For our family it was the beginning of this journey we are on ......
Orphan Sunday November, 2009 to be exact . Lloyd and I watched a live simalcast hosted by ShowHope. This is when the seed God had planted in our hearts many years before began to sprout.
The rest of the timeline goes like this:
January 2010- A discussion over dinner at confirms we both are "100%" sure about this thing called "adoption", something at the time we really knew nothing about
April 2010 - "let's start", I research, I request packets, we explore options
We found the agency we felt had the most reputable presence in the adoption community. We looked at countries that met our "hopes" for our daughter.....then it happened
Bulgaria ....estimated 10,000 orphans
Ukraine....estimated 100,000 orphans
but Ethiopia........ 4.3 MILLION.
That was all it took for God to open our eyes to something so much bigger than our desire for a daughter.
May 2010- We began the application process to adopt our daughter from Ethiopia
July 2010- We will call her "Addi May"
Sept 2010 - We are officially accepted into the Ethiopia program with All God's Children
Dec 31,2010 - our dossier is received
Jan 17,2011 We are number #97 for a girl 0-2
So the wait begins, Here is a little taste of the process:
May 2011-#70
Nov 2011-#48
March 2012-#35
May 2012-#34
August 2012-#21
October 2012-# 19
This process is nothing like anything else. It's like I've been pregnant now for 22 months. It's difficult to create a balance of preparation and anticipation for something so life changing, and yet continue to live and enjoy the day we are in at this very moment.
I seriously feel like I've loved her for a thousand years
Because sometimes in the waiting for what we long for, we praise God long when the gift comes at long last. Sometimes God has his people wait long, so our gratitude becomes deeper and wider.” – Ann Voskamp, The Jesse Tree Journey
Blessings~Kelli
