Our agency announced this week that for the time being they will not be accepting applications from families wanting to adopt infants from Ethiopia. You see their lists are just too long. There are 61 families waiting for a baby girl. There are 38 families waiting for baby boys. Getting through all the paperwork takes a long time and adding so to keep waits at a reasonable length, the agency has "closed" the application process to families seeking an infant.
Sounds like super news, right?! Yes. And it is - but yet there are still many children waiting. At our agency alone there are 11 boys waiting for a family to say OK. I will take you. Babies are a premium, but toddler and preschool boys wait.
So what is with NOT WANTING LITTLE BOYS? I have to say that bringing home a 2 year old has it's advantages. He is potty trained! He can talk and communicate what he needs. He is hilarious! He can give big hugs! Watching him explore all the amazing things our world has to offer with total shock and utter joy is a blast! Do not be afraid of little boys!
I also have been receiving updates about an orphanage in Haiti that God's Child Adoption Agency (our home study agency) is supporting. This is an orphanage in immediate need of families to placed children with and funds to support this orphanage while the children wait to be united with their families. This orphanage was doing OK pre-earthquake, but the earthquake changed everything. God has done some amazing connecting to put this Haitian orphanage together with this Mid-West Adoption Agency.
So why do I burden you with all this? Because maybe you have a place in these stories. Maybe a little BOY in Ethiopia is meant to be your son. Maybe you have children waiting for you in Haiti. Maybe you have extra funds to support the children waiting in Haiti?
My heart breaks thinking of children hungry, thirsty, naked, and lonely. I can not stand it!
I will confess that following God's call to adopt our Joshua was scary! I read some blogs and they say it was easy. For me it was not. I was terrified! I wrestled with God and I doubted. Waiting to bring him home was agonizing. This first month home has been a discovery process as well. It has not been easy. It has not been a walk in the park. It has taken sacrifice, perseverance, faith, trust, courage, and love.
But as hard as it has been at times COULD YOU IMAGINE HOW MUCH HARDER JOSHUA GEBEYEHU CHAD'S LIFE WOULD BE WITHOUT US? Our "sacrifice" for these months is NOTHING compared to the hardship he would have faced if we had done nothing. He is so worth it! The details have been hard but LOVING him has been EASY. We are not "all settled" yet, but by unanimous vote at dinner tonight we can not imagine our home without Joshua. He is a miracle that we are so grateful God has blessed us with.
I do not know who you are. I do not know who you know. Please open your hearts. Please let people know how many children need someone to love them. If your heart is being tugged - do not harden it.
If you or anyone you know would like more information about these children or adoptions in general. Please contact me. I would be happy to share everything I have learned. My heart cries for more orphans to become sons. I pray you can help make that happen.
**My heart is extra full today as my friends are currently in Ethiopia and will very soon be united with BOTH of their pre-school age Ethiopian sons. These friends are really a big part of the reason that Joshua Gebeyehu is toddling around our home right now. God used their story and blog as the starting point for our journey. I am so grateful! We received Joshua's referral 1 week after they received theirs and in an unfair twist we were able to travel sooner. I am so excited for their boys to be home, but Joshua is even more excited. Their son Ageze is one of Joshua's favorite kids to look for in pictures from our trip. Please blanket them in prayers this week as you so covered me.
May we always trust His plans so we do not miss out on the gifts He has in store.
