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Don't Be Surprised

Our adoption process cleared another hurdle today. Just 9 days ago, Heather and I had an appointment in Metarie to be fingerprinted so the US Citizenship and Immigration Service could make a determination on whether Heather and I can adopt Eli. We received the approval letter in the mail today.

This step in the adoption process could have taken quite some time. We have heard the horror stories from other families and their dealing with the USCIS. Praise the Lord we did not have any problems so far. Our adoption worker told us that the USCIS process could take several months to complete. We were scheduled appointments 2 weeks after submitting our paperwork and received the approval just 9 days later. Of course, everything else in our case has moved along very quickly so we shouldn't have been surprised when this step went quickly, but we were. Now we are praying that the last step...the court process in Taiwan...would go quickly.

I called our adoption worker, Jill, to tell her about receiving clearance from USCIS. As we said goodbye, Jill said to have a Merry Christmas since I want talk to you again until after the holidays. Join us in praying that she will speak to us before Christmas. Because the next call should be the call to set a travel date.

USCIS appointment

Tuesday morning, Heather and I were in Metarie at the US Immigration office to be fingerprinted. This is a necessary step in being able to acquire Eli's visa so that he can travel back to the states with us. It was just one step closer to bringing him home.

We have heard nothing for several weeks. Our dossier is in country and has been placed on a court's docket. Now we just wait for the judge to make a ruling. It is very likely that we will not hear anything until we receive word that it is time to travel.

Heather and I are spending these months preparing ourselves for the trip to Taiwan. We have been studying Taipei hotels and the public transportation system there. Heather's brother has offered to donate his flyer miles to help us with the plane tickets, so we are trying to understand how the American Airlines rewards program works. And of course we are still praying for the money needed to travel. At this point, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the only money we have left to raise is travel money. What a blessing it has been to see the Lord move and work and provide in our lives. Let me give you an example...

A few days ago, I was sitting at home eating lunch when I heard someone pull up in our driveway. I walked outside to see who was there. I didn't know the person, but I recognized him from seeing him around town. He asked me if we were adopting. I told that we were and he asked me how much money we needed. I sort of mumbled around a bit and talked about how the Lord was blessing us and all our needs were being met. He asked me again...how much money do you need...although this time, he waved his checkbook in front of me. I told him about how much our next payment was and he proceeded to give me a check for that amount plus some extra. It was the largest single donation we have received. The very next day that bill that we owed, the one I mentioned to him, came due. How amazing is our God!!

Please continue to pray for our family. Following the holidays, we will begin to prepare our home for Eli's arrival. We have so much to do because it has been 7 years since we had such a little one in our home. I sure hope Heather knows what she is doing.

Livingston Benefit Concert

It has been a busy few days since our last post. This past weekend our family went to Livingston, LA to visit friends and raise money for the adoption. Last Friday night, the Franklins, sang a benefit concert to help raise money for the adoption. We had a great time and we raised over $2,200 at the concert. The Franklins are a great family who live out the message they sing and preach. They put on a great concert. Check out their website at franklinministry.com. They not only sing concerts, but they lead worship for revivals and special events and Craig preaches. Pray about having this family in your church in the future. You will be blessed.

Sunday morning, I preached at FBC Livingston where I served as student pastor for almost 3 1/2 years. The church took up a love offering to be added to the concert proceeds. Including shirt sales, we raised just under $3,500 for our adoption fund. A huge thank you goes out to all those who attended the concert and the worship service Sunday and gave toward our adoption. Thank you very much for your support.

Our God is an amazing God. His provision for our family has been unbelievable over the past several weeks. God has truly shown up and showed out for His own glory. It is hard to imagine that just under 2 months ago, our family had exhausted all of our savings and were still needing thousands of dollars just to complete the adoption. But true to Scripture, just when we were weak and empty, God was strong and He began to fulfill our need. Over the past 6 weeks, God has provided all that we need up to this point in the adoption process. We have not reached our goal, but we are confident that in His time we will. Thank you for being used by God in your giving and especially in your praying for our family.

Where we stand.

