Starting the adoption process

We have wanted to adopt for awhile now, but for various monetary and time reasons did not feel that it would be prudent at the time to adopt a child at that time.
So along with my job change to Nexus Global last October came an actual home life.  I no longer have to drive over an hour each way and I don't have any mandatory overtime, so early in 2015 Luke and I began to talk about the possibility of moving forward with the adoption process. 
We have been praying about it for a couple of years, and this past spring we began to research agencies and attend their informational meetings.
The Lord also lead us to change churches (for many reasons that I'm not going to get into here) with this change came a new small group.  One of the couples in the small group connected us with their friends who had just completed an adoption in North Carolina within the last 6 months.  We met with them and they were so helpful with many aspects of the VERY daunting process that is adoption.

We have decided after much prayer and research that (for this child) we are going to pursue domestic adoption.  We don't have any gender or race preference.  We are not limiting ourselves to open or closed adoption, but are hoping that the birth mother/family chooses an open or semi-open adoption.  We'd love the opportunity to use this difficult situation to be a ministry to her/them.

We have completed our preliminary application (roughly 15 documents) with an agency called Christian Adoption Services.  Their main office is about 3 hours from us outside of Charlotte.  Thursday 9/10 we will be attending their informational meeting at 7pm.  We should be hearing back from them in roughly a week as to whether or not we have been accepted to proceed in their program.  If we are approved, we will need to submit the formal application and the first and smallest of many fees.

There are many things that we don't know at this point about the process in general as well as what is provided by selecting this agency.  Unless something crazy comes up in the meeting tomorrow we will be trying to proceed with CAS.  We are super excited to get this show on the road as we hear the average time frame for placement is 15 months after the home study is complete (roughly 18 months from today)!

Our growth group had a prayer time last night for us and for this process that we are beginning.  We have never had anyone do something like that before.  We are just unbelievably humbled that so many people (both those that could make it AND those that could not physically join us) care enough to take the time to join us in praying.  I was just amazed by the love of the body of Christ that has surrounded us both from our new IDC family, from our RCCC family, from our various friends & family back in Texas, and from our biological family members.  We are so undeserving, but desire to be vessels of our God's perfect grace and love.  We hope to one day have a child to teach the truth of how the God of the universe reached down and adopted us into His family.
During the prayer time we were asked to provide 5 specific requests that could be lifted up for us, so I've provided them here in case you'd like to join us in prayer. 

Prayer Requests:
1. That each of would have a peace concerning the particular agency we are using. And that our application would be accepted.
2. Knowledge (good understanding) about the actual agency, the overall process, and the immediate tasks we need to fulfill and about practical (realistic) ways to raise money quickly.
3. That we might be approved for grants.
4. That our emotional state would remain focused on the Lord and His will/ timing rather than our efforts and desires. And that we will not be discouraged by lengths of time and the piles of paperwork.
5. Health of our baby and his/her birth parents. We're praying that this experience would be a ministry to the birth parents that they might see God's love and provisions for His children through this picture of adoption. (Regardless of the level of contact they chose to maintain)

You have no idea how much your prayers, love, and support mean to us.  We have been overwhelmed by you all. 
Our God is great, and greatly to be praised!  I look back at the few postings I had in 2012 and remember the bitterness that I allowed myself to stay in so frequently.  He has done a great work to soften my heart!  I don't know that I will ever be able to fully explain the depth of the change.  That is more than enough.