It's been two weeks today since we received the phone call. The phone call that we had been prepared to not even be looking for until we had waited about a year, and only 4 months had passed. It was a referral. My heart was skipping beats as I waited for the e-mail with the file to review and called Ben to fill him in on what our Friday night plans would now include.
The weekend became a whirlwind of excitement, translating (thank you, Lina!), talking to medical professionals, and praying over what would come next. I barely slept for the next three days.., not from an anxious or worried place, but from pure excitement and a brain that just wouldn't shut down. It didn't take us long at all to realize that we both had such a God-given peace about moving forward and a confidence that God was orchestrating every detail.
So, on Monday we spoke with our social worker and found out what our next steps were going to be to pursue the adoption of this precious girl. That day quickly became a full one as we wrote our letter of intent (LOI) and made video tour of our home...in Spanish. Everything was submitted and our LOI was accepted on Wednesday and information forwarded on to the regional office.
From there, all there was to do was wait. And while our match isn't yet official, in our hearts, she is ours. So this mamá has been thrown into instant nesting mode. I've spent so much time in prayer, but also preparing a physical space for this little one. Art has been hung, clothes are being sorted and organized, and preparations are being made to move Kira into the other bedroom to have a space of her own. Thea is thrilled to move to the top bunk and share a space with her new sister too. They both are excited and talk about her often, of course adding the tagline to the end of every sentence "IF they say 'yes' that we can be her family."
Fast forward to today, a week and a couple of days after our LOI had been forwarded... Today we were told that our LOI was acknowledged by the regional office and a transfer is being coordinated. There are still several things that need to occur in this process for our match to become official and then for us to be able to travel and bring her home. Because of that, we are calling on all of you - our amazing support network - to join us in praying that God would continue to move in this process and once again surprise everyone with the speed in which these things happen.
We trust in his plan and his timing, and we also know that God desires our prayers and wants us to bring our desires to him. So, we are being specific and bold in our prayers and ask that you would be too! Our hearts desire to have her home for Christmas and her upcoming birthday, but that will require an efficiency in this process that only God can orchestrate.
These are the things which need to occur:
File update and for her to be transferred to the orphanage we are approved with. (Could be up to a month)
Official match made
Translate entire file (1-2 weeks)
I800 approval (4 weeks)
Article 5 (5 weeks)
TRAVEL! (3-6 weeks in country)
This is what we are praying for:
Smooth advancement of this entire process.
For our girl's protection and her to be comforted during all of these changes.
Surprisingly fast transfer and file update, that it would be obvious God is at work.
For this whole process to move along quickly enough that we may travel in November to finish the process before Christmas. (Otherwise it will be after the new year)
God's work in this adoption process has been evident from the very moment we even decided to pursue adoption. We have seen his goodness, faithfulness, and provision over and over. I can't possibly list every single one in this post, but I'm moved to tears just thinking about it. He has poured out his love and kindness on our family and we have seen timelines be blown out of the water at every turn. We pray that we will see yet more timelines being obliterated by his work, but know that even if in his sovereignty and wisdom this time we must wait, HE IS GOOD. HE IS FAITHFUL. HE IS UNCHANGING. So we praise him. We thank him for this beautiful opportunity. We trust him. We ask him to move for our girl and our family.