It has been several days since our last post. There is not much news to report. Our dossier paperwork has been translated and authenticated and is on the way to Taiwan. There it enters into the court system and we will not get any news until our case is complete. We have been told to expect up to 9 months before our case is through the court system and we can travel. Obviously, we are praying for a much shorter wait. The average wait on the courts is 6 months and the shortest wait has been 4 months. Along the way, our wait times have been the shortest our agency has seen. Please pray that we set the pace again.

This weekend our family is traveling to Livingston. Friday night there will be a benefit concert for our adoption at FBC Livingston. A huge thank you to the Franklins for singing this concert. Our family has been friends with the Franklins for several years. If you don't this family, check out their website at franklinministry.com. If you are in the Livingston area on Friday, come out and say hello. Sunday morning, I will be preaching at FBC Livingston. I am looking forward to being with so many friends and people I love from that church.

We have been hearing from so many people about our adoption. Thanks to all who support us both financially and prayerfully. The updates on this blog may be quite infrequent depending on how our case progresses. I will update this site as often as we are given new information.

Gumbo Galore

Last Friday, some friends from our church and others held a gumbo lunch fundraiser for the adoption. We began the day around 8am with plenty of gumbo and rice for the tickets that were pre-sold. Unfortunately, our best figuring on the amount of gumbo and rice needed to fill the orders fell way short. I have never seen gumbo cooked so fast. We were able to deliver all the lunches on time and there was plenty of gumbo to go around. I would like to thank all those who bought tickets and supported our adoption. We raised about $3500 and every penny will be used to adopt Eli. A huge thank you to all those who helped cook, clean, deliver, and sell tickets. You are greatly appreciated.

Name Change

For quite awhile, Heather and I have been discussing and praying about a name for our son. His Chinese name is Yi-Fan Chen. The American name given to him by the orphanage was Tyler. He has been referred to by both those names on the blog and many of you have been using one or the other name in praying for him. A few days ago, Heather and I decided on what we would name him once the adoption is finalized. We have decided to name him, Eli Chen Terry. Heather and I continue to thank you for your prayers for our family and for Eli.

New Pictures

Earlier this week, we received a package from our adoption agency. The orphanage in Taiwan sent several pictures. These pictures were taken about one month ago. They also sent some baby pictures taken around 6 weeks of age.

The final paperwork is in the mail and now we pray everything was done correctly. The paperwork will be translated and then authenticated. Once that is complete, our case goes to the court system in Taiwan. We are at the mercy of the judge. Please pray for a speedy court process. Also pray that all the paperwork is correct and that there is no hold-ups. We were told to expect 9 months until we travel. We are praying for a faster process.

God continues to answer our prayers. He provided all the money that has been needed up to this point and for that we are very grateful. Thanks to all of you who have bought shirts and gumbo tickets and given donations. We appreciate it more than we will ever be able to express.

URGENT PRAYER NEEDED

I just spoke with Jill, our adoption worker, and now have an urgent prayer need. Please pray for our family, our newest son, Yi-Fan, and the entire adoption process. I am unable to share with you the nature of our request, but trust that you will pray nonetheless. Please take time and pray...really pray....and if you think about us throughout the week, keep the prayers going. Thanks and we will update this site as things change.

Finally Some News

Late yesterday evening, we were able to talk with our adoption agency. The conversation was both encouraging and discouraging. I'll try to explain.

For the first time, we were given a timeline. Jill, our adoption worker, explained that from this point until travel is generally nine months. Obviously, this is not what we wanted to hear. We were hoping to travel much, much sooner than that. But now we can plan for next summer as a travel time. We were encouraged somewhat when she told us that our case seems to moving much faster than others. We heard in 9 days what most wait 2 months to hear and then our dossier paperwork came in very fast as well. Our prayer is that we would be able to travel and pick up our son before his 2nd birthday which is July 27. Please join us in this prayer.

The dossier paperwork should be to us by tomorrow. This is paperwork that we will have to sign and notarize and then there are some things that we will have to gather to include. Once we complete the paperwork, our agency will translate it and it will enter the court system for final decree. Depending on the judge, our wait time could be shorter or longer than the expected 9 months.

Jill also told us that tomorrow we will be receiving some updated pictures and information about our son. We can also begin to send him care packages, although there are some very strict restrictions on what we can send. We are excited about both the updated info and the opportunity to send stuff over to Taiwan.

