/we are dealing most likely with a birth mother from the House of Hope) was when a couple received a referral, went to visit the baby, and then the birth mother changed her mind. Another situation – a family accepted a referral of a baby, went to visit, and then was informed that their baby had died of RSV. In fact, just last week, nearly ALL of the babies at Hannah’s Hope were hospitalized and on I.V’s due to a virus that spread through the orphanage. It is the harsh reality of international adoption, but definitely a risk we are prepared to take. Our prayers will certainly change now that we know our daughter is already growing and developing. We pray for her and her birth mother, that God will surround them with safety, health, and the knowledge of His great plan.
Right now we are just waiting for our birth certificates to arrive in the mail so that we can get our passports and complete our requirements to get the Dossier submitted.

On my heart...

"The WILL of God will not take you where the GRACE of God can not sustain you."
I do not remember where I heard or read this quote, but it has been on my heart the past couple of days continually. I guess it just helps me to realize that though there are many uncertainties with this decision we have made, it is God's will for us and He will guide us and protect us through the process. We have already been so blessed by the support we have received from family and friends.

Fingerprinting #2 (12/1/06)

Today Brian had a snow day, so we went down to the Holland Police Department to be fingerprinted (again). It is amazing how difficult it is to be a “law-abiding citizen”. We were given all kinds of stories on the phone as to why they couldn’t fingerprint us and where we might need to drive to in order to be fingerprinted. Finally, I just decided that we would get in the car, go down to the police station, and act as though they should be expecting us. I walked up to small speaker in the the bullet-proof glass and said, "Yes...we are here to be fingerprinted. Here is our check." I was so relieved when we finally walked out with the fingerprint forms in hand. Another task checked off the list!

Fingerprinting #1 (11/30/06)

Today we tried to get fingerprinted, but somehow between the time I called the police department and the time it took for us to drive there, "the finger-printing machine broke".
Somewhat disheartened, we stopped at Macatawa Family Medicine to drop off our medical forms, and Dr. John called us back right away. Not only was he willing to complete our exams on the spot, he also did our blood draws for complete blood count and HIV. It felt really good to get that taken care of and feel like we had accomplished something today.

I Samuel 1:27 (11/25/06)

"For this child I prayed and the Lord has granted me the petition that I made to him."

This journey really began several years ago… I remember December of 2002. We had just brought our beautiful infant daughter (Grace Marie) home from the hospital. I was rocking her and thanking God for blessing our family with a little boy (Joel Austin- then 2 ½) and now, a little girl. Yet, at the same time, I did not feel our family was complete. As the years passed, I believe God spoke to me in ways I did not always recognize. On November 1, 2002, my dear friend, Leah, committed to praying for our family daily. Together we prayed that God would direct our family and help us to realize if He indeed had another baby planned for us. Other close friends, too, offered to pray (and have over the years). At this point, I was imagining that another baby would mean another pregnancy. Yet on 11/2/02, I walked into church and saw a sign (most likely intended for pregnant teens) stating “Adoption is a good option”. I took that as a sign that I needed to pray about. I did pray, and through the years, my faith in God grew in ways I had never before experienced. I began to really feel as though we should adopt an orphan. Brian, prayed, too. But at this point, it was purely because he knew this was something I had come to feel very passionately about. He was very happy with our family of four, and did not feel God calling us in this direction. Through countless late-night discussions, daily reading and prayers, and at times, tears – we have finally arrived at the point we are at today. Though it has been a challenging road, we have grown together in ways we never would have envisioned and God has certainly used this to strengthen our relationship with Him and one another. Brian's conviction has been inspiring. He us thrilled to finally hear God's call and respond joyfully. He moves forward with excitement and admittedly, the daily reliance on God to provide financially once our own resources are depleated. We are both excited to visit our little girl in a country we know so little about, and in time, bring her home to our family. We invite you to travel with us, these next several months – and share the rest of our journey.

What agency? Where? (11/23/06)

Once we decided to adopt, it took only moments for us to decide which agency we would go with and where we would adopt from. Prior to our decision, we had done a bit of research to determine where the greatest needs were. Three different local adoption agencies directed us to pursue international adoption. Here in the United States, for the most part, there are more adoptive families waiting to adopt infants than there are waiting babies (who have been released for adoption). Internationally, it is just the opposite. This made the decision for us. Having chosen international adoption, there was never really any question which agency we would choose. We learned about All God's Children International through some friends who adopted their son through that agency. Quite some time ago, they shared with us their story and the ministry that AGCI is involved in. It is truly an amazing story (see "About AGCI"). We chose Guatemala for several reasons:
1. The infants live at "Hannah's Hope", an orphange run by AGCI, which provides incredible
care to the babies (1 "special mother" for every 2-3 babies). There is a full-time doctor
on staff and the health of the babies is closely monitored.
2. There is not a required "in-country" stay. (Many countries require 2-3 weeks in the
country. For us, that was too long to be away from Joel and Grace. We will travel to
Guatemala twice, once when our baby is born (to see her, complete some paperwork, and
meet the birthmother), and a second time to bring her home. Each trip will be a
maximum of three nights.)
3. Our baby's birthmother will receive prenatal care and counseling through "The Promise of
Life" program and has the opprotunity to live at the "House of Hope" in Guatemala City
during her pregnancy. We will get to meet her on our first visit to Guatemala.
4. This agency, though it has grown tremendously in the past several years, is still very much
committed to its original mission - to provide homes to those babies whose mothers have
chosen adoption, and to provide relief and assistance to those birthmothers who choose to
keep their babies and those babies who are never adopted. We are very pleased to be
working with an adoption AND relief organization.

A decision...(11/17/06)

We did it!
Last night Brian and I decided to adopt an infant from Guatemala. It seems unbelievable to finally have come to this decision. While I once imagined being amazingly overjoyed to finally both feel this calling, my heart is somewhat guarded at this point. I am indeed THRILLED to be following the calling I have felt for so long, but there are still many uncertainties ahead. This has been such a long process, and I feel like it will probably take a few days to absorb everything and determine our next steps. Though I am filled with a new kind of joy that I have not felt in years, I am still somewhat guarded in my emotions. It almost seems too good to be real. Before I went to bed last night, I opened the Bible and asked God to direct me to a verse that would begin our journey. I was lead to Psalm 37:2-5.
"Trust in the Lord, and do good:
So you will live in the land, and enjoy security.
Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in Him, and he will act."
I do pray that we trust in the Lord, as we move forward in this process.

Lord, I pray that as we begin this journey, you guide us each step of the process. May each decision be directed by you. Lord, lead us to the child you have planned for us for so many years. Protect her and our family through the entire process. Bless us with health and with safety as we journey together to complete our family. Open Joel and Grace’s hearts to share what we have in our family with another little one who looks different than they do. Help them to grow in compassion and sensitivity through this process. Lord, may our journey be honoring to you, and along the way, may others see our faith and be drawn closer to you. Lord, I do pray that we are “doing your work”, being your hands and feet and helping to “fix what is broken” in one part of the world. We are thrilled to see how you work in the next several months. I thank you – for your faithfulness and for your promise.