Thank You, Jesus (part 5)

Lisa and I met Z in Ohio in July.  She remembered me, smiled, waved, and said hello.  Y was looking at me this time sitting next to his sister.  Z had no idea what I was about to say, so I just went for it with all my might. 

“Z, Lisa and I love you very much.  We would like to adopt you and Y!”  There was no need to translate it in Russian, Z knew exactly what I said.  Z threw her hands up, shouted with indescribable joy, and immediately turned to her brother and said, “I will give you anything if you say Yes!” 

Z has the most unique and contagious laugh.  She was laughing, and Y was laughing and smiling too!  It was like the weight of the world had been lifted off Y’s shoulders.      

Now, with greater confidence and resolve, I asked Y and Z together, “Would you like me to come and visit you next week?”  They both said, “Yes” in English and in walks Lisa to my office.  All four of us were celebrating, and it was awesome. 

With Lisa there, we spoke for a long time about adopting Y and Z.  Y was completely changed.  With his sister happy, he was happy.  We asked them individually if they wanted us to adopt them, and they both said, “Yes!”

Joey

The Big Reveal (part 4)

It’s 8:29 AM on August 26, and I am sitting behind my computer in my office at church.  Skype rings, and I am soon talking to the woman in charge of our kids' orphanage.  This has happened before, so it’s no big deal to me.  However, this time the news could not have been any worse.  Our friend in charge of the orphanage has been talking with Y for close to a month now about the adoption, but Y has finally made his decision.  His exact words to her were, “I just don’t see myself living in America.”  

She tells me these words, and I remember being crushed and thinking, “This is it!  It is really over.  We are not going to adopt them.”  But at the same time I also thought, “God, this cannot be right.  You said these are our kids.” 

After a more thorough explanation, I asked to speak to Y.  I did not know what I was going to say, so I just made small talk with Y at first.  Y would not look at me, and he just stared off into the next room as our friend interpreted.  My final plea to Y was this, “Y, would it help if I came and visited you next week?” 

Silence for 10 seconds…20 seconds…25 seconds…And by this time, it was so uncomfortable that I almost changed the subject until Y spoke up in Russian.  Translated, he said, “I want to tell Z” and he left the room.  I did not know what was happening until our friend said, “Y is going to get his sister and ask her.”  

My immediate response was, “What do I tell Z?”  Since we had not told her that we wanted to adopt her, I did not know what to say.  Our friend in charge of the orphanage blurted out, “Joe, you must tell her everything!!!”  

Oh, wow!!!  This is it!!!  I am about to tell Z right now that we want to adopt her.  Oh no!!!  Lisa is not with me at my office.  What do I do?  So, I frantically sent Lisa this text, “I am telling Z right now on Skype!!!”  And then Y and Z sit down right in front of the video looking at me.  My phone chimes from Lisa saying, “What? I am on my way!” 

So this is it!  It’s do or die!  It’s my last chance to pull this thing out.  This is the Big Reveal!

Joey

Y Would He Say 'No'? (part 3)

After Ohio, we decided to go all in with the adoption.  We started the process with the home study, paperwork, more paperwork, and more paperwork.  Lisa said adoption is “Birth by paperwork!”
We contacted the person in charge of the orphanage.  She was thrilled that we wanted to adopt Y and Z, but she had a major concern.  She thought Y would say, “No!”  It never crossed our mind that a child would not want to be adopted.  So, we decided to write Y and Z letters, telling them about our family and our intention of adopting them.  The woman in charge of the orphanage advised us not to tell Z until Y made his decision.  She was concerned that if Y said no, then Z would be mad at him for a long time.  She was very confident that Z would say, “Yes.”

We wrote our letters to both of the kids, but only Y was given his letter to read.  Lisa and I even got to speak to Y on Skype to introduce us to him.  Our Skype conversation with Y took place on July 31.  Y told us that he would think about it.  It was not a No or a Yes.

