The Long Wait

     I think it was the summer of 1994 when I went on my first mission trip to Jamaica with the Herko Family Mission. During that trip, we spent some time at the Jamaican Christian Boys Home. The boys there were orphaned or abandoned and they were hungry for someone to love them. It was on that trip when I first knew that one day, I wanted to adopt.
     16 years. So far, I've been waiting 16 years on that dream. As a single adult, I didn't feel like adopting was the right option for me. So I waited. I waited and waited and waited and finally, three years ago, I married my husband. At 35, with a new husband and step-son, I knew we needed to give it a little time before we jumped into the idea of more kids. So I waited some more.
     In December of 2009, we picked an international adoption agency to work with and a country to adopt from. Ethiopia. We sent in our application and were accepted and started the process. Almost 11 months later, we're still waiting. We're almost done with our homestudy. We need a document and a check. Then we will wait some more, for the State of Illinois to approve us. Once we're approved by Illinois, we can start on all the international paperwork. When we complete all of that and are approved, then we'll be put on "the waiting list" for a referral.
      The waiting list seems so far away, unreachable. How long will it take? How will we afford it? Sometimes I wonder if this is a dream that will ever come true. I know God's heart is for the orphan though, so I'm trusting Him. I know that some day, I'll meet two sweet lives and it will be so worth the long wait!