Shift in perspective

A lot of people have been asking lately, "So, how are things going with the adoption?"

The short answer is that things are going "slowly".

When our translator called the Ministry of Social Affairs (the agency that has chare of Anna) on Monday, she spoke to someone else who explained that Mrs. Tobichikova is still on vacation (there isn't great communication between the Magistrate, who told us to call her Monday, and the Ministry of Social Affairs, we are learning) but that they would be happy to meet with us and answer our questions next week on Tuesday (the 22nd of August). In the meantime, the Ministry is going to send out a psychologist to evaluate Anna and make some recommendations (I assume about her readiness to be in a family setting rather than an institution).

The hard thing is that the Ministry, as is typical of all bureacracies, can't make a decision quickly; however, they did say that they will have a big department meeting on Sept. 5th (they have these regularly) and that should be when they decide for sure whether we can adopt her. On a certain level, we're holding loosely to that date because a lot of what we have been told thus far in terms of timing has proved to not be the case when the day rolls around.

The good news in all of this is that they haven't said "no" and they still seem generally positive toward the idea, though cautious about making any promises. We have continued to receive "maybe"s all the way, which is hard but leaves room for hope and trust that if God is in this, it will work out. My visa not being in yet is also a major problem as far as things moving ahead, so this actually gives us a little extra time for the visa to arrive before it is urgently needed.

Last night we were talking with a friend who, along with his wife, has adopted two children. They had 7 potential adoptions fall through (back in Canada) before one was completed. Our conversation reminded me that we have to think about this in a different way:

The ultimate goal is adoption of a baby whom God knows will be a perfect match for our family. Although we have come to love Anna and she would be our first choice, if for some reason God knows that someone else would be better for us (or us for her), then we can trust that this door closing will mean that God, in His wisdom, was guiding us to a different child. If God wants us to have Anna, then no earthly power--even bureaucracy--can stand in the way!

It helped me to think of that way, even though I would feel deeply sad if we are not able to adopt Anna. God is really trustworthy and I am already praying for protection from despair or depression if we hear some hard news in the future. The end of this story will be a wonderful child whom we have the privilege of loving forever.

So, thanks again for your prayers. Please do continue to lift up Mrs. Tobichikova at the Ministry of Social Affairs, who will be hearing about all this next week for the first time, and also pray for the psychologist's time with Anna (especially her conversations with the caretakers, who are very favorable toward us), and for our meeting with the Ministry which will hopefully happen next week to ask questions and give them the chance to see our hearts for Anna.

Please also pray for protection from depression or despair. As you may know, I struggle with seasonal depression, connected with the dark weather in the winter. The last few days have been cloudy and grey, and when the weather is like that, it becomes harder for me to keep a positive outlook. But God has been faithful and I feel like He--because of everyone's prayers--is carrying us through this time.