Well, I heard from our adoption agency today about our girl. The Ukrainian family has decided to take her into foster care. We are sad but we know that God is in control of this. I think I am most disappointed that she will be going into foster care and she’s not being adopted. But, I don’t know anything about the situation so all I can do is pray for her. I pray that this family knows Jesus and will teach her all about Him. Please, keep praying for her. Her name is Sandra and here are a couple of pictures of her. You can see why we fell in love with her.
So now we have a couple of options I guess. We could try and find another child from the same agency or we can just do a “blind adoption”. I think we will probably do a “blind adoption”. We submit our Dossier and get an appointment with the SDA (State Department of Adoption). We travel to Ukraine for our appointment and they will show us files for children that fit our qualifications. We hope to find a girl who is between the ages of 6 and 10 with no siblings and no major special needs. We select a child from the files and then we receive a referral to meet that child. We will travel to their orphanage and meet them. If we decide to adopt this child and the child wants to be adopted by us, we move forward with paperwork and get a court date. If it is not a good match for either the child or us, then we get another SDA appointment and start over. Each family can have 3 SDA appointments while in Ukraine. The uncertainty of this process is what really scares me. I’ve read so many horror stories. But once again, God is bigger than all of this so I just have to find peace in that. His plan is best – no matter what!
I have been working hard on our paperwork and it is almost finished. The only thing I am waiting on is our Medical Forms and our USCIS approval. On Friday, I mailed our Home Study and Power of Attorney to our agency so we can go ahead and be registered in Ukraine. Things are moving quickly and we could be traveling anywhere from 6 to 10 weeks from now. Wow! I can’t believe it. I’m so relieved to have the paperwork finished so now I can start thinking about all the other details.
:( so sorry Sandra won't be joining The Redding clan but just have faith that He has a different plan. And it will be a great one I just know it!
ReplyDeleteI recognize your girl from the SDA website! If your agency has told you that they can pick children and hold them for you, they are incorrect. And as for blind adoption, we did it in 2009 and came home with an amazing, beautiful daughter. And we're headed to Ukraine in a couple months to do it all again! Not every blind adoption is a horror story. Rest assured! Blessings!
ReplyDeleteSo sorry..., Praying with you!! I agree this whole foster care instead of adoption is so unfair for these children. I know God has a very special child picked out for you, because you have a very special heart for orphans!! Let me know if I can help.
ReplyDeleteThanks for praying with us! We knew there was a possibility that she would be adopted before we could get there. Sad, that I was finding hope in the same statistic that I hate so much - that a child over 6 has only a 20% chance of being adopted. Thanks for the encouragement Marcie, I have been following your blog and your story is very encouraging to me! Can't wait to see what else God has in store for you this time!
ReplyDeleteI am sad for you that the girl you thought would be yours won't be. But I rejoice that another child will get a home now! Thanks for moving ahead. There are many great children in Ukraine that would love a family. Blessings to you!
ReplyDeletePraying for you. Remember when we hosted Oksana? We fell in love with her and she was taken in by an aunt after hosting. I was so sad but had we not hosted her we would have never gotten to our Galina. I could have never imagined a better fit than Oksana and Galina truly is. I think about you all the time. God is good and He will wrap His arms around you. He knows the final chapter. He has plans for you and they are good!
ReplyDeleteWe did a blind adoption and have the two best kids ever! We met several kids in the age range you want that were perfectly healthy! Since you are asking for older than 6, I think you will have an easier time find a healthy kiddo! We will be praying for you!
ReplyDeleteSheila and Jeff