Agency Newsletter

About six weeks ago, our agency asked me to write an article about our adoption process so far. Once Charles Tucker is home with us, they want to me write a follow up article of how he is adjusting to our family. I agreed to write the articles, but was a little anxious about writing something for a newsletter that many people would read. English was not my strength in high school, I was much better at math and science, I even got my best friend to practically write some stories for me back then. So it is humorous that God has compelled me to start a blog and share my life through writing and now someone else wants me to write an article, this is just too much. But, the Lord completely met me in my weakness and gave me the words to write. When we are weak, he is strong! (2 Corinthians 12:10) Isn't this the gospel?? He created the universe from nothing! He turned water into wine! He uses the weak to shame the wise! He can use my poor writing skills and transform them into something that brings him glory.

O.K. so here's the article the Lord inspired me to write! This is a testimony to his grace in my life in so many ways.


Waiting for Our Child from Uganda

 A year ago, in the midst of getting adjusted to life with two small children…adoption was the last thing on my mind. The Lord slowly began to break me, humble me, and show me I was striving after the things of this world. I was craving the praise of men, not the praise of God. I was chasing after my idols to make me happy, like finding the perfect order to my house or finding that “much deserved me time” of which the world tells me “I need.” My idols were not fulfilling me any more and I was miserable in my efforts. (Do not love the world or anything in the world…I John 2:15-17)
God in his mercy reached down and met me in my sin and bondage and began to show me where I can find life… true life. By understanding how much I need God and how my every breath depends on him is how the Lord began to change my desires. I was humbled by a 22 year old girl, Katie Davis, who adopted 14 girls
in Uganda. I thought…‘How does she take care of 14 young girls and I am barely surviving with two? And she does it joyously! She seems to have found true life and meaning in something the world thinks is absurd.’ She understood her great need for Christ, which compelled her to joyfully love others. In this same way, the Lord was giving me His eyes for orphans. I started to see the world and my circumstances in a different light. I could see the person and work of Jesus redeeming me. My husband was excited to see this huge change in me and was thrilled I was developing a heart for orphans. He always thought adoption was such an amazing picture of the gospel and he had high hopes for our family to adopt. Now that our hearts were aligned, we decided to step out in faith and start the process of adopting a child from Uganda. Not knowing where the money was going to come from and not even knowing if this was God’s will for us…we asked God to guide us and make our steps firm if this was his plan. If the LORD delights in a man’s way, he makes his steps firm. Psalm 37:23
Since the start of this journey eight months ago, the Lord has been faithful to guide our steps and show us His will. He has provided the funds in various ways to make this adoption happen. We are learning that this world is not our home; we are aliens and strangers on a journey toward our heavenly home, which has compelled us to transform our priorities. We have grown closer together as a couple and our marriage has never been stronger. In my fears and struggles the Lord has been so faithful to deliver me and give me peace…He is my respite. God continues to show me my GREAT NEED, so I will realize my GREAT SAVIOR. About two weeks ago…this adoption journey became real to us when we saw the face of precious Charles Tucker. We instantly knew he was the child God predestined to be in our family and we accepted the referral only two hours after seeing his face. We were in love and everything became worth it in that moment. Knowing our child is on the other side of the world… we aren’t comfortable sitting in our house going about our life…It feels like someone is missing. We just want to hop on a plane and bring him home! Obviously, it is not God’s
timing with the courts closing in two days, but we are trusting that we will see Charles Tucker in his perfect timing….but THIS IS SO HARD. I often worry…Are the aunties at the babies’ home holding him when he is sad? Does he have enough to eat? Who is playing with him? Does he feel sick? In these anxious thoughts the
Lord reminds me...HE has loved Charles Tucker from the beginning of time...HE will continue to love Charles Tucker...HE loves him so much better than we will ever be able to love him. Charles Tucker will hopefully be our son very soon, but Charles Tucker will be the Lord’s son forever. (Children are a gift from the Lord;
they are a reward from him. Psalm 127:3)
Once Charles Tucker is home with us, we hope he will know how much he is loved and accepted by our family. We hope he will start to experience this unconditional love of our heavenly father that compelled us to go around the world to rescue him from life as an orphan. We are aware of the struggles he will go through
being an African-American in a Caucasian family. Our hope is that he will know God ordained him to be our son and us to be his parents from the beginning of time. Our family hopes he will see the beauty in his adoption. (…but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”
Romans 8:14-16)

Dee, Melissa, Mary Taylor, and Henry

Remember how I realized I needed to "Die to self" once again in the event of taking these pictures? If you don't remember, you can read about it on July 21, 2010. 

