(Bump) Thank You!

I originally posted this on April 22, 2008. Thought I needed to post it again.

Last week was a hard week for me. I am not going to go into a lot of detail. Let's just say I've had a lot of time to think about who I am and what life experiences have made me who I am today. I spent most of that time looking over the last 19 months of our lives. From starting our adoption with Jonathan on October 12, 2006, to meeting Jonathan in March of 2007 to losing Jonathan on July 11, 2007, to meeting Joshua on September 12, 2007, and seeing him again this past March, my life has been pretty incredible.

After praying about adopting and then actually filling out the paperwork in October, we "met" the little boy we knew was our son. After praying about him, without really knowing him for a year, we decided it was time to go meet him in person. We had already met in our hearts, but being able to see him and hold him was amazing. At the time, he was testing positive for HIV, and we were praying he would convert.

In April, we got the wonderful news that he tested negative for the first time (a second test was required and that was done in May and was also negative). That same day, we also learned that the wife of another missionary friend in Haiti passed away quite unexpectedly. So, we got the best news ever and the worst news ever on the same day, and all of it from Haiti.

We were also waiting on a document from the Mayor's office because Chris had to classify Jonathan as abandoned since they couldn't find his mom. The Mayor then became the one who had to legally place him up for adoption. We were waiting for this paperwork when we received the devastating news of Jonathan's passing on July 11, 2007.

July through September are a bit of a blur. Our family and friends really rallied around us in prayer and encouragement. It was all very surreal. We didn't have a funeral or memorial to plan. There were no arrangements to be made. The day after he died, I was getting the oil changed in our car. I was pretty numb for a while and we just started praying for God's strength, for his joy, for his leading as we moved from adopting Jonathan to...well, we didn't know what. We just prayed and we knew when the time was right, God would reveal his plan to us - as much of it as he wanted to reveal at that particular moment. We didn't (and still don't) understand why, and quite honestly, that's okay. God knows, and since his plan is perfect, I have to accept that He knows why.

So in September, Craig and I went to Haiti again. Not really knowing why, just knowing we had to be there. God surprised us with Joshua and we boarded the adoption roller coaster again. My trip in March of this year was my second time to see Joshua, and we now we've started regular video calls to see him. God is so good!!

But what really caught my attention as I reflected on this, was the way my family and friends encouraged us through such a hard time. We had e-mails, phone calls, and numerous cards. I saved every card and e-mail that was sent to us. What I haven't done, is really THANK everyone for their wonderful caring at the most difficult time of my life. I had several people tell me that they just didn't understand why or were upset at how long the process was taking. The honest truth is that we don't understand why Jonathan passed away or why the process takes so long. What we do know is that there is absolutely NO WAY we could have gotten through that time without the love, prayers, and encouragement we received from all of our family.

So as I look ahead and forward to what the remainder of this year and the future hold, I want to thank everyone who helped us through that time. Right now, we're waiting on Joshua's mom's ID card to go into IBESR (the social services division of the Haitian government - they actually approve the adoption). We know that God is good - all the time.