No, we don't have any exciting news to report on the adoption front. I thought it may interest you all to hear some information from Holt, the international adoption agency we are working with for our China adoption. This was emailed to us yesterday:
As you all know, the wait for the standard China process has continued to be very long and difficult throughout the past year. We feel for China families who have been waiting so long. It is not currently known how long the wait will extend. However, please remember that after each family completes their wait they can expect to be matched with a child.
Our next group of families expecting the match of a child from China will have waited over 36 months from the time their dossiers were sent to China (DTC) to the time they received a referral. The next group of dossiers awaiting match through Holt was logged in on February 28, 2006. (NOTE: the Kragel's DTC was Feb 2007).
As the CCAA works through the huge backlog of waiting dossiers, time frames will continue to lengthen.
There are two main factors that have contributed to lengthening time frames for the standard process over the past two years:
- Overall number of family dossiers logged in to the CCAA in 2006 and 2007
- Overall decrease in the number of healthy child dossiers received by the CCAA from orphanages
Other factors that may affect wait times in coming years:
- There was a marked decrease in the number of family dossiers logged in to the CCAA after May 2007 due to tighter eligibility guidelines
- Fewer families are choosing to adopt from the China standard process due to lengthening time frames
- Families who sent dossiers in the standard process who later accept the match of a child with a physical condition through the Child of Promise Option switch to the expedited process and out of the standard process
- There has been a greater number of families switching to other international or domestic programs or withdrawing from the China standard process due to lengthening time frames
We have no way to know how and when the above factors will impact wait times. However, based on the current match trends and our experience, we anticipate that the wait for referral will continue to lengthen. The CCAA continues to match families in order of dossier submission. Although it is impossible for us to predict precisely how long your individual wait will be, it's important to understand that we do anticipate the overall time frames to lengthen over the coming year.
As you can see, the chance of receiving a baby from China in the near future is very small. We continue to work with Bethany Christian services in hopes of being matched with a birthmom in the midwest or maybe even Iowa. We know that the book we made about ourselves continues to be shown to birthmoms. We continue to wait.
In the meantime, we are enjoying life. We are very blessed with our health, our jobs, our cozy home with TWO Christmas trees, and our families. We continue to be part of an adoption team at our church; the vision of the church is to develop some sort of adoption ministry in order for families to be able to adopt children without it being such a financial strain. We really don't know what God's got in store for this vision/church, but we continue to network and pray. Lonnie and I are also planning on leading a marriage class at our church in January. The class is associated with the movie "Fireproof."
We hope that you all are enjoying this advent season. Take time to sit back and be content with what God's blessed you with.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
Dynamic Waiting
We recently received this quote about waiting from a friend:
Waiting is not inactivity; it is not resignation; it is a dynamic process….Sometimes I think that patience is one of the great characteristics that distinguishes God from man. God knows how to wait, dynamically; everybody else is in a hurry. Some things cannot be forced but they must unfold, sending their tendrils deep into the heart of life, gathering strength and power with the unfolding days. --Howard Thurman
One friend likened waiting to seeing a pond that from a distance looks completely still. But upon closer examination you can see that it's full of activity--tiny swirls and movements glaze the entire surface, yet as a whole it looks calm. God is active in the stillness arranging and re-arranging our lives.
Waiting is not inactivity; it is not resignation; it is a dynamic process….Sometimes I think that patience is one of the great characteristics that distinguishes God from man. God knows how to wait, dynamically; everybody else is in a hurry. Some things cannot be forced but they must unfold, sending their tendrils deep into the heart of life, gathering strength and power with the unfolding days. --Howard Thurman
One friend likened waiting to seeing a pond that from a distance looks completely still. But upon closer examination you can see that it's full of activity--tiny swirls and movements glaze the entire surface, yet as a whole it looks calm. God is active in the stillness arranging and re-arranging our lives.
We are helping out with a class at church called Alpha. During the opening night of the class a video was shown that we call the "Happy Yet?" video. It's about striving for life's milestones (graduation, new job, marriage, family, new marriage, retirement, etc.) thinking they will make us happy. They do for a little bit, but it never lasts. Then we're onto the next thing that will make us happy and on and on we go.
