CARA Approval and Next Steps!

We have some very exciting news! On June 25, after 11 months and 1 week of waiting, we got the call that we had CARA approval! That might not sound so exciting, but here is the background for those who don’t know. When we started the adoption process back in November 2018, the timeline from start to finish was around 12-24 months. At that time getting your paperwork approved by India’s adoption authority (CARA) was taking 6-12 weeks and sometimes even shorter. So when we were registered with CARA in July 2019 we assumed we might get approval that fall or at the very latest early winter. As the weeks went on and seasons changed, the wait became harder and harder. We began to despair that our approval might never happen. We asked you all to pray and we know you faithfully did! We are so thankful for that!

Well fast forward to a few weeks ago when we got a call from our adoption agency. They said that despite all their many efforts to advocate for our approval, they were not getting a response as to why the wait was so long. We began to talk about switching from India to another program, possibly Colombia. To be honest, we were so discouraged. We had imagined our baby in India and had really grown to love the country of India. After such a long wait, to switch to another country sounded so hard. But at the same time we wondered if maybe this was God closing the door for us and leading us somewhere else. We didn’t feel settled with that so we prayed... a lot. We asked family and friends to pray and we had a letter written up as a last ditch attempt to ask CARA for our approval. Now here’s the cool God story... the day we were going to send that letter we got a call from our agency that it wouldn’t be necessary because somehow that night before we had been approved!! We were honestly in total shock! There may have been some tears! We could not believe how God had orchestrated that timing. On top of that, we were in Michigan with family so it was extra special to get to share the excitement with them in person!

So what’s next? This is the really exciting part!! Now that we are approved, we begin the matching phase of the process. This means that our agency will send us a referral of a child that matches what we were approved for in our home study as far as age, gender, etc. When we get a referral we will get pictures, medical information and any other paperwork that is available regarding that child and we have 30 days to decide whether to accept the match and pursue that child or not. 

The best way I can describe this feeling is in pregnancy terms. I feel like we are in the second trimester! When I was pregnant with our boys, it was great to get to the second trimester because my belly popped, I began to feel kicks and we got to see our babies on an ultrasound. Suddenly it hit home that there was a real child joining our family at the end of that pregnancy!  It was so exciting! It feels much the same way now (minus the bulging belly). After lots of paperwork and waiting, to see a face and know a name of the child joining our family suddenly makes it all seem more real! We are truly thrilled and excited to be at this point in the process! 

Thanks so much for praying with us, cheering us on when the wait got so hard, and for supporting us all along the way!

As hard as the wait for approval was, we can truly see God’s goodness to us while we waited. First of all, we were able to raise funds and apply for grants that give us the financial means to move forward in the process. It was so exciting to see God provide during the waiting period! It also gave us time to focus on preparing our hearts and family for another child. We were able to spend time strengthening our marriage, attending an adoption conference, reading and researching attachment in adoption and focusing on our two boys and our relationship with them. Those may all seem like small things, but in the long run, having a strong marriage and family is going to be one of the best gifts we can give our little one! In all of that, God has strengthened our faith as we’ve devoted ourselves to prayer, Bible reading and family discipleship. More than anything, we want to give this little one a knowledge of Jesus that will, Lord willing, lead to saving faith in Jesus that impacts the world for God’s glory. We can only do that well if we are passionately pursuing Jesus ourselves! All that to say, we are thankful for the extra time to grow in all of those areas during this waiting period. Thank you for praying that we would use that time well and be patient and persevere. We absolutely felt your prayers!!

Finally, we want to ask for your prayers for this next phase of our adoption journey. Matching with a child is so exciting, but it is also emotionally draining to see pictures of children with various needs who are waiting for a forever family. The India adoption program we are a part of is a special needs program which means we will be coming home with a child who has medical needs. We want to be wise regarding what our family is able to provide for, but also willing to step out in faith in this area knowing that God goes before us and already knows the child who is meant to join our family. We would really appreciate your prayers for this! Please be praying specifically for wisdom for us and that God would already be preparing the heart of our sweet child to join our family!

We would also love for you to pray for all the children who continue to wait. So many children in India are in need of the love of a family and the Gospel. Would you pray with us that families would step up to love and care for these children? If your family is considering adoption please reach out to us! We would love to talk with you and answer any questions we can! God has been so faithful on this journey and we would love to share that with you!

We so appreciate your prayers!! We are thrilled to be in this stage of the process and can’t wait to share more soon!