This is the picture they picked for the article.

Why Adoption?

Often the first question I am asked when I  meet a new mom at the park or the gym is, "Where is Henry in school? And I say, "He is not in school." Most people look at me funny and then say, "Oh". Then I proceed to explain, "We cannot afford it right now, preschool is just so expensive. I was a teacher, so I have enjoyed teaching him at home. Of course, some days are hard and I wish he was in school, but overall, it is going well. I just realized he is going to be in school for the rest of his life...so I am glad our circumstances have pushed me to have him at home." 

Yes, it took me six months to fully embrace this perspective...God has given me his eyes for where I am in life...Anyway, if I have more time to talk to one of these new moms, I will then explain.."We are actually in the process of adopting a child from Africa." Then the new mom will usually say, "That is so nice!..What a wonderful thing to do!...That is so great!" Yes...I am from the south, can you tell? There is nothing wrong with this response, but you know she is processing what I just said and just not sure where to place this information. I have never gotten a rude response from telling someone that we are adopting from Africa, people are very polite. God is the one that moved our hearts to adopt and hopefully God will use our adoption to open other peoples eyes to the hurting and suffering of the world. Occasionally, someone will ask me, "What made you want to adopt? Why Uganda? and I am sure they are also wondering, "Why a black child?" So I thought I would answer some of these unspoken questions.

  

Why do we want to adopt a child into our family?

1. We are adopted as sons and daughters in Christ. Adoption is a perfect picture of his love for us. We are compelled to show this love by adopting an orphan and making him or her part of our family.

"For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves." Ephesians 1:4-6

2. There is such a need with 147,000,000 orphans in the world today. God has given us a heart for the less fortunate. Yes, it might seem that we are the rescuers, but God is rescuing us by allowing us to be involved in his work. What a blessing this child will be to our family.

Read more about how our journey started here:

Ok...I declare this the beginning of our journey

Now that I have seen

Why do we feel called to adopt a black child?

1. God created all men and women in his image. We want a family that looks like Heaven. God is pro-diversity.

"And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation." Romans 5:9

2. We long to see racial reconciliation among blacks and whites.

3. Black babies are so, so, so cute!

Why are we adopting from Uganda?

1. Uganda was the first place we felt called to adopt from for many different reasons. There is such a great need.

 

     *90% of Uganda is rural and very poor.

     *Uganda has a population of 24.7 million people and an orphan population of 3.5 million.

     * The poor healthcare infrastructure leaves 51% of the population untreated. So the HIV/AIDs epidemic is getting worse and affecting more people.

      *Northern Uganda has had 19 years of ongoing civil war between the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) and the government which affects 2.3 million people. It is often described as a war of "children against children". Many more problems have stemmed from this conflict, which have resulted in more orphans.

      *It is less expensive to adopt from Uganda than other African countries. This is a plus for us! God even uses money to show us his plan.

You can read more about this here: Is our child in Uganda?

 

Adoption for Life posted this article several weeks back about adopting other races into your family. Jesus Took Transracial Adoption to the Cross

Uganda!

      Dee and I have been praying and asking for guidance for the last couple of weeks. There is a great need to adopt domestically and internationally for different reasons. We feel that God is leading us to adopt from Uganda. All I think and dream about is Ugandan children. We pray that if Uganda is not where our child is, that God would redirect our steps to another country. Until then, here we go!!
     We filled out an application to use Generations in Waco, TX. This is an adoption agency that started only two years ago, but Lifeline helped them get started. Like I said in another post, they have not completed one adoption in Uganda to date. Right now, there are five families in the process of adopting. The first family should have their child by the end of the year.
     Most families that decided to adopt from Uganda do not use an agency. They go straight to the orphanages to adopt a child and they travel to the country at least twice. Uganda has only been open for international adoptions for three years. It is the "wild west" of adopting compared to Ethiopia. So nothing is really established in Uganda, but that makes this an adventure!
    Our next step in the process is a phone interview and then we start our home study. This whole process usually takes 7-9 months. So we should have our child home with us by this summer! This gives me chills! When we go pick up our child in Uganda, Dee and I will go over together, but he will come home after a week. I will stay another 2-4 weeks. Leaving my kids will be hard. But, if this is where our child is, then it is worth it!!