I am blessed!!

I am writing to update you on some things that are happening here in Nicaragua and the joy that comes with the Lord’s timing for everything. Many of you have read my update letter from Christmas on William and where we stand with his adoption process. In December, William was returned home by the government to live with his dad and grandmother which resulted in our adoption process being terminated. We were unable to go on with the process because his family did not support the adoption. Also during Christmas, I had the opportunity to visit William’s family and go out with him. The family accepted me and knew that I was just a “good friend” of Williams. My time with William was hard because his attitude towards me had changed and I once again felt like he was testing my love for him. Well, this past Saturday I was blessed with the opportunity to once again see him. A friend of mine picked William up from his house and brought him to the orphanage so that he could see many of the kids that he had lived with for the past six years. When he got to the orphanage, I once again saw his beautiful smile and received a big hug from him. He has grown so much  From the beginning of our time together on Saturday, his attitude with me had changed since Christmas. He seemed comfortable once again like the past when he had been in the states with my family. He seemed to have a confidence that my love for him was real and that my family and I are not going to give up on him and forget about him. Our time together was natural. We had the opportunity to go out to eat, see a movie, and go to a park to play and talk. While at the park, I shared once again with him that NO MATTER what he is my brother and the son of my mom and dad. I told him that we really wanted him to be with us but obviously God had other plans. He understood that there was not a possibility that he could live with us due to the fact that he was returned to live with his family but we always wanted to be a part of his life.

Which brings me to the next part of this story; my friend and I went to William’s house to return him to his family. As we got there, his grandmother was waiting for us and his dad was drunk just as he had been all day. I greeted the grandmother but still was nervous because I didn’t know what all she knows about the adoption that had been taking place and I had no idea what she thought of me. I went to the door where she was standing and thanked her once again for everything she has done for William. She began to talk to me and the words she was saying just did not seem like they could be true. I asked my friend to come and translate for me to make sure I was hearing everything correctly. She repeated what she was saying and told me that she is getting old; William’s dad is sick and also does not have the capability to take care of William; and many drugs pass through their neighborhood which scares her. She told me that she and her son (William’s dad) wanted to sign the papers for us to take him to the U.S and live with us. WHAT!?!? How can this be? Our case was terminated and there was no possibility for the adoption to happen. But, our Lord is Faithful and Good. He is mighty and can make the impossible possible (Luke 1:37). His plans are greater than mine. He had a purpose for sending William home during Christmas. Now, we do not have to fight a battle like a custody battle. Instead, his family approves of the whole process and there are no hard feelings. This situation is healthy for William because he does not feel that he has to choose between one family or the other. Praise our Mighty God for “your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” (Psalm 139:16)

Tomorrow, I will be meeting with William’s grandmother and father to sit down and talk. This will be a meeting to make sure that we are all on the same page. I want William’s grandmother to know our heart for him and that we always want her to be a part of his life. We will not be bringing our lawyer to the meeting tomorrow because we do not want the family to feel like we are pushing anything. I also want to sit down with William and hear his heart once again on the adoption process. Before I go to the meeting tomorrow, I will be joining with three of the staff members from the orphanage to pray for this whole situation with William and others at the orphanage. Therefore, I ask that each of you please join us in prayer tomorrow and over the next couple of weeks. Pray with boldness, pray with faith, and pray with hope that our God is Faithful and his ways are great!!! I thank each one of you for your prayers, love, and support.