One Year Mark

Today marks one year from the day we announced that we're adopting again.

If you know our family's story, you remember that God was very gracious to us the first time around.  Bringing our kids home from Ethiopia in 6 months probably set a record of some kind!  We knew that this adoption would take longer than the first one.  And longer it has been.  It seems that we're still maybe a year and a half away from traveling to Congo to bring our children home.  If that estimate is right, that would make this adoption five times longer than our Ethiopian one.

As we look ahead, we anticipate other possible differences too.  We will definitely be bringing home older children than we did the first time around.  Our paperwork has us approved to bring home children ages 0-2 (like the first time), and our agency thinks it's possible that the kids could be almost three years old by the time they come home.  This is pretty sobering for a number of reasons, one of which is the fact that our children might very possibly be alive right now and living in an orphanage.

It also seems likely that a year could pass between the time we get a referral for children and the time when we can travel to bring them home.  That sounds so long to me, especially knowing how compromised the care is that our children would be receiving over that time.  I can already imagine the ways God will refine our faith as we trust Him to provide for and protect our little ones.

There are several other possibilities that could come to pass, but it wouldn't be helpful for me to dwell on them all.  We'll continue to move forward slowly and surely, trusting in God's perfect timing and providence over all the details.