And the run-around begins...

Many of you are wondering if there is an update or if we have made our decision as to which country we will be going with. The answer to that is "no."

It took an entire week of me calling the doctor's office every single day to get a three sentence note from my doctor, which I sent to Bethany on Friday. We applied for three different countries (Columbia, Ethiopia, and South Korea) since we are not positive which one we will be choosing. Right now it is just a waiting game to see what countries we will be approved for.

Domestic adoption is another option, but we will be talking to Jan later this week about it. We don't want to close doors if they are doors that God wants open.

On another note we have begun our kitchen remodel. For those of you who don't know, Dan and I bought a foreclosure and there is a LOT of work to be done (especially if we want to be approved for a homestudy!). So, here is what my kitchen looks like now:




When it is done it will look very nice and I look forward to a time when I can cook for my entire family. I know God has a child already picked out for us and that brings me comfort...and makes me ache to hold that child.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Praise:
-My sister-in-law, Dana, graduated from college. Congrats!
-Aaron and Gwen made it to Ethiopia safely and are anxiously waiting to meet their new son!
-Congrats to my friend Olga who gets married this week in California! I'm sad I can't go but I am so happy for her!
-We were able to get the note from the doctor...slowly but surely! :)

Prayer Requests:
-Keep Aaron in Gwen in your prayers as they travel home (Friday, April 30).
-Pray for wisdom for Dan and I as to what country we should adopt from. If it is Ethiopia, pray that you will hit us with a two by four because we would have to raise $32,000 very, very quickly.
-Pray also for Dan and my dad as they work on our kitchen. Oh, and pray for extra patience for me because, being the clean freak that I am, the state of my kitchen right now scary!

Thanks for all of your support and prayers this week. I must say that I was so encouraged by the outpouring of love from some of you this past week. I cannot tell you how much that means to us. Thank you.

With much love and prayer,

Decisions

I barely slept last night in anticipation of today's meeting and I was distracted all day. 1:00 could not come soon enough.

The meeting at Bethany started off well. There were only two other couples, which made it much more personal. We began by going over the basic steps of inter-country adoption and then Jan went over the different countries that have adoption programs through Bethany. To be honest, when she started talking about the situations in some orphanages I just wanted to scoop all those kids up and take them home.

Dan and I were interested in the South Korea adoption program but, unfortunately, Bethany is only given four slots each year and 2010 has already been filled. We can be put on the waiting list for 2011, but if we do that it is still a 12-16 month process...meaning we would have to wait nearly 2.5 years (or more!) to receive our child.

Ethiopia is another country to which we qualify. They have added new orphanages to their program which is making the process move more quickly. However, it may move too quickly for Dan and I to raise the money that we would need.

Dan and I got in the car after the meeting and just sat there in silence. It was quiet most of the ride home as we processed all that we had heard. Questions rolled around in my mind, "Can I wait 2 and a half years to get a child?" "Should we go with Ethiopia?" "If we do go with Ethiopia how will Dan handle it (he has always had a special place in his heart for Asian countries)?" "Would we be able to come up with the money fast enough if we did go with Ethiopia?" These questions overwhelmed both Dan and myself. After sitting down at home and talking about it we have come to these conclusions:

-We could put ourselves on the waiting list for South Korea, giving ourselves the time to set aside the money without stress.

-We could apply for a child from Ethiopia and work extra hard at saving and applying for grants, waiting until we get most of the money in before having our full application processed.

-Or...do we go a different route and do domestic adoption? Jan seemed to think we would be "great" candidates for the program, but we have some really strong reservations about it and my heart is in inter-country adoption.

Mainly, we need to see where God wants us to adopt. On Monday I will need to call the doctor and get a "strongly-worded note" stating that the ridiculously low dose of medication I am on will NOT affect my ability to parent a child. Then we just need to get the preliminary application approved. Since we don't know which country we are going with yet, we will apply for both. However, once we are approved we need to make a decision about whether to move quickly, or whether we hurry up and wait. God has seen us through this far and I am sure that He will give us an answer. "Faith is not the absence of conflict..." ...but it sure would help if He wrote it on a billboard... :)

Prayer Requests:
-Pray that God will direct us to the country of His choosing....or steer us towards domestic adoption...
-Pray for patience and understanding. We both know this will be a long process...but Dan has more patience than I do. I want a child yesterday... :)

Praise:
-We rejoice with Aaron, Gwen, Gavin and Whitney as Aaron and Gwen leave this weekend to pick up their new son, Tariku, from Ethiopia!!!

Thank you all for your congratulations and prayer. Please pray hard this weekend as we have these important decisions to make!

Thank you!

With Prayer and Love,

Beginnings

If you are reading this blog then you know that Dan and I have made a step toward adoption. We are looking to adopt a child from South Korea.

We will post more information after our meeting at Bethany on Friday. Please keep us in your prayers as we move forward in faith! Thank you!