Change, Change, Change...

A lot has happened since the last time we wrote anything on the blog.  Since July we have been waiting to hear word of another matching meeting in Lesotho but every month seemed to come and go.  On December 1, the Lesotho government decided to join the Hague convention for international adoptions.  I am sure there are others out there that could explain this better than me, but from what I understand, they are trying to protect their children from trafficking.  What it means for adoption agencies and prospective families is more paperwork and higher fees, etc.  With all this said, the Lesotho government also asked for 3 more months of a break from meetings to work on getting their new system in place in Lesotho.  All of the above brought many new questions for us, including whether or not our current placing agency would really be able to finalize our adoption since they are not a Hague Accredited agency.

After a lot of discussions and prayer, we decided to walk away from our investment in a potential match in Lesotho.  It felt very much like what I imagine a miscarriage to feel like.  …All the expectations of a son from Lesotho, imagining what he would look like, imagining traveling there to bring him home.  

…None of that will happen now.  But…unlike a miscarriage, we are moving full speed ahead.

For the last month, we have been diligently working on updating paperwork with Adoption Associates in Jenison, MI (our new placing agency) to have a new dossier sent to… Addis Ababa, ETHIOPIA!!

 

one year later...

On July 5, 2011, we started the initial process of adopting our “Baby Boy Cooper”.

Over a year has passed.… and we still have no word of a specific child, of a specific boy to pray for and dream about joining our family.  However, we will continue to praise God and trust in Him.  I have faith that He will work the details out “for the good of those who love Him”.  So….while we wait…

We will continue to pray for all the fatherless children in the world, if not individually, then as a mass.  A huge mass… 147+ million orphans.  

We do have some wonderful news with regards to fundraising.  We received a grant from Katelyn’s Fund.  We also were awarded an interest free adoption loan from Lifesong for Orphans and Elmbrook Church in Wisconsin.  We are now only about $10,000 away from reaching our need.  We are overwhelmed and humbled at God’s provision.

We also received an extremely heartfelt gift from a friend of Naomi’s.  She sent Naomi a letter via snail mail last month.  Within the envelope, she included a small gift for Naomi, Elijah and Abigail AND money she had earned to help bring Baby Boy Cooper home.  May God bless you, Madison!!   

first matching meeting

Well, the matching meeting has come and gone and we found out that we were not matched with a son.  Only one orphanage came to the meeting with all the correct paperwork on their children.  So there were not enough “eligible” orphans to be matched to those in front of us in the process. 

I have to be honest here; the first 24 or so hours after we found out, I was an emotional wreck.  I was frustrated in the process, the lack of preparation, etc.  I was heartbroken, similar to thinking with all your heart you are pregnant and then having a pregnancy test come back negative…again.  Although I know with my head that God’s timing is perfect and that He has the most perfect child for our family, my heart just ached that we have to wait for another meeting to have a chance to find out. 

With all of the above said, there are some positives as well.  Around 10 children have been “matched” with forever families.  Praise God for this!!  There is also talk of another matching meeting as early as “sometime in June”.  This would be wonderful as typically it would be another 3-4 months later.

Please continue to pray for all of the fatherless children in Lesotho.  There are so many issues that these children have to overcome…so many that we cannot fully understand.  Please pray that God would provide these children his comfort, peace and protection from physical and emotional harm.

Jaclyn

     

matching meeting - may 22

It is official!  There is a “matching meeting” scheduled for tomorrow in Lesotho.  We are praying that as a result of this meeting, we will receive a referral for our son.  The following is what we have been told takes place at a matching meeting… 

The meeting is held by the Department of Social Welfare in Lesotho.  Representatives from the orphanages are invited to attend bringing paperwork for each child they have that is ready to be adopted (meaning on paper … Anyone living in an orphanage is ready to be adopted if you ask me. J).

Also attending this meeting are the representatives from each country that is licensed to adopt from Lesotho.  Currently, there are 4 countries (USA, Canada, Australia, and Sweden) that have adoption agencies adopting children from Lesotho.

The matching part of the meeting takes place somewhat like what we in the US would call a draft – like fantasy football.  Each child is brought to the table and then Adoption Agency country representatives are asked one by one if they have a match for the child. These representatives look through their pile of dossiers, giving preference to the order they are in the pile. 

We have received confirmation that our dossier is the 5^th one in the pile for our adoption agency!!  At a typical matching meeting, each agency/country is allowed only 4 dossiers to be brought to each meeting.  For this meeting, since they haven’t had a matching meeting since October, the Lesotho gov’t is allowing more than 4 dossiers.  Our agency has submitted 6 for consideration. 

What this means to us is that our dossier will most likely be brought up and viewed, but not necessarily be matched this time around.  We are praying that God will work wonders for us and all the children of Lesotho that need forever families and that He will provide us a match, in His perfect time of course.  However, we would love this to be at tomorrow’s meeting. J 

Please keep the people involved with this meeting in your prayers. 

God bless!!          

garage sale this friday

We are having a multi-family adoption fundraising garage sale 2.0!

When: Friday & Saturday, May 18 & 19, 8 a.m. – 3 p.m. 
Where: Our house - 43 S. Jefferson St., Zeeland.
What's Here: Desks, Stereo, Speakers, Bunk Bed, Freezer, Household & Kitchen Items, Nice Adult & Children’s Clothing, Baby Items, Toys & Games, Shoes! Plus more!