So, we completed more paperwork in the meantime.  We just prayed and waited, and I wrote Y eight letters telling him more about our family.  Y took about a month to ponder life in our family and America.  We were worried.  We did not know what to do.

We just kept asking ourselves, “Why would he say No?”

-Joey

Pray and Go Hunting (part 2)

So after lunch that day, we began to pray, and Lisa was on the hunt to find out all about Y and Z. Lisa is a pure researcher.  She went home that day and sent an email request to that blogger.  Lisa soon found out the name of a host family who had hosted Y and Z at their home over Christmas 2012.  Within a few days, Lisa was emailing the host family and crying with the mom over the phone over these two wonderful children.
What I will always remember from this host mom is her saying, “I cried buckets over these kids that someone would adopt them. My husband and I prayed many times that God would let us adopt them, but every time God said, ‘These are not your children.’”  The host mom told us that they loved them so much over Christmas, that they decided to host them again over the summer. At the very time we contacted her, Z was at her house again on a summer hosting program.  The host family invited us to their home in Ohio to spend the day with Z.

On July 22, we met Z for the first time. It was awesome and weird at the same time. Lisa and I both wanted to blurt out loud, “Z, we love you. We want to adopt you!” The problem was we could not tell her of our intentions.  The hosting organization had strict rules that no one can mention adoption for the protection of the children in case the adoption does not really happen- It could be devastating for the children.

The day we met Z, we did our best to tell her about our family.  We took a bunch of pictures of our family. Z speaks Russian.  We were able to have some fun and deep conversations with her on Google Translate.  Lisa shared with her the story of her childhood.  Lisa and Z have a lot in common.  They have both lost a parent. Lisa and Z seemed to relate on a deep level in a short amount of time even with the language barrier. I lightened the mood a little by telling Z stories about the first kiss Lisa and I shared.  Our teeth hit!  It was embarrassing.  Z laughed, and so did we.

As we left her in Ohio, I asked Lisa, “Will we ever see Z again?”  We prayed and have been hunting ever since.

-Joey

Why don’t you do something? (part 1)

 People wonder why we are adopting two teenagers from another country. The answer is simple- God does not want our children (Y and Z) to be orphans! And we have the great honor and privilege of being their forever family.

 How did this happen?

 God has been preparing our family for Y and Z for a long time. Lisa has had a deep love for orphans since she was a child. I spent a summer in college volunteering at an orphanage in Mexico. Four years ago in California, we had a single mom in our church that needed someone to care for her child, because she could no longer provide for her. We wanted that child in our family, but because we were soon moving back to Texas, it wasn't allowed. A great family in our church ended up helping this single mom and has since fully adopted both of her daughters. We knew then that if God wanted us to adopt, He would intervene and place children in our family. And that’s exactly what happened.

 Lisa read an article about Y and Z on a blog telling their story of how they would be too old to be adopted after December 2013. The blog seemed to be their final cry for help and for a family to adopt them. As Lisa read it, she thought, “God, Y and Z would fit perfectly in our family.” Lisa shared her tear filled story with me, but I quickly erased that conversation from my permanent memory because I still have no recollection of it.

 Two weeks later, Lisa and I were on a lunch date. I began preaching to her saying, “Someone should help all of these orphaned kids in other countries who are aging out of the orphanage system. These kids are destined for a life of crime, prostitution or suicide.” Lisa smiled and said, “Joey, why don’t you do something?” I was a captive audience as Lisa read Y and Z’s story again. This time I actually listened, and I will always remember our conversation very vividly. Lisa’s question changed the course of my life forever because I had no good excuse!

 So, how about you?   “Why don’t you do something?”

-Joey

A three year absence...

It seems impossible to sum up a three year blogging absence in one blog post!  Overall, we had a baby girl, who is now TWO, and all the boys are bigger, smarter, and even more good looking!  We are blessed.  God continues to provide and guide.  I'm looking forward to resurrecting this blog so that I can share our current journey with you.  We want to proclaim our powerful God every step of the way!  "He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the LORD is powerful and so that you might always fear the LORD your God."  Joshua 4:24