The Good, Bad and Ugly of adoption

THE BAD

Adoption is a beautiful thing, except when it's not. It is not coming up roses after all. In the adoption world, nothing is certain…nothing is clockwork….nothing is a guarantee. We’ve learned that the hard way--by investing time and our hearts on a sweet child that was not meant to be ours. With sadness in our souls, we regret to let you know that our adoption plans for Burundi have fallen through. This was a fear we had from the beginning, but a risk we were willing to take. So we take a deep breath, cry for the loss of our sweet Zoe and trust that God is in control. We will never forget the beautiful eyes of our daughter in Burundi and can only pray for her safety and health as she lives her life, unaware that she was “lost” to us.

Some friends have already given to our cause. We want you to know that the money was not wasted. Much of it has been put in an account for future adoption expenses. Zoe’s foster family in Burundi did receive some payment, as well. We will rest knowing they used it to feed and clothe a child who needed both.

THE GOOD

However, when God closes a door, He opens a window. Our window? A waiting child from Ethiopia. We stumbled across this sweet girl and have been taken aback by the overwhelming sense that she is already ours. Of course, “stumbled” is not accurate, as we believe God led us right to her.

THE UGLY

We have about one week to raise $15,000 to bring this child home. Ouch! (FYI, in the world of international adoption, $15,000 is not a ridiculous number--this is quite normal). Don't think it is going to happen, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to try! I wish I could reach into my bank account, book the flight to Ethiopia and bring her home. I cannot, most of us would have trouble doing the same thing. So while she continues to grow in an orphanage, thousands of miles away, we hit high gear and continue our fund raising. Ethiopia is an established program with thousands of adoptions completed. With any adoption, there are certainly risks, but they are far from the ones we experienced in Burundi.

We WILL bring home a child who needs a home. Not Zoe, and maybe not this child either. But the day will come and God will show us the path. When he does, any funds we've raised to that point will go right into bringing His child home. May be you have already helped with Burundi, and if so, THANK YOU for your belief in us and what we are doing. If you can't contribute financially, no problem. Pray for us and our journey. If you can contribute financially, hit the "chip in" button. Know you will be forever in our debt and thanked everyday in our prayers!

So I sign off to go buy tissues at Wal Mart (first I will powder my red nose and do something about these swollen eyes!). We've gone through a whole stack in the last 24 hours! Don't pity us--we are blessed beyond measure. I do believe in God's plan, and this is part of it. Yes, it hurts. But we will mend.

I've been kissing my boys over and over again today, and they are not sure why. I should kiss them that many times everyday! I will.

Spilling my heart,

Angie