From some conversations we've had
in-person and online recently, we realized it's high time to post an
official “adoption update.” As you know if you follow our blog,
we began our adoption journey last July after praying for clarity on
when/where/how our family should be involved in adoption or foster
care. We strongly sensed the Lord asking us to step out in faith to
pursue adoption of an African American or biracial infant from the
U.S. (a need we previously didn't know existed).
As you also know if you've followed our
blog, we started our home study immediately and were nearly finished
in October, when we unexpectedly found out we were pregnant! We CAN'T
WAIT to welcome Zoe Grace into our family in the next few weeks (due
date is June 23)!
On the adoption front, pregnancy slowed
things down a lot for us as energy levels were not what we had
planned for participating in fundraising, filling out paper work,
etc., but in early February we were finally finished with our home
study. Mae was able to finish designing our 20-page family profile in
March, just in time for the third trimester of pregnancy to kick in
and slow us down again.
We were about to send out applications
to specific agencies that have great needs for families for minority
babies, when we realized we'll need to update both our home study and
family profile again as soon as our daughter is born. So instead of
sending and resending paperwork to agencies, we agreed with our
adoption consultant that it would be best to wait until after Zoe's
birth to apply to agencies so that we can send updated paperwork.
We anticipated that our home study
agency would simply update for us as soon as we were ready to
proceed, but we recently discovered they require a nine-month waiting
period before a family may update a home study after a new family
member is added. We were a bit discouraged with this news as we have
already been moving very slowly, so we looked into other possible
options to get things moving again sooner. We do have one small
window of opportunity with an agency that may be able to get us going
in September instead of waiting until spring, but please pray with us
for wisdom in how aggressively we should work to get things moving
again after Zoe is born. We have been anticipating hitting the
adoption trail hard after her birth but want to be alert to the
Lord's leading. He has been working in our hearts in so many ways as
He reminds us to wait on His timing and rest in His presence, and we
are trusting Him to direct us to a little one in need of a family at
the precise time He chooses.
So, basically, we are waiting for a
couple (or many) months so we can update paperwork again. As we wait,
will you please pray specifically with us for the following needs?
- Zoe Grace is due June 23. Pray with us for a continued healthy pregnancy and a blessed time of welcoming a new little one into our family.
- Pray for wisdom and discernment as we move ahead, that we will not rush things but will move at exactly the speed the Lord has in mind for bringing our next little one home.
- The Lord has already provided over $10,000 of the $30,000 we will need for the adoption!! We praise Him for faithfully providing in the midst of our physical weaknesses. You have all blessed us greatly with donations of funds, freelance jobs, and things for us to sell. If you would like to contribute to our fund, you can use the PayPal donation link to the right on our blog at danielandmae.blogspot.com, make a tax-deductible donation through our AdoptTogether account at www.adopttogether.org/danielandmae, or send a donation directly to our home at 3612 S Selby Street, Marion, IN 46953. We have been accumulating a large stockpile of items to sell beginning in August or September, so if you have items laying around that you'd be interested in donating as well, we'd love to add them to the growing collection.
- With the addition of a little girl via pregnancy as well as the anticipation of a little one through adoption, we will have three children in our family before we know it. Our beloved little fuel-efficient Chevy Prizm sadly only holds two car seats, so to transport all our little ones, we will need to join the minivan club in the coming months. Please pray we will find a vehicle that is still road-trip-reliable for visiting family for a price we can afford.
- Please pray that we will continue to trust the Lord's timing and rest in His presence. He has shown us amazing things about Himself as we've embarked on this adoption journey, and we can't wait to grow even deeper in our love for Him and passion to serve Him as we continue to follow His call to adopt.
Thank you all for your prayers and
encouragement in this journey. The Lord has used so many of you to
speak life-giving words into our hearts at just the right moments
when Satan has tried to discourage us. We thank God for each of you
and trust He is revealing Himself to you in new ways each day as you
seek Him!
Daniel, Mae, Nathan, and future little
V's
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