He's done it again! God has gone and blessed our socks off with his amazing provision. Both times we made the decision to follow God's call to adopt, we knew that God would have to provide the money for us to do it. It would be literally impossible for us to come up with the estimated $28,000- $38,000 on our own (unless we didn't eat for a year and moved our family into a van down by the river). So, we stepped out knowing that where God calls, He provides the way. There were countless ways that God came through and supplied the money last time (raises at work, an adoption grant from Shaohannah's Hope, and generous gifts from friends and family members). But I will admit, I was a bit more worried about the money this time. We had some tax return money to start out with, but I wondered where the rest would come from. I doubted that anyone would feel led to support our adoption financially this time because we already have 2 kids and, as far as we know, infertility isn't an issue this time. It's a good thing God doesn't think like I do. He reminded me again today that He HAS called us to adopt and He WILL provide. But this isn't about us really. It's about a baby in Ethiopia who may or may not be born yet. God knows this baby and has a plan for his/her life, and for some reason, God has chosen Ray and I to be a part of His plan for him/her. This is the miracle of adoption. Along the way, Ray and I get to experience the little miracles that bring us together as a family. We received a card in the mail today from friends of friends. Inside was an encouraging note and a check for $1000.00 to help with our adoption expenses. We've never met these generous people. But God has given them a passion for adoption and a concern for orphans and they are obediently living out God's call on their lives to support adoption. Wow. It just blows me away. God is so awesome, and I'm so thankful for how he works through his servants!
Earlier today I had written a sort of adoption update listing all the delays we've experienced in the process so far. Everything seems to be taking so much longer this time. But I've decided not to post my lamenting because it doesn't seem to matter now. God has a plan and He knows the timing. I will ask for prayers though. A rough draft of our home study report is with our family coordinator at our agency's office in Virginia. She needs to review it and send it back to our social worker for corrections. Once it is corrected it needs to be sent to the AWAA NY office for approval, and then back to our social worker to be notarized. I would really, really like all of this to happen before our social worker gets on a plane headed to Armenia for her own adoption next Saturday. Once we have our home study report we will be able to apply for the I-171H, the last document we need for our dossier. Getting the I-171H could take about 2-3 months, so I want to get the ball rolling. Our official wait for a referral doesn't start until our dossier is on it's way to Ethiopia, and right now the wait is 14-18 months with increases in wait time expected. So, my prayer request is that the process to finalize our home study will go smoothly and our social worker will be able to send us the notarized copies before next Saturday!
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