Adoption

 It's been about a year since the below post. We are still waiting for the paperwork to be complete, but I hope to have Isaiah home withing the next several weeks. Even though its April I want to post my Christmas letter. It reveals much of how I feel and how important adoption is to each and every one of us. So here it is. Happy Reading.

"As I am writing this Christmas letter to send to all my friends, I’m going through the ins and outs of life. I have a pain under my left rib. I ate thanksgiving with friends, but my mind was elsewhere. I picked out a cheesecake recipe off of pinterest and brought games to play, but couldn’t force myself to be present. I decorated the window and put my little fake tree up and am listening to Christmas music, but I didn’t do it for me this year. I did it to keep up tradition so that my son will have memories. 

My son. I’m “sitting” here waiting and loving him. Just waiting, waiting, waiting, until I have permission go get him. I can’t just go snatch him up, I have to wait for permission.

The surreal thing is that Isaiah doesn’t know I’m his mommy. All he knows is the orphanage. He is a happy, energetic, little boy. He doesn’t know what an orphan is. He doesn’t know the love of a Mother or Father. He has caregivers and the other children that live in the orphanage with him, but he has no idea that I am here and that everything I do now is to bring us together.

He is completely unaware that a mother fiercely loves him and is waiting to hold him, teach him and just be with him.

Studies show that children who live without bonding to a parental figure have physical and neurological problems. I wonder if it is the same spiritually.

Jesus was born on purpose. He loved us so fiercely that while we were yet sinners He died for us.

 (Romans 5:8)

Some of us still don’t recognize him. We don’t know that he is waiting anxiously to be close to us. Everything he does is to bring us to him. He waits for our permission.

Our Father in heaven fiercely loves us. Jesus being born is what we celebrate over Christmas, but it isn’t the point. Jesus grew and lived and died, but that isn’t the point. Jesus lives now, but that isn’t even the point. 

The point is that we are no longer orphans. Our Father has adopted us into his family. Jesus did the paperwork, now we just need to give permission.

With every fiber of my being I give Jesus permission to love, teach, grow and just be with me.

These are the thoughts that consume me this Holiday season. May yours be happy and filled with our Father’s presence. "

Thank you for all of your love and support as we run this home stretch and get Isaiah home.

You still can donate to Isaiah's adoption process!

Send your gift clearly marked "Goodenough Adoption to:

G.O. Ministries

11501 Plantside Dr. #14

Louisville, KY. 40299

Phone: 502-493-9846

Or go to www.go-ministries.org and donate online.

Bendeciones! (Blessings!

 

Somewhere in the middle of the year 2009 the idea of adopting a child began to seep into my thoughts. Like, all the time. I tried to push the desire away, because I thought that my life's setup did not look like the backdrop of a family. I'm single, I travel, I'm living off of a missionaries wage... you get the picture. But my heart swelled under God's gentle pressure.
In January of 2010 I was talking with my book club at the time which was made up of some trusted friends and I asked them to pray with me about this idea of adoption. A few days later a devastating earthquake leveled much of Haiti which was the country that I was most likely to adopt from. I heard stories of thousands of children made orphans and my heart ached.
I asked a few women who had mentored me in the past to pray with me about it as well. Eventually the consensus was that I was indeed hearing the voice of God and that I needed to prayerfully follow that leading. 
I decided to wait until January of the next year so that I could get my affairs in order. 
In November of 2010 I was reading in the book of Ephesians.

"Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the beloved." 

~ Ephesians 1:4&5

The words "predestined for adoption" pierced me. I thought "If God is indeed telling me to adopt, then he has predestined a child to be together with me and the longer I wait, the longer we will be apart". That put a fire under my feet and I began the process of finding the right adoption agency. This was more difficult than I thought. There are hundreds of adoption agencies, but since I spend the majority of my time out of country and am single, many didn't think they could help me. I finally found an agency that had experience helping US citizens out of country adopt from yet another country. And my agent is a single adoptive mom.

So we began to drudge through the process to adopt a boy from Haiti.

In September of 2011 I received a referral for a little boy. I eventually went to the orphanage and met him and was set to have him home early summer of 2012. In March I got a call informing me that some of the child's relatives that were thought to be dead had arrived at the orphanage to bring him home. It was bitter sweet. In one respect I was happy that he could be brought home and loved by his family. On the other, I will worry for him from time to time. I trust that God has a plan though and I trust how he does things. I commit to pray for this boy for the rest of his life.

At the end of March I went back to the orphanage to meet my Son Isaiah. I instantly knew this was the boy for me and I the mother for him. He is 2 and 1/2 years old. He loves any sport with a ball, any thing with wheels and wrestling. 

I am waiting for the signal to go to Port Au Prince and sign immigration papers. About four months after that I should be able to bring Isaiah home. I'll spend several months in the US as we finish up the adoption process, then we will be able to travel to the DR or wherever. 

 I am waiting anxiously to have Isaiah with me, but am trusting in God's perfect plan.

My #1 financial need is monthly support, but if you want to give specifically to Isaiah's adoption process you can send your gift to G.O Ministries clearly marked "Goodenough Adoption"

11501 Plantside Dr. #14

Louisville, KY. 40299

Or go to www.go-ministries.org and donate online.

Thank you!