On June 26, 2014 I got an email from an agency with a picture and a very short description of a little boy.
"Owen, born April 2011, is a cheerful little boy, though he’s shy with strangers and was very timid when our staff visited his orphanage. He is very active, and loves to play with balls and blocks. His development is said to be similar to other kids his age. He can run, jump, and go up and down stairs. Caregivers describe him as bright, and he can say short sentences with clear pronunciation. He can feed himself, and though he can undress he hasn’t quite mastered putting his clothes back on! He has a skin condition called ichthyosis, which causes dry, scaly skin. It affects his lower legs and arms, as well as part of his torso, but his case is fairly mild. We have lots of photos and video from our staff trip to his orphanage!"
Well I was hooked. I sent his info over to JM and requested to see "Owen's" file. Eli and I begged JM for the next few days to let us bring "Owen" home and on Sunday June 29th, JM said yes :)
It has been a whirlwind of paperwork and home study visits but we should be submitting our homestudy by the end of August. We are hoping to send our Dossier to China in October and to have him home by his 4th birthday in April!
Please pray with us as we prepare for this journey. He has been in an orphanage his entire life and we are praying for a quick process so that he can start to live his life in a family. This adoption wasn't in our plan so we are in the process of coming up with a few fundraisers to help raise the money we need. We know that this is God's plan and we know that he owns all the cattle on a thousand hills. We have already experienced amazing generosity from a few friends and are so thankful for them!!!
We will use this blog to keep everyone updated.
We love you all!
Amanda
