Apparently someone hasn't kept her blog up to date! Can you believe it? Not one post since October - almost 5 whole months have gone by! Well, there happens to be a very good reason for being distracted, actually. Early in the Fall and Summer I wrote a line or two about adoption and commented on open adoption vs. closed adoption. Yes, Jesse and I have decided that we would like to adopt and we've been working with an agency in Boise toward that end. We spent July, August and the beginning of September working on our home study and the rest of September and October were spent ironing out a hiccup in the paperwork.
During the time we were busy with paper work, background checks, medical records, finger printing, etc., the Lord was working elsewhere on our behalf. The story below is what we sent to our church and family in updates as things progressed. If you read between the lines, you can see the times when I was really excited about the possibility of adopting so soon, as well as other times when we didn't know what would happen next.
From December 1, 2011
Dear Church Family,
Kate and I wanted to give you an update on our adoption plans. We have recently finished our home-study and have been talking with a Texas agency who knows of a birth mother who would like us to adopt her child. The child is due at the end of January. Kate and I are planning to go down to Texas this weekend to meet the birth mother and talk with the agency. Two prayer requests: first, we would appreciate your prayers for our travel and the time that we have down there. Second, the birth father might be contesting the adoption and so we would ask you to pray with us that he would not contest it but rather be open to the adoption. It seems that he is coming around to the idea, but if he contests, it could drag out the adoption for several months and that would also make it more expensive. Thank you for your prayers thus far; it is encouraging to know that you all are praying for us. We will keep you posted on how this all develops. "
Blessings,
Jesse and Kate
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From December 12, 2011
Dear Church Family,
Thank you for your prayers. Kate and I arrived home late Wednesday night from our trip to Texas. Everything went very well. We got to meet the birth-mother and the agency; both meetings went very well. We also got to meet the birth-father which was very positive and encouraging. At this point, he still needs to agree to the adoption, but everything is heading in the right direction. We are hoping to hear from him soon. We are planning to fly down to Texas around the beginning of February when the child is due. Please continue to pray that the birth-father would agree and make his decision soon. Please also pray that all the other details on our end would come together.
Blessings,
Jesse and Kate
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From January 10, 2012
Dear family,
We wanted to let you know about our adoption status. The birth father seems to be contesting the adoption and the agency wants to make sure he isn't bluffing us. They sent papers to him the week after New Years stating that the birth mother's desire is for the adoption with us. He needs to respond by saying "yes" or "no" to the adoption by the week of January 23rd. The paper work proves that he has been informed of our plans and puts the pressure on him to make his decision now. The baby is due about 1 week after we hear from him. We are pretty sure that he will say no.
*Please pray for the birth father, that he would agree to the adoption and that God would move mightily in his life.
*Please pray for the birth mother, as things are still undecided and for her bodily comfort in the next few weeks.
*Please pray for us as we seek to honor the Lord in what we say and do and think. Please also pray for us as we work with the agency and others who are encouraging us in this adoption.
Love,
Jesse and Kate
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From January 30, 2012
Dear church family,
You may remember that we were working with a birth family down in Texas. The birth mother had chosen us as adoptive parents for her unborn child and the birth father, while he did meet with us, showed signs of hesitancy. About two weeks ago he filed for full custody of the child. After a long phone call with the birth mom, we all decided that at this point adoption wasn't the best choice for all involved, but particularly for the child. The birth mom has retained a lawyer to help her keep custody of the child. Also, we know that she is in a good church with good teaching and good friends. Please pray for that church as they minister to her.
God has called us to a ministry of adoption through our desire to have children. We have been learning that adoption isn't just about having children and so we are thankful for the opportunities He gave us to love this woman who is essentially a widow caring for an orphan. We know that children are a blessing and we pray that this child will rise up and call it's mom blessed. As far as our family is concerned, we will be putting our name back into the hat, so to speak, and we look expectantly to what God has for us.
Please pray:
*for the birth father that he would confess his sins and come to the Lord in faith
*for the birth mother, who is looking at delivering this baby any day now, caring for the baby as a new mom, financing an expensive legal battle and returning to full time work about 8 weeks after birth
*for Kate and me as we seek to do His will in all things
Thank you again for your support and prayers through this time.
The Lord be with you,
Jesse and Kate Sumpter
2 comments:
My dear friend...
I feel for you and know exactly how this all feels and how overwhelming it can be. We will be praying for both of you and that another precious little one can find it's way into your wonderful home.
Keep me updated if there is anything that you need!
You need to know that this story is, as you said, so much bigger than just your own little family. Wow. Thanks be to God for how He has ordained to use you for His Kingdom and His glory! Thank you for being His humble tools, as so many chisels upon diamonds in the rough, in His coffer of jewels.
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