Adoption Story, Pt. 7: half a world away

September 24, 2011: In Canton, Michigan, a young, excited couple did a photoshoot to take these pictures to announce their upcoming adoption.

Across the world, that same day, a tiny baby boy was discovered in the woods near a river in Ethiopia.


Adoption Story, Pt 1 
Adoption Story, Pt 2
Adoption Story, Pt 3
Adoption Story, Pt 4
Adoption Story, Pt 5
Adoption Story, Pt 6

more pictures.

More pictures & the story of first meeting Bo over on the family blog.

Adoption Story, Pt. 6: Fortune Cookies

On Sunday, April 15, I was sitting in my friend Patti's classroom, taking a break from hours of painting set for Beauty & the Beast. We had ordered Chinese food for dinner and were in the process of reading our fortune cookies. I opened mine and read, "An unexpected event will soon make your life more exciting." I laughed, feigned terror and said, "Please not this week!" because that was the week of our dress rehearsals and performance - i.e. insanely chaotic.

Disclaimer: I do not believe that fortune cookies are prophetic.
However, I do believe in irony, and this is one of the more ironic moments in my life.

Because the very next day, April 16th, an "unexpected event" changed my life forever.
That day, Doug and I got a call from our caseworker at YWAM, telling us that since we were getting to the point where we'd be ready for a referral, she wanted us to take a look at the waiting children page.

We opened the webpage, and I started crying...
because we were looking into the eyes of our future son.

Adoption Story, Pt. 5: it's all about the baby, benjamins.

(Anyone get the reference? See what I did there?)

As I mentioned in an earlier post, one of the biggest hesitations that Doug & I had in jumping into the adoption process was the staggering cost.

I don't like to talk about money. But in order to share a more complete picture of the ways God is directing this show, it needs to be mentioned. On average, an adoption from Ethiopia ranges from $25,000 - $30,000.

In 2010, Doug and I bought our first home. We made the decision to adopt in 2011. We had very little money saved toward this adoption. Yet, we kept hearing trust and obey. So we jumped.

And we got the incredible experience of watching God provide in a variety of ways.

First, a position opened up at my school for the website administrator, and I was offered the position.

Then, people decided they wanted to buy these ridiculous little dresses I made.

And then God started using the generosity of our family and friends, and I cannot express fully how overwhelmed with gratitude we continue to be. One of my best friends - unbeknownst to me - did bake sales and sold jewelry and gave us the proceeds from that. TONS of friends and family and even strangers donated to our adoption auction. One of my former students gave us the tithe from her graduation party. People donated to our adoption account (I even had someone apologize for "only" giving $25, which made me cry, because every single penny helps us get to our little boy). We have never felt so fully surrounded and supported by the body of Christ.

Then Doug got an entirely unexpected bonus at work.

And suddenly, here we are, all fees to our agency paid.

The only remaining cost is our airfare for 2 trips to Ethiopia. Which is still daunting, but we know that God will continue to provide!

Friends, family, and brothers & sisters in Christ - Thank you for helping us understand that adoption is so much bigger than just the three of us. Thank you for helping us see God's provision in entirely new ways. THANK YOU for being a part of our story.


::: Adoption Story, Pt. 4: full speed ahead?

::: Adoption Story, Pt. 3: a decision

::: Adoption Story, Pt. 2: growth & growing pains

::: Adoption Story, Pt. 1: the planting of seeds

Adoption Story, Pt. 4: Full Speed Ahead?

After returning home from Student Life Camp, I called one of my best friends, who is also in the process of adopting from Ethiopia. She shared with me about the program she and her husband are going through - Youth with a Mission's (YWAM) Ethiopian Adoption Program. We did some research, and I called on July 5th to go through the pre-screening to get added to their waiting list to apply to the program. On September 25th, we were given a green light to apply to YWAM. We mailed our application on September 28th and things took off quickly from there.


Since announcing our adoption to family and friends, many of you often ask for updates about the adoption process. While we LOVE the support and curiosity involving the process, sometimes we don't know how to answer the questions, especially considering some recent happenings in Ethiopia.


We originally expected the whole process, from application to brining baby home, to take approximately a year, maybe a year and a half (despite repeated warnings from our agency to avoid "time expectations").


Earlier this fall, we began receiving emails from our agency saying that the U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia was cracking down on adoption cases, scrutinizing each case to such a degree that the process was slowing down significantly.


Then, in late November, we received an email from our agency with some bad news. Here is an excerpt, because I can't explain it any better.

"Many of you might not understand the process a child has to go through to become "paper ready" for a referral.  A letter granting adoption has to be issued by the local Ministry of Women's Affairs and then approved by the Addis Oromia Ministry of Women's Affairs (referred to as the regional Oromia MoWA).  Once all the paperwork has been approved by the regional Oromia MoWA, the child is ready for a referral. 