We would like to thank all of you who have helped our family by purchasing adoption shirts. We have reordered shirts and added two new colors. Those shirts should be in by the first of next week. On Nov. 14 we will be at FBC Harrisonburg and will have shirts with us. The next week, we will be at FBC Livingston. The Franklin Family will be singing a benefit concert for us there and we will have shirts for sale as well. If you would like a shirt mailed to you directly, please message us with the shirt color and size you would like. We also are asking that you add $4 per shirt for shipping costs.

On Nov. 5, we will be in the parking lot of Triangle Pharmacy selling gumbo lunches from 11am until we sell out. The cost for the lunch is $5 and includes gumbo, rice, crackers and dessert. Everything needed for the fundraiser has been donated so all $5 will go directly into the adoption fund. We thank you for your support financially, but more importantly for your prayers.

Harder than we thought.

It has been almost one month since we received the news that we were approved to adopt our son. Since then we have not received any updates from our agency or from the orphanage in Taiwan. The waiting is incredibly hard. I emailed our adoption worker last week to ask for any information or at least a time frame, but have not heard back from her yet. While we are busy raising money and completing our adoption classes, there is not much else to do. And the waiting is hard...much harder than we thought.

Everyday we hear from people that are following our adoption. There are many of you who read this blog that we are unaware of who you are and how you pray for and support us. Over the past few weeks we have received anonymous donations and donations from people we do not know. I cannot tell you how encouraging that is to our family.

But it seems with every conversation, the question always comes up, "When will you get your son?" That question, although well intentioned, is hard for us to hear over and over and over. It is so discouraging, because we don't have an answer. There is no one more excited and more eager to hold that little boy than Heather and I. Not knowing when that day might come makes the waiting so much harder.

We cannot thank you enough for reading this blog, for praying for our family, and supporting us financially. We have been so blessed by each of you. .

WOW!!!

God is blessing us in unbelievable ways. Thanks to so many of you who have purchased shirts and went above and beyond to donate additional money. We know the Lord will provide and we have been encouraged so many times in just the last few days. We cannot say thank you enough.

Shirts are still available. If you have not gotten one yet, you can contact us directly, contact the Franklin Family, or stop by Girlfriends Gift Shoppe in Jena. If we don't have the shirt you want in the size you need, we will try to find it for you. It looks like we will need to order more shirts in the future so keep checking.

We do not have any more news on our son. We are hoping to have an update soon. We do not know when we will be able to get him. That is likely several months away. Thanks for your continued prayers.

More shirt pics

Here are just a few more pictures of the shirts we are selling to raise money for our adoption.

Shirts are Here!!!

Our adoption shirts came in today. We are offering the shirts for a donation of $20 each. We have two styles with two colors of each style. The shirts are available by contacting us personally. If you are in the Jena area, you can also get them from Girlfriends Gift Shop. We would like to thank Jeanette Richards for allowing us to place the shirts in her store. Also, the Franklin Family will be selling shirts at the churches that they visit over the next few months. You can contact us for a shirt by email at reidterry1974@gmail.com. Thanks in advance for helping us raise the money needed to bring our son home.

A Word of Thanks

Ever since getting word that we were approved to adopt our son, we have had very little to do other than just wait. The waiting seems like the hardest part. I have called our social worker several times in the past week and asked her what we could do. Her answer is always the same..."Not much." It is a helpless feeling. Not being able to do anything to speed the process along. However, we are grateful to the orphanage workers and our social worker who are busy doing paperwork that will help bring our child home.

The Lord continues to encourage us as we get closer to a travel date being set. Last night, East Jena Baptist Church (where I served as Student Pastor for 3+ years), took up a love offering for our family to help offset the adoption costs. I can't tell you how much that means to our family. It encourages us by reminding that the Lord is in control and will provide. We would like to thank all that gave at EJBC toward the adoption. You have been a blessing to our family. And we are extremely grateful.

The only update that I can give today is that Heather's passport came in last week and was sent to Taiwan. Also we completed a short application form for the orphanage in Taiwan and sent it back as well. We are hopeful that the process is moving fast, but really don't have any idea how long it might be before we can travel.

