Questions, Questions, Questions

So many questions. Now that our first travel date is in sight so many, many questions are running around in my head. Some of them are questions that others who have the joy of being parents to an adopted little one could answer for us, like …

How long can we expect it take him to start speaking English? And what is the best way to communicate with him during the time when he is transitioning between languages?

What health problems should we expect in a child from his country? Parasites? Lice? Malnutrition? All of the above, plus a few more?

What physical needs do the orphanages have that we could enlist our church family to help us meet?

What about institutional behaviors? What should we expect?

What local resources can you suggest for post-adoption care?

What will the travel be like? What challenges should I be prepared for when travelling halfway around the world with a child who most likely has never even been outside his orphanage?

And some, only God knows the answers to, like…

How will we adjust as a family? What challenges will we face?

How much hurt is A.J. holding in his little heart? How can we help him heal?

How severe is his lung disease? How much medical treatment will he need once he is home?

Is he healthy? Safe?

What is his personality? What things does he like and what does he absolutely hate?

How will A.J. fit into the loud, busy, physical, exciting place that is the Jak Shack?

If you know me well, you know that I do NOT like things to be uncertain. I like being in control of things in my life and knowing what to expect. I plan things way in advance, make checklists, and have routines for almost everything. I like to have a plan, a back-up plan, and a contingency plan in place for everything.

That is one of the (many) things God has been working on me about during this adoption. He has asked me again and again to turn the control over to Him. I have slowly started to trust that He has the answers to the questions even if I do not.

 And I have learned that sometimes the answers to the questions don’t even matter. If we knew in advance all of the challenges that we would face in travelling the path that God has laid out for us, would we still chose to follow Him? Or would we say “No thanks God, that is just going to be too hard. We’re not interested.” Sometimes it is better to not know all of the answers and just trust that God has it covered!  It can be SO hard to do, but it is SO worth it.

Prayer Requests:

A very good friend of ours had an accident and amputated three of his fingers. They were able to save one of the three and did a modified amputation on the others. Please pray for him and his children who were with him when the accident occurred.

That our dossier processing will go quickly and we will get our travel dates soon!