I haven't elaborated on why we chose Moldova as our country of choice. Moldova is a little country nestled between the Ukraine and Romania in Eastern Europe. It was once part of the Soviet Union. With the fall of communism Moldova gained its independence. It was left, however, with very little economic structure and it seams to have never recovered. It currently is the poorest country in Eastern Europe with 80% living below the poverty line.
There is so little work in the country that mothers and fathers are forced to leave the country in a hope to find work elsewhere and send money back to their families. Children are often given up to the state or left with elderly grandparents or neighbors. Sadly parents rarely are able to return leaving the children orphaned.
I had the opportunity to visit the Ukraine on a mission trip in 2005. I was able to help out with a summer camp for orphans there in the Ukraine. I fell in love with the kids and was fascinated with the culture. I was also amazed at the effect Communism had on the status of the people today. Moldova is very similar in culture and situation and seemingly easier to adopt from than the Ukraine. Our church also has a strong connection with this small country that many don't even know about. We support a missionary there as well as have mission trips to Moldova every couple of years.Knowing all this about Moldova made it an easy choice for us as a country to adopt from. We felt a heart tug towards it. It seemed as soon as we made this country choice we came across websites discussing the need in Moldova for adoption or the tragedy of the sex trafficking that goes on there. All of this broke our heart more and made us certain Moldova was the right country, until a month ago....
In February several laws were changed in Moldova regarding adoption. One of those changes pertains to the in country time (the stay in country while you meet your child). Initially it was two trips of 7-10 days which fit in perfect with us. However rumors began circulating that the stay would now be 30 days! Not so good! We stressed and thought that we should change countries at that time. Within the next couple of weeks we were amazed at how God made that obstacle disappear. We met a missionary from Moldova and made quick friends. He runs a missionary training college of sorts in the capital city of Moldova. Over dinner we explained our issues and he eagerly offered up a solution. He offered for us to stay in an apartment at the missionary triaining center with our children for that possible month's stay. He could arrange for us to have Christian caregivers for the kids on days we needed to be at the orphanage. It is a gated college with working plumbing and electricity. He even offered an office for Willem to be able to run his business from Moldova complete with wifi. ISN'T GOD AMAZING!!! The chances of this guy happening to be in Lafayette from Moldova right in the midst of this difficult time for us and for us to hit it off right away....It wasn't chance it was God showing us He was there in the midst.
We decided we'd stick it out with Moldova regardless of the in country stay. However a couple of weeks ago we were told by our agency that adoptions have been put on hold from Moldova. Moldova will not be processing any more until they have re-accredited our agency. (No other agencies are accredited at this point either) They are saying this should happen at the end of summer but it could be longer. We are therefore frustrated and confused.
It has stopped us in our tracks and we have to decide if we are going to wait it out for Moldova, a country we have already grown to love, or switch to another. We feel like God has a son for us out there somewhere and we are so confused as to how to get to him. Does he live in Moldova? Is he maybe not ready for us and we need to wait a while longer? Or is God trying to show us that he does not live in Moldova and we need to switch gears? It's a difficult decision that keeps us up at night.
So friends please pray for us. Pray that we hear God's wisdom. Pray for the kids in Moldova so that adoptions open up again soon so that they may find forever families. And please pray that the path between our son and us starts to come together....
