WOW…Where do we begin?!
Deuteronomy 10:18 is a good start. First though I should bring you up to speed on our Chinese adoption. In 2019, our family began what we thought would be a quick journey in pursuit of a child that needed a home from China. We had the opportunity to host a blind 11 year old boy named MingLi in our home back in 2018 for 10days. It was terribly difficult, painful, and exciting all at the same time. We absolutely fell in love with him and cried like babies when he had to leave. He is smart, funny, out going - probably too outgoing for a blind kid :) - and desperately in need of a forever family. Because of his disability and age, we were quickly matched with Mingli and given the green light to have him come be a part of our family.
Enter Covid-19 and 2020. Our family was set to travel to China sometime early/mid 2020 but we all know what happened that March. The world stopped and shut down. Long story short; while the rest of the modern world has re-opened borders and moved on, China has yet to resume processing adoptions and is still not completely open for travel. It is absolutely heart breaking! We are joined with approximately 60 other families at Lifeline Children Services who are all in the same boat. We are ready, but China will not let us come bring our kids home. Mingli just turned 15 and will age out of the adoption process at 18. We don't know what the future holds for him or us, but we are not giving up! We are keeping that adoption process open and are pursuing him in hopes of China giving us the go-ahead before he ages out.
So…where does that leave us and what is all the big fuss about now?
We still very much feel called to adopt and the need is so great. Our family visited Costa Rica a few years ago on vacation and it was a home run for all. Everyone enjoyed it and we all agreed we would live there one day if we could. With a heart for adoption and a love for Costa Rica in place, we have begun the process of pursuing an older sibling group from CR. Gulp! Yep…you read that correctly. "Group"! We don't know yet what that may look like but at the moment it looks a lot like two sisters who are 9 and 15. As the only girl child, Charli is beside herself with excitement at the prospect of adding a couple of sisters to the team. Greta and I share in her excitement too! We are nervous, excited, and scared all at the same time.
What if China opens back up? Do we still get Mingli? Yes and Yes. God could decide to be really funny and bless us with two Spanish girls AND and a blind Chinese teenager. When life gives you lemons…go adopt kids and raise money through Lifeline lemonade stands!
With that being said…adoption is neither for the faint of heart…or cheap:) We still have on going expenses related to Mingli's program and have to completely start over x 2 for these girls. $50,000 is a very realistic number in terms of expense. We've partnered with Pure Charity to allow our close friends and family to have a way to share in this experience with us. All moneys are 100% tax deductible and Pure Charity ensures that all moneys are given to actual Lifeline expenses. We do not personally receive a dime of your giving. It all goes to offset our expenses.
We hope you will join us in this cause through prayer, giving, and sharing our story. We will try and post updates along the way. Thanks so much! Bob, Greta, Sam, Grey, Bo, and Charli
