One Step At A Time

 "Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light for my path."

- Psalm 119:105

Have you ever tried to walk around in the dark with the aid of a lamp? Lamps don't produce much light, normally just enough to keep you from tripping and allowing you to see only the next step or two ahead. Even though this adoption process is still in the very beginning stages I am starting to see that same provision from the Lord.

When we stepped out in obedience we knew God's call but we in no way had the resources to accomplish His plan. It has only been a couple of weeks and we have seen God's provision all over the place. Just the other day Jon and I were talking about finances and what we would need to pay the homestudy fee and lo and behold God stepped in. Through the extra income of my part time job and the faithful obedience of His children (our sweet friends and family) He took care of that need. It started out as a trickle and then a big wave and as it stands now, we have what is needed to complete the next step in the process, no more, no less. Isn't God amazing?!?!

Terms and like such as...

For our friends and family who are unfamiliar with international adoption here is a small list of some phrases that will pop-up in the coming weeks and months.


Paper Chase (a.k.a. the paper pregnancy)- This refers to the beginning process of adoption. Once a family has been accepted into a country program the paper chase begins. This time period normally lasts between 3-6 months as the adoptive parents assemble all the needed paperwork for their dossier. Some of the paperwork included in this process is background checks, fingerprints, home study completion, health screenings, financial statements etc. Aside from travel fees this is one of the most expensive times in the adoption process.

Dossier- This just refers to the collection of all the paperwork completed during the paper chase. Once finalized this packet will be sent to our agency, checked for accuracy and then mailed to India where it will processed.

Home Study- This takes place in the initial stages of the paper chase. Once an adoptive family is accepted into a certain program than the family arranges the start of the Home Study process. Our organization (AWAA) is approved to provide home studies in our state so we will work with them. The home study process involves more paperwork as well as a social worker coming to our house and asking lots of questions to assess our ability to "provide a loving home, our motivation for adopting internationally, and our expectations of our adoptive child." (AWAA, Home Study Information). Honestly this process seems the most daunting to me but from everyone I have talked with I hear that the social workers are very much on the side of the adoptive family and are their biggest advocate. The social worker's desire is to help these families prepare for their new addition in the best way possible.

Waiting Period- Once your dossier is submitted to the country from which you are adopting most of the work on your end is done (accept raising support) and now comes the waiting period. This is the period between the completion of the dossier and the referral. There is no telling how long we will end up waiting.

Referral- Wooooohooo....this makes me excited! This is when you receive the information of a particular child that your family has been matched with. There are two ways that our family can be matched with a child. When our dossier is submitted to India we will be assigned to a particular orphanage. If there is a child there who meets our criteria we could get matched through that route. Our family coordinator also has access to the India waiting children's database. She could locate a child through the database and match us that way. A referral will contain the profile of your child, medical history and...a picture! Once we receive a referral we will then contact a doctor who specializes in assessing international adoptions who will then review the child's information. After reviewing the information the doctor will explain what exact needs this child has, any areas of concern to consider and what care for the child would look like. Once our family sees all that information and we decide to accept the referral we will complete acceptance paperwork which will then be returned to AWAA. After the referral is accepted more paperwork needs to be done on the India side of things. Once all the t's have been crossed and all the i's dotted we will finally get word to travel.

So there are some common terms used in the adoption process. For those family members reading this, are there any other things you may have questions about? Currently we are just now beginning the paper chase so as this process continues I'm sure we will be able to explain in more detail what exactly this process looks like.

Step One- Initial Paperwork

We sent in our first stack of paperwork last week and after explaining that process to a few people I thought it might be helpful to blog about what each step entails as I try and keep friends and family in the loop. This may also give a little insight into the whole international adoption process, mountains of paperwork and all.

After being accepted into the India program we received a lengthy email including tons of information as well as 10 or so attachments which all needed to be signed and returned along with our first program fee. Included in the whole assortment of papers were documents such as:

• India Program Family Service Plan
• India Post Adoption Agreement
• India Program Disclaimer
• India Homestudy Agreement
• Client Rights and Responsibilities
• America World Adoption Agreement 

That list isn't even complete. We pretty much signed our lives away when we sent in those documents and the first check. This may sound weird but up until the paperwork was signed and mailed I felt overwhelmed, scared, and uncertain just to name a few of the emotions. I was so tempted to doubt God's call. I kept thinking about finances and wondering how in the world we could afford to take this on. The weight of the decision we had in front of us seemed immense. However once all that initial paperwork was placed in the mail I honestly felt at peace. First gigantic step of faith has been taken...here we go!!

