In case you didn't know, June is referral month for our agency. Our agency has referral groups every 3 months. Somewhere between 1 and 7 children are placed for adoption. That means our number on the wait strip will decrease, leading us closer to meeting our Thai Button! I cannot wait to see what our new number will be....
We are on a private FB group of families adopting or have adopted from Thailand. It is so nice to have this group for support during our long wait. But it can also make me very anxious (lol). We were talking about the wait strip the other day, (as soon as referral month starts everyone starts to stir) and it is thought numbers 1-7 are waiting for a girl, with maybe one family open to either gender. From Number 8 to 14 we know one family requesting a boy, one a girl, and two families open to either gender. Given we are #14, open to either gender, that leaves us with 3 waiting for boys or either gender and 3 unknowns ahead of us on the wait strip. So maybe....if all the stars align and it's in God's plan.....There is a chance we could be matched sooner than we thought. Maybe......... There really is no way knowing....but it's fun to think about.
So this has been heavy on my heart, with our group it seems wait times are increasing. Some families have waited almost 2 years for a referral, and the wait time to bring your child home has increased to averaging 1 year! I cannot imagine knowing the face of my child and having to wait that long to bring him home. I pray for God to give me the strength.
I couldn't sleep last night, so randomly I checked the adoption programs from the agency we decided not to go with. They have a new program, ( that maybe if we chose them they would have offered that program to us) the estimated wait time is 12-16 months! And the age of the child is 6-12 months! WOW. Considering our wait time is estimated 3 years!
Honestly. We are not changing programs or even entertaining the idea. We truly believe God has a plan for our family. He closed many doors before we found our agency and the Thailand program.
There is absolutely a reason we are here and where we are at this stage in our adoption process.
Last night I opened my Bible App. on my iPad and this is the verse it opened to.......
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you
know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. (James 1:2, 3 NIV)
So this time next month we will know our new number on the wait strip and be that much closer to meeting our little Thai Button.
