Adoption
Since we met, the Lord has had it on our hearts to seek a child through adoption. Many of you were aware that we had begun to seriously pursue it, but with the completion of our social services home study, and the recent submission of our dossier to the adoption agency, we felt ready to make the official announcement to all.
We have chosen to seek a child from Panama between the ages of two and four years old. And, given that we already have three awesome boys, we are seeking a girl. The age range is flexible, but we are hoping to find a little girl that may be getting passed over. We chose Panama because of Gabriel’s Hispanic heritage, hoping the two would have someone with whom to identify. Panama is also a comparatively reasonably priced program for which we meet all criteria.
We have only been working on this process since April 2005, but have made much progress already. At this time we have completed a home study with a licensed social worker and collected the documents needed by the state of Maryland, our adoption agency, and the country of Panama. Now that we have submitted that paperwork to our agency, the process will slow down some because the agency must translate the papers and assemble them for shipment to Panama. The courts and agencies in Panama must approve our application, at which point we will begin receiving referrals for children. This waiting part of the process can take more than a year.
Upon receiving referrals and making a choice, we will travel into Panama where we take temporary custody of the child and continue working through the courts. The expected travel time is approximately three weeks as long as things are going smoothly. Upon finishing up with the courts in Panama, we will go to the American Embassy where we will be granted a Visa on which the child can enter the United States. Once back home, the adoption is finalized and our little girl will become a U.S. Citizen.
The whole process, from end to end, can be quite lengthy, expensive, and, from what we hear from others who have completed it, can really test your patience and faith. So we are asking each of you to support us in prayer. Pray that God will continue to smooth the road for us and give us the wits to make proper decisions as the need arises. Pray that we will have patience as we meet unavoidable road blocks and while we wait on the big, slow wheels to turn. And, considering the age of child we are looking for and the estimated time of completion, remember that our little girl is probably already born. So pray that God bring her love until we can retrieve her.
We also ask that you pray God would provide the money required to complete the entire program. While we make enough annually to support another child, the actual adoption is quite a costly endeavor–at least $18,000 before our travel costs are calculated. We will be working some extra jobs on the side as well as using some fundraising methods, and we ask for your prayers that these actions would be fruitful.
We’ll be posting about the adoption as things progess. Read about it.
