Through many different situations and "closed doors," we were led to older child domestic adoption. That meant our first step was to attend the local MAPP training course. I believe we met twice a week for six weeks. Through this class we discovered we could not entertain the foster to adopt option, because in NC you cannot have more than 5 children in the home at the time of placement. This meant we had to pursue straight adoption. This was also another way I believe the Lord was cleary directing our path.
Upon completion of the training course we were to be assigned a social worker to finish up our home study. A few weeks later we received a letter saying we were put on a waiting list and it would be about a year before we heard anything. The only way to speed up the process was if we were interested in any child within Durham County. We looked over the list of children, prayed, and asked questions. Many of the children were about to "age out" of the system (around 16-18 yrs. old). We inquired about a few of the children and were told they were either being placed or were not a good fit for our family.
It was well over a year before we heard anything. Finally, Martie recieved a letter at the church that said we were still on the waiting list but they attached an updated list of children. We were excited to have heard from DSS, but dissapointed to hear we were no where closer. We continued to receive the exact same letter each month for several months.
Finally, last week Martie had an email from the adoption supervisor. She informed us that a social worker would be in touch with us on or around April 15 to set up an appointment to complete our homestudy. This is so exciting for us. This coming May will be 2 years since we completed our MAPP training course. This is new information. This is not the same letter that we were receiving each month. There is hope!
My heart is overwhelmed with praise. I know that God loves and cares for the orphans, the fatherless. I am convinced that He wants us to be just as concerned. Many people think we're crazy. Here are just a few of the things we've heard:
1. You have 6 kids, why would you want more?
2. Why would you want to take in someone else's children?
3. Are you concerned how the children will get along?
4. Are you worried about your "own" children?
5. How can you handle more children? Don't you already have your hands full?
The answers to those questions and more are for a later blog. For now I wanted to give you a brief update on the progress. If you will, pray with me. Pray for the children that need homes, pray that they will soon have a mom and dad, pray for our process, pray for our family, most of all
PRAY THAT GOD WILL BE GLORIFIED THROUGH THIS ADOPTION PROCESS AND MANY WILL SEE A CLEAR PICTURE OF THE GOSPEL OF JESUS.
