Request For Prayer

My wife and I are learning that there is nothing easy about the adoption process.  There are days when we are overwhelmed with the immensity of the process.  Other days, we are asked for an update, but are unable to give one other than that we are just "waiting".

We have been waiting for almost three weeks now to hear back from a Homestudy agency regarding their willingness to do our homestudy.  Today, I heard from our Placement agency, that the Homestudy agency had contacted them with concerns about our income not being sufficient.  Arghhhhh!!!!  Our Placement agency, Lifeline Children Services, feels that our income is sufficient and is going to bat for us with the homestudy agency.  Please pray about this situation.  We cannot move forward until our homestudy is complete.

On another note, the reason Lifeline cannot do our homestudy is because they are not licensed in North Carolina...yet.  They are working hard to get an office licensed in our State and have hired a director already.  They are saying it will be soon.  We just don't know when "soon" will be!  Please pray about this as well, because if this were to happen in the next could of months, we would possibly be able to have them do our homestudy rather than a third party agency!

I do not know which way God will work this out.  I do not have the ability to control my income at this point, so it will just have to be enough.  I also know that there are other families with income challenges that have successfully completed the adoption process.  We would greatly appreciate your prayers for this hurtle.  In case I have been a little unclear, the prayer needs are.

1. A way to increase our income.
2. Final approval from Amazing Grace Adoption regarding our Homestudy
3. The quick licensing of Lifeline for work in North Carolina.

If you have any questions or comments of encouragement, feel free to email us or leave a comment on the blog.  Thanks for all those who have offered support so far.  If you are interested in helping in a financial way, view our Ways You Can Help page.

Facing The Giants of Adoption

We are learning that there are giants along the path to adoption.  The largest one so far has been the financial one, but we are seeing him toppled, little by little. More recently the giant has come in the form of pressure to conform.  Let me explain.

As we have been trying to schedule our home study we were referred to a specific organization in North Carolina.  Our placement agency, as you may know, is in Alabama and cannot do our home study.  I contacted the agency and had a very nice talk with the social worker who would be doing the home study.  She knew our placement agency well, and was excited to help us.  She emailed us some basic information to look over and sign and return.  Wonderful!

Then we received the information.  It all looked very standard, until my wife pointed out a certain paragraph in the client agreement form.  This paragraph included some language specific to discipline in our home.  I won't go into more detail then that, but it was worded in such a way that it made us quite uncomfortable.  Immediately the giant poked his ugly head into the room.  I began to worry. "What if this is the law?  What if we have to sign this in order to adopt?"  These questions and more were swirling around as the giant danced through our living room.

I contacted our placement agency and asked what we should do. I asked if the paragraph was standard and if it was part of the Hague Convention.  They responded that the language in that paragraph was certainly not Hague language and that we should contact the home study agency and ask whether this part of the agreement was mandatory in order for them to do our home study.  I did...it was. In fact, the lady gave me the impression that if I held my ground on my beliefs I would very likely be denied the adoption by Hungary. That giant sure did look taller than before.  I was told that most people just sign the document even if they don't intend to comply.  I call that lying.  I don't believe God would be honored by doing that.  However, if others had done it...maybe this was the accepted practice.  I couldn't see how.  There must be another way.

My wife and I took the matter to the Lord in prayer.  Yesterday, Lifeline contacted me with the information for another placement agency in NC.  This agency is a Christian agency, licensed to do home studies, and is Hague certified.  I called them.  They assured me they had no such clause, and that as a Christian agency, they fully supported our beliefs.  I will withhold the name of the agency for the time being since we still must be formally approved by them before starting the home study process.  I hung up the phone while driving home, rolled down the window, and threw the giant out.  He fit easily out the window, since he was now no more than a midget!

Why am I sharing this?  What if something still goes wrong?  No doubt something will.  There are giants all throughout this land.  As a Christian, I believe the God that loves the orphans and has commanded us to love and take care of them as well, will take care of any giants that happen to show up.  I just wanted to encourage those of you who may be watching our journey, and considering adoption yourself, but are afraid.  Don't be afraid.  Come on in...the water's fine.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers in the months ahead.  Thanks!

The Dreaded Home Study!

Probably the part most people dread about adoption is the Home Study.  Even those words strike dread into the hearts of most people.  I guess the words conjure up images of white glove wearing Gestapo agents carrying Sherlock Holmes's magnifying glass while examining your home for any trace of dirt, and digging through your life just looking for a reason to disqualify you!  Even though this perception is not the reality, there is still some nervousness about the process.

