Beach Buddies

Beach Buddies

Monday, April 27, 2015

Next Step...Adoption Training Weekend

Last Friday we headed down to Boise, Idaho for our Adoption Training weekend with A New Beginning Adoption Agency. We are going through a private agency so that we will be able to adopt from Foster Care from the entire U.S. (and not just Idaho). We had 12 hours of training ahead, and a four hour drive. On the way down we were talking about wanting to be sure we were heading in the right direction with adopting. It's intimidating to think about the cost, the permanency of our decision, and knowing that adopting through foster care is not an easy step. We'd ask friends to pray, and had been praying ourselves. We decided to step out in faith, and continue down this next step.

On the way there we were notified that we had a donation in our GoFundMe account. We were initially hesitant to start a GoFundMe account. I thought it was a good idea, and then Jeff told me he saw a news story about a GoFundMe situation. There was a guy who had accidentally been invited to a bachelor party of a stranger. He ended up befriending the groom-to-be though e-mail, and decided to go. He started a GoFundMe to fly to the party on the east coast (from Seattle). He got thousands of dollars in support. Jeff said that if some random guy could get funded to go to a bachelor's party, then we should set one up because what we are doing matters. We are adopting a child (or two) that need a home. We want to have children, and be parents. We're not saving this child. We will be blessed to have them as our child, and we hope to be able to bless them. We are becoming their parents, and family. It's the same for us if that child is biological or adopted. They will be our kid...always. We will love them, support them, and give them a safe, secure home full of love, patience, and whatever else they need.

Our weekend training was informative, interactive, and made us talk and think through the topics presented. We had a great group that we were part of and it was encouraging to see others who want to adopt through Foster Care. We also heard a few stories from those who had adopted through the program. We had a long day Saturday, but completed the training feeling good, and were encouraged by the adoption agency to keep going! We had another great moment Friday night. After the first evening of training we went to our hotel and checked in. The lady who checked us in asked why we were in Boise. I hesitated for a half second and then told her we were at an adoption training. She got a HUGE grin on her face, and told us she was adopted. She had a great adoption story, and told us how great it was that we were going to adopt. What a blessing! I left the checkout desk feeling so excited!

Our next step is our home study. We will get mailed a pile of papers after we send in our next payment, and do a phone call with the adoption agency to talk through the weekend and the next step. It's another step, and we will face it being encouraged by this weekend. An adventure can seem overwhelming at first, but really it's a series of steps. If you take one at a time you will find yourself far along the path.


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