The desire to adopt has always been very strong in my heart. When I married Brian we both knew that one day we wanted to adopt a child from another country. We have been to Russia and Kenya, where we have loved on so many orphans. How we wished we could take care of them all. The two trips we took to Russia, there were to very special children that stole our hearts. Sasha and Sasha, one a boy and the other a girl, both HIV positive. Our first trip these two little ones took to us and we held them dearly in that baby home. A year and half later, we went back to Russia to learn that they were moved to different homes. Thankfully, we got to see the girl Sasha again. How it touched our hearts when she recognized Brian. Imagine that, she was only a little over a year the first time he held her and there she was sitting in his lap again. We wonder how Sasha and Sasha are doing and desperately pray that they are healthy and well.
In Kenya, I got to spend some time at an orphanage called Beat the Drum for children with HIV and AIDS. Once again, my heart found a little girl by the name of Faith. She and I clicked immediately and how I wanted to take her home with me. To care for her and love on her. To make sure that she would get the best possible medical treatment for her HIV positive condition. Only, that is not what God has planned.
So here we are in 2009 and Brian and I have started to look into the process of international adoption. It has been very clear to us where we want to adopt from. You know, at first i thought for sure it would be Russia. After all, I have so many emotional attachments there. But that is not the place that God has put in our hearts. We are very interested in adopting from Ethiopia. We really, really want to adopt a 1-3 year old boy. I have been praying that God would open this door. That he has the perfect little boy waiting for Brian and me. I am crying as I type this because it is so strong in my heart. I can almost see his little face, that precious little face that will look up at Brian and me as 'daddy and mommy'.
There are now so many fears that are consuming Brian and me. So many questions:
Are we prepared for this emotional journey?
How will we afford the adoption?
How will our family receive our new child?
Funny, as I am typing this I can hear God telling me to have faith. That if he is the one orchestrating it, he will take care of the details. That seems way too easy. We just need to have faith...please pray for our faith. We know this is what we want and what we need to do. God put this in our hearts for a reason!
It is scary to think about this process. We have friends that have been on a roller coaster ride in trying to adopt their second child from Russia. I admire their strength and faith. Just like them, it's liking going out on a limb to trust God.