The Switch

If you've noticed, I've been a bit MIA recently when it comes to blogging. Well, it's all for good reason. I promise.

Let me fill you in...
On December 9th we received our HS draft. I printed it out, laid Kipton down for a nap, got comfy on my zebra print chaise lounge and began the editing process. When I was on page 13 my phone rang - it was our agency, Lifeline. I answered the phone excited to tell our case worker, Lesley, that we had gotten our draft. To my surprise, she didn't seem very enthused. Instead she told me she had some bad news...OH NO, I was thinking. I was in a panic racking my brain for what could've gone wrong. Lesley then proceeded to tell me that Ethiopia had just issued a new guideline for adoptive parents...THEY ARE NOW REQUIRING ADOPTIVE PARENTS BE A MINIMUM OF 25. My heart sank. Every hope and expectation I had into the adoption changed.

After a few minutes of me getting my thoughts together, I then asked what are our options now. Obviously we could wait two years and then start the process all over again, losing our fees we had paid, our home study, everything. Or we could switch countries. Lesley informed me that they have a pilot program that opened recently in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Congo's minimum age is 21, so we would definitely qualify. Another thing that's different about Congo is that you receive your referral first then send your dossier. So Trey and I had a lot to think and pray about.

We were so confused. It seemed as though my heart was set on Ethiopia. Was it Gods plan for us to wait two years? If we waited, we lost the money He had provided thus far and we would risk the country closing or wait times increasing dramatically. We agreed, God had called us to pursue adoption now, not two years from now. So, that led us to Congo. We researched all weekend about the orphans there, the country history, cultural beliefs, everything we could find out we read. I was still feeling hesitant because all this time I pictured Kade being in Ethiopia. I wrestled back and forth with God, until one moment. It was like He was speaking to me plain as day. He said, "Ashton, won't you love any child I give you regardless of country?". I was stunned. He put everything in perspective for me. I no longer felt my ties only to the children of Ethiopia, but to the children in Congo and Uganda and Sudan and every other nation under God. I felt a complete peace with this new direction our adoption was taking.

On Monday, December 12th, Trey and I made the official decision to adopt from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)!!!!!! I am confident in our choice and I know the Lord continues to have His hand in our adoption.

Here are some happenings since we officially made the switch.
1. We edited our HS for the Congo.
2. We had a dog wash & yard sale...raised $958.
2. We had our orientation for the Congo program.
3. We received our APPROVED home study in the mail!
4. We filed our I600A with immigration! (This is the form we file to get immigration approval from USCIS to bring an orphan into the country.)
5. We applied for a grant through Perpetual Change.

Since our HS is complete and our I600A is filed, our agency will be sending our information to the facilitator in Congo. Once he receives that, he will then begin matching a child with our family. If all goes well, we should have our referrals within the next 2 months! So excited to see Kade's face!!!

Thanks for reading up on all the changes that have been taking place with our family. The blog will be getting a makeover soon too because it's obviously not Faith.Hope.Ethiopia.Love anymore. :) I hope you'll follow along on our new journey to Congo!!