The Journey Begins!

In less than two weeks, Curt, Cassie, Clay and I will be in Enakievo, Ukraine, visiting the Uglegorsk Orphanage.  Are we nervous?  Of course?  Are we excited?  Of course!  Are we ready?  We hope so! 

We made the decision to pursue adoption in January.  In these past four months, friends, family, and acquaintances have offered all sorts of support, advice, and gentle words of warning.  When told of our plans, some people have even stared at us in disbelief and asked, “Why in the world would you want to do that?!  Everything is going so well for you—why would you want to mess it up?”  We appreciate these kind of honest questions, as they reflect what’s been going on in our own minds and help us examine our motives and expectations.  The bottom line we’ve come to is this: 

I John 3: 17-18 “If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.”

God has blessed us immensely, and we feel called to respond big. Twelve year old Cassie was the first to suggest adoption, about a year ago.  It had been on my radar for a long time, quietly, then in January when Curt came home on fire about it after spending time with an old friend who had recently adopted two teenaged girls from Ukraine, the land from which my ancestors emigrated, it all came together.

You’ve probably seen the movie “The Blind Side.”  I haven’t, but I know the story.  I saw an interview with Michael Oher’s adoptive mother, and she said something that really stuck with me: “Every person is capable of great things.  They just need love and opportunity.”  Think of all the children in the world who will never have that love and opportunity.  We can’t adopt them all, but we can adopt one.  Or even two.  Instead of lamenting the fact that the world is so corrupt and unfair, God asks us to DO SOMETHING.  

James 1: 26-27 “Anyone who sets himself up as "religious" by talking a good game is self-deceived. This kind of religion is hot air and only hot air. Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world.”

We are taking the leap of faith that the SOMETHING God wants us to do is adoption.  We know it will be a bumpy ride, and it will not be easy, but the right thing to do is not always the easy thing.

So…logistics.  This trip to Ukraine will not be the last.  Assuming all goes well, Curt and I will return, hopefully in the fall, to complete the adoption process and bring the rest of our family home.  We’ve already encountered some bumps in the paperwork road, with my fingerprints for the background check being returned twice.   The third time will be a charm—I drove down to OKC to have the OSBI do them, and they cannot be denied.  Once that legality is out of the way, we can complete our homestudy and get the rest of the balls rolling.  Yes, there is a lot of paperwork.  Yes, it is a confusing and complicated process, but in the big picture, it’s just a blip on the screen.  We trust that God will guide us on this journey and work through us.  What an honor to have this opportunity to be the hands and feet of Christ.