I wanted to go for two children from the beginning. I can’t really explain exactly why, I only know that it was always two for me.
We saw Eliza’s photo on a waiting child list and just knew that she was our daughter. We sent in our LOI and received PA about two weeks later, and began to work to bring her home.
All throughout the process, we kept looking for our other daughter. We requested a few files from our agency, but we just didn’t have a conviction that those precious kiddos were ours.
Our social worker approved us for two children, but our agency refused to honor his decision and downgraded his report to only approve us for one. Their reason was that we had never adopted before, and we were bringing home an older girl.
We were heartbroken.
Even so, we tried to accept that decision and began to think about going back again for another as soon as we got home.
Then I saw her.
My Facebook friend Lori Cross had posted a photo of sweet Melanie (now our Evangeline) on her wall. The moment I saw her and read about her story, I just knew she had to be our daughter.
That was on April 12th.
We immediately went back to our agency and asked them to reconsider.
Still, the answer was no.
We tried to accept no for an answer. We tried to tell ourselves that perhaps that was God’s answer.
And we waited.
EVERYDAY, I asked Jesus to bring her home to me.
Then, on May 6th, I finally was able to trust God enough to advocate for this precious one I believed was our daughter. I posted her picture on my wall, and asked if anyone might be her family. It broke my heart to post her picture, but I knew if she was our daughter, God would still bring her home to us, and if she wasn’t, there wasn’t much time to find her a family.
The very next day, on May 7th, I saw a video made of Evangeline by an advocate. I cried and cried. I told my husband, I just knew she was our daughter. There just had to be a way.
We wrote to our agency again. This time we told them we knew this was our daughter. We were going to bring her home somehow.. Would they please reconsider, and help us bring her home? If not, would they release Eliza’s file so that another agency could help us bring both of the girls home?
Again their answer was no.
They would release our waiting daughter’s file, but we would leave with a homestudy that only approved us for one, and they did not believe there was time because of Eliza’s birthday in September.
Again, we were heartbroken.
This time, I picked up the phone, and called every agency I could think of. I told them our story. I asked them if there was any chance. Every agency I called said without a homestudy, we would not make it to China in time.
Except for one. Lifeline. They made no promises, but at least they were willing to help us.
We left our old agency, and lost Pre-Approval for our Eliza. We had to re-apply to China for PA for Eliza when we applied for PA for Evangeline.
We lost ALL our fees.
And we waited.
Today, we received PA for BOTH our precious girls.
What an awesome God He is!!!!
Our social worker will be out on Friday. Please pray with us that all will go well.
We begin again, with an empty bank account and only a few short months to raise the funds to bring our girls home, but God moves mountains on behalf of the orphans.
A precious family and their church have donated $4,000 for us to begin with our new agency. The money could not have come at a more perfect time. $2,700 of the money had to go directly to our agency, but the family donating the $1,300 wanted to send it directly to us.
I share these details because it is an incredible miracle. Do you know how much we needed for our homestudy and to update our I800a? Nine hundred for the homestudy, and almost $400 for the I800a, a total of $1,300. And, this all came in before we even had PA or the ability to go public.
Praise Jesus!!!!
God is in the details, friends.
The race is on to bring BOTH our precious girls home before they age out in mid September and mid October!!!
Here we come precious ones!!!
Blessings!!!
Diane,
You know how utterly happy I am for your family! I am honored to have been a small part of this miracle and I will be overjoyed to see these precious girls come home!
Angie
Thank you, Angie! Your encouragement and quick responses have been a blessing to me!
Diane, I am just thrilled for you! I have prayed and prayed for this child and am praising the Lord for being in the details for you!!! I cannot wait to follow your journey and watch God’s miracle unfold!!!!
Annie, Thank you! To say we are thrilled somehow just doesn’t express our joy! It is surreal…and ALL God! Thank you for advocating for these precious ones. May they all come home!
What an amazing story, Diane! I do believe things happen for a reason and God is amazing! Looking forward to reading more…
Jillian recently posted..New Arrivals! Cameo Locket, FrenchDisplay Case, July 4th Postcard, Vintage Jewelry and China
Diane, I’m so excited for you. God IS in the details! We brought home our son from China almost 2 years ago at 7 1/2 years old. Older child adoption isn’t for the faint-hearted, but it’s a great blessing for both the family and the adopted child.
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WOW! What an amazing story! I love how the amounts match up perfectly. Y’all remain in our thoughts and prayers throughout this process as you have the entire time. HE can and will work miracles and I cannot wait to see and hear all about it! Congratulations!