TaDa! We've finished our MAPP classes. Woohoo! Last week was our last class. It was a sad and happy event wrapped into one. We have bonded with many of the people in the class, and we will miss being with them every Monday. However, we are happy to move onto the step in our process.
All paper work has been turned in. Shannon has received all of our references, and we are just waiting on our background screening to come back (maybe about another month). Once our backgrounds are cleared and all paperwork is successfully processed, we can set up our home study visits.
There are two visits in the home study. One visit is more intense than the other, but we're excited to get that scheduled. Hopefully by the end of April, that will be set. We are praying to have the home study visits scheduled for the month of May. Once the home study is approved, we will begin the matching process (which can be a many month process).
The reality of meeting our child/children is growing closer and closer. As the days tick by, our prayers become more intense and fervent. As we think we could not pray any harder for our children, the next day, we find a new sense of longing and urgency to pray for these children.
Some of our specific prayers for our child/children:
- For their salvation (if they have not met the Lord yet).
- For healing emotionally, physically, and spiritually.
- Bonding within our family unit and also our extended family.
- Their current foster family that the family would be nurturing and caring. Helping them prepare for a transition into our family.
- Their case worker. For wisdom, guidance, and understanding as they make decisions in the best interest of the child/children.
- Our Adoption Specialist. For wisdom and knowledge on how to best handle our case.
- Education. For their current and future teachers so they have the patience and wisdom to teach and guide their minds and hearts.
- For us as parents. That we would have the understanding to parent the child/children to recognize their unique needs and wisely nurture them in God's love.
This weekend Mallory took some girls from the youth group to see the movie October Baby. This movie was wonderful but heavy. While it deals with abortion it also address the adoption story and all the emotions wrapped up in it. We recommend this movie, but you need to prepare yourself for it. Bring your tissues! We boycotted the Hunger Games opening weekend and purposefully chose to patronize a Christian movie. While we're not opposed to the Hunger Games, we wanted to show our support for movies that seek to edify the body of Christ and help the hurting. There was a line at the end of the movie that was especially moving. This line almost made me (Mallory) lose all control. As tears were rolling down many cheeks, the main character, Hannah, turns around to her adoptive father and runs to his arms and says, "Thank you for WANTING me!" Wow! How powerful. Children want to be wanted, and there are many out there that feel unwanted.
Now, we Wait, Pray, and Want.
October Baby Movie Trailer
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