The orphanages we work with are all located in Oromia.  Historically, this section of Ethiopia has been the most pro-adoption region in all of Ethiopia.   We received word that for the time being the regional Oromia MoWA office is not processing paperwork for new children.  This does not affect the children who have already been approved, but it does slow down the paperwork process for all the new children that have come into our orphanage system. 

We have absolutely no idea when this office might resume issuing letters for adoption and we cannot even make an educated guess ... or even a wild speculation.  We will just have to wait and see… It is anticipated that for the first time in our history, referrals might not happen immediately." 

This email was the first setback that we've experienced in our adoption process so far. I panicked, assailed by fears and worries that were in no way honoring to the instructions I'd heard so distinctly months before: Trust and obey. 

Thankfully, I have a husband who is more level-headed than I am. Doug reminded me of God's faithfulness and His calling. Doug called our caseworker and talked through the situation, and she actually seemed fairly optimistic that this won't be a long-term holdup. In the worst case scenario, everything we've done so far in the process can be transferred to our partner agency, Children's House International. 

We are continuing to trust God's timing and control and push forward. 

For those wondering - we are still in the process of gathering paper work to complete our home study. 

Please continue to pray for our adoption, our child, our child's birth parents, the adoption agency, the MoWA and Embassy... 

We'll keep you updated. 

Adoption Story, Pt. 3: A Decision

In June, Doug and I attended Student Life Camp in Alabama with our youth group. David Platt was the speaker (and if you've read my blog for any amount of time, you've probably gathered that I hold Platt in pretty high esteem) - and he shared with us about the adoption journeys he and his wife have gone through, including the news that they had just been matched with a little girl in China that very week! The evening of June 29th, Platt taught on Mark 11:15-19, pointing out three things that evoke the anger of God: 1. When we become casual with the glory of God, 2. When we grow complacent about the holiness of God, and 3. When we ignore the purpose of God - the purpose of God being that all nations will proclaim His name. Throughout this message and the time of prayer afterward, I began feeling completely broken and humbled, and I felt the Holy Spirit nudging me, whispering trust and obey.

After the session ended, Doug and I talked and made the decision that for our 4-year anniversary the following week, we would submit an application for adoption. We addressed all the doubts I had been having and realized that all we need to do is follow that whisper I heard: trust and obey. If we are seeking to glorify God through our marriage and our lives, then He will guide us in the right direction. We still had and continue to have doubts and fears, but we are trusting that God is writing this story.

Adoption Story, Pt. 2: Growth & Growing Pains
Adoption Story, Pt. 1: The Planting of Seeds

Adoption Story, Pt. 2: Growth & Growing Pains

Now, I love, love writing. I majored in English, I teach English - writing is what I do. However, there are just some things in my life so incredible and beautiful and powerful that I lose all eloquence and ability to craft sentences. There are some things that words can not capture, and our first trip to Africa was one of those things. All I can really say is that Ethiopia and Kenya captured our hearts. We fell in love with the people, the cultures, the countries,  the continent. And God used this trip to impress Ethiopian adoption onto our hearts.

Since that trip (Nov. 2009), adoption has been gnawing in the back of my mind, clamoring for my full attention. I went back to Ethiopia and Kenya the next summer (2010), further reinforcing my desire to adopt. When I got home, I immediately began researching adoption agencies with programs in Ethiopia. At the same time, Doug and I were moving into our first house, and my baby instinct kicked into high gear. I'm at the point in my life where it seems like everyone I know is getting pregnant, having babies - and furthermore, we began to find out about more and more people who were adopting! We weren't anywhere near financially ready to embark upon the mountainous costs of international adoption. If I'm being really honest - I struggled with a lot of jealousy, anger, confusion, doubt and impatience this past year. I was ignoring God's plan and trying to take things into my own hands. I thought maybe we should have a biological child first. I worried that maybe we weren't really called to adopt. Or, what if we weren't really called to adopt from Ethiopia? And repeatedly, how would we ever afford it?


Adoption Story, Pt. 1: The Planting of Seeds

Adoption Story, Pt. 1: The Planting of Seeds

A long, long time ago (mmm, about 5-6 years?) in a land far, far away (okay, it was in Michigan), Doug and I were talking about marriage and children, and Doug mentioned casually that he'd like to adopt someday. I agreed that it was a good idea, but didn't really think too much about the idea after that discussion.

Fast forward to the summer of 2009. Doug and I went on a mission trip to Jamaica with our church's youth group. While we were there, we visited an orphanage. This was the first time I had ever been to an orphanage, and it turned my world upside down. As we drove away, I had to put my head down and pretend to sleep because I couldn't stop crying. God was stirring my heart. The more Doug and I read and listened to sermons and prayed, the more we felt God leading us to adopt.

Then we went to Africa.