Why "Eight Is Not Enough"?
When we were younger, there was a television sitcom that was called "Eight is Enough". The television watching world was entertained with the thought of a family with eight children. Most of us were shocked at the prospect of such a large family- myself included! Then ever so slowly, God began to work on our hearts, until we surrendered to Him all of our lives- yes even gave Him sovereign control over the size of our family and He has blessed us immeasurably, with eight biological children. Each of these children have been an amazing gift to us and we cherish each of them. And we praised God for them and felt to ourselves "eight is enough" - at least for a time.
Then God began to stir our hearts. It was as if He spoke to say to us "these 8 precious children I have given to you, but what have you given to my orphans in return?" A burden began to build on our hearts to adopt. We knew that for us God still had other plans for us as parents if we would be faithful to His calling- that eight is not enough. And so, we followed this call to adopted and He has continued to blessed us through adoption. First a sibling group of three from Soacha, Colombia. They joined our family in November, 2008. In May 2010, we adopted twin infants from Texas. In September of 2012 we were privileged to return to Colombia and adopt a sibling group of two from Cali. At this time, we anxiously wait for our travel date to depart for China where a very special girl and boy wait for their forever family. By the time they all reach adulthood, we will have had the amazing privilege to be parents of children in our home for a half century. Our life is full beyond measure, beyond our wildest expectations, yes even beyond anything we could have ever hoped. Truly, eight is not enough. As of late we have wondered if God's plan for us as parents all along was not for eight children, but rather eight plus eight. Our heavenly Father knows and His word assures us "I know the plans I have made for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you." We trust He knows the number of His children He wants us to love and to nurture on His behalf, and whether that is eight or eighty times eight we stand ready and say speak Lord, your servants are listening and are prepared to be father and mother to your fatherless on earth.
Assignment and Gotcha Date
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We began this journey last November (07) when we opened a dialog with Children's Hope International. We now have our referral for 3 beautiful children, praise God for His greatness and blessings. We have accepted our referral and have received our official gotcha date. Rejoice with us as we make preparations to leave for Bogota Colombia to be united with:
Yeisson Davian (7 year old boy) Born March 10, 2001; Jasleidi Tatianna (5 year old girl) Born December 25, 2002; Carlos Santiago (4 year old boy) Born April 27, 2004
As of today, our plans are to fly to Colombia on 24 November and be united with our new children on the 25th. We will be in Colombia for around a month, but expect to be home for Christmas.
We covet your continued support and prayers. God bless.
Jim and Betty
PS only 20 chaos filled days of frantically trying to get ready to go but then who's counting :-)
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2 comments:
We're praying for you in this adoption journey. Your "new ones" are adorable. I pray that God will bless your time as a family and make your paths straight in this new road you are taking.
Congratulations! I'm also a CHI family. Got your blog addy from the Hagerty's. I will be praying along with you on the journey! What an awesome family story ya'll have! We adopted a sib group of 3 in Jun 07, and we have a Tatiana, also!
Congratulations, again. They are beautiful!
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