Let the Hurdles Begin

We received a reply from our application yesterday. There were a few initial details that were going to make it difficult to adopt from China. All three of these, we already knew about, but were hoping that the agency could find ways around them. We had heard from several people, that if there is a will, there is a way and your agency will help you figure it out. After a couple of replies, Justin and I began to realize that maybe China wasn't the option for us. And the strange thing about it, was that we are at peace with that. We just know that we are ready to adopt, and the fact that we live in China and can speak some of the language is a big, fat plus, but really, we are open to other places as well. We are looking into Bulgaria and Ukraine. Both of these programs we could get started on today without having to meet the steeper requirements of China. The only problem with Bulgaria is the wait time is considerably longer and we are hoping to be finalizing our adoption before we come back to the States for our furlough. And Ukraine is a good option for the timeline, but the process is not quite as organized as China and there are many unknowns within their program, such as not knowing anything about your child until you arrive in the country to meet them. We have a Skype call Sunday night here to talk about the different program options available. All we can really do is trust Father to lead us, just like He always does.