Adoption Journey 9

I can't really complain about our adoption journey so far. It's been pretty smooth sailing. You can read blogs, articles, and hear horror stories of how adoption journeys have gone wrong. It can be rough, hard, and really, really, really long. I realize all this and I'm thankful that it all has been good. We have been at this for a year now. We are at the child placement stage. We haven't officially been told this but it's where we are at.

A couple of weeks, we got an email. It was actually the October newsletter. We get these newsletters monthly letting us know lots of information about what the agency is doing. I usually skim over these emails and sometimes I secretly delete them without even reading them. But something made me read this one.

The email was all sweet and pleasant at first. It was wishing us cool weather and warm wishes as we approach the holiday season. But in the middle of this "sweet" newsletter was devastating news.

"As of October 2, 2012, employees of the Instituto Hondureño de la Niñez y la Familia (IHNFA) are on strike and IHNFA is closed. The IHNFA is Honduras’ Child Welfare Authority and as such, it oversees adoptions. IHNFA provides referrals to prospective adoptive parents and approves adoption applications. At this time, due to the strike, the IHNFA is not performing these functions. It is unclear how long the strike might last."

 

I read it over and over. I told J and made him read it. Was I really seeing this? What does this mean? How long could this possibly be? On strike? Really? 

 

After calming down some, I immediately went to the Lord. I was devastated and sad. Once I prayed, I shot out an email to our amazing support group--our ABF class. These sweet friends are our encouragement, our support, and our prayer warriors. I got a lot of emails, phone calls, and texts saying they were praying. I felt so much better knowing all this before we went to bed that night.

 

We received that email on Wednesday. On Friday we get this email!!

 

"The Honduran Adoption Authority, Instituto Hondureño de la Niñez y la Familia (IHNFA), has Resumed Normal Operations

This alert updates the alert published on October 17, 2012 regarding the temporary closure of the Instituto Hondureño de la Niñez y la Familia (IHNFA), due to a labor strike. U.S. Embassy Tegucigalpa confirmed that as of Friday, October 19, 2012, the strike ended and IHNFA is operating normally. Prospective adoptive parents with cases currently pending with IHNFA are encouraged to seek updates on their cases from their adoption service provider."

 

I could not even believe it!! I hooted and hollered after reading it! I was really shocked. I had prepared myself for the long run. I was honestly surprised to see that this resolved so quickly. I once again went straight to God and thanked Him up and down for this quick resolution. I then sent out another email to our ABF to let them know of our great news! I thanked them for their prayers because....they worked. I don't believe this was all an coincidence. I believe God heard our prayers and He answered them. He hears us. He knows our hearts.

 

He. Answers. Prayers.

 

The Lord has our journey completely worked out. He started this and He will end it. He knows the outcome and there is nothing I, or anyone else can do to mess it up. His way it perfect. I find peace and hope in Him.

 

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you." Matthew 7:7