(You may recognize that name from my past post about Aldea de Esperanza... yeah, it's totally the same place. My little reference about Z wanting to live there "forever" was totally a hint to the reading public that we were thinking about living there. haha... )
Village of Hope has the funds raised to build the next two homes (duplex), so we will be the parents in one of those homes. House 3, they'll call us. We will probably be able to move in by July, and at that point we will begin to receive referrals for children, and could at any time have another child placed in our home. We will be legally in the role of foster parents, but because Guatemala does not have an international adoption program, it is unlikely that the children will be taken away from us. Also, VOH deals primarily with special needs children, and it is especially unlikely for these children to be adopted into Guatemalan homes. Our home will be wheel-chair accessible, and we could have a child or two in wheelchairs who become part of our family. Only the Lord knows who He will bring to our home, but we have requested that we would have only younger children placed with us, because we are still quite young ourselves.
We graduate from our DTS in exactly one week, and will be spending this last week at the beach debriefing and spending some final days together as a team. Dave is planning to return to the States with the team and pick up our stuff/diplomas, while I stay in Guatemala and start house-hunting. I am so excited to have our own place again! It is sad to say goodbye to our team, but I am being left behind in a country that I love. When Dave gets back to Guatemala we will hopefully be ready to move into our house, and we can get started on Spanish school to become more fluent, as well as begin volunteering in the afternoon at VOH.
This whole journey has been amazing to me. God took us from Quadra Island, Canada, where we were drowning in the pain of infertility, and He healed our hearts enough to take that leap of faith and leave it all for California. We grew so much in California, and some amazing restoration happened in our marriage and my family. The Lord continued to whisper in my heart that He had my children, that He was ready and waiting to give them to me. I received visions of my children, and my heart longed to be with them. God intercepted us, and sent us to Guatemala, where I have now found VOH!
My small group in California did a little project during our last meeting where we were supposed to write down what we expected of God during our Outreach. I wrote: "I want to find my children." The Lord has been faithful to me, and has answered my prayer. I am about to become the mother of children who are very broken. They might have huge issues that I need a lot of help to care for them properly. I might regret this decision some days. But I am also going to have the chance to hold them when they cry, to cook them pancakes on Saturday mornings, to throw their birthday parties, and to help them grow into the men and women that God intended them to be. I want to show them the love of Father God, who doesn't give up on anyone, no matter how broken. I want to be their mother.
I came on this outreach expecting great things from God. And now I am expecting to welcome (some of) my children into my home within the next year. My dream has come true... I have found my children. Praise the Lord.
(God has prompted me to read through Isaiah over the past months, and I have read Isaiah 49 almost every day. It's almost ironic how perfect it is for my life.)
"They will bring your sons in their arms, and carry your daughters on their shoulders. Kings will be your foster fathers, and queens your nursing mothers... then you will know that I am the Lord; those who hope in me will not be disappointed." -Isaiah 49: 22-23
1 comment:
Awesome! SO thrilled for you guys. God is good :)
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