• Nov. 21, 2007 - Another Piece to the Puzzle
Okay, so I promised as soon as possible I would share things that are going on around here with us. Deerhunter called in the middle of his trip to Vietnam and shared something with me that was on his heart. There is a special young lady there he would like to bring to the states. Thuy (twee) was about 6 on Deerhunter's first trip to Vietnam...she stole his heart then and he came home saying, "honey, if I had had a way, I would have brought that beautiful smile back with me." She is related to one of the mission team members, and when he went back a couple years later, she fully expected to see Deerhunter as well and was disappointed. As Deerhunter had prepared for this trip one of his hopes was to be able to see her again. Thuy is now 13. When Deerhunter arrived in a nearby relative's home, she came in calling for her American "Ba" (dad). They spent a couple of days together in her little town.
We have done some research on what it would take to get her here. Since she's not an orphan, that changes things a bit. Her family wants her here in order to provide for herself and to help the family as well. She has already been placed in our hearts in a way that only God can do. He has placed internationally adopted children in my kids' lives recently, so when I first mentioned Thuy to them it seemed to them a natural thing for us to want her to be here with us. Bonnetgirl prays every morning for Thuy to be protected and to have a good night's rest, and every evening that she would have a good day. We have bought some bilingual books to send her for her birthday (Dec. 26th).
So where are we now with the process? We have been in contact with an immigration attorney who has requested copies of certain documents from Thuy's family. She says once we look at those, we'll have a better idea where we stand. She said the process could take one to two years, and $5000..which I don't know if that includes all the filing fees...and definitely doesn't cover the cost of our home study and travel.
That's where we are....that's why I began to look at houses again. We are moving forward feeling that this is what God wants us to pursue. If the doors are all closed, then we will do what we can to maintain contact and possibly help her family, but we can't do that until we know for sure we've exhausted our options on bringing her here.
I can't tell you the roller coaster ride of emotions this thing has taken me on. I was only overwhelmed the first 48 hours, and then my good ol' worrying kicked in to planning and research mode. I have even wondered if my hormones have been affected by the excitement and wonder at the possibility of adding to our family. I have learned SO much about adoption and international adoption..I am soaking it up like a sponge. My heart goes out to families who choose to grow their families this way. I never knew how complicated and emotional the whole process could be.
We do appreciate your prayers on this as we seek God's plan for our and Thuy's lives.
I will post a picture soon...the only picture Deerhunter has printed has a long term place of honor on the fridge...or in our Bible...
In the meantime, Happy Adoption Awareness Month.
p.s. My thanksgiving- for God growing our definition of family. That we have a sister in Christ and 'daughter' on the other side of the world. Our God is so big!!! |
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