Adoption Update

The word “wait”, “waited” or “waiting” is used around 150 times in the Bible.  Julie and I have joked that we could become life coaches on the art of waiting.  Not that we’ve always waited well, but because we’ve simply done a lot of waiting in our lives thus far.

The waiting isn’t over, but we have glimpsed the prize of our waiting.

We received THE call the other day from our adoption agency notifying that we had received a referral. (adoption lingo meaning that we have been matched with a child)  For 6 years we’ve been pursuing adoption.  From investigating foster care, to becoming domestic adoptive parents in waiting, to becoming international adoptive parents in waiting.  Honesty, we’ve grown weary of answering the “why is it taking so long?” questions.  We were also afraid that our experience would discourage others from pursuing the gospel call of adoption.

When the call finally came it wasn’t anything we had expected or imagined.  Actually, it was for precisely what we had determined wasn’t an option for us.  The call wasn’t for a child, but for children.  3 young boys, all brothers to be exact.

3 year-old twins and their 1 year old brother.

“Are you willing to accept this referral?”

Since the beginning we had determined that a sibling group of 3 would be beyond our financial and even emotional capabilities.  Adopting 1 child with potential ‘challenges’ can be daunting, but 3 seemed overwhelming in our minds.

This time the question wasn’t hypothetical.  This question had three faces. This time there were 3 stories. 3 young boys in need of a family to love and care for them.

Yes.

Yes was the only answer we could give.  Would it require sacrifice? Yes.  Are you guys a little overwhelmed? Yes.  How are you going to afford it? We don’t know.

But the answer is Yes.

So pray for us as we enter a new phase of waiting.  Waiting is different when there are pictures and stories and names.  Pray for the remaining hurdles to be overcome – the main one being getting a court date under new laws that have created some questions on how international adoption will be handled in future Ugandan cases.  The sooner our court date the better.  We know God will provide all that we need spiritually, emotionally and financially.  Pray our hearts trust that it will be so.

Mostly, pray for these 3 boys and millions of others like them in our communities and around the world who need a loving family to open their hearts and homes to them.

Brad, Julie and Rylee

PS – Right now we don’t feel it is appropriate to post names and pictures, but trust us, they’re amazing.