Abandoned..1 Year Later

Today is mixed with many different emotions. One year ago today our son was found abandoned in the marketplace of the capital city in the DRC. A scared and confused 3 year old boy with bright eyes and a sweet smile was left behind. At that moment, God’s kindness and sovereignty was displayed as our son was found by a street vendor. She brought him to the authorities and was told to watch over him for a month to see if anyone came back for him. No one did. As I type the words ‘No one did’, my heart sinks and aches for the great loss our son had to experience very early in his precious life. I wonder why he was abandoned. Were his parents sick? Were they too poor to feed his little mouth? Did they stop loving their son? Was his mother a single mother who struggled to care for her child? No matter what the circumstances I know that God’s mercy and compassion fell on our son that day. The vendor who found E had likely seen hundreds and hundreds of abandoned children around the marketplace peddling for money and food. By God’s grace she had compassion on this little boy. I often pray for E’s biological parents. I don’t know why they left him. I don’t know why he had to endure so much loss and pain in the short 3 years he has been on this earth. The child that I have prayed for was born to another woman thousands of miles away. I pray that his biological parents would have assurance that their son is deeply loved. I pray that they would know that their son is no longer alone. He has a family. He has a mother and a father and a little brother. Most of all I pray that they would know God’s love, kindness, and eternal salvation. We will never meet the woman who gave birth to our son but maybe one day when we are reconciled to Christ we will sing praises to the King of Glory together in Heaven. 

God has perfect timing. Romans 5:6 says, “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” God doesn’t mess up! We can always rely on God to come through. From eternity passed God had the appointed time when Jesus would die on the cross to reconcile sinners to himself. We know ‘at the right time’ we shall be united with our sons! Continue to join us in prayer as that day approaches! 

 We have grown to love our sons more than we could imagine!

Our smart little guy! :)

Introducing Weldon #2-Haddon Reddy Weldon!!

God has been so incredibly good to us over the past several months! We are so delighted to announce that our prayers have been answered! I know I have been a bad blogger and haven’t posted anything in a very long time! This blog post will hopefully bring everyone up to speed on what has been happening in our adoption.

Back in early January we were notified by our adoption agency that there was a 1 year old boy in the DRC who needed a family. Right away Kevin and I said, “YES!” The staff at the orphanage took him to the doctor to get a medical checkup. They began to compile all the paperwork we would need to get an official referral with pictures and his medical info. Once we received his referral packet then we were in LOVE. We quickly began praying specifically for our second son, Haddon. At his medical checkup they found that he was sick with malaria and quickly started him on the proper meds to get him healthy. We praised the Lord for His kindness and protection over our son. In the DRC, malaria is one of the leading causes of death. The Lord’s kindness and Sovereignty kept our son safe and he was treated at the right time. We have only received one set of photos of our second son. I wish I could share his picture! He has the longest eyelashes and cheeks that are destined to be kissed and squeezed by his momma! Please join us as we continue to pray that all his paperwork goes through smoothly and without any snags! 

Kevin and I have been overwhelmed by how much we love these two boys that we have never met. We pray that the Lord would protect them from disease, malnutrition, abuse, loneliness, and so many more unknowns. We fervently pray that they would both grow into men of God who use their lives to worship their Savior and serve other people. We laugh at the videos we have seen of our 3 year old singing ‘Father Abraham’ and naming animals. He smiles, laughs, dances, and kisses our picture. It seems that he has joy. He went from being a boy that didn’t smile to a silly, goofy, energetic kid! The Lord’s kindness and grace shines bright as we continue to see everything come together! 

We are ready for these boys! 

Toddler shower!

Where we are in the process right now:

Enock’s process is almost complete. We have been given provisional approval by the U.S. government to have an investigation conducted in the DRC. This investigation basically double checks and proves that he is a legitimate orphan. Once we get approved by the embassy in the DRC then we will be able to book travel. Please join us in praying that this would happen fast! This step in the process is part of a new law that was passed in February. There haven’t been any families go through this process so we are unsure on how much time this will add to the wait. 

Haddon’s court processes have begun and we have given him a new name and birthday. Please join us in praying that the Lord would be over his paperwork process and his health. Pray that the Lord would protect him and give him caregivers who will protect him and comfort him until we can be united. 

