Our God is Gracious

As we mark our year anniversary from the date we first sent our “letter of intent to adopt” to the Nigerian government, we continue to wait and trust in God’s perfect and sovereign timing.

We want to let you know how grateful we are to the Lord for everyone who has been praying with us and has supported us financially in our adoption expenses. Thank you again to everyone who participate in our t-shirt fundraiser as well as other ways of giving. If you didn’t have a chance to get in on the first t-shirt order and would still like to do so, we will be opening up another round of orders likely around the end of August/early September. If you want to get put on the list to be reminded when the time comes, let us know!

We are very thankful to have family and friends who ask us regularly how we’re are doing and if we have any news yet. Even though our answer is “No, nothing new, just waiting!”- it is so encouraging to know that people care.

Waiting with Patience & Anticipation

This waiting stage has been one of the hardest stages yet of the adoption process, probably because there is not a lot we can do. We do not even have a name or a face of the children we are waiting for, but our thoughts are on them continually and we are praying for news soon. We are thankful to our agency, who has reassured us that they are diligently working towards the right referral for our future family.

Since November, we have been excited and honored to watch three other families from our agency go through the adoption finalization process in Nigeria. Following these families has been a good “distraction” for us, and it was a blessing to closely follow along in their journeys and to learn more about what we can expect and some of the potential challenges we may face while in Nigeria. Now, with no one that we know to follow along with we are growing more and more eager for it to be our turn to travel and meet our kids for the first time.

The Lord has been so gracious and given us a huge sense of peace in our waiting thus far. However, as time passes by we long each day to see the faces of our sweet children and to hold them in our arms. Our hearts ache to welcome them into our family and to begin a new life with them. We know our wait time for a referral is relatively short compared to so many adoptions, both international and domestic. And we also know that receiving a referral is just the start of a very crazy process in which so much could happen, both ups and downs. Ultimately we trust that God, the author and creator of all things, has his good and perfect plan and in that we find our hope and rest – even if our adoption process is not anything like what we imagine or planned.

Prayer Requests

Please pray with us for a quick referral of two children and a smooth process to follow. Please pray for continued funds to come in for our adoption expenses, and for the process in Nigeria to be swift so that Markus is able to stay the entire time with us. Pray for the other families that are waiting, especially those who have referrals and are waiting to travel.

Waiting and trusting in the one who holds the whole world in the palm of his hand,

Markus & Sarah