At the end of the day, completely spent, we realize that the kind of fulfillment we're looking for comes only from God. When we're in that place, the waiting feels more like growing.
At the end of the day, completely spent, we realize that the kind of fulfillment we're looking for comes only from God. When we're in that place, the waiting feels more like growing.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Content in every situation.....
Several of you have told me lately "there's nothing new on your blog." I thought I better get something posted......
As far as progress with adoption news, there has been no progress. China continues to move very, very slow, with an anticipated 3 more years to wait for a healthy infant. No word from Bethany Christian Services either. We know that our information is being shown regularly to expecting moms, but we have not been "picked" yet. According to God, the timing is not right yet. So we continue to wait.......
The waiting we did in August and the first part of September was very, very hard for me. I continued to have so many questions---like "What did we do wrong; why won't God bless us with a child?". The last couple of weeks I have become more content again, realizing that His timing is perfect---better than I could ever imagine. We also realized that our focus was totally backwards. We had started to put all our thoughts and energy on getting a child, placing God in the backseat. He politely reminded us that He wants us to put Him first, above all else. So we have done a paradigm shift, putting him first again; not because we have to but because we want to. I have definitely realized that "it's not all about me."
So on one hand nothing has been happening on the adoption front, but on the other hand a lot has been happening. God continues to soften and shape our hearts, drawing us into a closer relationship with Him. As we wait we will continue to praise him, regardless of the circumstances.
As far as progress with adoption news, there has been no progress. China continues to move very, very slow, with an anticipated 3 more years to wait for a healthy infant. No word from Bethany Christian Services either. We know that our information is being shown regularly to expecting moms, but we have not been "picked" yet. According to God, the timing is not right yet. So we continue to wait.......
The waiting we did in August and the first part of September was very, very hard for me. I continued to have so many questions---like "What did we do wrong; why won't God bless us with a child?". The last couple of weeks I have become more content again, realizing that His timing is perfect---better than I could ever imagine. We also realized that our focus was totally backwards. We had started to put all our thoughts and energy on getting a child, placing God in the backseat. He politely reminded us that He wants us to put Him first, above all else. So we have done a paradigm shift, putting him first again; not because we have to but because we want to. I have definitely realized that "it's not all about me."
So on one hand nothing has been happening on the adoption front, but on the other hand a lot has been happening. God continues to soften and shape our hearts, drawing us into a closer relationship with Him. As we wait we will continue to praise him, regardless of the circumstances.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
The Wasteland
I am sure you are all familiar with the rollercoaster of hormones and emotions that go along with a typical pregnancy. Did you know that "paper pregnant" women go through the same sort of emotions? Yep, I can speak to that myself! I have been paper pregnant for about 21 months now. Talk about emotions! Lonnie and I thought that the process to start our family would be something like this: 1) fill out the application with Holt. 2) do all the paperwork required. 3) wait about 18 months. 4) go to China and pick up our little girl. Well, if you've been reading our blog or talking with us, you know that God had a different plan in mind.........we've been waiting for more information on His plan!
Have you ever read the book the Dream Giver? I read it almost 4 years ago--about the time Lonnie and I started dating. I remember God giving me the dream back then to one day adopt a child. Last week I decided to get the book back out to reread it, in case I had heard incorrectly about the dream God had given me. I am so glad that I dusted that book off. Lonnie & I were given lots of great reminders. The part of the book I can best relate to right now is what Bruce Wilkinson (the author) describes as "the wasteland". This is the time after a dream has been identified, after a person has stepped out of their comfort zone and said yes to that dream, to then the waiting time for that dream to come true. This is where I have been sitting for quite a while. During our time in the wasteland, I have questioned "God, did you really give me this dream to adopt, or did I make it up"? I questioned if God had forgotten about us and our dream. But then I was reminded of how the time in the wasteland is not a waste! God uses this time of waiting to increase our trust in him, to build our strength, and to do things in us that we don't even realize. So, as we sit and wait to one day meet who God wants to bring into our family, I thank Him for this wasteland! I also was reminded that Lonnie & I don't own this dream of building a family through adoption---it's His dream. So we are working on giving that dream back to God so He can do with it what He wants.
