I'm Human....

By: Khylee

To say that I have been frustrated during the last month would be an understatement.  For the first time since we have started this process I have felt hopelessness …. We are no where closer to finishing our dossier than when I updated everyone last month.  We have almost 90% of our documents in our folder waiting to be apostiled (another level of notary done by the State Attorney General), but several BIG things are still in the process.

Let me just paint a picture for you about how this month has went:

I have read many a blog where women have divulged that they forgot an important piece of paperwork, or didn’t read something right in a set of agency instructions and had to redo an item…and my Type A self would say “I will never do that, I have got things under control.”

Oh how very wrong I was.

First, I discover that we were supposed to have our psychological evaluation completed during the home study process, BACK IN OCTOBER.  I had no idea, none, zero. I’m floating around in Lala land think we are just trucking right along making great progress. “The psychological evaluation will only take one appointment and it will be a quick process,” I said to myself. Oh how very, very wrong I was. Our agency was good to let us go ahead and continue on (I hope that means that they don’t think we are crazy) and one month later we are just now finishing it up…..

The second scenario went down something like this. Standing on the front porch I see a big white envelope hanging out of the mail and joyfully open it expecting to see a date for us to go to get our fingerprints completed and instead I am greeted with a sweet love note from the Federal Government stating our fingerprint application is not complete.  We forgot a signature. That’s right. A. SIGNATURE. How many times did I check those documents before they were mailed, oh you know, a thousand, but whatever.  I was sick to my stomach and mad at myself for wasting more precious time when our children could potentially be out there, waiting.  There goes another 2 weeks on something so small, yet so significant.

But, through it all, the Lord continues to remind and comfort me:

"The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still." Exodus 14:14

"But these things I plan won't happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, wait patiently.  For it will surely take place. It will NOT be delayed."

"...I will not forget you. See I have engraved you on the palms of my hand." Isaiah 49:15b-16a  

His timing is always  perfect, and I am learning to completely trust in this truth.

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Lord, take this hurt away. On second thought...

By Matt:

I want to start out by saying that this is my first blog. EVER!

There is a lot I want to say but don’t want to make it too long.

The Lord rocked my world this weekend as well as many others in this community when he brought us “His Little Feet.” It is an orphan choir that travels around the country promoting orphan awareness. There are four things you can do to help and I want to do all of them! 

Give. Sponsor. Go. Adopt.

Hopefully soon we can be four for four. 

We had the pleasure of hosting two of the most precious little boys I have ever met.

Javier was 11 years old from Honduras. He was loving, kind, & funny. Yabsira was 11 years old from Ethiopia. He was a boy’s boy. He liked wrestling, laughing, and scaring Courtney. Their sponsor who stayed with us was Uncle Aaron (more on him later).

This weekend was an emotional roller-coaster for all of us. When we first agreed to let them stay in our home, I thought we would cater to them and do “our good deed”.  Boy was I wrong. These boys touched our hearts and souls and we will never be the same. The words I type from here on out do not do justice to how I feel about these three who stayed with us and the organization as a whole. 

All of the children in the choir were amazing. They all had their own unique personalities and were so polite. They just wanted someone to love them. Let me say that differently. They just need someone to love them. It is amazing how close you can grow to someone in five days. I felt like when they got on the bus to leave, I was losing a part of me. The fire that burns within me now is solely consumed with helping orphans, giving to the needy, and being the hands and feet of Christ. I don’t have any other cares in the world at the moment and I hope it never goes away. I do not want to “move on” in a couple of weeks and go back to the status quo. This pain I feel inside of me makes me know that I am called to do something about this cause and I pray that it does not stop. In fact, I have been praying for this pain to remain so that I know a fraction of what these children must feel. There are kids out there who have no voice and have to survive on their own when they shouldn’t have to. We cannot solve the problem by ourselves but we can each do ONE thing! Or several things like I, and many others in this city that were affected by His Little Feet this weekend, plan to do. I don’t know what yet, but I now have a life mission. Something bigger than myself. 

During the His Little Feet performance, the choir sings and there is also a video shown. It is below. Please watch this video.

This hit very close to home. How can you watch that and not be moved??? That is my son that we are adopting! There were not very many dry eyes in the audience when they showed this. In fact, my eyes have not been dry ever since. I have cried while driving the past two days just thinking of the experience and how much love I felt for these two kids. These were only two kids out of 147 million in the world. They are no longer out of sight and out of mind. They are all I think about. These children were a representation of the millions of orphans in the world - and ALL of these orphans are God’s children!

