Britain, Here We Come!

Today is a big day for us! We are leaving to go to Britain for 10 days! Joel is still in Uganda, and will meet us in London Friday morning. I can't wait to see him. Our youngest two children will split the time between each set of grandparents, and the older two will come with us.

How blessed am I that I am also traveling with a friend, Jennifer, and her son who is Caleb's age. That will make life easier to have a friend! Doesn't it always? Her husband is in Uganda as well, so we'll have one big happy reunion in just a few days.

We will spend several days in London, where we will get the opportunity to meet with missionaries and see what God is doing in their midst. Then we will travel by train to Scotland, with stops in Stirling, St. Andrews, Edinburgh, and ultimately Dundee. Praying for God ordained conversations and meetings!

Uganda

My husband Joel just left for Uganda. It is his first trip to Africa. He is so glad he is there, but he said it has been hard. "Hard but good" were his exact words. There are many children and adults who are sick, and who suffer so much more than we do due to lack of simple medicines. He is heartbroken., and thankful that he has the chance to help. While he was there, he called me and said, "Don't be surprised if I bring home a Ugandan baby for us."

Home Study Meetings Complete

We have had a busy few days completing the required number of meetings for our home study. We met on Monday and Tuesday with our social worker, and again enjoyed our time with him. We went to McDonald's for lunch with the kids (hilarious!) and then he came back to our house just for ease. We were actually sad to see him go! Bob made it easy to talk.

Do you love to read? We wanted to learn about Rwanda, and came across these books. We are thoroughly enjoying: Left to Tell by Imaculee Iligabiza, the sequel to that book Led by Faith, and Land of a Thousand Hills by Rosamond Carr. All of these books are highly recommended.

First Home Study Appointment

Today was our first home study appointment. From the moment Bob walked in the door, he put us at ease. He was laid back, kind, and very easy to talk to. He explained to us that he is here to help us achieve our dream of adopting internationally, not to judge us or scrutinize. That helped us relax and just enjoy talking to him, learning from him and asking questions.

He met the kids immediately, who greeted him at the door with much enthusiasm. He got down on their level and just chatted with them for a few minutes. Eventually they ran upstairs to play and we sat and talked for almost two hours. It didn't seem that long at all. There were a lot of questions about our childhood, our parents and siblings, and why we want to adopt.

I was encouraged, and felt like he was on our side.

The Mission of Motherhood

There is this phenomenal book called The Mission of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson.

Have any of you read it? It is simply amazing. It is so encouraging and refreshing. I read this part this morning and wanted to share it with you:

"It is not perfection that God expects from mothers. There is no perfect personality that does the job best. It is not our background or training or the way we keep house that qualifies us to be godly mothers.
God designed mothers to partner with him in his eternal work, and he has promised to reward our faith and our faithfulness. The precious children he has placed in our hands are hoping that we will be faithful and endure so that they will have a reason to hope and an example to follow in their own lives.
It is for the children's sake that we give our lives. We are protecting future generations that they might be strong for the battle of life. We are the real, in-the-flesh tangible picture of God's loving hands, strong arms of protection, and encouraging words of hope to our children. "

I needed some encouragement and wanted to give you a glimpse of this great book.

Diving In

Joel and I have just begun the process of adopting from Rwanda. We have applied with an adoption agency named America World. They work with six countries currently, with a couple of pilot programs in the works, I think, in India and Brazil. We looked at all the countries they offered and it was so hard to pick one!

We have been praying about this decision for ages, and really sensed God wanting us to begin this now. We've read about a hundred blogs (thank you all for your faithfulness to blog your journey and let beginners like us learn from you!), and talked to many people, and just decided to dive in. (enter our theme song from Steven Curtis Chapman: I’m diving in, I’m going deep in over my head, I want to be caught in the rush, lost in the flow, in over my head, I want to go, the river’s deep, the river’s wide, the river’s water is alive so sink or swim, I’m diving in)

We are now in the gather-tons-of-documents-and-get-them-all-notarized stage, and looking for the mail to come has become quite exciting as we wait for things to come back to us (such as birth certificates). Our home study begins this Friday and we have just started an online adoption training course. There is lots to do, and we have so much to learn, but we're diving in!

The Path We're On

This is how it all began.

In a Romanian orphanage back in 1995, these two precious little ones stole my heart and set it ablaze for adoption. How I longed to scoop these two up and take them home with me each week I visited. I schemed and dreamed of ways to make it happen, to beat the odds of a 21 year old single woman actually being successful in parenting, to change forever the lives of two orphans.

But it wasn't what God had for me at that time in my life.

And while I couldn't adopt those two, they played a significant role in shaping my heart for adoption. They gave me a glimpse of my Father's heart for the fatherless. They gave me my first taste of wanting to defend those who have no voice.

So, now, fourteen years, one amazing husband, and four children later, we have officially started on the path of international adoption.

"O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name,
for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things,
things planned long ago." Isaiah 25:1