We announced to our church the news about Nathaniel today. David, Brandon and myself created a power point presentation. It started out by us talking abut the number of orphans in the world. And then the number of orphans in Africa. And then the number of orphans in DRC. We talked about how DRC was a beautiful country, but it was ravaged by war. And that it is one of the poorest countries in the world. Then we said but there is hope and showed James 1:27.
Then we said that there is one less orphan in DRC because.... (Here we had a picture of Nathaniel.) He will soon be adopted by... US!!!!( Here we had a picture of ourselves.) At this point everyone starts clapping.
After church I got hugs from many of the ladies congratulating me. My heart swelled with joy.
After church we had a family dinner at my mother's house. I announced to all of my brothers and their wives about Nathaniel and let Desi pass around a picture of him. One of my brothers asked Desi who the picture was of and she said "our baby". I was so proud. Most of my family were very happy for us and very supportive, but there was one comment that annoyed me. One of my brothers asked " Aren't there enough kids in the country to adopt?" My answer was, " We tried for 6 years to adopt from this country." I was shocked by his question and didn't know quite what to say. Now that I have had time to think about it, what I should have said is, " Yes there are children in this country to adopt and we tried that. But God had another plan for us. He put a longing in our hearts for Africa. He has always known who was meant to be our child and that child was in Africa."
Blessings,
Melissa
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Monday, June 17, 2013
Great News!!!!!!!!!
Well we waited and God has moved. After reviewing all our options, we decided to take our home study and go to a new agency. We moved to Journeys of the Heart and joined their Democratic Republic of Congo or DRC program. And we have been matched with a 3 month old baby boy!
After 7 looong hard agonizing years, we FINALLY have a child waiting for us!!!!!!!! Thank you God for your faithfulness even when I am not.
It will take another 6 months to a year to bring him home, but at least we can see what we are working so hard for. It has been a long hard journey, but God's plans and timing are always perfect. Still don't have all the money we need to complete this adoption, but I am trusting God will provide.
Blessings,
Melissa
Nathaniel JamesThursday, June 13, 2013
Christ- Like Love
I recieved a notification from our agency today about a little 7 year old girl who needs a family.
Its seems this little girl has severe disabilities and her single father can no longer take care of her needs.
He brought her to the orphanage today to have her adopted.
He could have simply brought her to the orphanage to live so that she could recieve medical care, food, shelter and schooling. But he wanted her to have a family that loves her, so he chose to put his own feelings aside and do what was best for his beloved child. I am sure his heart must have been breaking when he signed away his rights to her, knowing he will probably never see her again once she is adopted, but he put her first. I applaud this father. This is true love. This is Christ-like love; sacrificial love.
This story touched my heart today, but its not really all that unusual. Every day birth mothers show this same kind of love when they choose to place their child for adoption. They are not thinking about their own feelings but what is best for their child. Yet, in this country especially, these women are made to feel like they are worthless because they have made this decision. I pray that we who call ourselves Christ's followers will see the sacrifice that these women make and applaud them.
Blessings,
Melissa
Its seems this little girl has severe disabilities and her single father can no longer take care of her needs.
He brought her to the orphanage today to have her adopted.
He could have simply brought her to the orphanage to live so that she could recieve medical care, food, shelter and schooling. But he wanted her to have a family that loves her, so he chose to put his own feelings aside and do what was best for his beloved child. I am sure his heart must have been breaking when he signed away his rights to her, knowing he will probably never see her again once she is adopted, but he put her first. I applaud this father. This is true love. This is Christ-like love; sacrificial love.
This story touched my heart today, but its not really all that unusual. Every day birth mothers show this same kind of love when they choose to place their child for adoption. They are not thinking about their own feelings but what is best for their child. Yet, in this country especially, these women are made to feel like they are worthless because they have made this decision. I pray that we who call ourselves Christ's followers will see the sacrifice that these women make and applaud them.
Blessings,
Melissa
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Feeling Low
I am feeling very low today.
I have been following a blog of a couple that live fairly close to me who are adopting from Ghana. They posted today that they are flying to Ghana today to go to court and officially adopt their 2 new sons, even though there is a suspension going on and they are using an agency that is NOT officially licensed by the Ghanaian government.
I know God's timing and His plans are perfect, but I am feeling VERY frustrated today.
When is it my turn, God?????????
Blessings,
Melissa
I have been following a blog of a couple that live fairly close to me who are adopting from Ghana. They posted today that they are flying to Ghana today to go to court and officially adopt their 2 new sons, even though there is a suspension going on and they are using an agency that is NOT officially licensed by the Ghanaian government.
I know God's timing and His plans are perfect, but I am feeling VERY frustrated today.
When is it my turn, God?????????
Blessings,
Melissa
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