This is my first ever attempt at blogging so hopefully I will be able to figure this out and keep you updated on our adoption process.
Here is some background information...
My husband and I met about 10 years ago through family members. On a visit from NY to FL my cousin introduced me to her now husband who is James' brother. Shortly after James moved from FL to NC and we lost touch. Luckily 4 1/2 years ago my nephew was born and we met up again at his 1st birthday celebration. There was an instant connection and a friendship was formed over the next year. Fast forward 3 years and we have a wonderful marriage that grew out of that friendship. We are so proud of our blended family, two girls Emillie (15) and Bella (8) from James' previous marriage and our son Jacob (2) aka the monster!
Our family was introduced to Ukrainian orphans when our church (Hope Community Church...love people where they are and encourage them to grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ) sponsored a hosting program during the summer. James was born in Russia and still speaks the language and I was involved in the children's ministry so it seemed like a great volunteer opportunity. Little did we know God had a bigger plan. It all started when the hosting program was one host family short. We agreed to host a 10 year old boy and I was forewarned that we would advocate for him, but not to get any ideas about adopting him. Well in just 3 weeks the whole family fell completely in love with him. We wanted to adopt, but we were unprepared for the process and the cost! We had also just found out we were expecting. After many many MANY tears (from James too, even though he tried to explain he just had something in his eye) it was decided it was not the right time for our family to adopt, but were open to it in the future.
The following summer we decided just to volunteer at the summer camp so we wouldn't get attached, but after meeting an 8 year old boy something was tugging at my heart strings. We assumed the family that hosted this boy was going to adopt him, however at a fundraiser for another boy I was told they were not and maybe we should think about adopting him. That was enough for me...my husband on the other hand needed a little more convincing. He was still concerned with the cost and knew this would be a great challenge for our family. He just wanted to make sure we were ready. After speaking with the boy's host family and a facilitator we decided we would walk by faith and start the journey of a lifetime.
Everything seemed to be moving smoothly. We were able to gather all the necessary documents, completed our background checks, medical evaluations, and met with our social worker. We expedited and completed our home study. We completed filled out and filed our I600A with immigration and were now waiting for approval. Then our facilitator called with an amazing opportunity, a group was coming to NC on a hosting program and they could bring our child along. That did create an unexpected expense, but how great would it be to have him with us for 3 weeks while we waited to adopt him. It was a long three weeks, he was all boy and full of energy. He was quite defiant, demanding, and at times rude. During the second week we received our I17-H approval letter from immigration. Now all that was left was to complete our dossier and send it off to Ukraine. When the hosting program was over we were left with questions. The boy had been told that we would be adopting him and we did not want to disappoint him or have him feel unwanted again. My husband was adimit that he was not right for our family and I believed with love the boy could change. This was a very difficult time in our marriage. We voiced our concerns to our facilitor and he assured us this was an adorable boy who had no siblings and was still fairly young so he would be highly desirable to someone looking to adopt. He encourged us to take some time and pray about it. Then the email came... the little boy had been referred to another family by the orphange director. I took the news the hardest, I was heartbroken. Over the next few months the tears turned to anger, the anger turned to questions... why would God do this? What would he put two little boys in my life and then take them away? Then the questions turned to prayer. Knowing that God is in control and has a plan for my life I began to prayed for my heart to be opened and my mind to be patient and I would trust in Him.
James went on a mission trip to the Ukraine the last week of March. Before he left he wanted me to know he was going there to spend time with and get to know the kids, he would also be working on his Russian, but he was NOT going to adopt. I said I agreed, but then prayed that he would find a child to adopt. I even joked with a friend about him coming home having fallen completely in love with a particular child! And he did...he met "L". A beautiful, kind, smart girl who has so much love to give but so little hope. She is turning 16 in two months and that means will age out of the system. She will have completed the 10th grade and be on her own all alone to face a great big world. We can change this girl's future, we can save her life. We can give her a loving home where she can be part of a family for the first time. She wants to be a chef and we can help her realize that dream. She deserves more because God has a plan for her too!
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