The Good, The Bad, and the God bigger than all of it!

So we were given some disheartening news regarding our adoption and adoption in general in Ethiopia. The situation in Ethiopia is pretty complex and I won't go into too much detail. But in a very concise nutshell the government in Ethiopia is now focused on keeping the kids in country and exhausting all means possible with international adoption being the last resort. I think it's an honorable mission, however as of now it only seems to be keeping a majority of the kids in the orphanages much longer while they process paperwork and attempt domestic placement. The reduced number of referrals (kids getting matched for adoption) coupled with NO reduction in the amount of kids in the orphanage are putting the orphanages in crisis financially. If I understand correctly, the fees payed through adoption (the referral fee you pay when you are matched with a child) are a high source of support for the orphanages and with such a slow down in referrals the funds to support the orphanages and the children simply aren't there. It seems the number of children in the orphanages continues to be the same but the resources to keep them there aren't. 

So here is the difficult news for us. And I will preface it by saying that I completely trust our agency and believe they continue to do everything they can to keep costs as low as possible. But we have known throughout this entire process that our last big payment would be our referral fee. We have been preparing for about a year to come up with what was expected to be our last fee. We would owe $9,500 in order to be matched with a child. We were almost there with about $6,000 and confident that we would be able to fundraiser and save to get the remaining $3,500 in time for our referral, and if not would hope to qualify for a grant of some type to help with the reminding costs & subsequent airfare (we have to go to Ethiopia twice). 

Well, yesterday we got an email informing us that in order for our agency to remain in partnership with orphanages in Ethiopia our fees we must have in order to be matched with a child have gone from $9,500 to $15,200. We must have this money on hand in order to say yes to a child when we finally get that call! As in we cannot accept a match without every penny then and there! 

We are prayerful and hopeful but also heartbroken. This seems like a completely insurmountable amount of money to us. However, God has continued to provide the finances needed for this adoption and I have to believe He will continue to do so now.

We are praying hard about several things and more than anything beg you guys to partner in prayer with us. God has placed some potential work opportunities in front of me and we are being prayerful about whether or not me returning to work on a part time basis for a season is where God is leading us. We just aren't sure yet.

 We have been told that although an exact timeline is impossible, that it's realistic to assume we could be matched with a child before the end of the year. So yes THAT IS CAUSE TO CELEBRATE but time is simply not on our side!

As I was praying Monday after initially being in tears over this email and what I thought may be the end of our journey in Ethiopia, I very clearly heard God speak to me. I heard Him remind me what was sacrificed and paid for me to be adopted! God isn't asking me to sacrifice my only child, but he is asking me to sacrifice. As stressed as we are, I feel honored to struggle and sacrifice and give more than I think is possible for this adoption. God is calling me to a season where I am able to much more tangibly grasp this whole concept of adoption. He's drawing me even closer to His heart through allowing us to struggle and for that we are thankful. We really are. I have stopped and really thought hard the past couple days about how loved and cherished I am by my God and have been reminded that the price He payed for me was high and the sacrifice was huge. If I was wealthy and could simply just add a couple zeros to a check I would be missing out on this opportunity to draw closer to the heart of God and wholeheartedly put my faith in Him. 

We have no idea how God will quickly move this mountain but are praying, expecting God to move. And we just know this battle we are fighting to make this child our own will be worth it. Every obstacle we face reminds me that at the end of this we are going to have an awesome reward!! 

So prayers welcome! 

Stay tuned......