Wise Counsel

Mike arrived home and we began to talk and pray. Up until this point, we'd pursued adopting Wenxin, but had not officially signed with Christian World Adoption and had put no money down.

Grandma (Mike's Mom) was in town. She was so sweet -- she said that she didn't want to get her hopes up, that this was our decision. But the twinkle in her eye indicated her excitement and approval.

To be honest, Nathan, Julia and Katherine weren't that encouraging. They like our family the way it is. They fear the changes that adding another child will bring. We had them so close together that they don't ever remember life without each other. So getting a new sibling seems like a brand new thing to them.

Mike and I continued to feel like God was saying, "Yes." But Mike wanted us to make a phone call to a friend who's a seasoned adoptive dad. This family has adopted 5 children internationally -- all as infants or toddlers. His counsel calmed our heart and gave us the final green light.

While he couldn't speak to the challenges of adopting an older child, he said that he felt that it was a confirmation that both Mike and I felt led to this particular child. He said that our kids would come around. And he encouraged us to think long term. He talked about the impact that this decision could have on future generations -- that as Wenxin comes into our home and hears the gospel, he will be able to reproduce that in the lives of his children and grandchildren. God can use this little boy in a powerful way to change the world.

We hung up the phone and hit the ground running. We applied to Christian World Adoption that night and did their Orientation Webinar the next morning. We signed lots of papers and had them notarized. We hired a social worker to do our home study. Now that we know for sure, we want to bring Wenxin home as soon as possible.