Friday, April 13, 2007

Room for Another

Pin It Now! I know some of you BARELY read this blog. You just browse at the photos and hope to find free coupons or something. So for you, I will just get to the punchline... we are pursuing adopting a boy from the Philippines! Okay, go look at the photos now. Well, there are only two - that is my kids' reactions when I told them the news. Now for my real friends. Read on for the details.


Last week my girlfriend, Stacy, was in town with her babysitter, Josie. They came over to my house on Thursday, which is significant because had Stacy come over on Friday instead (which we were debating about) then Josie would not have come. Josie is 19 years old. Grew up in the Philippines. Her parents have been missionaries there for about 17 years. In the last few years they started an orphanage in Manila.
For those that know me well, you know that I have always had a heart for adoption. And I have always said I did not know what it would look like - through foster care, international, etc. And in the last few months I have been talking about it and praying about it everyday. Just ask my husband! I just finished a book on adoption called "Successful Adoption: A Guide for Christian Families." Shiloh keeps saying he wants another biological child and then we could adopt. And I feel so strongly about adopting an orphan that I really don't have a desire for another biological child. The fact that I throw up for 9 months of pregnancy is just icing on that cake.
I have been fervently praying that God would change Shiloh's heart (or mine if necessary, but I had a hard time praying that one) and that God would bring our hearts in alignment on this issue. So Josie comes over and we began chatting with her about her life in the Philippines and the orphanage. Oh and the funny thing is - neither Shiloh nor I really know anything about the Philippines. But my heart is so for adoption that I really never cared about the place the kid came from. Just say the word "orphan" and I am all ears and tears. But Shiloh's ears perked up when he heard Philippines because some great volleyball player (Dan Landry) came from there and played at UCLA. Thanks Dan, whoever and wherever you are, for being a part of God's plan and an answer to my prayers. We tell Josie our situation and she asks us what age child we would want to adopt. We told her the ideal thing would be to keep the birth order so we would want to adopt any kid younger than Lydia (who is 11 months old).
And then she goes on to tell us about Moses (who is about 4 months older than Lydia - oh well what are you gonna do?)...and then we see a photo of him. Click the link below.
  • Moses

  • Come on, people. How could you resist? Even Shiloh couldn't. So off we are on this huge adventure.

    I called Jeff Long (Josie's Dad) in the Philippines that night. Over the last week I have been researching on the internet, calling adoption agencies, etc. trying to see if adopting Moses was even possible. Here is what I have found out (and what you can be praying about because there are a lot of contingencies):

    Kids International Ministries (where Moses is) is in the process of getting the "declaration for abandonment" for all their kids to be officially adoptable. In the meantime, they are working with an adoption agency in Kansas to try and coordinate future adoptions. This agency, His Kids Adoptions International, is in the process of getting themselves to be an agency licensed with the Philippines government. And we don't know how long all of that will take. Teri, the director of His Kids, is hoping it will be sometime this year.

    Here is the real kicker though - The Philippines (along with many other countries) do not look favorably on preidentified children (for example, "Hi we are the Hagens of Cali and we want Moses. Please, please, please). This is the whopper prayer request because at this point Shiloh is only ready to adopt Moses. If we cannot get him, he is not ready to take another kid (at this point anyway) because he still wants one roasting in my oven. BUT, he is willing to proceed on faith (and so I am because you know I will be crushed to walk away empty handed) with pursuing Moses despite what looks like a long shot. We know that God is in control of all things and so this roller coaster ahead of us will be exciting.

    We have picked an agency locally to work with to get our home study and post adoption services, The Family Network, Inc.
    We should be meeting with them soon to get the process started. There is A LOT of paperwork that needs to be done. I am going to get it all done as soon as I can so that we will then just have to wait on the governments... and you know how fast they are - like cheetahs. No maybe more like cheetos. Teri (His Kids) said that pessimistically we are looking at 12-18 months before Moses could be a Hagen. Prayerfully, I am looking at sooner than that! Soon as possible! And that, my friends, is the scoop. Will keep you posted. And because you endured this long blog I have included a bonus photo below. It's one of those bad Hagen photos. Look at me and feel better about yourself. Go ahead. Indulge.
    Pin It Now!

    5 comments:

    Anonymous said...

    We are excited for you guys and y our new journey. You are all in our prayers and I know God has some amazing plans in store for your family and Moses. Love you guys! A & M

    Lela Seefeldt said...

    Hi Wendy!

    Quite honestly I don't know what the heck I'm doing on these blogs! This is my first ever response my first rather lengthy comments were lost when tried to sign up!

    Oh well, here we go!

    I'm Lela Seefeldt, Kelly Decker's mom. I've loved the few ocassion we've met and seen the kids. I think I've met Shiloh, maybe once!
    Thank you so much for allowing me to share in your family life through your blog!

    Adoption - just a few words come to mind! Prayer! Exciting! Intense! Consuming! Tears of sadness! Tears of joy! Patience! Money! Paperwork! Did I mention Prayer!

    Actually, these same words can be used for biological kids too!

    My brother, Joe and his wife, Jeanne adopted two children, one boy and one girl about three years ago from Russia. The children were almost one. They're not siblings (although they are now!), and are about 4 months apart - almost like having twins!

    My brother has never had children and his wife has two adult children. They were about 40 when they embarked on their journey. And, what a journey it was and still is! A journey that would not have been possible without the love our our Lord and their love for each other!

    God has truly blessed them and our family as we now have a new niece and nephew! But the blessings really are on the children, Joshua and Sasha, who will be brought up in a family of faith where they will live and learn the love of God. Of course, having Joe's health insurance is a huge added bonus! The kids had a bit of a rough go but now they're working through the health issues and are developing at their age rate. It helps that Jeanne was a teacher by profession!

    Wendy and Shiloh, I wish you and your family a journey rich in the love of God and one that continues to grace your family should His will be done!

    If you'd like to contact Joe and Jeanne to find out more about their adoption experience, let me of Kelly know and we'll put you in touch!

    In the meantime, we pray that your prayers are answered!

    Lela Seefeldt

    TL said...

    So I was telling Chad that you guys were considering adopting a child from the Phillipines (he's adopted, not that it matters) and Makaila said, "like in Veggie Tales?" Now, it took a few minutes to figure THAT one out, but she was referring to Dave and the Giant pickle where David (played by Larry) fights the Philistines. Phillipines? Philistines? Try to tell a 4 yr-old those aren't the same.

    butch santos said...

    Hi Wendy and Shiloh!

    My name is butch santos and I am Tess Estocapio's brother-in-law. I also used to work with Wendy's dad, Les, at Pacific Bell many years ago.

    Congratulations! I know that you will be embarking on a long, long journey, but one that is worthwhile. And as I am a Filipino, I am thankful that you are giving Moses a lovely home.

    Good luck and more power to you.

    butch

    Anonymous said...

    You guys are amazing. You have our prayers that Moses Hagen comes home soon.
    xoxo
    Jon and Laurie Provost