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.