Have you ever read the book the Dream Giver? I read it almost 4 years ago--about the time Lonnie and I started dating. I remember God giving me the dream back then to one day adopt a child. Last week I decided to get the book back out to reread it, in case I had heard incorrectly about the dream God had given me. I am so glad that I dusted that book off. Lonnie & I were given lots of great reminders. The part of the book I can best relate to right now is what Bruce Wilkinson (the author) describes as "the wasteland". This is the time after a dream has been identified, after a person has stepped out of their comfort zone and said yes to that dream, to then the waiting time for that dream to come true. This is where I have been sitting for quite a while. During our time in the wasteland, I have questioned "God, did you really give me this dream to adopt, or did I make it up"? I questioned if God had forgotten about us and our dream. But then I was reminded of how the time in the wasteland is not a waste! God uses this time of waiting to increase our trust in him, to build our strength, and to do things in us that we don't even realize. So, as we sit and wait to one day meet who God wants to bring into our family, I thank Him for this wasteland! I also was reminded that Lonnie & I don't own this dream of building a family through adoption---it's His dream. So we are working on giving that dream back to God so He can do with it what He wants.
2008 Olympics
Hi All. It's Nancy here. My dear husband is in the process of teaching me how to blog, so I thought I'd better try it out!
The 2008 summer Olympics are in Beijing, China, so there have been all sorts of news stories about China over the last couple of weeks. While watching the news stories and the Olympics, it makes me think about being in China one day to meet the child God has hand picked for us!
The news stories have talked a lot about how well the Chinese economy is currently doing. Young people there appear to be enjoying their new wealth, moving out of the country side to the cities. However it makes wonder about what their hearts feel like. Gaining material wealth is not what satisfies the heart. I pray that Christianity will continue to spread throughout China so the people of China are full of eternal riches.
One story Lonnie & I watched last week talked about how there is such a high suicide rate for the women in China. Women who live in the country side are forced to do hard labor. They do farm work because they have no education. They feel pressure to have baby boys (as boys can help out with the farm work better than girls); when they give birth to a baby girl, they begrudgingly place her for adoption. Women working in the cities work seven days a week. We heard of one woman who worked in a factory in China where she was not allowed to speak at all over the 12 hour shifts she worked. Women feel lonely and disrespected.
My heart aches for all the women in China---the moms who are forced to place their baby girls on the roadside, hoping someone will come by and take her baby to a local orphanage---the young women who recently moved from the country to the city to "take in the city life" until they realize how lonely it is there too.
A couple from our church has been to China on a mission trip. They saw people there being touched by Christ. He's up to something there! I pray for all those mothers, orphans, orphanage workers, foster parents........that their hearts would be filled with His love and joy. I pray that the child(ren) that God has picked for us would feel His love and joy until we meet.
Below is some information that Holt (our international adoption agency) recently emailed out about the Olympics:
All eyes are on China for the start of the upcoming 2008 Olympic Games. This year's Olympic theme is, "One World One Dream." There will be more than ten thousand athletes competing in the games, representing more than two-hundred nations.
The 2008 summer Olympics are in Beijing, China, so there have been all sorts of news stories about China over the last couple of weeks. While watching the news stories and the Olympics, it makes me think about being in China one day to meet the child God has hand picked for us!
The news stories have talked a lot about how well the Chinese economy is currently doing. Young people there appear to be enjoying their new wealth, moving out of the country side to the cities. However it makes wonder about what their hearts feel like. Gaining material wealth is not what satisfies the heart. I pray that Christianity will continue to spread throughout China so the people of China are full of eternal riches.
One story Lonnie & I watched last week talked about how there is such a high suicide rate for the women in China. Women who live in the country side are forced to do hard labor. They do farm work because they have no education. They feel pressure to have baby boys (as boys can help out with the farm work better than girls); when they give birth to a baby girl, they begrudgingly place her for adoption. Women working in the cities work seven days a week. We heard of one woman who worked in a factory in China where she was not allowed to speak at all over the 12 hour shifts she worked. Women feel lonely and disrespected.