Thanks again for all your prayers. Keep praying.

Passport update

Yesterday, Heather and I went to New Orleans to get her an expedited passport. The appointment went well and the passport should be arriving at our home on tomorrow. Again, we have seen the hand of God at work through this process and through the lives of friends and family. The cost for an expedited passport is $195. Last Thursday, a friend of our gave us $200 to use in the adoption process. God is so good. He is faithful.

One more thing...our shirts are ordered and should be in later this week or early next week. The cost for ordering the shirts has been covered by a generous donation. We will be selling the shirts for $20 and every penny will go toward the adoption. If you would like to purchase a shirt, email us or call us and we will work out how to get one to you. We will be selling shirts at Howdy Neighbor Day in Jena as well. As soon as the shirts come in I will post pictures. There are two designs and several colors available.

Thanks for your encouragement to Heather and I and thanks for your prayers.

God at Work

First off, I would like to thank each of you for the kind and encouraging comments you have left on Facebook and for calling and encouraging us. We are thrilled that we are in the final stages of bringing our son home. We still do not know how long it will be before we are able to travel (a good estimate is 4-6 months), but we are anxiously awaiting that day.

This morning as I prayed, I asked the Lord to encourage me in some way today that Heather and I were in His will with the adoption. It was a prayer from my heart to see the Lord at work. I hate that I love affirmation from people, but in my flesh I do. And I do not want to adopt a special needs child because it garners the approval of people, but my only desire is because I am led of the Lord. So this morning I prayed the Lord would encourage me in some way to know that our family was centered on Him. The Lord answers prayers.

Today, a businessman offered to notarize all of our adoption paperwork free of charge. I don't know how much money this will save us, but it gave us peace of mind that we won't have to worry about it. Also, Heather does not have a passport yet. Taiwan needs our passports immediately to begin processing our paperwork. It takes several weeks and possibly months to obtain a passport. However, thanks to my cousin, we have an appointment for Monday morning in New Orleans to have Heather's passport issued. So there will not be any delay in getting our paperwork to Taiwan and the adoption process can move on as planned.

Keep praying.

Introducing our New Son

After only 9 nine days, we have heard some exciting, wonderful news. Our family has been given final approval to adopt Yi-Fan Chen. The Lord, our God, answers prayers. We have been praying for this day for a long time and now it comes quicker than we expected. Jill, our social worker, called this afternoon and told us the great news. Heather was at work and I was visiting with a friend when I took the call. I was so excited, I'm not sure what all she told me to do. I'll have to call her back later to find out. I called Heather and told her and we are both thrilled.

It will likely be several months before we can travel to Taiwan and meet our son in person. Lots of paperwork still has to be completed and the Taiwanese judicial system must run its course as well. But I'm sure the wait will go by quickly. The birthmother has asked to meet us and we are looking forward to that meeting. We will be receiving updates soon and will let you know what we find out. I am attaching some pictures so you can meet our son.

Please continue to pray for our family...all 5 of us.

Finally...the countdown begins.

We have had our hopes up on numerous occasions before only to find out that one more thing needed to be done before our paperwork could go to Taiwan. Last night we found out that the one more thing this time was a letter to the Taiwan officials explaining our desire to adopt and the plan we had in place for taking care of Tyler if we are approved. We emailed that letter to our social worker this morning and received back from her that our approval packet if finally on the way to Taiwan. This means within two months we should know if we have a son in Taiwan.

We are copying the final letter that we sent to Taiwan to this blog for you to read. We are asking that you please continue to pray for us. These next two months are going to be long and short. We know the wait will seem forever and the time will creep by, but we have so much to do in these two months that it seems we will not be able to accomplish it all.

Earlier today we began taking the necessary 10 hours of pre-adoption classes. We will need to finish those as soon as possible. Also, since our home study if complete and we will be receiving the official copy in the mail later this week, we can begin to apply for financial assistance. The process for applying for grants is long and tedious with no guarantees. However, we have a guarantee. The Lord has led us to adopt and He will provide. The moment we receive word from our agency that we have been approved to adopt Tyler we will have to send in a $6500 check. We have about $1600 toward that now. Later, we will need another $6500 and then additional money for travel.

