THE NEXT MEMBER OF THE WALLACE FAMILY

In my last post I announced that we are ready and feel led to begin our journey with adoption. At the time we were pretty certain we knew what route we were called to take we just wanted to make certain that was where God was truly leading us.

Well over the past few days I have spent a lot of time researching and watching adoption videos and my heart has been broken over and over again. The need is so large that I have been overwhelmed by it. Honestly, I have felt inadequate...... Like just adopting one isn't going to be enough.

There are many estimates out there (its really hard to get an exact number), but there is approximately 153 million orphans world wide. Just take a minute to wrap your head around that and by the way that number doesn't even include the kids who are orphaned and living on the streets as opposed to an orphanage or foster home. Could you imagine your own kids not having a mommy & daddy to love on them, tuck them in at night, care for them while they are sick, and comfort them when they have a bad dream? Could you imagine being abandoned by the people who are supposed to love you the most on this Earth?  Could you imagine both of your parents suddenly dieing and having no one else to care for you?

For a long time (even 6 years ago when we first felt called to adopt), we have always been drawn to Africa. We went into our meeting with our adoption counselor with the countries narrowed down to 4 and after that meeting we felt stronger than ever that God was calling us to Ethiopia.

  So what is it about Ethiopia that stirs our hearts so much....... Of the 153 million orphans world wide, 4.3 million of those reside in Ethiopia alone. It is one of the largest orphan populations in the world. One in 6 children die before their 5th birthday and 1 in 4 girls are raped. Ethiopia is one of Africa's poorest countries: over 80% of the 77 million people that reside there live below the poverty line, with 10 million of those facing starvation. Preventable diseases count for 60% of health problems. One of the top killers in Ethiopia is diarrhea. Those statistics are hard to swallow and understand when compared to the United States and the privileges that we have here. We are on a rescue mission to bring the child home that God has already picked out for us. 

I would be lying if I said David & I have not had conversations about the effects of interracial adoption and what we need to expect as far as racism is concerned. It is so sad to me that this is still apart of our culture. The other day on facebook, Pastor Rick Warren's post said, "Racism is stupid. It's an insult to God, arrogantly implying that God goofed-up when he chose to make us all different." I love that! If you believe God created everything and everyone do you think he appreciates us having such hatred toward some of his creation just because their shade of skin is different than yours? There is only one race and that is the human race and we are all beautiful in the eyes of God.

So pray for us if you will as I know that we have some struggles ahead and pray for our child that God has reserved for us. We plan to raise every single penny needed to make this adoption happen. Our immediate need is for $550 for the formal application. We need this money as soon as possible. Currently there are only 10 spots left in the Ethiopia program (they only take so many at a time). We know God is in control and if one of those spots are meant for us then the money will come in. Immediately after the formal application is approved we need $2,100 to get our home study done. Then within a few more months we will owe $3,500. We won't owe anything more until we are referred a child which on average takes 3 years. So we will have some time to bring in about $30,850 more.

I have some fundraising ideas that I am excited to get started working on when we return from our mission trip. But I do wonder if we could possibly raise it all with facebook. What if 6,150 (or 37,000 for that matter) people on facebook donated just $1 to our cause? It will be nothing short of a miracle how God brings this money in. I have set up a fundraising website that people can go to and donate using paypal. Just follow this link..... www.youcaring.com/wallaceadoption

"Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you."  James 1:27 (NLT)

LET THE JOURNEY BEGIN

In the past several months God has surrounded me with adoption. I hear about it everywhere..... no joke! Some may say that is just coincidence and it was all there before I just didn't notice it. But I KNOW that is not the case. It is God telling David & I to move forward and put our words into action.

We met with our adoption counselor on Wednesday and that night I prayed for God to send me confirmation that now is the time. When I woke up Thursday morning and read my devotional for the day tears filled my eyes. 

My devotion was titled 'Saying Yes To God.' Lysa TerKeurst writes, "You may be thinking, my yes can't affect others like this. I don't have that kind of influence. But we cannot even begin to understand the plans God has for us. There is always a far-reaching ripple effect when a woman says yes to God. We don't have to see the spread of the influence to know it's there. The power of saying yes to God is beyond anything we could ever imagine."

Up until now I have always seen us adopting as being a forever family for ONE child but when I read that devotion I realized that more than just one child could be united with their forever families because of our yes. The testimonies of others who have adopted has greatly influenced us and encouraged us to move forward and our testimony could very well do the same for others. God's plans are always greater than we could ever imagine.

 We are pretty certain we know the exact path God has chosen for us. We will make that public knowledge as soon as we have confirmed it with God and have revealed that information to our closest family members. We know that God has already chosen our next child and we cannot wait to see what the future holds!

So another fundraising journey will begin! We definitely do not have the funds for an adoption but we know that nothing is too great or too big for God and if he has called us to do it then he will provide the way. So pray for us as we begin this next chapter of our lives. 

Hopefully in my next post I will be able to unveil the country God has chosen for us! Until then I remind you that as christians we have been adopted into the family of God.

"I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you." John 14:18