In May of 2012 God planted international adoption on my
heart. This is the first time I can
ever remember clearly hearing from God.
I was sure of the word He had spoken to me. I immediately began to do research and get
started on the path set for me. Through
the process, you have a lot of choices to make.
Some of these were made easy for me.
Because I am single in addition to my age and net worth, Bulgaria was my
best option. The only downfall is that the program averages about three years
from registration to referral. The age,
gender, and race were all things I was very open to. I refused to limit God by setting boundaries
on them. The mental and physical health
of your child is very hard to put limits on as well, but after a lot of prayer
and research I felt I knew what I could handle. I was going into special needs
adoption.
The dossier that normally takes parents quite a while to get
together I had finished in record time (sometimes being a controlling planner
comes in handy.) All of my paperwork was
completed, translated and to the Bulgarian Ministry of Justice before Christmas
break. By the middle of January 2013 I
was officially registered as a prospective adoptive parent in Bulgaria. By this time more than half of the agency
fees had been paid, and I was well on my way to paying of all the money I had
borrowed.
Then disaster struck.
February 4th, without warning, my agency closed its
doors, disconnected its phones, and rejected all incoming emails. On this evening I was informed that the
agency I had fiercely prayed about before signing with had declared
bankruptcy. After having invested so
much hope, time, and money I was scared about the future of my adoption. I shed a few tears that night, but I was
determined that God had brought me to this point. He would get me through it.
On February 6th, only 2 days later, God’s awesome
plan was revealed!!!! I was contacted
via email by my now closed agency and given the option to transfer my case to a
new agency of their choosing. The new
agency was crediting me for all of the services I had already completed and
charged less than my former agency so I had less to borrow! But best of all, that very day she presented
me with God’s greatest gift - a picture of my son!! God’s timing is AWESOME. My case was transferred just two days before
my son’s case was to be sent back to the Bulgarian Agency as unable to be
placed, and I would have lost him. What was
supposed to take three years to happen took three months.
I received my official referral May 21st. On June 17th, 2013 I met my son,
Hristiyan, for the first time. Is God
not amazing? He named my son “follower
of Christ.” My boy, who didn’t take his
first steps until he was almost 4, was so active I could barely keep up with
him. My child, who in December couldn’t
speak in sentences in his native tongue, called me for my birthday this month
and sang Happy Birthday in English. And
the blessings just kept coming. God surprised me with an awesome birthday gift
that day as well. I received word of my
court date! I will be a mom September 23rd,
and we should be home as a family by the end of October! And, how amazing, October 6th I
will be celebrating TWO of the most important things in my life: the birth of my church and the birth of my
child! My son turns six on the same day we celebrate
30 years of Triumph Church! What an
amazing day of celebration!!
I have been truly blessed in this journey, and it’s only just
beginning!
Michelle Jones
Beaumont Campus
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