A new season of waiting

“In the silence, in the stillness, YES we can know You are good.” 

 At church tonight these lyrics hit me like a ton of bricks.  Lord, let this be true of our hearts during our wait.  It has been a while since an update so I decided it was time to share my thoughts, sing praises and express hardships. 

You guys, this journey is harder than we could have ever imagined.  Yes, some of you reading are saying to yourselves “I told you so.”  Right about the time when we submitted all of our paperwork in early 2014 is when rumors began floating around of Ethiopia closing its doors to international adoption.  Obviously that didn’t happen, but since our official wait list began in March of 2014 things have been painfully slow.  Why?  You ask.  Let me explain…

Ethics have become the main focus in the adoption world which is a very good thing.  Orphanages are following through with additional steps to make sure an orphan is a true orphan by seeking out any family or distant relative to take in the child.  This occurs for two months before a child is up for adoption domestically (within the country of Ethiopia).  Next comes domestic foster care and finally international adoption.  You can see why this has meant little to no movement for families waiting as the country and regional governments attempt to implement a whole new process.  We have been informed that this extensive process and the current wait times are the “new normal” and we have quite a ways to go on the wait list.  Needless to say, there has been a lot of tears shed and confusion.  As we have been processing through all of this something has been brought to the surface.  In our hardships and challenges that we meet face to face we are truly able to see how weak and powerless we are.  It then enables us to see our need for a Savior. 

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).

This is what continues to keep us hopeful and obedient to that which He has called us to.  I find myself clinging to the scriptures now more than ever before as truth.  This journey isn’t ours, but His, we just get to be a part of it.   It has been difficult no doubt, and He doesn’t always promise us clarity and answers, but we know He does promise to be with us through His spirit always (1 Corinthians 6:19).  I had a dear friend remind me the other day in my sadness that if the movement were any different in our monthly update it would not be baby Schwoch.  Such truth.  God is sovereign friends.

Yes, it is hard.  No, we aren’t quitting and our hearts are forever softened towards the orphan.  It got me to thinking about how our God pursues us continually and unconditionally.  He doesn’t quit fighting for His children ever.  We ask you to continue walking along side of us.  Specifics you can be praying and asking for:

• Our steadfastness and hopefulness in the highs and lows of this process
• The process in Ethiopia to be perfected (as much as things can be on this earth) to create much movement of bringing orphans into forever families
• That the Lord would continue to surround us with adoptive families and bring even more resources and support into our life during this tough season

I would like to close with a recent story of God’s abundant provision and presence in the here and now that is leaving us in awe and singing His praise.  I end with this because in the thick of it we can begin to lean on our own emotions and so easily forget of His continual presence and promises.  Recently we were notified from our agency that our adoption fees will be increasing as a result of the current orphanage crisis in Ethiopia. Long story short, orphanages are running out of money and having to send kids back on the streets due to the slowdown in referrals. Orphanages primary source of money is from international adoptions and as the government focuses more and more on adoptions and foster care within Ethiopia, orphanages are no longer receiving the funds necessary to keep their doors open. As a result, agencies are being forced to increase the fees in order to support the orphanages. No international adoptions equals no orphanages and no orphanages equals no international adoption. Therefore, while difficult to hear, we support the changes in fee structure.

Why do we tell you this? God & His provision showed up in a large way to say the least. After learning of the increase in fees we were a little frustrated and began wondering how we were going to raise the additional money when we still had a good amount of fundraising to do. We have some dear friends who we met just over a year ago. These friends had served overseas spreading the gospel and had come back to raise more support in order to return overseas to serve once more. These friends thought they might like to adopt and began saving money. Over the course of the last year it became apparent to them that God was calling them back overseas and they didn’t feel like adoption was in their near future. Instead of spending the money or using it as part of their finances to go overseas, they felt strongly that the money should be used towards adoption whether or not it was their own. Our friends decided that they would support us in our love for the orphan and support us by giving us the money they had saved. The check literally arrived the day after the news of the increase in fees and will make a significant dent in the additional amount due. Praise God, praise Him indeed!  “He has made everything beautiful in its time.  Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.”  Ecclesiastes 3:11

To those who continually pray for us and for our process, for those who send a simple text or call to see how things are moving, to those fasting specifically to pray for our adoption, to those who have hosted Noonday trunk shows to help fundraise for baby Schwoch we are forever indebted to you.  You all truly show us the love of Christ and keep us pressing on. 

