About two and a half weeks ago I found out or better yet came to the realization that our lawyer was not doing a very good job. Really, he wasn't doing anything! So, we prayed about it and decided to go with a lawyer we had previously found (unlike the other lawyer, we didn't know anyone who had used him for their adoption, but he did come with high recommendation from the Malawi Embassy). So, I called Alan, the lawyer we hoped would represent us now, and well I asked if he would represent us and what the next steps are in the process. He did more for our case in the first 10 minutes of speaking with him than our old lawyer did in weeks. Praise the Lord! God again proved that He was all knowing and in control of every situation! He told me that in order to continue with our adoption, we would need to speak with Hyacinth, the head of the social services in Malawi, who controls the adoption process. I was instructed to call her and tell her about the triplets, about the situation with the families wanting to split them up, and to see from her what steps I needed to take next in order to find the triplets eligible (again) and to adopt them. He emphasized that we needed her on our side if we wanted to win our case. Ultimately, again, I knew however that a case would only be won and the adoption would only be complete if it was/is truly God's will for our family! We have before and since we found out about the triplets, prayed for the children we are going to adopt. Hannah and Noelle also pray for them on a 'several-times-a-day' basis. WE ONLY WANT THE CHILDREN GOD WANTS FOR US AND WE ONLY WANT THEM IN HIS TIMING! That being said, we have felt through prayer that God has led us to the triplets, and so we walk on the path God has set before us until He shows us something different. We have come to know a little about the girls, and if I could show you their pictures, then you couldn't help but want to hold them and kiss them and love on them. That has proven to be such a hard part of all of this....the uncontrollable! I, even if I'm not actually, do feel like I'm in some control of my girls...well, am I right? I can tuck them in bed, I can put good food on the table for them to nourish their bodies with, but the triplets or any other child/children we adopt I can't yet do that with...I can't hold them when no one else will, I can't give them good food to eat or ensure that they truly are eating and to be honest it's is really hard to have no control. I wouldn't say that I, Ashley, am a control freak, but yeah I kind of am. We, as parents, know that our children are really God's children that He has given us them to train and to grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ so that they may honor Him with their life, bearing fruit, praising Him, and working for His glory! So, we are already praying for the children He will bring into our family, not as the world sees as a natural way to enter a family, but through a God extraordinary way that we may do the same with them, training them to one day honor and glorify God with their lives, as we are already training our children now to do. So, it is a daily thing with Hannah and Noelle and praying for our future children, that God would take over, thanking Him for allowing us to be a vessel that He is using to instruct them in the ways of the Lord and thanking Him for everyday we get to do just that.
My conversation with Hyacinth two weeks ago wasn't as positive as I had hoped, but she was glad we were now headed in the right direction. She asked for a week to work on getting some answers and finding out some information concerning the triplets. So, I called again last Friday to speak with her about what she had discovered and there was little news. Praise God for the little things though! Not only had she found out from the Nursery, the orphanage the girls are to be moved to once they reach 5 pds-an orphanage that doesn't allow siblings to be split up, that they are still expecting them soon but Ms. Hyacinth was positive and well...she was nice! and that was a big change from our conversation the previous week. She asked for me to call her in a week or two, as she was sending a team to the hospital where the girls were born and are still at and to find their Aunt. If you remember from a previous post, any living relatives that would normally be caring for the children, have to approve the adoption (making the children eligible for adoption). So, as I prepare to make the phone call to her in the next few minutes, as the phone line was busy earlier giving me time to write a post, I pray that she would know some new information and that we would continue to move where the Lord directs! Alan, our lawyer, is on 'stand-by' waiting for the 'ok' from Ms. Hyacinth so that he can proceed forward with our adoption!
Pray with us for this team of people, for us to find favor with Hyacinth and with any other Malawian officials, pray for the Aunt (as I can't disclose pictures of the girls until our court date, I won't disclose her name either)-pray that we would find favor with her, pray that our desires would only be the desires that God wants for us-that God's desires wouldn't match the desires of our hearts, BUT THAT GOD'S WILL WOULD ALWAYS BE THE DESIRE OF OUR HEARTS!, pray for Alan as he prepares to represent us-he'll be taking on a lot especially since there are three families that want to split the girls up, for the girls as they continue to gain weight-that they would remain healthy and growing strong, for their caretakers both the hospital workers and the ones that are preparing for them in the Nursery-that God would give them strength and wisdom. May God place these girls in the home/homes He wants for them and may we always know that His ways are higher and greater than ours will ever be!
Thank you once again for being a part of our journey, for enduring all of my long, ungrammatically correct posts!
-Ashley
