– CALIFORNIA – Dave & Amber

Amber & Dave’s Ellie  ~ Always smiling

When God helped us to decide to Adopt again, we didn’t realize exactly what His plan for us would include. We had two biological boys and we had Adopted our daughter from foster care. We wanted to fulfill God’s calling to us to Adopt once more but asked Him to please lead us down the path He chose. We were familiar with the Foster-to-Adopt system, but didn’t feel His prompt for this process again. We knew several families at church Adopting from out of country and then believed that, with the support of these friends, inter-country Adoption must be our new direction. We began the process of Adopting from Rwanda.

Six months later, Rwanda suspended accepting Adoption applications. We were devastated because this seemed like God was definitely closing the door. We weren’t sure how to proceed. Private Adoption had never even been an option in our minds and was certainly the most unfamiliar and uncomfortable road. But God doesn’t always want us to be comfortable, especially when He has greater plans for us.

We began an intense search for how to pursue a private Adoption yet we still kept our hearts guarded. We were skeptical about this new direction, apprehensively making calls and speaking with Adoption agencies, attorneys, and facilitators. None seemed to “feel” right.

Then, we found Adoption Center Of Hope.

When we spoke with Michelle we finally felt some confirmation and encouragement that private Adoption could be a realistic and viable option for us. It was very apparent to us that Michelle had a deep, God-inspired calling to help women who found themselves struggling with life-altering decisions. Michelle was also committed to helping find stable, Christian homes for these women to consider as they developed Adoption plans for their babies. Finally, we felt God’s lead. It wasn’t the path we initially chose for ourselves, but realized He already had this plan in motion.

On September 29, 2010, we stepped out in faith, met with Michelle, and began our new Adoption journey. On October 26, the anniversary of our daughter’s Adoption, Michelle made “the call.” We were chosen by a Birth Mom!

The next four emotionally-charged months were filled with many ups and downs as we developed a relationship with our Birth Mom. To be honest, it wasn’t always easy but we were able to maintain a respectful and loving bond. We lived by the verse “Love never fails” from 1 Corinthians 13. We also leaned heavily on Michelle who was a constant source of kind encouragement.

On March 4, 2011, just shy of six months from trusting God and stepping out in faith, our sweet little Eliana was born. Over the following three days, we were in and out of Birth Mom’s room with Eliana, spending what we knew were our last treasured moments all together.

While we did experience some challenges we would never change the experience and situation that God gave us. We are proud to have called our Birth Mom “friend,” even if it was for a brief time. We are blessed to have known her and feel grateful that we will have wonderful stories to tell our daughter of the fun times that we did have together.

Adoption is ultimately God’s idea. It can be a challenging path but with a remarkable outcome. God had to send His Son to suffer, to take the burden of our sin so that we could be reconciled, Adopted into His family and have eternal life with him. Our Adoption into His family came with discomfort. But the outcome was more love than we could possibly imagine.

Adoption is truly the ultimate act of love. It’s God’s love for us. It’s the love that Birth Parents have for their babies that they put their own needs aside to place them into another family.  It is the ultimate love in action.