And so we wait...
It's been quite a while since we posted, but we wanted to wait until we had more to share.
The past several months have been very busy in the adoption realm, getting together loads of paperwork to complete our home study. We ran into a few roadblocks last month, which we thought was going to delay our approval quite a bit, but let me assure you that God and His Almighty plan turned things around much quicker than we could have imagined and we are pleased to say that our home study was officially approved a couple weeks ago!!
This is a HUGE step for us, as many of you know who have gone through this process or know someone who has, it is the step that gives us approval to wait for a child referral. At this point, we get to "wait" for the phone call that will refer us a child to be possibly matched with our family. There are so many details that go into this point of the adoption; so we ask that you pray with us as we wait and as we get that phone call (hopefully very soon...my heart is so full and is about to explode, y'all!). Please pray for wisdom, discernment and great joy as we wait upon the Lord.
We were able to walk in Room For One More 5k a couple weekends ago, as well. It is a local non-profit that provides aide in the form of grants to families adopting. It was a great opportunity to come together with our community to raise more awareness for adoption, but it was also a fundraiser for us, as well! We met so many amazing people along the way through that organization. We were so blessed by the people who raced on behalf of "Team Hensley" to help raise support!
On another fun note, the boys are getting more and more aware of the adoption and learning more each day. They pray for "our baby brother or sister" every night. Aaron has even asked for a map! So we got him a world map to put on his wall and just about every night, he can't wait to point to S. Korea to tell us that's where they live. It melts my heart that they are already opening their hearts to this sweet child that we haven't even met yet. It is only by God's grace and love that I know their little hearts can be so open to something like this. And it's only by His love and grace that we, as parents, have been opened up to this.
We still have so many fears as we get ready to bring another child into our home, but fears that are completely outweighed by the impending joys. We know God is preparing us for this. In Him we have complete confidence that He will see us through each step of the way.
Please continue to pray for us as we wait and also as we plan ahead for the next rounds of paperwork that are to come, as well as the funding needs we still have. We are in the process of applying for grants to help us pay for the adoption costs and planning future fundraising events. These costs can seem so daunting as we look at them on a detailed spreadsheet, but we have already seen the Lord's faithfulness in supplying our needs thus far, so I don't even doubt His next move!
Thank you all for your ongoing support and encouragement through this process! We can't even begin to tell you how much your phone calls, texts, emails and in-person conversations mean to us!
Blessings to you and your family this season - we will update when we have more details to share!
-Josh & Heather
