I want to take a few minutes to share with you some big events going on in our family. It is an exciting and scary time for us and we would greatly appreciate your prayers!
Since our dating days, Oran and I have discussed adoption. And when we experienced infertility issues, we had actually begun to research our options and then found out we were pregnant with our precious oldest daughter. The next few years were filled with baby, baby, and baby and for that we are so grateful! But, the call to adoption never really left our hearts. After learning about orphans during Christmas time 2012, our sweet 5 year old began to ask us when we were going to “bring home an orphan.” It was a sweet sentiment and we smiled about it, but over the next few months she kept asking. Sometimes before bed she would ask me to pray and ask God to bring us an orphan who needed a home.
During Christmas time 2013, Oran and I started talking seriously about it again. Our Little Guy was 1 and was finally sleeping through the night, our new home was pretty much done being remodeled and there just didn’t seem to be anything left we needed to wait for anymore. So we began to talk and pray. For various reasons, that would take too long to explain, we settled on trying to do the Foster to Adopt program through the State of Missouri.
To be honest, this option has always scared me. I think I have always been afraid of the “baggage” that might come along with a child in foster care. I am pretty comfortable in my little life and I have struggled to give up control of whatever may come. But the Lord has been persistent in working on my heart and has brought me great comfort. And Oran continually reminds me that maybe that is the exact reason this is what we should do. Those children need homes, they need love and they need the Lord. We have all three of those things in abundance and we just simply feel God calling us to step out on faith and trust Him.
Here is where things stand. We sent in our application and completed fingerprinting in February. From March through April we completed the 9 classes required for Foster parents and also completed the set of home studies. Lots of paperwork, references, medical releases, etc. followed!
We are now officially licensed by the state of Missouri as Foster parents and are waiting for a placement. We are looking for a child under 5 (we have decided it is important for “Butter” to remain our oldest child). While we aren’t looking to be “Foster parents” in the typical sense, with children sort of coming and going all the time, we do know that there is a very good chance that the first child who comes to us won’t necessarily be the one we are able to adopt. Our plan, unless God leads us differently, is to just take one (or two if it is a sibling set) at a time and continue through the whole process, whether it leads to adoption or reunification. Our ultimate goal is adoption, but it doesn’t always happen quite that easily. We are available to welcome a child into our home starting in July due to our big vacation that has already been planned for June.
Will you please join us prayer? Here are 3 specific things we would appreciate you praying about:
1. Our future child(ren): Please pray for our precious little one, who may or may not already be born and enduring awful things. Pray for God to guide each step to lead him or her to our family.
2. Our other kiddos: This is a difficult process to explain, and while we have tried to be open and honest about all the possibilities, our children are going to be affected by not only the addition of another child to our home, but also by the goodbyes that may happen. Please pray for God to protect their hearts and to give them compassion and understanding beyond their years.
3. Opportunities to share Christ: This process is opening up a whole new world of people to us. We will be having interactions with not only children, but birth parents, caseworkers, lawyers, juvenile officers, etc. Please pray that we would be faithful to share the gospel and bring glory to God each step of the way.
We so appreciate each of you that have walked this journey with us so far. We will keep you updated as best we can, and are so thankful for your prayers. While there is much apprehension about the unknown to come, we also are resting greatly in the knowledge that God is Sovereign over everything, even where government agencies and other people are concerned! We know that our child will always be in His hands, even as we wait for him or her to be in ours.
Soli Deo Gloria,
Jessica
It's hard to imagine adding another one to this group of sillies!
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