We are SO excited to have our travel dates- June 18th-25th. And we want to say, thank you to everyone for your support. Thank you so much. It is a huge blessing to be able to work toward adopting Marla- without the worry of how we will be able to afford the adoption. This is only possible because of your love and support- we are blown away by such generosity.
We had a lot of fees due this week and we used a big chunk of the money gifted to us. The money went directly toward two things. A 6500 foreign fee, and 3500 for travel. It was incredibly helpful.
We had a lot of fees due this week and we used a big chunk of the money gifted to us. The money went directly toward two things. A 6500 foreign fee, and 3500 for travel. It was incredibly helpful.
All travel arrangements are made and three weeks from today we will meet Marla.
It is overwhelming.
We have a few last minute things to do this week and next- some more paperwork of course! BUT at this point- paperwork just doesn't faze us like it did in the beginning of our adoption journey.
No, I'm overwhelmed by possibilities. My brain is being bombarded by all the things we do not know about our little girl.
Some of you may have wondered about Marla's diagnosis. And you're not alone- Timmy and I wonder about it too.
The truth of the matter is, we do not have a lot of information on Marla's condition. And we don't expect to know anything for certain until she is home with us and able to see a neurologist.
Some of you may have wondered about Marla's diagnosis. And you're not alone- Timmy and I wonder about it too.
The truth of the matter is, we do not have a lot of information on Marla's condition. And we don't expect to know anything for certain until she is home with us and able to see a neurologist.
She is diagnosed (in country), with a brain abnormality. The exact wording and medical letter from her country combined with video of Marla, when reviewed by a Dr. here- did not translate completely(didn't add up). And until imaging/ testing can be done- Drs here can't tell us anything.
So I think about the possibility of her needing significant medical treatment. And it's scary-- but I have no concerns about her getting excellent treatment in the U.S.
We are really so blessed to live where we do.
This next part- I want to write about- I want to be brutally honest about- what has occupied much of my mind since we got our travel dates.
I know orphanages are far from the ideal place for a child to live. And I have seen horrific things in an orphanage in Eastern Europe. Which is what gave us the final nudge to adopt.
You know ever since committing to adopting Marla, I have clung to a picture of her in a pristine white outfit- and a 2 minute video of her in a jumper seat blowing raspberries. I have listened to others who have seen these two images and concluded that Marla must be in a pretty nice orphanage. And I haven't let my mind wander too far down a difficult road...
Once we received our travel dates- as though a red light had finally turned green- I asked myself the question I had been too afraid to dwell on...and took off down a gravel road that had just reopened after a long winter. The kind of bumps that knock your teeth together and scrape the bottom of your car. The kind of road you avoid unless it is the only way to get to where you're going.
What if Marla's orphanage resembles the one I visited?
What if we walk in and our senses are assaulted by the sight of malnourished children and the smell of sweat and urine?
What if the images that haunt me still today are mirrored in the place where our daughter lives?
I asked the question- and I was able to ask someone who would know the answer.
She took her son, Israel, home from the orphanage where Marla lives earlier this year.
She writes about her first trip- about the orphanage- director- and her sweet little boy- on her blog. The link is below.
The post from August 2015- titled, To Hell and Back, gives insight into her trip one. (She is a phenomenal writer and I love her blog- it is all worth reading!)
http://www.ransomforisrael.com/2015/08/
My heart aches a bit more and I am grieving the loss of the dream- that maybe Marla is in a "good place."
How broken. How broken this world is.
Adoption is amazing- and beautiful- but never forget it comes from a place of loss- of brokenness.
There is a popular quote in the adoption community.
"My friends, adoption is redemption. It’s costly, exhausting, expensive, and outrageous. Buying back lives costs so much. When God set out to redeem us, it killed Him." - Derek Loux
(I'm not sure why everything is highlighted from here on out...I copied and pasted the quote and it changed something that I don't know how to change back...And I'm not SO concerned that I'm going to take time to figure it out!)
So as Timmy and I prepare for trip one- we are so very excited to meet our daughter.
But excitement is just one of many emotions we are experiencing- so please pray for us, pray for Marla, pray for orphans.
I am so thankful God sought me in my brokenness. What amazing, unbelievable, seriously crazy love He has for the broken. Hallelujah.
"We care for orphans not because we are rescuers, but because we are the rescued"- David Platt
So I think about the possibility of her needing significant medical treatment. And it's scary-- but I have no concerns about her getting excellent treatment in the U.S.
We are really so blessed to live where we do.
This next part- I want to write about- I want to be brutally honest about- what has occupied much of my mind since we got our travel dates.
I know orphanages are far from the ideal place for a child to live. And I have seen horrific things in an orphanage in Eastern Europe. Which is what gave us the final nudge to adopt.
You know ever since committing to adopting Marla, I have clung to a picture of her in a pristine white outfit- and a 2 minute video of her in a jumper seat blowing raspberries. I have listened to others who have seen these two images and concluded that Marla must be in a pretty nice orphanage. And I haven't let my mind wander too far down a difficult road...
Once we received our travel dates- as though a red light had finally turned green- I asked myself the question I had been too afraid to dwell on...and took off down a gravel road that had just reopened after a long winter. The kind of bumps that knock your teeth together and scrape the bottom of your car. The kind of road you avoid unless it is the only way to get to where you're going.
What if Marla's orphanage resembles the one I visited?
What if we walk in and our senses are assaulted by the sight of malnourished children and the smell of sweat and urine?
What if the images that haunt me still today are mirrored in the place where our daughter lives?
I asked the question- and I was able to ask someone who would know the answer.
She took her son, Israel, home from the orphanage where Marla lives earlier this year.
She writes about her first trip- about the orphanage- director- and her sweet little boy- on her blog. The link is below.
The post from August 2015- titled, To Hell and Back, gives insight into her trip one. (She is a phenomenal writer and I love her blog- it is all worth reading!)
http://www.ransomforisrael.com/2015/08/
My heart aches a bit more and I am grieving the loss of the dream- that maybe Marla is in a "good place."
How broken. How broken this world is.
Adoption is amazing- and beautiful- but never forget it comes from a place of loss- of brokenness.
There is a popular quote in the adoption community.
"My friends, adoption is redemption. It’s costly, exhausting, expensive, and outrageous. Buying back lives costs so much. When God set out to redeem us, it killed Him." - Derek Loux
(I'm not sure why everything is highlighted from here on out...I copied and pasted the quote and it changed something that I don't know how to change back...And I'm not SO concerned that I'm going to take time to figure it out!)
So as Timmy and I prepare for trip one- we are so very excited to meet our daughter.
But excitement is just one of many emotions we are experiencing- so please pray for us, pray for Marla, pray for orphans.
I am so thankful God sought me in my brokenness. What amazing, unbelievable, seriously crazy love He has for the broken. Hallelujah.
"We care for orphans not because we are rescuers, but because we are the rescued"- David Platt
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