Two Steps Forward

To say that God's hand has been in this story from the beginning is an understatement. Day after day, and every step of the way, I am continually amazed at how HE is working. This journey is all to HIS glory!

On Dec 28, 2016, one day after we donated toward the cost of adoption for Jenny and 11 “Other Angels” on Reece’s Rainbow, we inquired about adopting her ourselves. When we found out what country she was from, our jaws dropped. My uncle’s wife, my Aunt Stella, is not only from the same country, but speaks the language to about 80% fluency. God, are you trying to tell us something?

After prayerful consideration and being completely confident that God wanted us to move forward, on Jan 3, 2017, we submitted our application to adopt Jenny to the placing agency in America. The very next day we heard from the representative at the placing agency who then shared additional information and videos of Jenny with us. She was confident that our application would be approved and told us that we should start working on our letter to Jenny’s country stating why we were the perfect family for her. Our official approval to move forward came on Jan 6 and on Jan 9 we submitted our Letter of Intent to adopt Jenny.

In the meantime, we began looking for an agency to perform our Home Study. The home study is an integral part of the adoption process where you pay a complete stranger to come into your home, critique your current child safety standards, and ask privacy-violating questions I wouldn't even discuss with my mother. The point of the home study is to let the world know that you'll be a good family (financially, emotionally, physically, psychologically, etc) to the adopted child. (Funny
how no one checked with us before Vivien was born.)

On Jan 11, we finalized our application with our home study agency.  The entire home study would take about 3-4 months, so we wanted to get started right away.

On Jan 18, we heard from the adoption agency in Jenny's country.  They had a question about how we planned to care for her.  See, both I and my husband work full-time.  Jenny's country prefers that one parent be stay-at-home.  We explained, through the placing agency, how both of our jobs allow flexible schedules, ample time off, and work-from-home days, and how our bio daughter is currently cared for at home during the day by her Grams.

Also, on Jan 18, we got some devastating news that would remind us of God's sovereignty and timing:  Jenny's country put a temporary ban on all international adoptions.