Prayer List for Moses

I am SO grateful to have friends who are willing to pray us through this adoption. Until I came face to face with pictures of a little boy I loved deeply but could not physically reach, I don't think I really understood what it meant to pray for a child.

Below is a list of specific prayer requests we are asking for this week. We are not allowed to share photos, his name, or his specific medical condition publicly for about another two weeks. However, all of this love and concern will make sense when you see his sweet little face. He is a precious little boy, and we can't wait to get him home.


-That the adults in the orphanage will love him, laugh with him, and be kind to him

-That he will get enough food to eat, vitamins to grow, and milk to drink. I have read that milk is a rarity in many facilities.

-That he will be warm this winter

-That someone will give him a hug today (and read him a book.)

-That he will be safe from orphanage hazards. The water/pollution are bad in many places, and there are high levels of lead in many overseas facilities)

-That he would be protected from illnesses and disease

-That God would put a hedge of protection around him and guard him from any physical, emotional, or sexual abuse

-That God would keep his heart tender and able to bond until we can arrive

-That all of the paperwork would be miraculously expedited, and that we could reach him in as little as 2-4 months (This would take a miracle, literally. The wait is supposed to take 7-11 months. I'm asking God if He might part the seas for little Moses. :) )

-That God would provide the rest of our financial needs quickly, so that we are not hindered in reaching him

-That someone in his facility would love Jesus, and talk to him about God’s love

-That our match and other paperwork would be formalized very quickly with no snags

Read more...

The Checklist

Well, I checked some bubbles. But I think we’re going to have to redo it.

Part of the special needs adoption process involves a long checklist with different physical and mental issues. Prospective parents must read through that list and decide yes, no, or maybe.

How do you look at a page full of special needs and decide which conditions you would accept in your child? There’s a huge part of me that wants to just check, “YES,” on all of them, even though some of them frighten me.

I’m fairly comfortable with ASD or VSD, because our birth daughter had an ASD. And I’m comfortable with club foot, because my husband had one. I’m comfortable with cleft lip and palate, because my niece had that.” I also have a dear friend who has a missing finger, another with spina bifida, and on... and on... and on...

What it comes down to is, I COULD love any child on that checklist.

After agonizing for quite a while, I read something online that was helpful. It said to think about which special needs your family could care for best. And it hit me that if we signed up for a child with extreme, long-term needs, our attempts at “love” might prevent someone with better resources from caring for her.

So, I’ll have to think some more. And pray. And ask God which needs we can meet in light of our boundaries. Please pray that we’ll have wisdom there.

Read more...