Monday, May 31, 2010
Gansu June Trip Status
After much thought, discussion and prayer Scott and I decided that we will not be traveling in June to the orphanage in Gansu. I know some of you may be disappointed but it is the only decision we feel is right for us. HOWEVER, this does not mean that we will not be adopting shortly from this region. America World staff going on this first trip will be bringing back information on the children there and we have made it clear that we are ready and willing to proceed forward with an adoption if one is identified to fit with our family. This means we could still be traveling in the fall to pick him/her up. So please keep praying! Thanks for caring for us through this whole process. We have been overwhelmed by the support and encouragement all of you have given us. Life is full, God is good, we are blessed.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
BIG NEWS
Some of you may know that Scott and I were talking about applying for the Waiting Child Program and requesting to view referrals of babies with minor medical special needs. Our tentative plan was to do this around Colston's 2nd birthday in September knowing that a referral could follow shortly. On Friday we got a call from AW telling us that we've been selected to be part of a pilot program in which five families would travel to an orphanage and be given the opportunity to identify a child for adoption. The orphanage is located in the Gansu Province near Mongolia and will be partnered with AW in order to find parents for the special needs orphans who reside there. The trip is scheduled for June 20th and we need to make our decision by June 1st! There are so many factors to consider...
PROS: Serving with Scott in an orphanage would be amazing, getting the opportunity to select a child in person and bonding with her, getting way more information about her past and current life then most adoptive parents are able to do, they have very young babies available so the chance to bring home a six month old would be incredible (early medical intervention, less developmental delays, I wouldn't miss my favorite infant stage), this is most likely the fastest way we could bring a child home and having her home by September would be SO great...we've waited 37 months already!
CONS: MONEY$$$, it would add an additional 5k to our $25k process (this coming days AFTER we just made a car purchase, it was a good deal but we could've got less car if we had known this opportunity was coming) and what if we go and don't bond with a child?, it requires two 8 day trips away from Colston and Oakley instead of one 12 day trip away from them, it's a pilot program so of course we will be ironing out the kinks for AW and there are risks involved (things like the timeframes), having to prepare and pack for a trip to China on such short notice won't be easy especially for Scott since it is week 2 of camp, although it might seem cool to be able to see a large group of children and select one the reality of that is much harder, I know I've been. What we don't want to do is make an emotional decision, we want what God wants. If that is not made clear to us during the trip it will be VERY difficult.
If we don't go there is a trip tentatively planned in the fall that will be available to us. Or we could apply to the regular Waiting Child Program and wait to receive a paper referral that way. Or we could just remain on the healthy track and wait an indefinite amount of time (currently the wait is 50 months and has yet to remain steady but instead has gone up a month each month).
So there is so much to think about and so little time to think it over, we need your help and prayers. My thoughts are consumed by this decision and we want above all else to do what God wants us to do. If you have thoughts and/or words of wisdom we are open. If you could also pray that the decision we make is one we both feel at peace about I'd appreciate it too.
We love all of you and are so grateful for your support and presence in our life!
PROS: Serving with Scott in an orphanage would be amazing, getting the opportunity to select a child in person and bonding with her, getting way more information about her past and current life then most adoptive parents are able to do, they have very young babies available so the chance to bring home a six month old would be incredible (early medical intervention, less developmental delays, I wouldn't miss my favorite infant stage), this is most likely the fastest way we could bring a child home and having her home by September would be SO great...we've waited 37 months already!
CONS: MONEY$$$, it would add an additional 5k to our $25k process (this coming days AFTER we just made a car purchase, it was a good deal but we could've got less car if we had known this opportunity was coming) and what if we go and don't bond with a child?, it requires two 8 day trips away from Colston and Oakley instead of one 12 day trip away from them, it's a pilot program so of course we will be ironing out the kinks for AW and there are risks involved (things like the timeframes), having to prepare and pack for a trip to China on such short notice won't be easy especially for Scott since it is week 2 of camp, although it might seem cool to be able to see a large group of children and select one the reality of that is much harder, I know I've been. What we don't want to do is make an emotional decision, we want what God wants. If that is not made clear to us during the trip it will be VERY difficult.
If we don't go there is a trip tentatively planned in the fall that will be available to us. Or we could apply to the regular Waiting Child Program and wait to receive a paper referral that way. Or we could just remain on the healthy track and wait an indefinite amount of time (currently the wait is 50 months and has yet to remain steady but instead has gone up a month each month).
So there is so much to think about and so little time to think it over, we need your help and prayers. My thoughts are consumed by this decision and we want above all else to do what God wants us to do. If you have thoughts and/or words of wisdom we are open. If you could also pray that the decision we make is one we both feel at peace about I'd appreciate it too.
We love all of you and are so grateful for your support and presence in our life!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
.JPG)