Our Journey - Ethiopia

IT'S OFFICIAL...we were accepted into our adoption agency's Ethiopia program yesterday!!!  We shed tears of joy and I did my "happy dance" (one of the many things this mommy does that embarrasses my kids).  Even a day later, I find myself randomly smiling and with butterflies of excitement in my stomach at the thought that we are one step closer to bringing our child HOME!

We know some people will not understand our decision to adopt internationally, especially when there are so many children locally that need families.   We strongly believe EVERY child deserves a family!  However, my husband and I always felt God leading our hearts toward international adoption.  One question we are expecting to receive a lot is "Why Ethiopia?"  While our initial response is "why not Ethiopia," our decision to adopt specifically from Ethiopia has been a journey in itself. 

Our journey to the Ethiopia program was not without its hiccups.  We both strongly felt God calling us to adopt but we didn't initially feel God leading us to a specific country.  After researching our agency's international adoption programs, we narrowed it down to China and Ethiopia.   We initially approached our agency about China because that process simply looked "easier."  However the entire time we were working on being accepted into the China program, I felt unsettled.  Looking back, we realize my unsettled feeling was God nudging us to His path. 

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Jeremiah 29:11 

The moment we spoke with our agency's Ethiopia program, my unease immediately subsided.  My husband and I always felt a pull toward Africa.  Having gone to Africa for our honeymoon, we both feel a piece of Africa always stayed with us.   5 years later we feel like we are coming full circle, going back to the place where we first celebrated our marriage.

As we begin the next step of our journey (the paper chase) we take with us the lessons we have already learned while "growing our faith through family"...as long as we follow where God leads our hearts, we can trust He is guiding us down the "correct" path.