Good day for Ugandan Adoptions

Today is a good day for Ugandan adoptions. At least five families will arrive home in the US. The US Embassy worked hard to get these families out this week before today’s elections. The good news is that these families were here less than 5 weeks, three of them were here for less than 3 weeks. That is amazing! It shows that progress is being made, judges are working, the system is working, and children are receiving new families to love and cherish them. The new judges are very thorough and the embassy is working very hard to maintain ethical adoptions in Uganda. I know our story has scared some from international adoption or more specifically from Uganda. I want you to know that there are more than two million orphans in this country that need homes. The process is working for many, so please don’t let our story and our journey hold you back from what God may have planned for your family.

I’m so glad that I’ve got to spend quality time with at least three of these families getting to know their precious new children, hearing how God called them to adopt, seeing them start to bond with their kids, and sharing many laughs. I’m glad that some of my experiences were able to make their trip a bit smoother.

Over the last 25 weeks, I’ve seen many other families come and go. Each time they ask me how I can wish them goodbye with a smile on my face. I’ll admit that it’s not always easy. I just keep clinging to the fact that God is in control. He knew the path their adoptions would take, and He knew ours. I still struggle with “Why me?” and “When will our big day come?”, but I find my peace in the idea that God has purpose in all of it. A couple of these families this week tried to downplay their joy a bit in order to not hurt my feelings. I quickly tried to put a stop to that. Each time a child finds a new family there is joy and God should be glorified. Each time a child gets a visa to come home and officially join their families there should be joy and God should be glorified. This joy is the same whether they’ve been in the whole process for a few months with a couple weeks in country, or if they’ve been on this journey for years with months in country. Now don’t get me wrong, when Mercy finally receives a visa and we board that plane for home, there will be lots of shouting and praising going on. You may even be able to hear me from the US. It will be that same joy as the others, but my shouts may just be a bit louder. I am still holding strong to the promise I felt God gave me the day I met Mercy. I clearly heard that she was my daughter. I will fight for that as long as it takes. Our day will come, and in the meantime I will keep sharing in the joy of others and praising God through my storm.



Celebration Dinner... yes, I am cool with my sling with no baby.  Mercy is in Kristi's arms next to me.