United we wait.

August 13, 2015 – a Thursday. Ok, so it’s been a while. This summer has lended itself to new adventures and also a new heartache. Apparently, the point of blogging is to share what’s on your heart. However, I can hardly bare it, must less share it. Perhaps, I am not meant to be a blogger. If so, I can live with that. 

Here is an update – still vague – on what’s been going on. We are still simply waiting for circumstances to change in order for us to bring our daughter home. The one we have been praying for and dreaming of for so long. The one that my youngest son cries for at least two times a week. He says that she will never get here and that it takes too long.  I know how he feels. That sweet girl. That’s the one. See, why would anyone want to read about this? Cradling my five year old while he is crying for his sister is just HARD. 

OK, so while we were (still are) waiting, another little angel came to our attention. This sweet child was the picture of a person in dire need. We were told that she was abandoned by her parents. She was being raised, sort of, by guardians that were on their deathbed. This sweet child had one piece of clothing, no bed, no shoes on her feet. It was tragic. So, we prayed for this child and pursued her. 

On a side note, I must say that we have been impressed with the way that the private investigators in Uganda can find information. I mean this in a most respectful way. Word of mouth seems to rule over there; however, the private investigators that we have hired can most assuredly find out information. This is important in an adoption, as both the Ugandan government and the US government want to assure that the child is a certified orphan. We, as people who care, also want to assure that we are bringing home a child who needs us. 

Long story short, when everyone really thought that we were at the point where we could order another private investigation, a mother showed up – Praise God! This child is not an orphan! This was a surprise but we were thrilled for the little girl. In an amazing turn of events, the mother agreed to give her child up for adoption, but when the child was deemed ready to first go into the orphanage (she needed medical assistance), her guardians had hidden her! She was nowhere to be found. It is a strong and long-held belief in Uganda that Westerners adopt children  and then use them for body parts. Awful, right? Well, the guardians were afraid that this was the case and therefore they hid the child. So, this case is closed. There is nothing that we can do for that precious person now except to pray for her. We know that God loves her more than we ever could. Her life is completely in His hands. I mean, all of our lives are in His hands. But, this child needed extended medical care, critical vitamins, shoes; things that she might never receive at this point. We cling to the fact that God loves her more. We are physically unable to even reach out to her at this point. Case closed. Please, pray for this child and the countless children like her. We know that the Lord loves His children. When you can see pictures of his most innocent ones in such desperate situations it will change you. It is my belief that we need this hurt, this ache in our everyday American lives. We need to pray for the least of these. 

Back to our “first” daughter, we are still waiting. We have the privilege to sponsor her while we pray, wait and hope for her situation to change so that we may adopt her. I received the news that she was not immediately available for adoption on my birthday. I received many of your birthday wishes and congratulatory notes, and I thank you. However, I was physically and emotionally unable to thank anyone, forgive me. My heart was hurting too much. This was the closest that I have ever come to feeling what it is like to lose a child. Parents who have lost a child: I have no doubt that your pain is far, far worse. I am certainly not trying to say my pain was harder to push through than anyone else’s. My point is only that IT HURT. It still hurts but we are moving through it. Our high points are the fact that we can sponsor her. We still receive pictures of her when we ask for them. In fact, I could not bear to ask for a picture until about three months had past. When we received an update photo of our Sister, we were all overcome with joy! Yes, she is growing and getting older without us. But, she is growing, thriving in fact, fed, cared for, well, happy, safe. What more could we ask for? We chose to wait on God’s perfect timing – even though we do not understand. We chose to believe that there is a reason that we may never understand for why this is taking so long. And, so we wait, as painful as it is, with our heads held high. We hold on to His promise that we will bring Sister home one day. 

There is not a day that goes by that we do not pray for Sister. We think about  her, talk about her, the boys play in her room….. Everything is ready for her, we are just waiting on her.

We are hopeful that we might hear some news regarding her situation this month. We are fully aware that it may not be the news that we wish to hear, but at this point hearing news is welcome. It is important to us that Sister knows (to the best her young mind can comprehend) that we love her and are waiting on her. She will receive a few gifts from us this month, including a new My Little Pony doll and some sweet little sandals.

Prayer requests: Please, pray for all of the needy children in the world. There are so many children that will never even have the chance to be adopted or sponsored. They need our prayers – desperately.  Would you  please pray for these children?

Please, pray and ask God if He would have you do something about this crisis. Can you sponsor a child with a monthly gift? Can you foster or adopt? Can you support those who bring such children into their home? Can you pray for them? 

Please, pray for a favorable response regarding our Sister. We are ALL ready to bring this child home. We are grateful for the opportunity to sponsor her, but are looking forward to having her here with us. Waiting on God is so hard. We know there is a reason and we will be obedient, but this is tough. 

Please, pray for our family. My boys’ hearts ache for their Sister. It is hard to explain why this process is taking so long. It is so difficult to comfort them about this. We continue to tell them that this is all in God’s hands and that when they see Him move that it is something that they will never forget. Please, lift them up in your prayers. Please, pray that their hearts will stay focused on God and what He has in store for them. Please, pray for protection against the enemy as time can make us grow weary. Please, pray for the Big O and I. Pray that we can parent our children well. Pray that we continue to stand firm and wait patiently together. Please, pray that we can bring our daughter home soon. 

Thank you for joining us on this most harrowing journey. We all had thought that she would be at home with us now. Yet, we still wait. United we wait.