Truthfully, my wife and I are not overly excited about this part of the process.  My wife especially is a very private person, so even blogging about this process is out of the box for her!  We would covet your thoughts and prayers as we go through the process of choosing our Home Study agency.  Here is how it works for us.

Since our placement agency is in a different state, we need to have a Home Study agency licensed in North Carolina to perform this service.  Lifeline (our placement agency) has recommended an agency in North Carolina and we are currently having some discussions with them do determine if they are the ones we will use.  The choice of the Home Study agency is very important, because these people will be in your life for the next few months to a year or more, helping you to get approved.  You need to feel comfortable with the people for sure!

Right now we are looking to use Carolina Adoption Services.  If you are a "local" and know of another good Christian agency that does Home Studies, please let us know as soon as you can.  We would like to move forward as quickly as is prudent because this part of the process can last at least four months.

Please pray for us as we continue.  I am so excited about what God is doing and how He has provided thus far.  I know that He will need to do a miracle before we are done, but I believe He will!  If I can answer any questions, I would be happy to do so.  Please leave a comment below and let us know you are reading this blog.  We have dozens of visitors a day, and we would love to hear from you.

You can also subscribe to receive these posts by email if you like.  It would be a great way to ensure that you don't miss one.  Thanks for reading!

What to Do When One Door Closes

Have you ever heard that old saying, "When God closes a door, somewhere He opens a window."?  I think the first time I heard that was watching The Sound of Music when I was a little boy.  I didn't understand it then.  It makes more sense as an adult.

Our family has been on quite a journey lately.  I promised an update a while back and will do my best to fill you in now.  It is such a blessing to have all of you reading this blog.  Thank you for your donations and your encouragement.  Maybe our story will encourage you in some way.

At the beginning of December, as we began the process in earnest with Lifeline Children's Services (Our placement agency) we began to get some information that led us to believe we may have to reconsider our choice of adopting from Peru.  We began praying about this as we went through numerous telephone calls with the workers at Lifeline.  Ultimately, after one very long weekend in the December, we had a long talk with the Peru representative from Lifeline.  Her name is Iris, and she is a very wonderful person.  The long and the short of it is that due to the situation in Peru, as well as some upcoming changes from the Peruvian government, we were told that if we went ahead with Peru we would very likely, "I think the words they used were definitely." be adopting a moderate to severe special needs child.  While both Erika and I believe these are very precious children, we did not feel that this was a commitment we could make.

Our hearts were very heavy because we had already been dreaming about the new member of our family, and this was quite a setback.  Lifeline recommended that we not go with the Peru program any farther.  It began to look as if we would not only not be adopting from Peru, but that we may have to find another agency, which was just as heartbreaking.  The folks at Lifeline are just wonderful, and we hated the thought of having to begin again with someone else.

We had one final conversation in which another program from Lifeline was recommended, and we were put in contact with the social worker from that country.  After a conversation of over an hour, we asked to pray about it for another day.  Both my wife and I felt that this program was God opening another door, after closing the Peruvian door.  We sent in the necessary paperwork and application fee and while on vacation in Florida we received the phone-call and email letting us know we had been accepted into the program.  Praise the Lord!

So where does that leave us?  Well...as of now, it looks like our direction has been changed and we have been accepted into the Hungary Program.  I know...Hungary is a long way from Peru.  It was not a place we had even considered!  We feel at peace about this decision and wanted now to let our readers know.  We are still sharing half of the proceeds from the Walk of Hope with the orphanage in Peru as we had committed to, and we wanted to assure everyone of that.

So what lessons have we learned?

• God can really throw you a curve ball sometimes!
• Sometimes things don't work out the way you planned.
• When God closes a door, somewhere He opens another door.

You may have noticed that the new title of our blog is not "Our Road to Hungary...and Back Again."  This is another lesson we learned.  Don't count your chickens before they hatch!  I did decide to leave the web address the same www.ourperuadoption.blogspot.com  I figured this could be a good reminder of how things work out sometimes as well as an opportunity to start discussions with people who find our blog and wonder why we are adopting from Hungary with Peru in our web address!  If you have some insight or comments you would like to send, please feel free to leave a comment below.  We would like to here from you!