We need your support in prayer and finances! With the likelihood of traveling twice we are needing to begin fundraising for the first set of travel expenses. Our need in travel expenses for the first trip is approximately $6,000. Would you be willing to help us reach our goal? Would you be willing to make a tax deductible donation to our Lifesong account? Kevin and I know that the Lord has been faithful to provide what we have needed to accept the referrals of our two boys. He will be faithful to provide what we need to bring them both home! Thank you for your continued prayers and support throughout this adoption process! Please email me (debbie.debbielwrc@gmail.com) or facebook message me if you have any questions! 

Would you be willing to tap into your network of friends and share our story? If you are interested in sending a tax deductible donation then please follow the instructions below: 

Please make checks payable to: 

Lifesong for Orphans

Po Box 40

Gridley, IL 61744

Please write our family reference number in the Memo of your check: Weldon #2638

Click here to make an online Paypal donation to our Lifesong account. (Please reference: Weldon #2638)

What's up with the Weldons?

Many things have happened since I posted last! We are certainly staying busy with church and trying to prepare for our son to come home! The last couple months have been a whirlwind of excitement, joy, stress, and tears. Let me fill you in quickly on what our life has looked like in the last few months. We officially filed paperwork to make our son a permanent Weldon, began our 30 day adoption judgement time period, we raised our age range for our second child referral from under 1 to under 3 years, we have prayed and grieved with my family over the sudden loss of my cousin, both of us have gotten over a couple sicknesses, both of our cars have been broken into, my car was stolen and then found, we have been rear ended twice (no damage was done), we traveled to Michigan for Christmas, and we had some very dear friends visit us from TN. Let me tell you that the Lord has sustained us through some of the most difficult times of our lives. God has been so kind to us and our faith has grown since we moved to KY. Our new church has been slowly growing and we have been seeing people come to know Jesus. People are worshipping Jesus and joining our fellowship. God is working and we will continue to follow the Lord’s Will! We know that we are doing something right because the devil’s fiery darts are coming at us from all directions. I know what some of you are thinking. “Why are you guys there? Wouldn’t it be better to be in a suburb somewhere? You guys should move to the other end of town.” I have thought the same things but my heart is redirected each time I pray. The Lord wants to use us to be His hands and feet in this community. He wants us to love the unlovable. Encourage the weary. Feed the hungry. Minister to the broken and hurting. That is why we are here! Sometimes following Christ doesn’t make sense but in the end it’s the best for His glory. 

Recently, I had a friend that traveled to the DRC to get her daughter and she graciously brought E a package from us. She traveled to the orphanage and got some of the sweetest pictures of our dear little boy! I wish I could post a photo of him! For his safety we are unfortunately unable to post his picture! But let me tell you, He is BEAUTIFUL! His smile is big and his eyes are joyful. I cannot wait till I get to witness his goofy little personality first hand. E loves to make silly faces at the camera. There were many photos with his tongue sticking out! We received a group photo of the children at the orphanage and our son was in the front. We cracked up at what he was doing! He was holding his giant shorts up, his shirt was on backwards, and he had the biggest smile on his face. You just gotta love little boys! It melted my heart! We were also able to see photos of when E opened his care package from us. He held up our photo album to the camera with a huge smile on his sweet face. You can see the care package in my previous blog post! I have prayed that he would feel SO deeply loved by us and his Heavenly Father. Right now we are waiting for our 30 day adoption judgement to pass. Once we pass this 30 days then we will be able to file for final court dates in the DRC and we can make travel plans. Being united with our son is just around the corner!! I cannot express the joy I have dreaming about hugging him for the first time! Continue to pray for our second referral. We have opened our age range to be 3 and under. Seeing the group photos of the children at the orphanage opened my heart to accepting another older child. It grieved my heart to say we would only be willing to accept a child under age 1 when there were so many older children. We will see what God does. I have surrendered my heart to the Lord. I know that God has selected the children I am supposed to mother. 

This song was written by my husband and our friend Kyle Anderson. 

This video was filmed and directed by our friend, Justin Kelly. Visit TheKellysProductions.com to view more videos by Justin! 

I had a blast celebrating the New Year with sweet friends!

Kevin and our nephews Marcus and Adam! The snow in Michigan was great for Christmas!

Christmas presents for E from our friends Brad and Elicia!

