Sorrow and Joy

It's been an eventful week for us, as we learned on Monday that the little boy we were hoping to adopt from Ethiopia, Kirubel, will likely be unavailable for adoption. It is expected that his biological family will be returning for him in the near future. While we are happy for him and pray that he will be well loved and cared for, we are sad for ourselves as we grieve this loss. For those who haven't adopted, it may be hard to understand how we could be emotionally attached already to a boy we've never met and only seen one picture of. There's really no way for me to explain it. We loved him already and wanted him to be a part of our family. This was not God's plan, and we accept that He knows better than we do. We've spent the week crying and processing all of this, as well as considering whether or not to accept the referral of another child or postpone our adoption plans. It didn't take long for us to decide what to do.

Today we decided to accept the referral for another little boy. The truth is we love adoption and we love these children. Our hearts physically ache and long for these children who have no families to care for them. While they are certainly very well cared for in the orphanage in Ethiopia, nothing can take the place of a loving family. And so we have accepted the referral for a two-year old boy named Nahom (pronounced Nay-hum). His name means "An Old Testament Prophet" or "Compassionate." We are in love with him already and are eager to bring him home. His case will be filed to receive a courtdate next week. He and Micah are only eight months apart in age, so our house is going to be VERY busy once Nahom comes home.

Please join us in rejoicing at the goodness of God who has deemed us worthy of caring for not only Nahom, but all of our children. We are very grateful for the opportunity to raise each one of them. Would you also join us in prayer that Nahom's paperwork process would be smooth and quick and that God would be preparing his heart, even now, to receive his new family with gladness and acceptance?