My heart aches for all the women in China---the moms who are forced to place their baby girls on the roadside, hoping someone will come by and take her baby to a local orphanage---the young women who recently moved from the country to the city to "take in the city life" until they realize how lonely it is there too.
A couple from our church has been to China on a mission trip. They saw people there being touched by Christ. He's up to something there! I pray for all those mothers, orphans, orphanage workers, foster parents........that their hearts would be filled with His love and joy. I pray that the child(ren) that God has picked for us would feel His love and joy until we meet.
Below is some information that Holt (our international adoption agency) recently emailed out about the Olympics:
All eyes are on China for the start of the upcoming 2008 Olympic Games. This year's Olympic theme is, "One World One Dream." There will be more than ten thousand athletes competing in the games, representing more than two-hundred nations.
For the first time, the 2008 Olympic medals incorporate the use of jade. The obverse side of the medals represent the Greek goddess of victory, Nike, while the reverse side of the medals are inlaid with jade with the Beijing Games emblem engraved in the metal centerpiece.
Each of the five Olympic mascots, called Fuwa, have a special meaning and represent one color of the Olympic rings.
- Beibei, the fish, represents the blessing of prosperity
- Jingjing, the panda, represents the blessing of happiness
- Huanhuan, the Olympic flame, represents the blessing of passion
- Yingying, the Tibetan antelope, represents the blessing of health
- Nini, the swallow, represents the blessing of good luck
The official website for the 2008 Olympic games is: http://en.beijing2008.cn/
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Twist of Lime
Since this is our adoption blog, it seems only appropriate to talk about where adoption began. It began when God adopted us.
Adoption is right out of the bible:
So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.
At the beginning of this journey, we were very excited by what we believed God was calling us into. Over the course of time however, the wait has been a numbing, grinding experience. Not only have we doubted the course(s) we've taken, but at times have given up hope.
Through it all, we are reminded that God adopts us not because we are perfect or because we've earned it or because we're spiritual enough or because we stayed faithful when things were looking impossible, but just because. In Greek it's called Agape (a-Gop-ay). It's what we would call unconditional love. We are simply chosen. If this doesn't kill the myth that love is a feeling, then nothing will. Love is an act of will, it's intentional, it's a choice.
Over the past month or so it seems like everywhere we turn we are hearing something about faith--maybe because we needed it. At church, in the devos we read daily, through friends, etc. faith, faith, faith. Nancy took the week off last week thanks to some comp time and painted a "kids room".
Painting the room was an act of faith unto itself. I mean come on, we have a green and purple room in our house. Lime and grape. It's turned into an act of defiance toward anything that might pull our hearts away from this mission.
At the end of the day, what God is doing in us while we wait is as important as what we're waiting for and we wouldn't trade it for anything.
We're not sure what kid will occupy the lime and grape room; boy or girl, infant or toddler, blonde or black hair, but they will know they have been adopted--chosen.
And we are looking forward to it.
Adoption is right out of the bible:
So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.
At the beginning of this journey, we were very excited by what we believed God was calling us into. Over the course of time however, the wait has been a numbing, grinding experience. Not only have we doubted the course(s) we've taken, but at times have given up hope.
Through it all, we are reminded that God adopts us not because we are perfect or because we've earned it or because we're spiritual enough or because we stayed faithful when things were looking impossible, but just because. In Greek it's called Agape (a-Gop-ay). It's what we would call unconditional love. We are simply chosen. If this doesn't kill the myth that love is a feeling, then nothing will. Love is an act of will, it's intentional, it's a choice.
Over the past month or so it seems like everywhere we turn we are hearing something about faith--maybe because we needed it. At church, in the devos we read daily, through friends, etc. faith, faith, faith. Nancy took the week off last week thanks to some comp time and painted a "kids room".
Painting the room was an act of faith unto itself. I mean come on, we have a green and purple room in our house. Lime and grape. It's turned into an act of defiance toward anything that might pull our hearts away from this mission.
