Every family has a story and this adoptive family, Berk and Patti, can see God's hand all over their adoption journey. It wasn't always easy and they will tell you that the wait was long and hard....but so very worth it. We celebrated Kristin's adoption day at FLS on March 2, 2009.
We are Berk and Patti with our beautiful daughter Kristin, whom we adopted in March 2009. We waited approximately 5 years for Kristin and we are here to tell you the waiting time was not always easy. We started out with a different type of agency where all of the adoptions were closed. We waited there about 3 years with no results. We really felt God was leading us to Family Life Services and after our first talk with our Caseworker, we looked at each other and said “we are finally where we are supposed to be”. We had such a peace about our decision. We started our homestudy process and went through the weekend training in March of 2007. We entered the waiting pool in the Fall of 2007 and waited approx 16 months for placement in March 2009. During our waiting time, we never had a single interview. We had many times during our waiting time where we would get discouraged and question whether it was meant for us to adopt or not. We had our Caseworker encouraging us and so many prayer warriors, they wouldn’t let us stay down for long. We had one of our prayer partners tell us that “if God didn’t intend for you to adopt, He wouldn’t have laid it on your heart to be here”. That is so true. We were also older and thought this might be a factor, but it wasn’t. Everything we thought might be an obstacle, wasn’t one after all.
After 16 months, we were notified of a placement of a baby girl. I can not describe to you the excitement and anticipation that we had. When Kristin was placed in our arms, she was the most beautiful sight we had ever seen. The love we had for her was overwhelming and we were so blessed. Kristin has been such a blessing to us and we are so thankful to our Birthmother for giving us the greatest gift by choosing us to be her parents. Our adoption is closed, so we don’t have contact, but we love her and she is constantly in our thoughts and prayers.
Our friends and Sponsors who had placements in the past, all told us that once we had our placement we would see God’s plan and how it all worked out. We knew this to be true, but when we were waiting for our first child we really didn’t understand it. It’s so hard sometimes to see the end result if you are not there yet even if you see it in other’s lives. We are here to tell you, don’t lose hope and don’t question God. It is so amazing and awesome how He works all these adoptions out. We praise God now for the 5 agonizing years we waited for Kristin and wouldn’t have done anything differently. We are also so grateful to those who prayed for us and listened to us when we were down and questioning everything. We could not have made it through this process without you.
Our first agency experience prepared us for a closed adoption, so it wasn’t a waste of time. Everything we went through was God preparing us for Kristin. We had to wait for Kristin and you are waiting for your baby. Kristin is perfect for us in every way. We plan and want things in our time, but we have to wait on God’s timing and He does not make mistakes. We questioned our decision and many times forgot that peace we had when we started our process. I tell you the wait is not easy, but it is so worth it in the end when the most perfect little baby girl or boy is placed in your arms. Know that those of us who have walked in your shoes are praying for you constantly. You are not alone and God will answer prayers!
Blessings from our family to yours,
Berk, Patti & Kristin
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