We are officially finished with all paperwork and fingerprinting that is necessary to make sure we are able to adopt. Our last letter came yesterday, as US Immigration has deemed us a "favorable family" to adopt internationally from Ethiopia :) We are rejoicing that we can now officially move forward. We got put on our agency's adoption wait list 2 weeks ago. Now, all of our paperwork and fingerprinting and family profile information can get sent to Ethiopia to begin the journey of not only our adoption agency but also the Ethiopian adoption agency working to match our family with God's choice for us! It doesn't seem real that this journey is now completely out of our control. From here on out, our prayer is that we always remember to trust in God's timing, which is perfect, as the Lord does NOT make mistakes. God has our family and our new, little one in the palm of HIS hand, and I know, whether or not our child is with her or his birth family still or in an orphanage or not even born yet, that the Lord is watching over this precious little one... Thank you, God, for making this journey possible!
We get monthly updates about our progress regarding that wait list and where we fall each month based on how many children get matched and united that month, so not only does it mean good news for us, when we go up on that list, but this also means that other orphaned children are being referred and/or matched with their forever families and are orphans no more!!!!!!!! That is great news for everyone :)
This month, we made HUGE gains - amazingly thrilling to say the least. We opened up our email last night, and we went from #146 for a girl to #131 and from #125 for a boy to #112 - YIPPEE! 28 children got matched this past month. That is so wonderful... Praise the Lord! The courts close in Ethiopia for the months of August and Sept because of the rainy season there, so I am happy that so many got matched before this happened. We probably won't do much moving in the next 2 months, so it was such a blessing to move up so much in just one month - our first month on the wait list :)
We are bracing ourselves for the months that not much happens and the wait seems too long to bear, as that is going to be disheartening, I am sure, but we are moving forward... to the day we get the call that we have a referral! It is then we will be able to see our child for the very first time! The journey will be worth it :) The settling into this wait will be worth it!!!
Keep praying for the orphaned child! God bless.