At the end of the day, what God is doing in us while we wait is as important as what we're waiting for and we wouldn't trade it for anything.
We're not sure what kid will occupy the lime and grape room; boy or girl, infant or toddler, blonde or black hair, but they will know they have been adopted--chosen.
And we are looking forward to it.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
The Latest
Currently, we have an application in China and an application with a domestic agency (Bethany Christian Services). Here are updates on both:
CHINA:
China is very slow right now. They are currently filling applications with log in dates from Jan '06. Our application was logged in in March '07. They have been working on the Jan '06 applications for the last four months and are only up to Jan 20, '06. Do the math on that--it's scary.
DOMESTIC:
We completed all of our paperwork in May and received an email from our agency at the beginning of June stating that they are now showing our book to birth moms.
As part of the application process we created a book and a DVD that will be shown to birth moms. This is how they determine who they would like to place their child with.
The big difference between the two is that in China we are "in line" and with the domestic adoption we are waiting to be picked.
In the meantime, we are part of a team at our church that is working on creating a no-fee adoption agency. We went to a conference in Seattle a few weeks ago to learn how to get started. Antioch Adoptions has been doing no-fee adoptions for eight years. We are now mulling over what we learned with the rest of our team to determine how we will proceed.
We also spent a few days in Oregon after the conference hiking in rain forests and trying to stay dry.
CHINA:
China is very slow right now. They are currently filling applications with log in dates from Jan '06. Our application was logged in in March '07. They have been working on the Jan '06 applications for the last four months and are only up to Jan 20, '06. Do the math on that--it's scary.
DOMESTIC:
We completed all of our paperwork in May and received an email from our agency at the beginning of June stating that they are now showing our book to birth moms.
As part of the application process we created a book and a DVD that will be shown to birth moms. This is how they determine who they would like to place their child with.
The big difference between the two is that in China we are "in line" and with the domestic adoption we are waiting to be picked.
In the meantime, we are part of a team at our church that is working on creating a no-fee adoption agency. We went to a conference in Seattle a few weeks ago to learn how to get started. Antioch Adoptions has been doing no-fee adoptions for eight years. We are now mulling over what we learned with the rest of our team to determine how we will proceed.
We also spent a few days in Oregon after the conference hiking in rain forests and trying to stay dry.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Paper Chase II
Late this fall we started to notice that the wait for China might be a bit longer than expected. China's process is all based on your Log In Date (LID). That is the day your paperwork is added to the pile. Our log in date is 3/28/07. Right now people with log in dates from 12/27/05 are just getting their babies. Yikes.
Currently, China is completing 6 days of referrals per month. So, for example, in January they referred children to families with log in dates between 12/19/05 and 12/27/05; an 8 day batch.
If we use 6 days/per month, we're looking at another five years from now before we get a referral. All that is to say we have been looking for something to do in the meantime!
We consulted with a number of people, prayed a lot, did a gut check, and eventually decided to ask our agency for permission to do a domestic adoption while we wait on China (in our contract it states we cannot bring another child into our home until we've completed our adoption with Holt--which is common).
On January 21st we received permission. So, we begin again. Our dossier will stay in line in China while we pursue a domestic adoption.
Who knew what was waiting for us down this road when we started out in Nov '06. Who knows what's waiting for us now. Or a better question might be, "who" is waiting for us now?
Currently, China is completing 6 days of referrals per month. So, for example, in January they referred children to families with log in dates between 12/19/05 and 12/27/05; an 8 day batch.
If we use 6 days/per month, we're looking at another five years from now before we get a referral. All that is to say we have been looking for something to do in the meantime!
We consulted with a number of people, prayed a lot, did a gut check, and eventually decided to ask our agency for permission to do a domestic adoption while we wait on China (in our contract it states we cannot bring another child into our home until we've completed our adoption with Holt--which is common).
On January 21st we received permission. So, we begin again. Our dossier will stay in line in China while we pursue a domestic adoption.
Who knew what was waiting for us down this road when we started out in Nov '06. Who knows what's waiting for us now. Or a better question might be, "who" is waiting for us now?
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