Getting Closer

Psalm 82:3
Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless;
maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.

To list all the interventions and signs God has given us here would take all day... so let me skip ahead. Since Matt and I married in 2002, he has mentioned adoption. He always said we will have our biological children, but then we should adopt. I was always hesitant as I wasn't sure how many kids I could handle!! Of course, at that time all we had was Julian, so lots of kids seemed overwhelming! After years of soul searching, and years of prayer to be obedient to God's word, I started opening up to it a little. We attend Pathway Community Church, here in Fort Wayne and they are huge advocates for adoption. They have a ministry called True Vine that assists families with the adoption process, spiritually and finically.

I have worked part time for the last 6 years and I was getting pretty stressed out in my job. I was a CT (CAT scan) Tech at the hospital in town and I loved what I did and the people I worked with. I can only call it a "perfect storm" of events that lead to me turning in my resignation effective January 1. Although, I had been considering quitting for quite some time, I thought I would stay in awhile longer. I had started poking around some of the adoption sites just to obtain a little information without any commitment in mind. Of course, there were so many children in need, but I knew that I could only handle a fairly high functioning Down Syndrome child. In prayer I asked God to let me know when it was time to quit, for then I would pursue adoption. It took about a month for me to really listen!!

After I quit I found Reece's Rainbow and so many beautiful Down Syndrome children in need of loving families!! I am excited to sponsor their efforts in the future! I then, contacted True Vine Ministries and started really reading about how different countries work. I filled out a pre applications for them and they informed us that a country in eastern Europe was going to be our best option. Andrea at Reece's Rainbow agreed. We would have the least hurdles to jump to be accepted. I didn't think it was my first choice, to be honest, but I wholeheartedly accepted it as I was at such peace. I knew we were going in the right direction. So I started inquiring about the girls in particular as I knew my girls would be more accepting of a little sister, and Julian would be out of the house in a few years so a boy might feel left behind by him. I searched Reece's Rainbow and Rainbow Kids. I asked Andrea at Reece's Rainbow about several children, however nothing fit. Just having her introduced into our lives has been a tremendous blessing.

I talked to three agencies and three ministries. I looked at orphan after orphan, wondering if one of them could be mine and I was just passing them by. I asked God how I am to know. Could He give me a sign? How was I ever to be sure? Was I listening?