We do have several prayer requests for the next two months. Pray for Cathwel and Jonah House as they make a decision about placing Tyler with us. Pray for his birth parents. These two months may be an extremely trying time for them. Pray for our family to have patience during this process. And please pray that God will provide financially. Finally, continue to pray for Tyler and his health. Every day he is in Taiwan is another day he falls farther behind developmentally. As soon as we are approved to adopt Tyler, I will post pictures so you can meet him.

Thank you for your prayers and for those who have given. Here is the letter that was sent to Taiwan today along with our home study and pictures:

Several years ago, our family became aware of the great need for adoption. Because of our faith, we began to seek the Lord and pray about how we might get involved in orphan care. A few years ago, we both came to the conclusion that the Lord wanted us to adopt so we began the process of gathering information, locating an agency, and deciding what type of child we would adopt.

Heather is a registered nurse who works in the intensive care and cardiac care units of a major hospital in our area. She has extensive training in life saving procedures and emergency medical treatment. Therefore, we knew we would be able to provide the necessary care for a special needs child. Through researching the various special needs that adoptable children have, we knew that a child with down syndrome would be a great fit in our family and would be well taken care of. We did not limit ourselves to only adopting a down syndrome child, but we were confident the challenges of raising a child with down syndrome would be something we could meet.

One day Reid was browsing on the internet and came across the website, Reece’s Rainbow. There was a picture of Tyler that jumped off the computer screen. Heather saw the picture and felt the same way Reid did about the little boy. We sent an email to the contact agency to find out more information about his case and condition.

After receiving the history and medical records for Tyler, we contacted two doctors in order to be sure we knew what type of medical care Tyler would need. Our pediatrician informed us that he treats several children with down syndrome and has seen and treated the other conditions that Tyler’s records indicate he has. In fact, Dr. Clark put us in touch with a family that has a child with down syndrome and we have communicated with that family to gather even more helpful information. Through each step, the Lord continued to confirm in our hearts that we were moving in the right direction.

We have thought and talked much about adding this little boy to our family. We are confident that he will get plenty of attention and love. Heather works part-time as a nurse. She is only out of the home two days each week. Reid is a pastor. Our home is adjacent to the church and the church office is located in our home. Therefore, Reid works out of the house and is home most everyday during the week. Reid has a very flexible schedule and is able to be home when Heather is working. We live within 25 miles of extended family. There are grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins who all live within a few minutes drive. They are very supportive of our desire to adopt and are anxiously awaiting meeting our new son and helping provide for his care in any way they can.

We have researched the great needs that many children with down syndrome have and begun to locate resources in area to meet those needs. There are many services within a 40 mile drive of our home. Tyler would be able to take advantage of occupational and physical therapy as well as speech therapy. In fact, we have located an association in our area to support and connect the families who are blessed with a child who has down syndrome. This association provides information about resources for the child as well as resources for the family. The association and an area church offer play dates each month for children with down syndrome.

We have prayed for Tyler daily since seeing his picture on the website. We have prayed for his family and those who are taking care of him. We are preparing ourselves, our family, and our home for him. We are confident that adoption is God’s plan for our family. We understand the needs Tyler has and are prepared to meet them. Tyler will be loved. He will be well taken care of. He will be afforded many opportunities to grow and develop and reach his full potential. Thank you for considering our family for his adoption.

Reid and Heather Terry

HOMESTUDY DONE!

Just a quick update: We just received an email from Jill, our Heartsent Adoption worker, telling us that our homestudy is complete and our approval packet will be mailed to Jonah House in Taipei, Taiwan this week!

The Wait Begins

These are some of the pictures that we sent into Heartsent this week. Jill informed us that our paperwork was completed. She was waiting on the homestudy to send our approval packet on to Taiwan. The homestudy is being typed and should be completed very soon. Once it is done and reaches Heartsent, our wait begins. We have been told that it could take up to two months to hear back from Jonah House. There are several US agencies that are working with Jonah House so there is no guarantee that Tyler will still be available or that we will be chosen as his adoptive parents. This might just be the hardest part of the entire process yet. There is not much that we can do other than just wait....and pray. Please join us in praying for a quick response from Jonah House. Continue praying for Tyler and his birth parents as the next few months may be very hard on them.

