Thoughts On The Way

It's Feb 18th I sit on an Airplane headed to Ghana; On the first leg from SEA to NY it hit me…you are adopting TWO MORE KIDS!!! WOW, I have been taking lots of steps and even sending money but I had a good laugh because DUH you would think I would have realized this fact already. My point is we talked about it, we prayed about it, we pursued it, we sent money, Carrie has been their for 3 weeks already …but now that I am on my way I told my daughter Ashlie it is like WHOA/SLAP YOUR FOREHEAD…this is big stuff, GOOD STUFF but WHOA I am going to Africa and I am coming home with 2 kids that I will have the pleasure and responsibility to raise and train up in the way they should go! It is a line that is being crossed, decisions were made leading up to this,... but today a line is being crossed. Lots of emotion, lots of thoughts. It is all good!!

So, how did this happen? It has been a process for sure! As I sat (and I have been and will be doing a lot more of that in the next few days), I couldn’t help but reflect. I had numerous emotions. Excitement, joy, anxiousness and yes even a touch of fear (short lived but several variable angles at which fear tried to come in). Everything from what am I doing (just being honest), two more kids to raise! will they like me, how hard will it be for them coming home, leaving all that they know to be good, how will we help them navigate it all?

When I look back I am confident that I am suppose to be here right now for such a time as this. It is a bit of a whirlwind for sure, but how else would I imagine a leap of faith and following God’s call to be? From the start of Carrie’s and my feeling that we should look into adopting, all I knew was two, ..... boys, girls, one of each, not so clear but two was what I was hearing. God then took us thru one step at a time to this point where I am now on the airplane and headed to Ghana to meet them in person!!

Thoughts (Random and Funny (atleast to me)...its a long plane ride)
I found myself traveling alone and thus lots of time to think. As I am observing the others on the plane I found myself thinking what will J & V look like when they are in there teens and older, how will they dress? Like that guy or that gal on the plane....hey it was funny to me....so remember if you ride a plane with me I am watching! :-)

Most of you have probably flown and seen the flight map that shows you where you are at on your route.. I checked it toward the end and was caught by surprise when I saw the map on the video screen and in seeing Africa for the first time had to change the channel so as to not give some other people watchers on the plane something to write/talk about (yes I was tearing and emotional...weird but good)

First Sighting?
Of course I also thought ALOT about what the first meeting would be like...would they run to me like a scene in a movie...will I be an emotional wreck or ??? Read the next blog to see how it actually turned out.

What will I see and how will it impact me?
Having not been to a very poor place like I was going to be going I wondered what our trip up North would be like...how hard will the bus rides be, how will it look and how will I feel? How will it be for Victoria returning to a place she remembers very well? How will it be for John?

What's ahead?
I was also reminded that we still have significant milestones to overcome on our way to finishing this leg of the race. I was reminded to finish this phase strong and then begin the next phase…..(when we get home).

So for this leg I am heading into it with hindsight of what He has already done to get us to this point (if you don't know read from the 1st blog entry to now to get a snapshot...of course God has been preparing us since before we started this process a short 10 months ago just as He prepares all of us thru our life experiences for what he has in store for us around the next corner (whether we know it or acknowledge it or not He is doing it).

More Future thoughts…
Will J n V be musical, athletic, literary, theatrical, strong, compassionate, leaders, hard workers, the list goes on. One thing I know, we will do our best to raise them with the knowledge of where they have come from and with a knowledge that God has a unique plan for them and we get to have the priviledge of walking thru life with them. I am looking forward to learning as much as I can about there life before God brought them to us and interweaving our lives with theirs.

The ones still in Lynden:
Thoughts of kids at home…in the end …like most of our walk with God…the best stuff happens when it doesn’t look like most everybody else. In other words even though we have 4 kids spread out and it is hard, I am at peace that God is in control and will meet everyones needs thru the entire time we are apart.

Closing Thoughts:
Traveling and seeing the depth of the number of people in the world is HUGE (really analyze and think about how many people there are in the world). I look at all of these people and I wonder wow millions and millions of kids is A LOT. Pretty profound I know.

Some of you might be thinking...the problem is so huge what can I do to possibly make a difference..... I heard a saying the other day that has stuck with me and solidified our vision.

"to the world they are one…but to the one you are the world." We are grateful that we have the opportunity to be the world to two special ones…someday there may be more…who knows…. This is not to say we are rescuing them but rather to say we are being brought together to be a part of God's plan for their little lives.

I am also very grateful for the many many many people who have already adopted and are the grizzled veterans of this process that have helped us along the way and of course thru His Kids Our Homes we are excited to be a part of helping as many other people as we can navigate the process of helping kids…whether it be thru intl adoption, domestic or foster adoption, foster care, sponsoring kids oversees, organizing and participating in missions and support to orphanages…it is all exciting and I am blessed to be a part of it…WOW that was a mouhfull of LIFE yet to be lived for sure….

Well thats it. I wrote this on the plane and then copied it and spell checked/word smithed so it will be interesting to see how it all actually plays out.
Blessings,
Dave