We had some great talks with Aaron, the sponsor who stayed with us, and he is amazing beyond words, as well. We became really close to him, also. He is 20 years old and feels called to be a part of this phenomenal ministry. I have never met someone who had a stronger will to follow and live for the Lord than him. He motivated me to constantly pray. About everything!! I pray that he will continue to do what he is called to do because he was amazing. 

It was completely our pleasure to have them in our home this past weekend. Please take a look at their website (His Little Feet) and find out more about this ministry. I don’t really know how to close this and not sound like a crazy person. My life changed completely just from this weekend. I don’t quite know what I am supposed to do about it yet, but I do know I am going to do something. If not, I am ignoring them and I am ignoring God. I am ignoring the passion God has given me to help this cause. I will not stay in my comfortable bubble and expect the world to change. It starts with me. 

His Little Feet - Reaching Children One Step at a Time

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One Year Ago Today

By: Courtney

God DOES answer prayers.

It was one year ago today that he answered our prayers in a crystal clear way. We had been praying for months about adoption. We prayed and asked God to make it clear to us. AND HE DID!

Today I read --AGAIN-- the devotional that changed our lives. 

 (Read our full story here) 

What a difference a year makes!

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Helpful Resources

By: Courtney and Khylee

 

Once you decide to journey down the road of adoption,  we (Courtney and Khylee) have found how absolutely vital it is to get educated, find sources of support and encouragement, and get helpful hints for the long journey that lies ahead

We have compiled a list of resources we have found helpful or inspiring below.  So if you are thinking about adopting, are in the process of adopting, have family or friends that are adopting, check out these books, blogs, links to articles, videos, and kids books.  (Also, if you have resource that has been helpful or encouraging, leave us a comment with it below! We would love to read them!)

Books

Fields of the Fatherless


Courtney
In Bible times, God maintained a special provision for the less fortunate. As His people harvested their fields, they were instructed to always leave a portion of the crops for those in need.
Today, God's heart continues to beat for the poor, the widows, and the fatherless. And as His children, our divine commission remains the same, a directive that's nothing less than the heart of the Christian message.
Author Tom Davis encourages us to move beyond words and become Christ to those in need. Join Tom as he shares a journey from around the world and our own backyard as people's lives are changed through the power of compassion. Filled with remarkable stories of hope and mercy, Fields of the Fatherless will inspire you to love "the least of these," and discover the joy found in becoming the hands and feet of Christ.


I loved how this book has story after story of REAL people that are living out the Gospel in their every day lives and being the hands & feet of Christ. I would recommend this book for ANY person. (adopting or not!)


The Connected Child

Courtney
This book was one of the required books our agency has asked us to read in our preparation. So reading can sometimes feel a lot like homework.  Several other books have definitely felt like homework. I opened this book with the same expectations, but I was pleasantly surprised. I found this book to be one of the most useful books I have read dealing with adoption.

This book helped me understand how so many factors affect children and how discipline issues frequently stem from fear. Attachment, discipline, brain chemistry, and even nutrition were topics covered.  This book also had actual, real, practical advice and strategies (which many other books I have encountered do not). I highly recommend this book for any family that is adopting.

Adopted for Life

Khylee
A great book from the point of view of an adoptive father and pastor. Russell Moore gives a solid theological stance for the necessary purpose of adoption along with giving practical advice for families just getting started in the process. The line in the book that still resonates in my mind is "Adoption is not charity, it is spiritual warfare."














Orphanology

Khylee
Another great theologically based book that combines the  command from the bible to Christians to take care of the orphan (adoption being just one avenue) with incredible stories from the journey's of individuals who have taken up the cause of helping the defenseless.

Kids books

We're Different We're the Same

I (Courtney) have become sightly obsessed with children's books that talk about adoption or being perfect the way you are created. This book is great for ANY child. It is seriously just absolutely sweet & adorable. The book points out features we all have that are different but how they are used for the same tasks. "Our eyes are the same. They see, they blink, they weep, they wink."

The closing line of the book...

We're different. We're the same. We're wonderful.

Who wouldn't want their child to receive this message?

Links to other helpful blog posts:

• Adoption: The Heart of the Gospel by John Piper
• A GREAT guide on what TO say and what NOT to say by Jen Hatmaker 
• Another great set of tips on what is appropriate and inappropriate to say by Under the Sun
• The real side of things once you get home (not for those with a weak stomach) by Under the Sun
• Lets be Real Guide to Attachment by the Farmer's Wife 

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