Ok-What have the Bixlers done toward their adoption the last 3 and a half months? Great question…it seems like very little but in reality it has been a lot. A LOT OF PAPERWORK. I mentioned in my first post that we were waiting for approval from immigration and that was the last piece of paperwork. We got it!! Praise the Lord!! It was really exciting to finally receive our last stamp of approval from the American side. However, that kicked off a process where Matthew and I have to submit and receive official state seals on every document we have completed thus far which includes:

Homestudy

Psychological Evaluations

Background checks

Medical Evaluations

Birth Certificates

Marriage license

Employment Verifications

FBI Background Checks

Letters of approval from HOLT

Official Applications

Letters of motivation and Commitment

Immigration approval

And I am sure I have forgotten a few. This involves multiple states and A LOT of trips to the mailroom. In fact, most of the people in the mailroom know Matthew by name and they joke about all our complicated orders 🙂 As of right now, we are waiting on our last two papers to receive state seals and then our agency will send our document package to Colombia.

So what happens after that? Well…more waiting J When our paperwork is officially in country I will provide another update because I will be given more specifics.

 I heard a friend once say that international adoption is similar to being pregnant but without a due date or ultra sounds. You are feeling the mental and physical strain of pregnancy but you have no idea what the child looks like or when it will actually happen.

This process can seem very tedious but I am so thankful that it is the month of March. Bear with me as I digress… March is a month of remembering God’s faithfulness in our family. Our son was born March 1 2012 after 9 months of an extremely traumatic pregnancy/delivery where both of our lives were hanging in the balance multiple times and yet God chose to sustain us. Three years later, on March 25, our daughter was born after a semi similar pregnancy. However, she made it to 39 weeks, her delivery was very smooth, and we thought we were in the clear. Unfortunately, 18 hours after her birth I passed out which began what seemed like 24 hours of chaos. When I woke up from blacking out I needed a blood transfusion immediately because my body could not keep up with the blood loss, Aivlynn had basically stopped breathing and was rushed to the NICU (where she would recover after a week), Matthew received a job that would move our family to Texas within weeks, and Matthew’s Grandmother passed away.

As I think about March 2019, the tediousness of paperwork can be seen as joy when I know we are being obedient the Lord’s calling to care for orphans. I have carried three children that the Lord has graciously allowed to live and I have lost a child. I am so thankful I get to celebrate the life of two of my sweet kiddos as we prepare to add a 4^th. The Lord has shown us he is faithful over and over in sustaining and growing our family and we can trust him to do it again.

Ways to pray for us:

1.       That we would continue to see and seek the Lord in this time of waiting.

2.       That we would continue to be obedient to what he has called us to and not be easily discouraged.

3.       That we would continue to learn Spanish as a family and continue to talk about the implications of adoption with our kiddos

When I was young, I remember my parents sitting down my siblings and I and telling us that they were going to pursue adoption through the foster care system. They believed that God had called them to provide a home to a child that did not have a home and to share the love of Christ with them. Fast forward to now, and from a secular perspective our adoption would be considered a “failure.” It was not all rainbows, butterflies, and lovey times and there is still a lot of trauma from wounds that were inflicted.  While attending a Christian university we often heard so many students say “I am called to adopt”, “I have a heart for the orphans”, I can’t wait to save a child” and I would think in my head- you have no idea what you are talking about and roll my eyes. Matthew and I had resolved that this “calling” was for other people. However, the Lord does not leave us to bitterness or to sin (Duet 31:6). We soon became members of a church that prioritized widow and orphan care and we were being mentored by two families that were living that out. They were supported by the church, they were provided for, and on hard day people did not blame them for the way their children acted, they were not isolated, instead they were told that God was reconstructing their family in a holy way. That God’s mercies renew with each day and that God’s plan has not faltered. God showed me that my family did NOT experience a failed adoption but a reconstruction of our family that was in a part of his sovereign design and ultimately brought him glory. As the Holy Spirit worked on our hearts we realized that James 1:27, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world,” is not a spiritual gift or calling for some but a commandment for all. Wow! Are we so thankful for the Lord conviction and grace as he drew us to this truth!

So about every 6 months of our marriage, we would ask ourselves “How can we be serving and being obedient to this commandment?” Depending on the season of our lives that took many different forms. Sometimes it was taking meals to families, providing babysitting or respite, giving financially, spending time with kids who had been adopted, and walking alongside others who were adopting. However, March 2018 when we asked ourselves and prayed that question again we felt the Lord leading us to adopt and grow our family further. Through the counseling of agencies and dear friends we felt the best fit for our family was an international adoption. I am so excited to tell you we are adopting from Colombia!!! Over the summer we completed our homestudy and we are now applying to immigration. Once we get the approval from them we will be sending our Dossier to Colombia through Holt International.

When Colombia receives our information it will be translated and they will match us with an orphan boy younger than age 3 with minor medical conditions. We have said that if they find a boy that age with siblings that we would love to consider them because they do not separate them ❤ (which if we think about it too much we get a little nervous but also excited!!) If you would like to know more about orphans in Colombia their are multiple websites that describe the aftermath of the decades of guerilla warfare and how it has left the country in a devastating place and I would encourage you to read them 🙂 I think it is also important to know that our organization partners with others to help provide family preservation assistance, care for orphans aging out, and international adoption is a last option for a child after rights have been severed and they have been up for adoption for a period of time in their own country. While waiting to be adopted orphans live in group homes and are cared for by group home/dorm parents.

I can’t wait to post again when we have received confirmation from immigration!!! Thanks for following us along in our journey and praying for us. Our church is graciously supporting us as we endeavor on this journey and they have set up and account for us so that we will not have to provide any overhead costs and your total donation will go to our adoption fees. They have created a website that lists our specific prayer requests and our financial needs please click on the link if you feel led to pray or give to our family. http://www.gracewaco.com/bixleradoption/

Thanks for following along in our Bixler Family updates 🙂

“Adopting one child won’t change the world, but for that child, the world will change“- Unknown