On Tuesday, August 24th, our dossier papers were sent to Poland to begin the translation and authentication processes. It is estimated that it will take about 8 weeks to do this and then we will begin waiting for a referral. It is hard to imagine that we could have a new addition in our family by Christmas. Of course there is no way to predict when we will receive and accept a referral.
Some people we have spoken with told us to be prepared to say "No" if a referral comes in and it is not what you requested. The orphanages want the older kids to be adopted first and will sometimes recommend an older child than requested. How do we say no to a child that needs a home?
God has been blessing us throughout the process. We have had financial blessings from friends and family. Our church has supported both financially and most importantly in prayer. We have some friends that recently adopted who have been great supports as well as some other people who just “get it.” We have encountered people that don’t get it. One day, seeing an adopted child misbehaving, we were told, “Look there. That’s what you get.” How sad to think like that, especially if you call yourself a Christian.
Yes, we know there are plenty of children in the USA that need a home. We know it. We get it. God has called us to adopt from Poland. Poland has been a major part of my life and of our marriage. Our family roots come from Prussia, which split and part went to Germany and part to Poland. If all the people who say that there are so many kids around here to adopt, would actually do something more than talk about it, so many kids could be taken out of the orphanages and placed in Christian homes. God calls us to take care of orphans, are you going to answer the call?
James 1:27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
Hosea 14:3 In you the orphan finds mercy.
Matthew 18:5 And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me.
If God tells us so specifically that we are supposed to take care of or offer support for orphans and widows, why do we do so little? If those people that profess to be a Christian gave just a small portion of their time and resources, imagine what a difference we could make in both these children’s physical and spiritual lives. Unfortunately, a lot of us assume that someone else is going to do that. “I’m just not called to do that.” A lot of times God calls us, but we don’t bother to answer the phone, or even hear it ring, and assume the call never came. God is calling you, are you going to answer? How will you answer?
