Brent and I have some exciting news to share! I guess it is no where near "official," but we are about to burst and can't wait any longer.
We received an e-mail then a call from Lifeline a few weeks ago saying that a child had been placed on the national Waiting Children registry that they thought would be a great match for our family. Yes - that means we are much closer in the adoption process, but not ready to travel. :)
We want to respect his privacy, so I won't go into much detail, but his name is Samuel, and he does have a fairly serious medical need. We were told that his age and a couple more medical details put him on the list. They sent us his entire medical file... but it was in Spanish. I had chills for a straight hour once we received this news, because there was a good chance this was going to be our son!
When we received the news, the girls and I were playing in the playroom. Lilly Grace still had on a tacky princess dresses, but we packed up and sped over to Brent's office. Brent was supposed to be out of town, but through a random chain of events, he did not go. After quick prayer and a few tears, we immediately submitted a letter of intent for this boy. We were on cloud nine, because we felt this three year old boy was going to become a Buchanan.
After we sent in our letter, our social worker called us and basically told us not to get our hopes up, since dozens of other agencies across the world had access to his file. We didn't let this discourage us.
And let me tell you, he is SOOOO cute so anybody who sees him would want him! We tried to guard our hearts, knowing there was a greater chance that he would not become a member of our family, than the chance that he would.
After a grueling week of waiting, Beth, our social worker called and said she had some good news. We were the first family to submit a letter of intent, so the central authority in Colombia - the ICBF - stopped accepting anymore after ours was received!!! Woohoo! Praise the Lord for allowing that to work out so perfectly.
Although this all seems fabulous, there are still many more steps, and he is by no means officially a member of our family yet.
Samuel is currently in a foster home in Colombia, and we truly feel that his foster family is doing great with him, which we will be eternally grateful for! Our dossier has not been submitted to Colombia yet, but I got word today that it should be submitted within the next couple days. After it is submitted, it can be approved, rejected, or sent back for further questions. We pray that it is approved and quickly. We must be approved in the country then in the state where he lives. After approval, we must be officially "matched" with Samuel through the ICBF. After a few more steps in the process, will eventually be able to go to Colombia for our allotted 6-7 weeks to bring Samuel home!
Our biggest prayer concern right now is that we are able to travel to Colombia in December so that Brent is able to stay the entire time. We know this is highly unlikely, but God can make anything possible. We also know that everything happens in His perfect timing, and His ways are all-knowing. We are so ready to go to Colombia to bring Samuel home!
As I close, I have a quick story about Lilly Grace. During her prayers before bed tonight, she wanted to pray for her brother. She told us that right now the door in Colombia is closed, but God has the key and He will get us to Colombia. Out of the mouth of babes, folks, comes beautiful words of wisdom!
Keep praying for Samuel!
Praying and crying!
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