Happy Thanksgiving, grateful for you readers.

Jen & Luke Schwoch

Tick tock tick tock

“But as we wait, as we journey, we find ourselves clinging to God as never before, and listening for his voice as if our life depended on it!  That in itself makes the waiting worth the while” (Patterson, 75).

Every day I am reminded that we are waiting.  Whether it’s in the morning when I am preparing breakfast and the baby outlet covers prevent me from plugging in the griddle or I see a glimpse of our wait list number on our dry erase board from the corner of my eye.  We are expectant parents in what some may joke as a very long pregnancy. 

Sure, there are the obvious ways it looks different.  I am not harboring this child in my body so therefore my stomach isn’t growing horizontally (other than from poor dietary choices) , I am not making monthly visits to the OBGYN, and my diet hasn’t changed as it would if I were pregnant.  Honestly, in many ways it is the normal for me because I have no comparison since I have never been pregnant and adoption was always at the forefront of my mind.

Needless to say, all the other preparation looks similar from what I can comprehend.  Our baby consumes my thoughts.  What will he/she look like?  Has our child already been conceived?  What about the birth mama?  What is going through her mind?  Praising God for her choosing of life for this sweet child that we will someday raise.  I am utterly in awe that we will be entrusted to this child’s life that I have yet to meet.  What else do expectant parents do, you ask?  We have started collecting a few items for what will someday be a nursery for baby Schwoch.  We have attended classes on raising adoptive kiddos and kids from hard places, talked to loved ones about what to expect on the road ahead, prayed like crazy & waited some more.  There is no doubt the road ahead is long and will get hard, but we are waiting with hope & humility. 

I just finished a book from a dear friend titled “Waiting.  Finding hope when God seems silent” by Ben Patterson.  The truths in this book could not have come at a more perfect time.  I would highly recommend it because really aren’t we all waiting for something in life?  It reminded me and put me in the place of our forefathers in faith such as Job, Abram & Sarai as they waited and suffered.  Did they ever cry out in their suffering and wonder when God would show up on the scene?  Absolutely.  Did they wait perfectly and with patience always?  Hardly.  My point being that even in their lowest, God was up to something greater.  “That finally, is all God himself assures us of in the here and now of our suffering.  He nowhere promises healing in the here and now.  He nowhere promises understanding or comprehension of it all in the here and now.   He nowhere promises that if you do everything right and keep your nose clean he will shield you from all evil.  What he does promise you is the presence of his Spirit to uphold and comfort us” (Patterson, 43).

I have studied the book of Genesis in the past and have specifically focused on the story of Abram and his wife Sarai.  If you are unfamiliar with it, this couple is promised by God himself, specifically Abram, a great nation (Genesis 12:2).  They long for a child and have given up hope when they hear they will become parents at the ripe ages of 90 and 100 years old.  In the meantime something is happening far greater than they could fathom, “The wait has been purifying and shaping Abram and Sarai into Abraham and Sarah.  Remember:  from God’s reckoning at least as important as the thing we wait for is what we become as we wait” (Patterson, 122).  Isaac was born as promised.  I am able to sympathize with Sarah and Abraham on a much different level than before as I wait to grow our family and put my tiny self and my waiting into perspective of God’s greater purpose.  “As it turns out, the creation is waiting for the same thing Abram and Sarai are waiting for!  To their immense surprise, they discover that their waiting for a child is linked to a much greater Waiting-the Waiting of the world and its redemption.  And the fulfillment of Abram and Sarai’s waiting will set in motion God’s campaign to restore his fallen creation.  The birth of a child, their child, will be the vehicle for redemption” (Patterson, 64).

