Just past our one year anniversary date of a whirlwind move to a place previously foreign to us, it seems our family is headed for a new adventure. For many of you it will be a shock. Some of you may think we're crazy. Sometimes I feel both of those things myself. Some may think this is awfully sudden but in truth it is something Erin and I have tossed around since we were dating, never seriously but in an "if" sort of way. A few weeks ago my heart was touched. We have done some research and prayed, talked to some family and our kids. It seems the next step is to just jump in and watch for God's hand to say proceed or stop.
So, what is it? What could our new adventure be? Well, it involves fundraising, and travel, and new (to us) furniture. It may involve bottles or diapers but it defiantly involves love. We are looking into bringing another child into our family. Yes, the mom who has several times stated, "1, 2, 3, that's enough for me", is now saying, "Lets add one more and make it four". We feel it may be time for JJ to have a sister. We want to give a home and a family and a hope of a future to a child who may not otherwise ever have those things. We want to raise one of the world's children as one of our own in a home that loves Jesus. Sex-Trafficking being an issue near to my heart, I want to bring a little girl out of a place where that could be the only option for her future. We are looking to bring a child out of the poverty of Russia and into a warm home where they will be fed and nurtured and loved. We are looking into international adoption.
This is all very new to us. We have always looked at Russia as where we would adopt from, if..... We had thought it was a nation closed to U.S. adoption until a representative for an orphanage support ministry presented recently at our church. I had said only a few weeks before that if adoption was something God wanted us to do, I hoped he showed us soon. Then, as I sat and watched and listened, my heart was touched and I felt that perhaps God was calling. Erin, being the more level headed, agreed that maybe it was something we should look into, and here we are. It is exciting and scary all at once. There is so much to think about and so much to do. It looks like we could be bringing home our new addition as early as spring/summer/fall 2013, depending on how soon we get started and how quickly we are placed. Russia has many children waiting for adoptive parents so they are working to get things done quickly.
Please pray for us, that we are following God's lead and not just jumping on high emotions, that we can raise the money needed while continuing to work our way out of debt previously accumulated, that God has a child in mind that will fit perfectly into our family and everything will go smoothly for that to happen, and that the attachment between our new daughter and all of us will be quick and firm. Those of you who have been through this before, please message me with any advice you may have. It always helps to have the ear and shoulder of one who has gone ahead on such an adventure.