Heather and I are designing t-shirts that we will sell to raise money for the remainder of the adoption. Keep checking the site for updates on the shirts and where you can purchase yours. We would like to thank you who have given through the paypal link on this site and those who have given other ways as well. We are still in need of about $10,000 plus the cost of travel, but we are confident in the Lord's provision.

Getting Close to Sending Paperwork to Taiwan

It has been awhile since our last post. This is because we have been waiting on some paperwork to be completed. Yesterday, we were informed that all our paperwork except one reference letter was in and complete. This means in the next week our homestudy and pre-approval packet will be sent to Taiwan. Once all this information makes it to Jonah House in Taipei the board of directors and the birth parents will make a decision regarding placement. The decision making process is said to take less than 2 months. Before Thanksgiving, Heather and I should know if we will be able to adopt Tyler.

Over the next few months, Heather and I will be completing 10 hours of pre-adoption classes. We will also be applying for grants and perhaps loans in order to finish paying the adoption costs. Heather and I have been so blessed. We received a very generous donation that came a few weeks ago. It was a great reminder to us that we are following the Lord and He will provide.

Please continue to pray for our family and for Tyler. Also we are asking that you pray for the Jonah House Board of Directors and Tyler's birth parents as they begin their decision making process.

Update

I would like to thank all you who have been praying and keeping up with our adoption journey through this blog. We have had so many people ask us about the adoption and tell us they were praying and following our progress. So we would like to say thanks and ask that you continue to pray.

This past week Heather and I had our adoption physicals and next week our children get theirs. This will complete the homestudy and we will anxiously wait for the final copy. Once we receive the final copy of the homestudy we can begin to apply for adoption grants and loans. This is important because the next payment of $6500 is due as soon as Cathwel (the Taiwanese orphanage) makes a decision about placing Tyler with our family.

Our adoption agency is putting together a pre-approval packet to sent to Taiwan. We need to take some pictures of our family, home, and places we would take Tyler to play. Then when the agency receives the preliminary homestudy report the packet will be sent to Taiwan and we will begin the wait. Finally, our agency requires 10 hours of adoption classes. So this week, Heather and I will begin taking the classes needed.

Thanks again and please keep praying!

God's Provision

This week has been a trying one. Last Saturday, Heather ended up in the emergency room with a severe infection. She followed up her ER visit with a doctor's visit and is taking several medications. On top of all that added expense, this week we sent in a $1650 check to our adoption agency. Needless to say it was with some trepidation that I mailed the check. I wanted to hang on to it for a few more days to make sure we had the money. God reassured me that He called our family to adopt and He would provide for all our needs. Today, Heather and I received just under $2000 in cash. Wow! Our God is a God who provides. I would like to thank each of you who have prayed for us as we go through the adoption process. I would also like to thank those of you who have donated. We don't even know who all of you are, but your gifts are appreciated and will be used for adopting a child. Please continue to pray for our family. We are so amazed at the goodness of our God and at the generosity of our family and friends.

Happy Birthday

Today is Tyler's first birthday. This little guy has had a rough first year, but by the grace of God he is still doing well in the orphanage, Jonah House. Even still, this day will likely be different for Tyler than for most of the children you and I know when they celebrate their first birthday. There will be no family around making a big fuss over him. There will be no chocolate cake to eat and smear all over his face and no candles to blow out. There will be few if any presents for him to attempt to open. Nobody will sing the happy birthday song. There won't be any pictures taken to remember the occasion. No, today will just come and go like the 365 days before. So the best thing I can think to do for Tyler today on his first birthday is to pray for him. Pray for his health. Pray for his caretakers. Pray that he would find a family this year. Pray for Tyler.

With a Song and Dance

It seems that everyday brings on a new story from our kids about their interviews with the social worker doing our homestudy. Last week, Kim (the LA homestudy social worker) came to our house for the second of two meetings. During her time at our house she had to interview our children. Heather and I went out to the office and left Kim inside with the kids to do their interviews. Obviously, Heather and I were very curious about what kind of questions she asked the kids and how they answered. We had no idea what they would say, especially since we had told them the night before that there were no wrong answers to her questions and they should just be honest.

