God's Way

First, a BIG THANK YOU to Maggie. Maggie works with Jeremy and made dumplings and sauce for Jonathan and our family. They were delicious!!! Jonathan claimed them as his own and we had to bribe him to share.

Once you make the decision to adopt, one of the first things you learn is that there is a community of wonderful people that will become some of your best cyber friends. You can easily get sucked into this adoption community through a variety of websites, blogs and forums. The great part of this community is that you realize you are not alone in your journey to adopt. If at any point you have a question or a concern you just need to reach out to one of these cyber sources and you will immediately be encouraged and supported.

It was through a cyber connection that I was approached by an adoptive mom who was advocating for a little boy named Jacob. She asked if we would be interested in seeing his file, that the agency that had his file was having difficulty finding a home for him. I said yes. After looking at his file, I wondered if Jacob was God's choice for our family. He just turned 4 and is missing his left leg and is in China. We are at the very beginning of this adoption and we would need to wait a few weeks before we could ask Bethany to request his file from the agency that has it. Jeremy and I agreed that if the file was still available when we were ready, we would request to officially review it.

Through this other mom, I discovered that there was a family that had seriously considered adopting Jacob, but felt they couldn't because of their home. I connected with this mom through email and then through a wonderful phone conversation today. I shared our experience with Jonathan and what life was like with him. After talking for a while, this mom began to realize they might not need to make as many if any modifications to their homes and/ or lives. At the end of our conversation, she was beginning to question whether Jacob just might be their son. I assured her we would harbor no ill will if they decided to pursue Jacob. In the end, it is about the children and finding homes for them.

Not sure what the outcome will be yet, but either way we are good. I would be thrilled if this family adopted Jacob and if they decide not to well, we might just pursue his file. What I am thankful for is God using a little boy, named Jonathan Futing, to encourage others to even consider adopting a child with a limb difference. Please pray that Jacob finds his forever home whether it be with this family or in our home or with another loving family.