Last Friday I ran across the waiting child list at Holt International.
On their waiting list is a sibling group that I felt immediately drawn to.
I contacted Holt, filled out the Waiting Child application, and spoke with a wonderful woman at their office who told me a little about the kids.
Then... she gave me a password for the photo section of their site!
Friday evening, I got my first look at the children I was reading about!
They are so beautiful!
Three toddler/pre-school aged kids - two girls and one boy.
Hubby and I decided to proceed and get more information.

As of last night, we got their medical files. We are still super interested!
The funny thing is, in their file - there are dates. Without giving details, those date correspond to important dates along our adoption journey! Things we couldn't have imagined at the time, but it sure looks like the Lord is working out those details for us!

All along the way, my prayer has been for my sweet Jesus to make our choices OBVIOUS... so obvious that even *I* can't mess it up!! Looking at these files last night, seeing the dates - my jaw just fell open.

How am I worthy of such love?
How is it that the same God that placed the stars and planets, created the wind and rain, imagined all the wonderful plants and animals no matter how big or small...He isn't too busy to work out details for ME??

Just one such detail... after 4 years of looking into adoption, 4 years of "when is it going to be time?"... on my birthday this year, my husband gave me a new cover for my Bible. Inside of that, was a check written out for the amount of the agency application fee - we were getting started! FINALLY!!
Somewhere on the other side of the world, these children were coming into care.

I can just imagine my husband over here - thinking about the look on my face the next day, deciding exactly how to present this gift... and elsewhere, lives are being changed in a much different way. But there is hope. There is love. There is the peace of Jesus that surpasses ALL of MY understanding. He will not leave them as orphans. He is more than able to care for them.

That is the paradox of adoption. Out of someone's sadness and tragedy - comes someone else's greatest joy.
How to describe that someday to the child?
How do you explain the selfless act of a father who relinquishes his children rather than watch them die of starvation?
How do you explain a mother giving her child over to the care of an orphanage rather than keep him, nurse him, and pass along the HIV virus?
How do you explain to a child - your birth father had to leave to find work, and your mother could not find medicine or food for you?

I suppose those are questions all adoptive families have to answer some day.

As for us... please pray for these children.
Please pray that we proceed correctly.
Please pray that there would be no confusion as to where they belong.
At this stage, another family could apply to be considered for them as well and that would cause us to have to wait a little longer, as well as there would be a committee meeting to decide which family would be best.
Please pray that if these are OUR children, there would be no question in the minds of those at Holt!