God uses a Village...

Our God is a God that does really big things. And adoption is definitely one of those really big things.  For a young couple doing ministry in rural Kentucky to fly halfway around the world to pick up a little girl and bring her home into her new family is a nearly unthinkable reality.  When God moves like that, it's amazing to watch His power on glorious display.  It's also humbling to realize how little your effort can accomplish without Him.

If you're reading this blog, you're already invested in some way in our adoption.  Most likely you're already praying for us and following the tiny first steps of our journey with the same joy and anticipation that we are feeling.  And, you probably realize that this is something that can't be done alone.  The wonderful thing about God is that He uses us in His incredible, huge, amazing plan.  That's why I'm writing this post...how can God use you?

God has called us to this and we're ready to obey Him.  But despite His incredible blessings in our lives, we don't have the $35,000 or so that is required to complete this process.  Rather than an obstacle to God's plans and purposes, that's actually an opportunity.  If we had the money, we could fool ourselves into thinking that we could handle this ourselves.  But, since we don't, we're reminded once again that we have to rely on Him; it's an opportunity to trust Him and ultimately, give Him the glory.

This is an opportunity for you, too.  We need your help, to give out of all that God has given to you to help make God's plan and purpose through this adoption a reality.  We prayerfully ask you to consider supporting this adoption financially.  There's no obligation of course...that's not the point.  Instead, we're asking that you allow yourself to be used by God to demonstrate His faithfulness in our lives.  This is a beautiful picture of why God calls His people into community together...so that He can use us to demonstrate His love to one another.

We have set up an online fundraising site that is a convenient way both to give and to track the progress of the Lord's faithfulness. That link can be found below, and there is also a link to the site on the right side of this page as well.

Help Bring Our Little Girl Home

We are also in the midst of setting up an account with our agency which will allow people to send tax deductible donations directly to our agency. As soon as we have that in place I will post that information.

Please also consider spreading the word by posting the links to the fundraising page on your facebook or blog. We cannot do this alone, but nothing is to big for our great God. Every prayer prayed, every amount given, great or small, helps us take one step closer to fulfilling the plan God has set out for us.

"I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."

- Ephesians 3:16-21

Waiting Children? What does that mean?

In my last post I mentioned that we had been accepted into the India Waiting Children's program with America World. For those who may not completely understand what that means I would love to share briefly about what this decision will look like for our family.

Any child included in such a program (at least for the country of India) is a healthy child 7 + years old, sibling groups, or younger children with "special needs." The idea of special needs concerning international adoption can be very different than what we might typically consider special needs in the United States. Special needs encompasses a wide variety of issues from something as simple as a poorly placed birthmark, low birth weight to more severe needs that would require surgery like a cleft lip or palate, heart conditions, and club feet. Then there are permanent disabilities such as missing limbs, blood disorders, hearing and vision impairments...the list goes on and on.

So where exactly do we fall in all of this? Jon and I feel led very strongly to a child with some sort of special need. At this point in time we cannot say exactly what that will look like. We have already begun praying and asking the Lord to make his will clear. Along with prayer we have also started reading quite a bit of material to learn about the multitude of needs that are out there. We long to be obedient to the Lord no matter the call but right now we have no specifics. If you feel led please join us in praying for guidance in this area.

We had not originally planned to go this route, but God doesn't always work the way we think he will.  Choosing to adopt a child who is "different" may not make sense to some, but as a Christan it stirs my heart. Were we not broken before Christ came and healed us? Our helplessness may not have been visible on the outside but we were a mess, yet God chose to love us despite our brokenness and sin. Through his Spirit working in us, God has given his Church a heart for the world and for our family, that looks like this. James states that, "religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." This isn't about a physical deformity or a category of care, it's about living out the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We've Been Accepted!

Is this really happening?!? I mean, I had hoped this day would come but it still seems so surreal. Last Thursday we submitted our adoption application to America World along with our application fee, family photo, and letter of intent. Today we got the news...we have been accepted into the America World family as part of the India waiting children program!! I intend on writing more on how this finally came about but for now I just wanted to share this awesomely exciting news. God has heard our prayers and has opened the door to bring our daughter home! Praise Him for granting our family the chance to show those around us his amazing faithfulness as we begin this adoption journey!  Stay tuned for more news as we bring you along for the ride. Pray for us dear friends.We have so many mixed emotions knowing that now this is actually happening. We are thrilled, terrified, anxious, thankful, and that is in no way a comprehensive list. This is gonna be crazy. God make your glory known!

Picture Made By Elisabeth