This post should finally catch everyone up to where we currently are in our story.
I believe I left off with the decision to adopt in about two years. In the meantime we decided to travel as much as possible and do a mission trip in the summer of 2012. Well Summer 2012 is coming on us pretty quickly. Our church does missions to the Ukraine, Cuba, and Honduras. Ukraine was a place that jumped out to me immediately. Without really understanding why, I told "Steve" that's where I would like to go. He wasn't so sure. He was leaning more towards Cuba or Honduras because he knows a little spanish (very little :)) and thought that would help us with building relationships with the people. I was not swayed, but if my husband feels lead to one of these places, I would go where he goes. Our small group leaders mentioned they were looking into going to Cuba this summer and were inviting the rest of our small group to join them. So Cuba or Ukraine??
We decided to talk to the missions pastor, Chad, at our church and see which one he felt we would be more suited for. He tells us in an email that he and his wife (who did our pre-marital counseling) feel like we should go to Ukraine, but he would gladly sit down with us to go through the details of both trips. Sunday we met with him and he asked us what we were leaning towards and why. Earlier in the week the Ukraine leader posted they were going twice that summer; once to work at a youth camp and once to work in an orphanage. I wanted to go to the orphanage, and not because I want to try and steal a kid from there or anything but because I feel like my life has lead me to this. I want to see how it works I want to love on those children. To explain why, we fill our missions pastor in on our background. He responds, "Well I did and I didn't know that." HUH???
**WARNING** This might freak some of you out BUT to me it is just another sign of what an AWESOME God we serve.
He proceeds to tell us that after we ran into his wife Mindy, the week before, she turned to him and said, "They can't have kids and need to go to the Ukraine." This couple did not know our story. I believe God sent her that message. Mindy joined us soon after Chad told us about their conversation. We shared our story with Mindy and she told us her initial thoughts. She also shared with us some other insights. Mindy felt Ukraine was still where we needed to go, but no matter where we went it would be pivotal to our story. It would decide what we did next. She told us about a friend of hers who waited over 10 years to finally get their children and it took until that moment for them to understand why they had suffered such heartache. Towards the end of our conversation, Mindy said she didn't feel like our wait would be as long as her friends. That God is an opener of wombs (look at Hannah, Sara...) and she believes adoption is one way He does this. She also looked at me and said, "You will have your baby." This was a point she reiterated. Something she felt like she really needed to get across.
Mindy was not just saying these things. Obviously we do not take her word as gospel, but we feel like this was a message God was sending us. We are on the right path. We are on His path. Since the decision to not continue with any reproductive treatments, God has made it clear it was what He wanted. He has another plan for us; something we cannot fathom at the moment but will understand one day.
We do not know 100% that His plan for us is adoption but with each day He opens our hearts more and more to this different way of opening my womb.
We are applying to go the the Ukraine.
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