It has been a while. Life has been busy. I (Sarah) finished my first semester teaching as an assistant professor at Corban just a few months ago. What a fun and busy semester! Now that I am on Christmas break, there is a little more free time. However, I am also prepping for next semester's classes, so there is not much down time. If you know me, you know I like to be busy, so I'm happy.
Now to answer the second question, why adopt a little girl?
I have several answers... One, who doesn't want pretty pink bows, tootoos and all the frilliness that comes with parenting a little girl? Some of you may be saying, "me, me!!" You would rather be blessed with slugs and snails and puppy-dog tails any day over having to deal with sugar and spice and everything nice. A few years ago I would have said the same thing, but now I have been blessed with my very own little boy and today I think I am ready for a little sugar and spice. So, my first answer, not necessarily in order of priority, importance or answer-ability is "why not?" If we are going to adopt again, wouldn't it be fun to have a girl too?
I could not ask for a better child or one who is more suited to our family. Droiy was born about 4 months before Ben and I met back on 12/31/07, but I know that God was preparing us to be his parents even before we knew him. He was meant for us and we were meant for him. Even tonight, when he was being a little pill and getting mad at Ben because he had not seen him most of the day, I know that little boy is just who God had in mind for us to parent. So, I have faith that, as we are getting ready for this next child, we will be just right for each other again.
So...two, because a little sister is what Droiy has been asking for... He prays for his "new baby sister" as he calls her, he talks about saving his old toys for his "new baby sister," and he talks about all the things he is going to teach his "new baby sister." No, we would not make the enourmous, life-altering decision to adopt a girl just because our 5 year old asks for one, but it helps. Actually, he has changed his request a little bit. He figured out that right now there are 2 boys in the family (Ben and Droiy) and 2 girls in the family (me and our dog Molly). So he asked for two new siblings - a brother and a sister. He was concerned that the girls would out-number the boys, so he wants one of both, just to make it even. Likewise, Ben and I have both discussed it and we would be open to having siblings if they became available. We have been approved by our adoption agency, the social worker that performed our home study and the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for two children of either gender. So, Droiy just might get his wish.
Reason number three, if you have ever watched their videos or have visited The Girl Effect website, you would understand why changing the life of just one girl can have such a tremendous impact. An educated girl reinvests 90% of her future income in her family versus 35% for a boy. Changing the life of just one girl can have far-reaching effects. You may ask, "if you adopt the girl out of Ghana, is she really going to have an impact there?" She may not, but as a family we have decided to reinvest in the countries that we adopt our children from. We are currently supporting several ministries in Haiti and I am helping to lead a group of college students from Corban on a mission trip to Haiti this summer. It is our goal to keep that connection and to continue to work in Haiti, so that one day Droiy would have the opportunity to return and do the same. We hope to have a similar impact in Ghana by adopting a girl from there and allowing her to have the opportunity to return to work with the people from that country.
Finally, it is a little scary to start working on a second child. I worry, just like every young parent probably does, whether they are planning to adopt or have a biological child. I worry that Droiy may think that we love him less if he has to share us with a sibling or two. I know there will be jealousy; it is probably inevitable. We have asked, if we get siblings, that the older of the two would be a girl. This may help with some of the competition that may naturally occur between siblings. However, I don't think we can always safeguard against every problem that may come our way. Just as God was preparing Droiy, Ben and I for each other, I believe he is preparing us for this new child or children. We are approved to adopt up to two children who are at least a year younger than Droiy. So, when the time comes, we will find out who they are and we will know that we were meant for each other.
Keep us in your prayers. We still have about $20,000 more to pay for this adoption. So far, God has provided the funds. Which, praise God! I just added things up today and, since May, we have put nearly $13,000 toward this adoption! I didn't know we had that type of extra money. Somehow (through the Lord's faithfulness, of course) the money has been provided. We will be applying for an adoption grant through Show Hope in the next couple of weeks. Pray that God will continue to provide and help with the funds that we need. Or, if you are interested in helping, click on this link: Ghana Adoption Fund.
Keep checking back. A little more about Ghana will be coming next with and answer to my third question....Why should she be from Ghana?