Christmas in Michigan with Kevin's family!

We went to a Pistons game in Detroit! Pistons beat the Heat! Woop Woop!

Prayer Requests: 

*God would continue to grow our church with people who will be His hands and feet in this community. 

*For my family as they continue to grieve the loss of my cousin.

*For God’s protection as we continue to minister. 

*For our travel plans.

*For E’s protection as he waits for us to be united. 

*God would unite us with our second child soon.

New name and birthday. One step closer to home!

“How’s the adoption going?!” I hear this question several times a week! I know I haven’t posted in a while so this post is going to be my attempt to fill you in on our life and adoption! First of all, life in Louisville is going well. After being here for 7 months we are finally feeling settled and like this is home instead of an extended mission trip. Our church has offered us a loving community of prayer and support. We are thankful for these people! Kevin and I have been sick this week. I have been much worse than him and we had to cancel our trip to TN. I was sad that we didn’t get to spend time with family and that we wouldn’t have a Thanksgiving dinner. A sweet family from our church heard that we were sick and at home so they lovingly shared their meal with us! We were certainly thankful for their generosity! 

Kevin & I at Carlisle's Trunk or Treat! So fun!

E is doing very well in his Jumpstart program at the orphanage. He is learning basic English and phrases to help with his transition to our family in America. His teacher sends us progress reports and always says that E is keeping up very well with his class. It is so wonderful that our agency offers this program to children 3+ who are being adopted. The children are learning about what it means to be adopted into a new family. I have been praying for our little guy everyday that he will fall in love with us just like we have fallen in love with him. Another family with our agency was weeks away from traveling to pick up their daughter. They lovingly offered to bring E a package from us! I was able to put together a small backpack full of clothes, toys, photo album, and a letter. My heart is full of joy knowing that E will have this package in the next couple days! This family is in the DRC right now bonding with their new daughter! Pray for them! We have recently sent in official paperwork to change E’s name to permanently be Weldon. Also, it’s been surreal trying to choose a birthday for our little guy! He was abandoned so we needed to choose a birthday so he can get a birth certificate and passport. 

The care package that E will receive in the next couple days!

We bought E a set of bunk beds from a sweet family here in Kentucky for an awesome deal! When Kevin and I were setting up these beds in E’s room I started to laugh and told Kevin that it was weird that the entire time we were in our adoption we imagined setting up a crib in this room. Now, we are setting up a room for a little boy who can walk, and talk, and say Mommy and Daddy. Kevin laughed and said, “We are crazy!” We are crazy! Crazy for this little boy who has been ordained to be a Weldon by our Heavenly Father. This is the child we have prayed for. We continue to pray for an infant from the DRC to fill a crib in our house. The Lord has perfect timing and we know He will provide according to His Will. Pray for our children! Pray that we can travel soon to rescue them! We will update everyone on possible travel plans soon! 

E's awesome bedroom!
Many bedtime stories will be read here!

Give 1 Save 1: Scott Family

Let me tell you guys that this family is a precious family! The Scotts were members at our former church in Tennessee. We loved spending time with Dwane and Ginger and their funny and energetic girls! They are adopting a little boy from Ethiopia. They don't know how old he will be or what he looks like but he will be LOVED! This precious family is being featured on Give1Save1.blogspot.com this week. The idea behind Give 1 Save 1 is for everyone to donate $1 towards the Scott's adoption fund to help offset some of the cost of the adoption. Not everyone can donate $500 but everyone can donate $1.00! Watch their video and donate what you can to this sweet family! Your kindness and giving hearts will help an orphan boy on the other side of the world come home to arms of love. Get the word out and support the Scotts! 

Click here to DONATE! 

WE HAVE ACCEPTED A REFERRAL!!!

The entire time we have been on this adoption journey we have known that it would be a possibility for us to adopt 2 children. Quite honestly, we knew that this option was “out there” but I guess we never expected it to actually happen. Our agency contacted us in August about adopting a 3 year old healthy boy while awaiting the referral of an infant. We prayed about it for a couple weeks. We applied the same 3 questions that we worked through when we began the adoption journey. Those questions were, “Does this glorify God?, Does this make me look more like Jesus? And Does this help others see God’s truth?” The answers that we found were, YES, YES, and YES! We emailed our agency and within a matter of a couple days we received the information for this 3 year old boy. Kevin and I waited to open the referral together while our friends Brad and Elicia recorded and photographed this awesome moment! 

