Some of you may have been waiting for an update and I have intentionally been waiting to provide you with one. If you have been following us thus far, you are probably learning that this journey is full of challenges, ups and downs and sometimes just plain chaos. So once, again we are facing some bumps in the road. We submitted all of our paperwork to the agency that we had chosen for adoption from The Congo. They accepted our pre-application packet and sent us the next set of paperwork that we needed! This was all very exciting until we started talking about our homestudy. Our current homestudy is written for domestic adoption, international homestudies require quite a bit more and have to be country specific. I was under the impression that converting a homestudy from domestic to international would not be that big of a deal. Even our social worker that wrote our homestudy didn't imply that it would be that much work. The agency however, thinks that we should get a whole new homestudy done since this one would need "significant changes". Our social worker is willing to convert our homestudy either for free or a very small fee where as a whole study would cost a lot more. So this could simply be a bump in the road that the enemy is using to discourage us, or it could be a stopping point for now.
In addition to all of this, I spoke with our attorney yesterday just to let her know where we are at and what our plans are. She understood and was very helpful, but she herself does not do international adoptions due to their complexity. She did however recommend that we stay signed on with her and the other agency that we are working even while we work towards this transition. Many people have asked me why we can't be open to both domestic and international at the same time. I have also wondered this, but at one point I was told it wasn't wise so we didn't pursue it. Our attorney however, is saying different and that she has had friends who have done this very successfully. So for now, we are remaining open to both. We will prayerfully consider any situation that comes up on either side and follow the road that God has set before us. If there is one thing I have learned, it's that just when I think I have God's plan figured out, I discover that I don't. So for now we are open, and the only thing that we know for sure is that we will adopt a child eventually.
Lastly I just want to thank everyone who has supported us throughout this process. I have read so many sad stories of families that are adopting and, for a variety of reasons, people do not support their decision. Thank you for never saying anything negative to us about this process, but rather walking alongside of us, supporting us. Many blessings to all of you! We will continue to keep you updated!
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