Wow, this is refreshing to have a new topic to update you all on! God is good.
Sooooo.....yes we are adopting a little girl from Colombia! We are waiting on a referral to find out who she is. Our agency EAC (European Adoption Consultants) has a first trip to Colombia planned for the first week of June and is hoping to get us on that trip- we just need a referral by then. We are waiting for Colombia to complete the children's files and send them to EAC so they can refer them to us. The good news, our dossier is almost complete. We have to get some documents apostilled and are waiting only on Immigration approval to complete our file. And wow, that was a lot of paper work.
How do I share our journey to this point and not make this first update super long? Cliff notes. So here they go. But first I am going to start with my journal entry back from Feb 1, 2013.
2/1/13
Still can't shake it. It comes up every time I pray, read or spend time with God. Every. Time.
Seems crazy. Seems scary. Seems faithful. Seems like its a Christ lovers duty. Seems like true love.
This road doesn't make sense. Its not the way we planned to go- thats why Im certain its God. His road/His way is always best for everyone- I don't want to ignore it.
Just read Exodus 14 when God lead the Israelites out of Egypt. He didn't take them out on the short road through Philistine country but around through the desert toward the Red Sea- where he let them cross on dry ground! The Israelites must have been wondering why in the world is he leading us this way?! But God knows best- his way is best. His plan and where and how is completely unfathomable to us. Like parting the Red Sea- who knew?! So just be faithful and follow Gods path Joanne.
So Tim and I, we talk about it. talk about it. talk about it some more.
Get scared with the reality of it.
9/2013- Hear a sermon on how excuses insult the power of God.
When God calls us to do something, he is not asking us if we can do it. God knows the outcome.
Excuse #1 Im incapable. Noah obeyed- he was mocked and insulted but obeyed and was saved.
Excuse #2 Im inferior. God doesn't call good people, he calls HIS people.
Excuse #3 Im inadequate. Dont evaluate yourself, evaluate God.
Well then. Okay, no excuses.
We decide we would like to look into any Spanish speaking country.
10/2013 But, we hear about Welcome Home Africa, an orphanage in Uganda and feel lead to them.
We decide to stop just talking and praying about it and we take a step out and contact them.
We find out that they only adopt out sibling groups- we freak and tell God that we are going to Tarshish, not Nineveh (Jonah). I come around, Tim doesn't yet. (And thats okay- I know if God wants this for us he will put us on the same page at the same time).
Tims Dad is put into Hospice. We table adoption. Just too much right now.
2/2014 Tim comes around and we contact Welcome Home Africa. They are working with the Hague now and its longer and more complicated and it doesn't feel like a good fit. Bethany we met with awhile ago and didn't feel like it was a good fit and we find out that because of Tims health history pretty much no one will accept us but Africa. So we contact Adoption Associates and they have just closed their Africa program. ugh. So we stepped out and tried all the doors we knew of and they were all promptly closed in our faces.
So we step back. Again :)
5/2014 Still praying and talking about it. God is haunting us with this :)
11/3/2014 We hear the author of Love Does, Bob Goff speak at a dinner in Grand Rapids. Love Does. Tim and I talk after the dinner and find ourselves on the same page and fired up! Ready to kick down some doors for the kingdom if we have to. God has put this on our hearts, we are ready to go! So we tell God he has got to open some doors for us! We think of how God told Abram to GO, and then showed him where. He didn't show him where to go and then tell him to leave. So we said God, we are going. And we trusted him to show up.
11/10/2014 We connect with EAC and are sending a short portfolio and a Doctors note to them to get to Colombia to see if they would accept us in their new Colombian hosting program. The doctors come through, quickly get us the notes we need. Colombia said they would accept us! WHOA.
11/28/2014 Sitting around the pool in Florida, we sign and fax in the contract with deposit.
HERE WE GO.
And here we are. That was major cliff notes but I think it gives you a little picture of how God has been working on us the last few years. Todays Jesus calling says, "You are on the path of MY choosing. There is no randomness about your life". True that. And Gods timing is perfect also. So we wait for his perfect time but still fight for our little girl sitting in the Colombian orphanage, waiting for someone to love her as their own.
We would love prayers for:
That God would move papers through quickly in Colombia and we get our referral!
Patience and peace while we wait.
That our little girl would sense the hope that someone is coming for her!
That God would continue to prepare our hearts for her. Tim, mine, and the kids!
God is good, but we could not do this without all your love and support. You guys are awesome!
Hopefully the next update will be that we received our referral!
Love to you all!
Joa (&Tim)
PS
Here is a link to a video our agency posted on their Colombian program. Its insightful.
Colombian Adoption
