A Promise Given

As I attempt to share this story, the thought occurs to me that I can't really go back to the beginning and tell it. Even as miraculous as it seems to me, I only see small glimpses into God's plan. He holds eternity in His hands and we see snapshots of our lives and the lives of those around us. This story has heartache and I want to honor that, while sharing our overwhelming joy at the same time. So, let me tell you what I know, what we have lived for the last 9 months or so and remember that God is in the very smallest details of our lives.

9 months ago, Marty and I flew across the ocean, after months of fundraising and paper-chasing. We were finally about to hold our boys. Upon arrival, we were handed detailed reports on both of our boys. As we read over the information, we were surprised to read that Samuel had a friend, whom he was extremely attached to. In fact, I believe that it's odd for her to have been included in his report, since they are not biologically related. We knew who this little girl was, in fact, we had a package to deliver to her, from the family who was committed to bringing her home. We were saddened by the thought that they would be split up, but happy to be able to tell the orphanage that she had a family coming.

When we arrived at the orphanage and met Samuel and then, met his little friend. We were smitten. It was a good thing we had the other family wanting pictures and videos of this precious little one, because I'm not sure how else I could have explained why Marty was following her around with a video camera. He even looked at me and said, "Why aren't we bringing her home, too?" She had a family coming...

We came home and finished our paper-chasing and I headed back over to pick our boys up. One of the saddest parts of the day, came when the director said, "Where is her family?" I said, "They are coming. They even sent another care package for her." The staff wanted me to promise that if the other family didn't come for her, that we would be back. It was a promise easily given, but never in our wildest dreams did we think it would become a reality.

This is where the telling gets more difficult. I love my friends, who were committed to our sweet girl. I don't know the details and even if I did, it's a personal and painful decision to have to walk away from an adoption. On July 26th, I received an email from my friend letting me know that with very heavy hearts they were releasing our girl. I text Marty at work and said, "K is available for adoption. Are we going?" His immediate response, "I guess so." I then, messaged Shelley, our agency worker and said, "We know K needs a family, don't re-list her. We want her." Her response was, "Are you serious?"

We were and are very serious. Our paperwork arrived in country on Monday, July 30th. After days of jumping through hoops and praying for God to change hearts. We were officially committed to K, today, August 3rd. We're rejoicing to know that God is once again, showing off. His love for our kids blows us away. These two little ones have done everything together since birth. Samuel and K have birthdates that are 3 weeks apart. Samuel arrived at the baby orphanage 2 days after K was born and she joined him there one month later. They were moved a little over a year ago, from their baby orphanage to an older child orphanage.

The workers there sent us home with pictures and videos of the two of them together. They told us how they did everything together and sought each other out for comfort. It was truly heartbreaking to think that we were leaving her behind and taking the only family she'd ever really had with us. I don't know what these last few months have been like for her, but we have watched as Samuel clearly grieved the loss of what was his family. We have seen the real tears and held him as he cries. We have seen him get excited when Julie comes from her room and he mistakenly thinks she's "K" and calls out to her. It has been a burden that we didn't know how to deal with, but God...

God found a way to bring our babies together, again. I am deeply sorrowful for our friends as they now grieve this loss, but I can so clearly see the hand of God, as well. He cares for the little orphan girl waiting on the other side of the ocean. He saw her hurt and her brother's hurt and found a way to make it better. Some would say that having a family should be enough, but our God is a God of more than enough.

So, we find ourselves two months home and heading back. We are tired and honestly, dreading the process and the paperwork, but God didn't call us to do easy things. We know that He is faithful and that He will meet us here, on the road less traveled. We are humbled by each of you, who has already joined our efforts to bring our girl home. We are humbled by each of you, who prays for us and encourages us and just simply loves us. We are more blessed, than we ever dreamed possible.

We do need your continued support and help. I've put a ticker at the top of the blog. We need that $3725 to come in this week. I need to mail our commitment fees and finish paying for our home study. I have pictures and videos of our girl, too, so for every $500 raised, I'll show you a new picture or video.

Pray, Adopt, Advocate, Support...Do Something!

Hidden in Christ,
Mandy