There are days when I get so impatient and the wait seems treacherous.  With international adoptions one thing that is extremely difficult is not knowing what is going on.  You hear something one day and something extremely different the next.  In this book Patterson points on something spot on “Modern Christians are afflicted with a “zap mentality.”  It’s the idea that unless God “zaps” us immediately in response to our prayers, unless he does something that is immediately accessible to our five senses, then nothing has happened (144).  Well that sure wasn’t one easy pill of truth to follow.  But as a child of God I must remind myself that no loving parent would hand their child just anything at an instant.  “If we wait it is because God is waiting for us to become the people he wants us to be” (Patterson, 112).  In our obedience he is equipping us and molding us into the parents He desires us to be along the way.

I’ve had people shy away from conversations with me because they don’t know what to ask, or think the idea of growing a family through adoption is such an alien idea, or just want to let me know “it will be so hard”, but heed not.  I am a soon-to-be mama just like all the other mamas out there; their tummies may just scream “I’m pregnant.”  If my heart could scream it, it would :).  With that being said, ask away people, walk alongside of us on our journey, give us parenting tips (which we may or may not take), but most of all just be real with us and share in our excitement, joy and obedience to this call.  This past mother’s day was the first mother’s day celebrated as I was considered a mom-to-be.  Inside I thought “Oh, no one will think of the fact that I am celebrating this day in a new way” or “Oh people wouldn’t consider me as an expectant mother.”  Boy, was I wrong.  Your cards, gifts and sweet texts meant more to me than you can ever imagine. 

Specifics in our adoption

We have been waiting for three months now and get monthly updates from our agency.  Ethiopia just recently passed a new step in the process which requires an orphan to be up for domestic adoption in country for two months.  In a sense, they are exhausting all measures to keep the child in his/her home country with any living relatives which is good!  All this to say, we thought things would be at a standstill for a few months, but we got some news fairly recently that orphans already in the process did not have to go through this step so there has been some movement.  It is difficult to estimate a time frame, but we most likely have a year or two head of us in the waiting before we receive a referral.  At this rate it is moving much slower than it has in the past which is difficult, but also good to make sure adoptions are taking place ethically and orphans are considered true orphans.  Yes, this is what we signed up for, but it does not mean it is always a walk in the park.

On a side note, I have mentioned an organization I am head-over-heels for before on our blog called Noonday Collection.  Noonday Collection was started by an orphan advocate and world changing woman here in Austin, Texas in 2011.  It uses a fashion marketplace to ethically create opportunities and a job market among the vulnerable and oppressed among many other things and is currently working with over ten countries and even more artisan groups.  I just recently said “yes” to becoming an ambassador and a voice for Noonday and would love to share more of the heart behind this company, give you a catalog or have you host a trunk show in your home to share these stories of hope from around the world.  Check out my website at http://jenniferschwoch.noondaycollection.com .

Take care people. All our love.

Jen & Luke Schwoch

 

“He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32)

Dossier may be a fun word to say, but we're glad it's out of our hands!

It has been a while since I have gathered my thoughts on pen and paper.  These last few months Luke and I have been venturing all over town to collect the last few pieces for our dossier compilation.  If you are unfamiliar with the adoption process, the dossier is the mounds of paperwork that includes everything from official birth certificates to letters of recommendation on what would make us good adoptive parents.  All of this paperwork will be sent to Ethiopia along with our home study for translation & approval.  Let’s just say the people down at Frost Bank are probably sick of seeing the Schwochs for their weekly notarizations :).

