Four plus three from Poland

Prayer bracelet

My personal journey into adoption started during a medical mission trip that Tucker and I took to Ecuador back in 2009.  Tucker and I went by the local orphanage to drop off some clothing and other supplies we had brought from the States.  This orphanage had 55 children in a 1,200 SF home.  The children actually had cubby holes for beds and were limited in the amount of time they could come out because of the lack of space and workers.  The Lord spoke to my heart right then that we could provide for orphans that need forever families. 

At the orphanage in Shell, Ecuador

The following year, we were in Peru where I met a little girl named Brittany.   She and I bonded immediately.  She did have a mother but no father.  On the last day of our trip, she made me this prayer bracelet that I have worn continually ever since. 

I have prayed for Brittany every day since then.  The bracelet was also a reminder for me to pray each day for orphans and the children that God would allow us to adopt.  So now that we officially have Karolina, Peter, and Sarah Jane, we celebrated by taking the bracelet off...three and a half years after another fatherless child put it on my wrist. 

Genesis 22 talks about how God had to take Abraham on a long journey to prepare his heart for what He had planned for Abraham and his child.

Thank you Lord for taking me on our journey to adoption.  It was not an easy journey, at times, but one that the Lord took us on to prepare us for what He had planned. One that started in Ecuador then Peru, and now on to Poland.