The Wood’s Family
It’s hard to believe
that it has been two months since were first united with our
children. Time has flown by! The experience we had in Florencia
was unforgettable. To see the children whom we had been praying
for, for years standing right before us was almost
unbelievable…more than we ever imagined.
When we began the
adoption process by mailing the Children’s Hope adoption
application on August 31, 2006, our fifth year wedding
anniversary, we began praying John 14:18 over our children.
During our paper chase, we faced many obstacles and setbacks. In
November, we experienced a life-changing event in our family
that caused us to contemplate sibling group adoptions. My sister
passed away at age 32, leaving two children behind. As we
watched the children being shuffled from house to house staying
with different relatives, we considered the impact of the
separation on the children. We felt God leading us to pursue a
sibling adoption. We continued the paper chase despite the
despair and grief we were experiencing…throughout the chase
Children’s Hope was there to cheer us on! We are so thankful for
all the support and encouragement they extended to us through
that difficult time.
Once our dossier was
completed, we breathed a sigh of relief! However, we still
needed about $12,000 to complete the adoption costs. We believe
that if it is God’s will, He’ll foot the bill! And in the last
month, before we left for Colombia we raised all the necessary
money. We received money from complete strangers, from various
fundraisers, and our church! God is faithful, and He knows our
needs.
Within
a month of sending our dossier to Colombia, we received word
from Sara we should expect an “official referral” in 2-4 weeks
for two boys and one girl. I laughed when I first saw the
referral pictures of our sons…they look so much like Ben! Only
God could make a match like that!
We were only given
limited info about the children at this time. We began to
research the area where we were to travel (Florencia). Caqueta,
the state in which Florencia lies, was actually named in Voice
of the Martyrs as one of the highly volatile areas in Colombia.
Colombians and fellow church members began planting seeds of
fear cautioning us of the potential danger. We embraced the idea
that our Father was going to place us into such an area as they
described, refusing to let the seed of fear take root and keep
us from our children! It was awesome to see how God opened doors
all around us as we traveled to this part of the country near
the Amazon. At no time in Colombia did we ever feel unsafe.
We have been home
over a month now, and we love being parents! We do have
challenging moments confronting difficult behaviors, but those
have lessened as our daily schedules have become more structured
and routine. Andrew (5), Tatiana (3), and Diego (2) are
adjusting well and love their new home and pets! The children
have filled our home with love and laughter, and we look forward
to growing with them as we plan for the future.
Some
things we have found they love to do include: play in the water,
school work, eat, play outside, go bye-bye & ride in their
“special” car seats, climb all over Papi, go to church, and
watch the “Raton!” (Stewart Little 2). Already Andrew and
Tatiana are learning English and can count to 20! Diego loves
his pets best; each day he “slimes” Obba, our cat, with a big
sloppy kiss, and chases the dogs down to share kisses with them.
The joy and love that these children have brought into our home
is immeasurable. We are so eternally grateful to all those who
played a part in making this possible for us. Thank you, CHI for
being with us every step of the way!
It is so awesome to
reflect back on how our story unfolded and how God was all over
it! From the beginning when choosing our adoption agency to
choosing a sibling group to raising money and so on…God was with
us each step of the way! He is faithful to fulfill His word. We
will continue to promote adoption and will highly recommend CHI
Adoption Agency, as we do believe that adoption is part of the
heart of God, and CHI is truly committed to finding homes for
the orphaned children.
If you’d
like to hear more about our story, you can visit our blog at:
http://www.iwillnotleaveyouasorphans.blogspot.com
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