Adoption thoughts continued…

Since Phil and I have started telling our friends and family that we are in the process of adopting a child, many people have been asking us questions about the whole process. At times I have felt frustrated by some people’s attitudes towards adoption, but I also understand that for some people it is strange that we are thinking about doing this at this time in our lives. Sometimes I don’t get the chance to say exactly why we are adopting and what it means to us, so below are a few reasons (in no particular order) for why Phil and I want to adopt.

1. Adoption has been part of our thinking for some time as a couple. I have thought about adopting a child since before I was married to Phil. It is something that I have always thought was a good thing.

2. For over a year we have been thinking about when we would like to start a family. We think that now is the right time, particularly as the adoption process takes some time.

3. We have been living in the Czech Republic for nearly a year and a half now. Since living there, we have become increasingly aware of the number of children that live in orphanages. This is a problem in eastern Europe in general, as there is not anything like the standard or access to social care that there is in western Europe.

4. We believe that in the Bible, God asks that his people take particular care of the orphan, the widow and the outsider. We think that this is not just an empty request, or perhaps some wishful thinking on God’s part, but a desire that God’s people act prophetically and radically in caring for and loving those who are traditionally forgotten or oppressed.

5. We passionately believe that every child deserves a loving family, and that this needs to be achieved through a three-pronged approach. Many children need immediate care and aid, this is frequently where charities are indispensible. Secondly, the overall quality of the lives of poor people needs to be lifted: this is a long-term goal which needs the political and economic stability of a country to be achieved. Thirdly, the overall goal is for children not to be separated from their families… which if the first 2 goals are achieved will naturally follow. The problem is, is that this is not happening as it should… and instead there are millions of children orphaned, abused and abandoned all over the world. Phil and I do not feel like we can ignore the call of God, nor the cries of children and just get on with having our ‘own’ children. We know that this is not normal, but we are not going into this process blind. We are very much aware of the many challenges that very possibly will come across our path, however… we cannot budge the desire and call to be a family to even just one or two of these children.

We hope that we will be able to engage in conversation with anyone who would like to talk about these things with us… it is something that we are so passionate about and we are always delighted to talk.

Just one more sleep…

Tomorrow evening Phil arrives in the garden of England… hoorah! We have been apart since the 17th November, so 4 weeks nearly to the day. It has been OK most of the time, as we both have been really busy, but the last week has been quite hard. I think its when you are away from your spouse that you really come to realise how important they are to you, particularly in the normal, everyday things… just having someone to talk to about your day, someone to bounce ideas off, someone to work through difficult situations, and someone to enjoy the beautiful moments of the day with. I can’t wait to see him again! We have spoken most evenings since we’ve been apart, but its not the same as speaking face to face about the crazy-everything that is life..! I’m looking forward to lots of kissing and cuddling too!

Today was also the oldies (from Horley Baptist Church) Christmas meal. We had a great time, even though we were all forced to wear those stupid hats that they make you wear at parties..! Not just the crown things that you get in Christmas crackers… much much more stupid ones than that. Anyway, it was great. I have got to know some of the group pretty well and we had a fun time. I hope that I won’t have to eat too many Christmas dinners before Christmas day though… its not my most favourite meal.

This Sunday will be my last Sunday (and last day) of my placement at Horley Baptist Church. I have had such an amazing time. I have met some of the most brilliant, fun, godly people, and learnt so much about church-life (the good, bad and the ugly!). I will be leading in the morning service, and preaching in the evening. The morning should be OK, though its quite hard to lead in a church that you don’t really know… and that is about 3 times the size of our church in Prague..! In the evening I am preaching on Mary’s song from Luke 1. I am pretty excited about this… but my sermon has some way to go til its ready. I’ll be working on it tonight and tomorrow… and maybe a bit on Saturday if need be..! But I have lots of thoughts going through my mind, so that’s always a good start.

Have a great weekend everyone. In the liturgical calendar of the church, this week is the third week of advent… and the theme for this week is ‘joy’. I hope and pray that you will be able to experience in whatever way, some of the joy that Christ’s birth, life, death and resurrection has made possible for us. And beyond having joy ourselves, that we can reach out to others to bring joy to them too.

p.s. I have had a few people saying to me that they would like to see more photos… I am really sorry about the lack of photo-fun recently, I promise that I will try to do better..!

p.p.s. Phil is taking all our paperwork to our social worker tomorrow. This is so exciting but also flipping scary..! Please pray that all our papers will be in order and that the social work department will be happy to move us on to the next stage in the adoption process. Thank you for your prayers… we really appreciate the support that many of you have given to us so far..!

Police records arrived..!

For the adoption Phil and I had to get our police records checked… namely to make sure that we didn’t have anything held on the Police National Computer records..! We have been waiting for them to arrive for nearly 40 days, and I was getting impatient, as we can’t hand in any of our paperwork until we had them and they were translated. Anyway, happily, they arrived just the other day and I posted them off to Prague to Phil. We have just a couple of other bits of paper to get and then he can photocopy everything and then take it down to the social work department..!! Yeeeee hhhhhaaaa!! We are on the verge of taking one step closer to being parents..!