In March 2005 our family traveled to China with the UW-Eau Claire Women's Concert Chorale,which Alan conducts. It was the trip of a lifetime!! Such a wonderful family experience and life changing in so many ways. As our plane began to leave Beijing on our trip home, Ruth stated that she felt as though she was leaving someone behind.
In May 2005 we decided as a family to look into the possibility of adopting a child from China. As we looked into this, we learned that the process of adoption from China generally was very carefully laid out and took only about 10 months to a year.
On August 1, 2005 we filled out an application with America World Adoption Association (www.awaa.org), a fabulous Christian adoption agency and made arrangements to meet with a local social worker to begin the "paper chase" process.
By December 2005 we had completed the major paper accumulation and were going about the process of getting things notarized and authenticated.
On February 10, 2006 Alan and Andrew picked up the materials in Chicago prior to going to Lambeau field for the Ohio State -vs- Wisconsin hockey game (Badgers won!!) for Andrew's birthday. Materials were mailed to our agency that week.
On March 13, 2006 we were officially logged into the China Center of Adoption Affairs and officially in the waiting process for a child to be matched to our family.
There have been many blessings in the waiting process--new friends through AWAA, growth in family relationships, supportive family and friends--all from a merciful and gracious God. At the same time we grow older (and bodies act older). We have learned much about the process that God has used to prepare us. We are much more ready to welcome an additional person to our family now than we were in 2005, 2006 or 2007.
All along we expected that it would be a little girl. All along God knew what He was doing.
In spring 2008, God had us consider a young boy with special needs. After consulting a doctor, it became clear that we were not well equipped to care for this boy (who has since been adopted by another family). So we waited.
Alan and Ruth began to feel that God may be directing them to an older child. We weren't able to shake the strong feeling that Ruth had that we were leaving someone behind. On December 23, 2008 we filled out an application for Waiting Children (those with special needs or older than three). We stated that we would consider either a boy or a girl (since we had already done that).
On December 30, 2008 we received a call from America World asking us to review a file for an 8 year old boy. We were all in a bit of a state of shock since this was not what we had planned. It was, however what God had planned. After a long week of prayer and discussion the family arrived at the mutual decision to pursue this little boy.
On January 5, 2009 we met with our local social worker, accepted the referral, completed much paperwork, made several calls to America World and thereby essentially added Jadon Sheng Rieck to our family.
God knew it all along!! He does work in mysterious ways, and we wouldn't change a thing!
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