God’s word tells us that faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. If our adoption journey could be described in one word, faith would be that word. It was a year ago, almost to the day, that we got an email saying that we had been accepted into Lifeline’s India program. We were so excited to get that email but we had no idea from that moment all the things that would come to pass over the next year and all the mountains that our God would move. We could go on and on about all the miracles that we have seen God do throughout this process. He has been SO faithful and has gone before us every step of the way. Things like providing financially even to the dollar amount at times. Approvals happening way before they were suppose to. Even a few disappointments along the way that have lead us to the place that we are today in this journey. God’s timing is absolutely perfect, his sovereignty is absolute and he is so faithful to his children.
We had been waiting so expectantly for “the call” that would tell us we have a file reserved for our family. We got that call on April 24th!! We found out later that it was a precious 6 month old baby boy and It didn’t take us long to say YES! This part of our adoption story is also miraculous and if we have learned anything throughout this process it is that God is trustworthy and so good. We had actually started praying a couple months prior to this and before everything with Covid-19 that we would be matched by May. When everything with Covid-19 started happening, India went on lockdown. We were told that no new files for children eligible for adoption would be uploaded by India. This meant that the only way that we could be matched was if another family or agency released a file. Hearing that was hard but we also knew that God is able to work and move in impossible situations. So we continued to pray. We said yes to this little guy May 3rd! What is even more miraculous is the fact that we were not top in line to get this file. His file went to another agency first and then once coming available to our agency was actually offered to multiple other families before us. The Lord orchestrated so many things at the perfect time so that this little guy could be brought to us!
I can’t help but think of Psalm 139:13-18, “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when yet there was none of them. How precious to me are your thoughts O God! How vast is the sum of them!”
This little guys life is a miracle, literally. The events that have occurred in his little life so far are tragic and heartbreaking but his life was no accident. God knew Him, protected him and has sustained him and ultimately has a purpose for his life.
So what’s next? Obviously there are still a lot of unknowns right now with countries being on lockdown but God has brought us this far so we are so hopeful that he is going to continue to make our faith become sight. Even though we have said yes to this little guy on our end, India still has to issue a NOC (no objection certificate) to us saying that we can officially adopt him. After that we will start the court process. This could be lengthy, especially now that courts are shut down. Typically, they tell families 6-12 months from acceptance of a child’s file to travel. Right now all of that is up in the air because of the pandemic. But, once we get the go ahead from court we can travel there and pick up our boy! We are so in love already! So wish we could share pictures and names but we cannot share that information until he is officially ours. So that will be a surprise for you guys. But he is perfect and so beautiful and our family is anticipating the day we get to bring him home!
How you can pray:
Please be in prayer for our sweet boy. Pray for his health, especially as this pandemic continues.
Pray for his caregivers and protection for them during this time.
Join along with us that we will have him home by Christmas, if that is the Lords plan.
Pray for the next steps in the process to go smoothy and also that God would provide the rest financially (I think we need around $7,000)
As always, we are so thankful for all of you who are on this journey with us! Thank you for the encouraging words, for all of the prayers and just everyone who has checked in on us during this time. Your support both financially and emotionally have made the difference that will change this child’s life forever. We could not accomplish this without all of you! We appreciate you all so much! We can’t wait to bring home the fifth smith!