HUGE Change of Plans!!!!

What news I have to share with you today!!!! The Lord has spoken to Eric and I in a huge way this past week and it's changed the entire course of our adoption journey!

I haven't posted this, but we've had our dossier ready to go to Liberia for the past 4 weeks (except for CIS approval). For some reason each week I have found an excuse NOT to send it--little insignificant reasons. Last week I got a little real with myself and started asking WHY? I began to pray for the Lord to put my mind at ease about sending our paperwork, or to reveal to me why I wasn't supposed to send it.

A few days later I had a dream that I knew was one of "those" dreams--a dream that has significance--but for the life of me I couldn't figure it out. At the same time a new adoption program caught my attention. I researched it and shared with Eric a few nights ago that IF something were to happen and we weren't able to adopt from Liberia I would like to adopt from Ghana. Eric immediately asked, "Well then, why aren't we going with Ghana as our first choice?" I hadn't even considered it! For so long I have felt that our children were in Ghana that the thought of changing countries "just because" wasn't even a thought in my head!

So I shared with Eric all I knew about the program, run by Life's Vision International (www.lifesvision.org). He asked if I had any pictures of the oprhanages or children and I showed him the Osu Children's Home website (www.osuchildrenshome.org). This is the orphanage that our children would likely come from if we adopted from Ghana. As soon as Eric saw the pictures his face lit up as bright as I think I have ever seen it! He smiled to the point of tears and there was no quest in my mind that he had an immediate and STRONG reaction to these children and this country. Eric quickly confirmed my suspicions and told me that he really felt like we were to adopt from Ghana.

So we are!!!! We are so VERY excited and we both feel a peace that we have not felt this entire journey!!! Ghana is still in West Africa, but it had a very unique and interesting culture of its own. It's a more settled country where we will be able to travel and enjoy ourselves more (in other words, it had electricity, running water, HOT water, and even air conditioning)!!! My mom and I will be there for 7-10 days.

We still plan to adopt our baby girl and toddler boy--Kendi and Canan. The earliest we will likely be traveling is mid-August, but it could be as long as mid-November. We will be only the 1st or 2nd family from the US to adopt from Ghana using an agency so there are a lot of unknowns. Nevertheless, we know that the safest place in the world is in the middle of God's will!!!