Baby Hannah

This blog was created to allow others to join in our adoption journey bringing home baby Hannah from China. Keith and Judy were both led to adopt in different ways. While Judy was initially resistant to adoption when Keith brought it up many years ago; God led her to adopt in a very gradual, but purposeful way. In January of 2005, Judy felt God leading her to adopt and began to research, although just a little, adoption agencies. Judy did not speak to Keith about it as she did not want to burden him during his difficult time at school. She knew that at this time in their marriage, that they did not have the time, nor financial means to adopt. Also, she did not realize that Keith may still want to add to the family, as our biological children were already 13 and 9. God, however, had a plan.
Keith had been going to college for now 3 1/2 years. He had always wanted to adopt, but was not sure where to start, or even if Judy would be willing. In February of 2005, Keith and Judy went to Steven Curtis Chapman's concert. It was here that God would bring their hearts together with His will to decide to adopt. During the concert while Steven was talking about Shaohannah's Hope and raising funds, God spoke to both Keith and Judy. Neither of us was led to give, but instead felt an intense desire to be one of the families adopting a child. We did not talk about it that night, but the next day, Keith called Judy into their room and expressed his conviction and desire to adopt. Imagine Judy's surprise when she had wanted to talk to Keith about it for a couple of months!
However, they both knew that the time could not be right. Keith was in school and they were accruing debt in the form of student loans. Judy had costly medical bills. David and Jeremiah were both struggling with school and medical problems of their own. Certainly God did not mean now...but He did. God led us both to realize quickly that this was His adoption, that this was His calling and this was His plan. We started to look into adoption agencies. We found Dillon, which was in Oklahoma, where we lived at the time. Amazingly, they were having an adoption seminar that very next Saturday. We went and during the seminar found that God was leading us to adopt from China. Our journey had begun. We filed our application and were accepted. We spoke to our children. We expected resistance, since they were older and not requesting a sibling at this time in their lives. However, we were stunned by David’s response. In the wisdom of a barely 13 year old, he stated, “If God is calling you to adopt, you had better do it!” We knew that Jeremiah loved to play with other children and is very compassionate and caring. His reply was one question, “Can I read her diary?” We did the calculations and decided that if she was 9 by the time she started keeping a diary, he would be 20, and probably not interested. So, we agreed to his request. Yes, Jeremiah may read her diary...once she writes one, that is!
Then came the first bump in the road. We realized truly just how much this was going to cost. We knew that we could not afford this on our own. We considered backing out, but God would not give us peace about this decision. This was HIS adoption and HIS plan. Only He would provide. We were not called to carry this burden alone. God did not give us peace until we again realized this fact, and on this promise, we have leaned throughout the entire adoption process.
We chose a name for our daughter after quite a bit of discussion. Her first name is Hannah, which means “given to us by God”. Truly, she is a gift from God. Her middle name is Elizabeth, which means “consecrated to God”. We choose to raise Hannah in a way that is pleasing and glorifying to God. Therefore, we are giving her back to God as a gift from us. We know that God has a plan for us and for Hannah, and that He will be glorified in the raising of our daughter.
God did provide us what we needed in the adoption process. Our church, in only one week, came up with nearly $4000 to pay for the home study, part of the program management fees and the dossier processing. It was truly a blessing from God. In May, Keith graduated from college, and commissioned into the Air Force. In July, the Air Force moved our entire family over to the beautiful country of Germany. Judy, of course had to leave the job that she had in Oklahoma. God has convicted us that Judy’s place is now in the home, where she can care for the family, so she has not sought a new job here in Germany. Our dossier went to China on September 9th, was logged in (received by the China Center for Adoption Affairs) on October 10th, and we are now eagerly awaiting our referral. We are excited to see God work, as He has led us each through each step of the way. We are truly blessed that He has chosen us to adopt. We know that He will provide what is needed in exactly His time, His way and to His glory.