After Kim left, Heather and I began asking Rachel and Micah about what they were asked and how they answered. We didn't get much at first. Both said they really couldn't remember much but that the meeting went okay. That wasn't good enough for us. We wanted details. We began to press them a little harder about remembering. Finally, the dam broke and they opened up. Once one remembered something, this would remind the other of something and they began talking fast and furious.

We still don't know a lot of what went on but one story was particularly funny to us and I though I would share it. Kim asked the kids about their feelings on adding a member of the family. She asked them how they would handle another child coming into our home. Micah immediately began telling Kim stories of how he entertains his cousins. (Rachel informed us that no matter what question they were asked Micah had a couple of stories to tell.) Rachel said that Micah told Kim he would be right back and show her how he would take care of a new brother or sister. Micah went to his room and when he came back out he had an umbrella. He then preceded to do a dance routine with the umbrella while singing, "Hello my baby, hello my darlin', hello my rag time gal..." Evidently he danced and sang for several minutes before exiting stage right while continuing his song and dance routine.

Rachel said she thought the whole episode was funny and they all laughed. Heather and I were definitely concerned with how Kim would react. Hopefully, Kim is still laughing and we get a great recommendation from her homestudy.

God Will Provide

Thursday, Heather and I met with our pediatrician in Alexandria. We took Tyler's records for Dr. Clark to look over. He confirmed the information we had already received from the doctor the agency in California recommended. Both said that Tyler's down syndrome is typical. Other medical problems are related to down syndrome and are very low risk. This was great news.

We have had two doctors review the medical records and give us their interpretation and recommendations. Not only were the reports positive, but neither doctor charged us any money for the consultation. This was shocking because the agency made it clear that doctors usually charge for this needed service. This past week we have paid about $1600 for the homestudy and are preparing to pay another $1650 for the agency fees. Paying for two doctor consults would have been added strain. But God is great. He provided for all our needs. God has provided a way for our family to afford the cost of adoption. We are confident that God will continue to provide.

Thank you for your prayers and continue to pray for our family and that God would get all the glory.

Home Study Nears Completion

Yesterday, our social worker came to visit for the second time. This completes her required visits for the homestudy. Within a couple of week she will be sending our adoption agency (Heartsent Adoptions) a preliminary copy of the homestudy to be sent to Taiwan. Once the pre-approval packet arrives in Taiwan, Cathwel (the Tiawanese adoption agency and orphanage) will begin their process of final approval. We are praying that Cathwel will make a decision on final approval quickly.

The next phase of our adoption process is what many people refer to as the paper chase. We must begin the process of looking for many certified and official copies of all sorts of documents. This will likely be the most tedious and labor intensive phase of the adoption process. Also once final approval is made in Taiwan the next payment is due.

We have several prayer requests:

Pray that the Lord will continue to provide for our needs, financial and otherwise.

Pray for the decision that Cathwel will make in the next few weeks.

Pray for Yi-Fan Chen. His first birthday is Tuesday.

Pre-approval

We got great news today. We are being pre-approved to adopt Tyler. When Jill, the adoption agency's case worker, said, "Congratulations!" the whole adoption thing became so real. We are excited and thrilled that the Lord has opened this door and is allowing us to proceed with the adoption.

Tyler was born July 27, 2009. He has been diagnosed with Down Sydrome, G6PD, hearing loss, and two heart defects. Tyler will not get the medical attention he needs until he is adopted. Please be praying for him and for his birth parents who have made the courageous decision to give their son a life with medical care he would not otherwise receive.

Pray for Heather and I as we continue the process of the home study and now with agency contracts and applications. We will be sending off another payment to the adoption agency and are thankful that the Lord continues to provide for our financial needs. We truly serve an amazing God.

Finally, I want to write a word about the pre-approval process. Heather and I are pre-approved to adopt Tyler. This means that the US adoption agency will not consider another family to adopt Tyler unless we are ruled out by the Taiwanese adoption agency and the birth parents. What this means is that at any time a Taiwanese family can step in and adopt Tyler or the birth parents and Taiwanese officials can determine that our family is not the right match for Tyler. So there are still many questions and uncertainties. Pray that the Lord would reveal His will to our family and to those making decisions about Tyler's future.

