I was a bit nervous to do this, as it is so important (and expensive!) Thankful that everything went smoothly and it's done!
In facing the reality of the finances, dealing with other things that come up in life, and figuring out this whole passport situation with kids and forms, and printers not printing, and me making mistakes and having to re-do forms, then sitting down to do our training at 9 p.m. after a long day, I've been stressed! Finn has a sedated procedure coming on Tuesday, my house is in shambles, and the snow melting was wonderful, but revealed a ton of work we need to do cleaning up. I am concerned that from the outside looking in, we're crazy to attempt this huge, huge thing called international adoption.
But in considering this, I took a step back, and what I see is a sweet little girl, who I happened to find, who is not 100% healthy, who has no mama. And she needs me. And it's so beyond worth it. For her precious soul, it's an honor to do this. It's hard, yes. It's illogical, yes. But if we use our hearts and our eternity-seeing eyes, it makes all the sense in the world.
And if you ask my kids, they have a sister in Uganda. Or "Nuganda" as Harry terms it. She's their sister, the boys either identify her by her name, or by saying "sitter" (sister.) In my kids hearts, there are no questions about it. A is prayed for every night by daddy and boys, mama and LuLu, and she's going to be enjoying the longed for bunkbeds that LuLu now has a perfect right to expect.
Adoption is expensive, and yes, some aspects of it do seem ridiculously difficult. It's not the perfect solution, but for this 3 year old girl, it's the only solution possible.
And it is inconvenient to fundraise, and I know, it's not always convenient to give. And it won't make us richer, or less stressed, or anything like that. And it certainly won't really help you at all, to give to the adoption of this little girl. But imagine you were her. Living with next to nothing, not even family, and imagine how you would feel if a bunch of people in the USA pulled together to bring you somewhere safe, warm, loving and welcoming. Imagine that.
It makes me want to give everything for her, of course, because she is, or will be mine, but I know it moves your heart as well as mine. It's life-changing, to help kids like A. This is real, it may not be at our doorstep, but it doesn't make her need any less real. And ultimately, we're all part of the same race, the same family. Just because distance and a few bits of DNA separate us does not mean we aren't obligated, in some way, to help the motherless and fatherless of our world. This is my desperate, deepest desire.
Looking ahead, some prayer requests and things to be mindful of for us:
~Homestudy meeting coming up next Friday
~Finn's sedated ABR
~Reaching our first fundraising goal of $1600 ($1058 left to raise) which will allow us to pay the next 2 big fees, and reaching our ultimate goal of $23,000 total.
~Praise that our passport fees ($600) and our first professional services fee to our agency ($2700) is fully covered. God is good, and we see Him working through you!!!
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