August 12, 2006

Wow, what a difference 8 months makes! Let me take a moment to get you caught up. For many many years I have wanted to adopt but the timing was just never right. I had thought I would start the process last year but then bought a house. So then I thought I would start the process the fall of this year but last fall I started thinking I couldn’t wait that long. Last November I really felt led to start looking into agencies so I would know what agency I wanted to use. I went to a seminar for one agency in December and heard a lot of information about international adoption. I never really thought about international adoption but at this point in time I started thinking that maybe I would pursue international adoption. So with that I decided to keep researching on the internet and made several calls to agencies. Around mid December I contacted an agency and set up an appointment to meet with them the beginning of January to talk about adoption through Guatemala.

I went to meet Carrie at A Helping Hand Adoption Agency and REALLY liked everything I heard. Carrie was great! She was patient, personable, and very informative. I left that meeting thinking “This may be the agency!” Over the next two weeks, I started thinking that there was no way I could wait until September to start this process. My time frame got shorter and shorter and God kept showing me that this was what He wanted me to do. However, I was very scared because I had waited so long to adopt, couldn't believe it may actually happen soon, and I still had no idea how I could pay to adopt. On January 18, 2006, I was talking to my friend Sheila on the phone and she said “Sometimes you just have to step out in faith.” I said, but how am I going to pay for it? And she responded “Where God guides, He provides.” Now I know this to be true but all of a sudden I felt like God was speaking to me through Sheila…this wasn’t just Sheila speaking to me!

Shortly after I hung up with Sheila I was driving home and was overwhelmed with thoughts of “Is this really going to happen?” “This is it!,” “This is what God wants!,” “Oh my gosh, this is really going to happen!” I looked up and what did I see? A Rainbow! Rainbows have always been important to me and I could not believe that there was a Rainbow! (“Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all the living creatures of every kind on the earth.” Genesis 9:16) There was not a cloud in sight, how could there be a Rainbow? I KNOW that this was God telling me “I was talking through Sheila and I do want you to start the process of adoption through A Helping Hand. You are going to be a mother!” My body was covered in goose bumps, my hands were shaking and tears were filling my eyes. I immediately called Sheila and told her what had happened. So then we were both crying.

I contacted Carrie and told her I was ready to start the process to adopt a little girl from Guatemala. I began getting all my paperwork together and the agency received my application on March 1, 2006. From this point on my life was consumed with paperwork!!! There are a lot of documents and appointments that all had to come together but about 4 months later it was official, I was on the waiting list! Not only was I on the wait list, but God had provided all the money to this point. (“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your on understanding: in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make you paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6) I have been very excited watching how God has walked me through the whole process. I was told that it would take me 4-6 months to do my paperwork and it took me 4 months. I was told the average length of wait on the waiting list was 4-6 months and as of August 11, 2006 I am no longer on the waiting list. I have received information on my little girl! She was born July 20, 2006 and will be 5-7 months old when I can go pick her up. During this time all the Guatemala legal processes will be taking place and I will be anxiously awaiting the time I can go see her and eventually pick her up.