Home study

On Tuesday, July 13 we began the official process of adopting by starting our home study. For months, Heather and I have researched different agencies and thought about countries we would be open to adopting from. As we read and studied about the international adoption process, God began softening our hearts for a child with special needs. Sometime around the end of June 2010, a child named Yi-Fan Chen (Tyler in English) from Taiwan came to our attention. Heather and I began praying for him and wondering if this might be the child God would give us. Tyler's agency requested that we begin the process by completing a home study. This is the first major step in adopting.

Our social worker came to the house on the morning of July 13 and interviewed our family for several hours. God was faithful in providing the money we needed to pay completely for the home study. The social worker is scheduled to come back on July 23 to complete her second and final visit. It will then take a couple of months to finish all the paper work.

Please continue to pray for our family. We want to be obedient to the Lord as we adopt. We need the wisdom to answer so many questions. Also, pray that God would continue to bless us financially so we can afford the adoption. Pray for Tyler and his birth parents as they are involved in selecting his adoptive parents.

And it begins

Writing a blog is a weird thing for me to do. Other times in the past I have tried and failed to do a good or even decent job at keeping a blog current. It just seemed it was too much work and took too much time to sit and write. So why will this time be different? Truth is...I'm not sure it will be. The only reason I am trying a fresh start and writing now is I feel I have something to write about that honestly is more about me and my family than you, the reader. On other blogs, I was writing for you to know what I was doing or what happened in my life. This blog is going to be written for me, not for you. My family recently began the process of adopting a child. This will be a running log of what's going on as we take this journey.

HOW THIS ALL STARTED

Four or five years ago, I was watching a television show on the horrors of orphanages in China. As I watched that show, the Lord placed a burden in my heart for orphan children all over the world. I shared this burden with Heather and no one else. Several times over the next few years Heather and I discussed how we were to act or what we were going to do about the burden God had given our family. Early on, I felt led to look into adoption. Heather did not. So we prayed and did nothing. Over and over, the subject would resurface, but Heather and I could never agree on the direction God was leading. I believe now that this time of disagreement led us to pray deeper and seek harder the will of God.

A few weeks ago we were at a service for student pastors, their wives, and other youth workers and volunteers. The speaker was preaching on missions and how those who work with youth should be modeling a missional lifestyle. In the message, the Lord began speaking to me again about adoption as a lifestyle of missional and gospel living. And then...the speaker...said it. "You might not be called to go overseas and serve as a missionary, maybe God is calling you to adopt a child from one of those countries." I knew right then God wanted our family to adopt. Little did I know, God was speaking to Heather in the same way. After the service, I told Heather that I felt God was strongly leading us to consider adoption. She informed me she felt the same way and was ready to be obedient.

THE PROCESS BEGINS

The next several days were spent in prayer as Heather and I sought the Lord's confirmation of His will. We began doing research on the internet and realized that adoption is a huge need all over our world. We also realized that to adopt a child and make him/her a part of our family would be a daunting challenge. It would be one we could not do on our own, but we would have to depend totally on the Lord's provision and guidance.

As of this writing, we have researched three or four international adoption agencies. We are considering and praying about which one to use. We have decided to pursue an adoption from the Philippines. Our desire is to adopt a child (no gender preferred) under the age of four. As any new parent, we are praying our child would be healthy, but know that is in God's hands.

Since beginning this process, we have learned tons in a short time. We have grown more and more excited and are looking forward to what God has in store for us and what He will teach us over the next few months and years.

The one thing that held me back for so many years was money. International adoption is expensive and our family does not have the resources to afford adoption. Now that I am confident that God has called our family to adopt, money is not even a worry. I know that God has guided our family into this process and I know that He will provide for that need. I'm excited and anxious to see how He will come through.

Starting the Journey

Several months ago, Heather and I made the decision to adopt internationally. I began keeping a record of what was taking place in the process. I will post those on this blog and it will be a way for you to keep up with all that is going on in our adoption story.