On Monday we will be sending in our first payment of $1500 dollars to Lifeline and that will pretty much drain us as far as funding.  Our next big expense will be the Home Study which can run from $800 - $1500.  We really are not sure yet, as we are waiting on the Lifeline case worker to contact us.  Please pray with us about this cost.  If you would like to help, click on the donate button on the right hand side of the screen and donate directly through PayPal.  Personal checks can be mailed to:

Mark & Erika Foster
P.O. Box 477 Holly Ridge, NC. 28445

As always, if you have any questions, please call me at 910-742-4888

Down the Long Road

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dno1967b/6717676645/

It has been a little bit since our last update.  The nature of the adoption process, as we are finding out, is that there is a lot of waiting.  First, let me give you an update on the total amount raised by the Walk of Hope.

I want to give you a conservative number, since not all of the money has come in.  Currently, the amount is right around $2500.00.  I am praying that it will ultimately be about $3,000 by the time all the money comes in.  We hope to be getting the check in the mail soon to the Orphanage in Peru.  You can see more about this orphanage here.

So what now?  Well, we are currently in a lot of discussions with the placement agency in Alabama.  It would be soooo much easier if these conversations could take place face to face, but the staff at Lifeline has been terrific.  Literally they have spent nearly two hours on the phone with us in just the last week.  There have been a couple of hiccups and some things that still need to be ironed out. We knew this process would be long, and we appreciate you patience and ask that you continue to pray and send notes of encouragement along the way.  We have some major decisions that will need to be made in the next week, and we would love for you to pray for wisdom.  I cannot be more specific at the moment, but I will give an update after the fact.  For now, please pray!

In many ways, Erika and I feel like we are blazing a new trail, in that we do not know what we are doing, and have had to work really hard for the information.  Erika has been a great help in the research and information side of things!  Hopefully, God will use what we are learning to enable us to help other families in the years ahead!

If you would like to donate, or send a word of encouragement, please do so via this blog, or you can call or text my cell# 910-742-4888. 

Again, I wish we had more to share at this point, but this is part of the process.  We covet your prayers and support.  Thanks!

Recovery!

Well...the walk is done! My wife and children came to Myrtle Beach and picked me up (literally) on Wednesday late afternoon.  The support via text message and twitter was overwhelming!  I was humbled by all of the people who took the time to send words of encouragement.  I wanted to write this post to give you a recap.

I did not make the 110 miles I had planned.  Due to the injury to my knee on Tuesday, I had to stop early and be driven to my overnight stop at the Rose Bed and Breakfast in Calabash. More about that in a minute.  This unexpected event meant a loss of some miles on Tuesday that I was unable to make up.  I did walk the distance needed on Wednesday, but fell short overall by 15 miles.  So I walked 95 miles over 3 days.  I was a little disappointed, but I still felt good that I walked farther than I had ever walked before, and I did make it to Myrtle Beach!

So many people helped make this walk successful, and I would like to say THANK YOU!  I would also like to say thank you to the owners of Rose Bed & Breakfast in Calabash, NC.  Warren and Nancy generously donated a room for me to sleep in Tuesday night, and were warm and gracious hosts.  If you are ever going to Myrtle Beach, please consider staying over at the Rose.  You will not regret it.  Information can be found at http://therosebandb.com/ .  

Yesterday, which was Thanksgiving was a wonderful opportunity to eat and relax...in that order.  My feet and legs are quite sore, but mending quickly.  I am thankful that God gave me this opportunity.  There were many times along the way that I wanted to quit.  Many things kept me going.  I thought of all those who were supporting me financially and emotionally.  I thought of the orphans around the world who just need someone to help them.  I tried to imagine my pain in some way identifying with the pain they face every day living without a family, or adequate food and shelter.  Then someone pointed out that the pain I was in could be my "labor pains"!  I think they are right!  I am also grateful for my wife who supported me every step of the way, and held down the fort while here husband was out walking! I love her!

I will post soon regarding the total amount raised, as some of the donations are still coming in.  If you have committed to help are would like to now, please let me know as soon as possible.  I would like for the donations to be in by the end of November.  Thank you so much!

The journey is not over.  It didn't end at Myrtle Beach.  We still have so far to go.  Please continue to pray with us as we pursue God's will in our lives concerning adoption.  If you have any questions, feel free to call me at 910-742-4888 or email me through this blog.  Thanks!

From The Heart Of Children

These photos were taken this morning by one of our church members who teaches in a local Christian school.  Yesterday, jokes were read by different students and sent via text to encourage Pastor Mark as he walked.  Mrs. Tracey's students want to help and have been bringing in coins to support the Walk Of  Hope.  Shown here are the students giving money from their piggy banks!  Thanks to Tracey Sink's class, the Beginning Learning Center,  for their support throughout the walk. 




 You Tube update from this morning:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUt4jGQMsYE&feature=youtu.be