Years ago I was reading a book and it told the story of someone going to pick up their adopted children somewhere in Africa. I read this while I was nursing sweet Asher. In that moment, I clearly knew that we were meant to adopt one day. I shared this with the mom’s group I was reading the book with, and I informed Jon. 8 years deep into marriage and he is no longer shocked by the things I tell him. “Hey babe, we need to adopt one day.” (Said while chasing our toddler and nursing a newborn). “Sure Jaci, we will talk about it later.” (Him hoping I’m kidding, but knowing that I’m not). How, when, or where did not matter since I knew it would not be immediate in that crazy season of babies…but I knew there were children in the world that needed a home, and that our family was not yet complete. So I tucked that deep in my soul, knowing one day we would revisit it, likely for baby number 4.
After celebrating Asher’s 3rd birthday, Jon came to me one night after realizing that if we continued to wait to get pregnant, Asher would be leaving high school while our third child would be starting…and he was concerned for future Jon and the implications of that. While we do not have complete control over the spacing of our children, we both always thought we would have them all close in age. I’m grateful that God can use Jon’s concern for future Jon’s soul to soften his heart toward what I already knew to be true. It was that night that Jon said that we should start inquiring about adoption with intention. We had attended meetings in the past and for multiple reasons had taken it off the table the year before, but this time, his heart was as ready as mine.
Many conversations with different agencies led us to where we are now; pursuing the adoption of a child from South Korea.
Herein lies the redemption of 2017 and an example of God’s goodness. We have gotten many levels of confirmation that this is the path we are meant to be on, despite the many challenges it presents. We know the road ahead is long and difficult, but in this area of our lives, we have so much peace. We never saw this coming. While I knew adoption was going to be a piece of our story, I never imagined it being international or following the months that started 2017.
With our home study nearly complete, we are finally ready to share this news and are hoping that community will come alongside us. We do not want to walk this journey alone. We know there will be ups and downs along the way, and it is easier to walk the hills and climb the mountains with your people. It also significantly more fun to roll down the hills and celebrate the victories with people in your corner.
It is projected to cost us around $38,000 to bring our son or daughter home from Korea. I'm not sure many of us have that readily available. While asking for money feels awkward and hard, not starting this process feels harder. We intend to apply for every grant and scholarship available to us, but we also humbly ask if you would be willing to support us in this venture. We are prepared for the long haul with another child in our family, likely a child with some medical or developmental needs, but would be forever grateful if our community is willing to help us bridge the financial gap to be able to bring them home.
I am still astounded that we are here, but we are so excited. While we are still trying to find our footing in other areas of our life after the start of 2017, we are completely confident in taking these steps. Our family is not yet complete, and we know that adoption is how we are to complete it.
