What a Handsome Young Man

Today post is a long one but so touching to read because it captures the beginning of one family's adoption journey and then ends with a recent post, almost 3 years later.  The DeLille's have one of the oldest waiting kiddos.  Emir ( Isaac) is 12 years old now, and that breaks my heart, because unlike the infants that most of us were matched with, Emir has known that he has a family waiting for him for over 3 years.  It is even more heart breaking when you learn that Emir's best friend was adopted by an American family 18 months before the DeLille's were matched with him, now almost 5 years ago.  Emir gets it!  He knows that he has a family waiting for him.  Can you imagine how frustrating that must be for this young man?? Let's hope that his days in the orphanage are finally nearing their end.  Please enjoy a few of his waiting mom's posts.

October 2008:
Relenting to God's will always seems to be a problem with me, though time and again, I see miracles when I do finally let go of my own will.

You wonder how I went from being convinced we should adopt in the U.S. to adopting a little boy from halfway around the world which will cost TONS of money and a trip or two over there.
I, plain and simple, wanted the easy way out. Adopt a child here( the US)-there are so many, it costs next to nothing, NO DOSSIER (paperwork that never ends with international adoptions-a real pain), no trips to USCIS for fingerprinting, no trips halfway around the world, etc, etc. On top of that, I felt sort of responsible to do a domestic adoption after helping to get the 150 children in VA who are available for adoption prayed for through our church. Doesn't it make sense to not spend the money? To not go through the pain of paperwork? To set an example by adopting here again? I'm getting old-I wanted the easy way out....it just made sense!!

My story goes like this. I was searching for children here [U.S.]-nothing was happening. E-mails weren't getting answered, the Holy Spirit wasn't speaking to me. Then it happened...I was in prayer service on Sept 30 praying, asking for God's will in this adoption process-who Lord? Who do you want us to adopt? Guide us, let us be in Your will.....He told me to stop searching, that He had brought all the other children to us (wise words my husband had said to me so many times, but I had to hear from God), and he would bring this one as well. The next day, with great guilt, after hearing from Him, I'm on the internet searching....I felt like an alcoholic sneaking a drink, someone sneaking just one last cigarette after quitting, placing one more bet on the table after swearing off gambling. Oh, the guilt I felt as I'm looking and yet hearing His words ringing in my head over and over again-"I brought the others to you and I will bring this one too". I looked at two Americans and stopped and decided then and there I would believe Him and let Him bring the child to us. It took a great deal of self-control to let Him do the work.

The next day, I got on my e-mail and there was a personalized note to me-I had never gotten anything this personalized or specific from this agency before .... it was telling me about this boy, about 8 yrs born with a cleft lip/palate. He's Asian and watched his best friend be adopted 18 mos ago and is sad and wants a family in America. I'm reading this and thinking-wow, when I relent, God acts fast!! I found the boy's picture and realized I had passed him by oh so many times before-I was going to adopt domestically, not internationally and so though I passed by his picture with guilt in the past, this time I asked for info.

When adopting internationally, it's next to impossible to get information on a child except for what the orphanage decides to release. We have been blessed with some information on Amir-. We've been in contact with his best friend's adoptive family (they live in CO)-turns out there were really 4 boys who were close and the other two were also adopted into a family who happens to live IN Kyrgyzstan! They recently visited him [Amir] and even had an updated photo of him with their sons. I've e-mailed with two different missionaries who have also met him. He's sad, he's bullied, he's hungry, he's God's child and he needs us. I did ask God for a sign and I'm not a big one on signs, but out of nowhere, there sat a picture of Bob and I with Sam at his final adoption (5 yrs ago-we'll be going to the same embassy in Kazakhstan for a Kyrgyzstan adoption). A picture I hadn't seen in ages far away from where it should have been (in a photo album on the other side of the house)-ok, it might be cheesey-I guess we'll proceed with this adoption and see if it really WAS a sign

Only through God does one go from the easy way out to the tough stuff with a HUGE cost ahead (in many ways besides financial-including many surgeries!!) and feel such peace. Join me in praying that Amir will be protected until we get there (if indeed this is God's will), that he will be given the hope of a family, that we can handle any problems ahead. God has already provided us with all the money-a neat story in itself, but one I will keep to myself! Ahhhh, that quote of so long ago (Sam's adoption)....when we work, we work, but when we pray, God works!! When will I ever learn to ALWAYS relent to His will?? I am soooo slow.


December 2011:
Four years of knowing Isaac, three years of saying maybe this year he'll be with us for Christmas and here we were again, another Christmas without our son. Why God? I still don't know, and may never. I know Abraham and Sarah had no idea why they had to wait so long for their Isaac either. Sometimes I wonder, was I hearing the Lord wrong? But no. His plans are so much greater than mine and we must accept that. I watch my son's life disappear before us, day by day. I watch people bringing multiple children home while we wait for Isaac. It's not easy. I am TRULY happy for them all, but I will not lie, it doesn't seem fair and with that happiness, there is mixed in, jealousy. Our son has waited 12 years for a family and we have waited well over 3 years for him.
This years greatest gift to me was this:
I went to bed about 11:00. At about 12:00 I hear "Joy to the World"....no, it's not angels in my room or even a dream, or wait, was it a dream? If it was a dream, it was one of the heavenly sort for sure! My ringtone on my phone is Joy to the World. When you have as many kids as we do, you don't ignore phone calls in the middle of the night (you don't rest even if they're adults!). I went to answer and it was an area code I had never heard of! Again, you don't just ignore these things. With trepidation, I answered. It was my very own, personal Santa Claus calling to offer me some Skype time with ISAAC!! John Wrighthttp://actofkindness.blogspot.com/ was in the middle of throwing a party for about 150 orphans (including Isaac/Emir and his good friend Tilek. This party was made possible by the many who received a pie in the face (our Sam) to raise money for the kids-this was just one of MANY parties being put on for well over 1,000 orphans.
They were having so much fun!! THEY wanted to know when they would get to come to America (the THEY is for another posting). All we could tell them was we are trying. They were just so cute and other orphans would come up to the video and talk and wave-so many with clefts. It was so encouraging to see Isaac messing around when he didn't think I could see him, making faces at himself in the camera (when you Skype, you can see yourself). So cute to see him to healthily messing around being a boy. John walked me through the room and I could see them all dancing and playing! What a beautiful night it turned out to be.
~Carrie DeLille


Can you just imagine how beautiful the night will be when Emir (Isaac) is surrounded by his forever family??? I can't wait to read that post!