Opening E's referral! 

E was found in the capital city of the DRC abandoned and has been in his current orphanage since May. We are so thankful that we have accepted his referral and that he is our son and permanently a Weldon. He is healthy and handsome and smart. We have enrolled him in a program called Jump Start at the orphanage. This program is for children 3 years old+ who are being adopted. They are learning basic English and what life in America will be like. Also, they are receiving counseling on what it means to be adopted and what to expect. We have received a couple progress reports on how E is doing in his classes. His teacher says he is doing well in school and that he is a very smart little boy. Our agency (Children of All Nations-CAN) has been awesome every step of the way and we are blessed to have chosen them! It is easy to get frustrated with timelines, contracts, and adoption unknowns but our hope is in the Lord! We have confidence and assurance that we have made the right decision with our agency! For more info on CAN then click here for our review! 

Here are a couple cool stories about how E's story coincided with ours! 

*We received a $3,000 matching grant from Lifesong for Orphans! May 12 and 13, 2012 on Mother’s Day weekend we received word that we exceeded our Lifesong goal by over $2,000!!! Read the blog post from that weekend here! This mean’t that we had received all the funds we estimated we needed to complete our adoption. E came to the orphanage that same weekend. Coincidence?! Nope! It was God! 

*Kevin and I received our monthly email update from our agency about how the DRC program was going, etc. Our adoption counselor attached a couple photos of the children at the orphanage. Kevin and I both looked at a little boy in these photos and were immediately in awe of how precious he was. We talked about how cool it would be to have a little guy like him running around our house! When we opened our referral of E we immediately recognized that HE was the little boy we were so in LOVE with in that email update! Coincidence!? Nope! It was God! 

We will are still awaiting a referral of an infant from the DRC. We have been told that we will probably travel twice. Once to get E and once to get our baby! We will be fundraising again for our second set of travel fees! Please pray that we receive an infant referral soon along with God’s continued financial provision! Pray for E's health, safety, and transition! We are excited to be parents of this sweet boy! 

Children of All Nations Review

I decided to write a post about our adoption agency to give everyone a quick review of our experience. Over the past several months I have gotten several emails that have asked me to tell about how our adoption journey has been as we have worked with Children of All Nations (CAN). I hope that this information would help future couples in deciding whether or not this adoption agency is best for them!

Click here to visit their website!

We have been in the adoption process with CAN since October 2011. After researching the agencies that are out there and the different countries open for adoption we really felt like CAN and the DRC would the way to go for our family! We have gotten awesome service and help through CAN and our adoption counselor. She was always available and very knowledgeable about the entire process and took our "freak out" moments in stride. I would email her any questions about the process or about our dossier and I would always get a quick reply within a few hours and never more than a couple days! Even though CAN is relatively a new agency their parent company, Great Wall China, is very established and reputable.  The only down side is that the DRC program is relatively new and we dont know for sure how long our referral time for a child is. They say the wait for a child under 3 years is 6-12 months and only time will tell whether that wait time is accurate. CAN says that the wait for a child over 3 years has been running about 4-8 months. Recently our adoption counselor has taken another position within their parent company, Great Wall China. Our new adoption counselor has been great in the short time we have worked with her! She has sent us numerous newsletters and information about how the process is moving along for other families who are adopting from DRC. She lets us know monthly how many referrals have gone out and how many families are ready for travel. They have recently hired many more in-country staff so she believes that the process will be able to move along more seamless and hopefully faster. Recently, we have learned that our agency is developing a waiting child list. This waiting child list will be great for families who are equipped and willing to adopt children with special needs. So, in conclusion we would absolutely recommend this agency and this country! Of course everyone's adoption story looks different and you just have to know that there will be bumps in the adoption road! Utilize CANS free webinars and talk to the Africa adoption counselor with CAN on the phone before you decide to make CAN your agency! We felt assurance we were doing the right thing after we did both of those things! 

Look how precious this child is! 

Boys in the DRC!

Please feel free to email me with any further questions! I pray that this information would be able to help those of you who are considering adopting a child. Adoption will not only change the life of that child but it will change who YOU are! Your life will never be the same when you open your eyes to the beauty of adoption. Blessings to you!