All this to say, this point in the process is marked with mixed emotions.  The paper chase portion is over, now comes the waiting.  We will be waiting for an estimated 2 years for our referral.  A referral is when we will be matched with a child and will receive any information they have on him/her along with photographs.  Oh how I long for the day when I first see our babe’s face!  Daily, I am leaning on God’s never-ending, constant grace.   To say this process is sanctifying would be accurate as we are more easily able to see the idols we turn to that we think will satisfy us, even though they always seem to let us down.

We are headed into our next phase with eager anticipation, but also with an overwhelming sense of peace.  I think I read on one of Jen Hatmaker’s older blogs recently that only 5% of adoptions go perfectly as planned with no hiccups along the way.  As much as we’d like to hope everything goes smoothly with our adoption, I’d like to think we have fair expectations for the road ahead.  Paperwork may get lost, documents expire, the wait may be longer than predicted, but we are confident in God's plans and are honored that we get to play a role in them.

This whole waiting period puts the one true wait into perspective for us.  As believers of Jesus Christ we hold every word of the bible as true, sufficient and without error.  In chapter 9 verse 28 of Hebrews it states “Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with the sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.”  In the grand scheme of things waiting for our child allows us to step back and marvel with anticipation for the far greater wait:  a day when Christ will return for us and make all things new. 

One of the true joys of the whole process for the both of us is sharing our heart and more importantly God’s heart behind adoption.  As I can imagine, just like when a woman is carrying a biological child, it consumes your every thought.  Paper pregnancy is no joke people.  When we share our adoption journey we have gotten several questions multiple times so I thought I would end this blog with some of our frequently asked questions…

1.)  Q:   If there are millions of orphans in Ethiopia why in the world will it take you at least two years to receive a referral?

A:  While we wish the process were quick & simple, the truth of the matter is that it is a long process full of paper work & waiting. This is good news & bad news at the same time. The good news is that the longer wait times are due to the government & country working hard to find any living family member or relative that might be able and willing to take the child into their home. After all, reuniting an orphan with their original family should always be plan A. The bad news is that we have to wait longer because of the many checks that exist throughout the process. I can’t remember who it was but someone recently put it this way – international adoption involves two governments trying to create a family. Most governments can’t even figure out their own agenda, much less coordinate an adoption with another government.

We recently sent off our dossier to our agency. Before the dossier is sent to Ethiopia for translation and review, it must go through multiple steps of authentication in the U.S. First, the Secretary of State in Utah (where our agency is located) must authenticate our dossier, then to the U.S. Department of State followed by the Ethiopian embassy in Washington D.C. This process takes 4-6 weeks and once final, we are officially a waiting family! Next the dossier is sent to Ethiopia for translation & review by the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs. Then approximately 2 years later we are given a referral which includes a picture of our child with any and all history available. Ethiopia requires 2 trips in country. The first trip, 3-4 months after referral acceptance, lasts 5-7 days and we get to meet our child and sit in front of a judge who ultimately decides whether or not we are fit to adopt our child. Then we return home and will travel back to Ethiopia in about 1-2 months for a 3-5 day trip where we pick up our child, go to the U.S. embassy in Ethiopia to get final clearance and return home!

2.)  Q:  Since you will be waiting for a couple of years, is there any chance you will have a biological child while you wait?

A:  Well I guess there is always a chance right?!  We have no doubt that God is bigger than birth control.  Our desire to adopt first doesn’t stem from fertility issues and we have received such a strong calling and clarity in these plans.  We are thrilled to bring a little one into our home that may have different bloodlines, but that is just as much a part of our family as a child I could give birth to.  When we think about our firstborn being an adoptive babe, although we know it won’t be easy, we are so excited to attach to our child and establish a bond of family before possibly having any biological children.  Your guess is as good as ours, but there are no plans to become a family of three before our trip to get our little love from Ethiopia.

3.)  Q:  How is your fundraising going?

A: God has been so gracious and has blessed us in more ways than we could have ever imagined. The financial part of adoption can be daunting and I’m not sure how people get through it without a strong trust in God. Jennifer and I do not have enough money on our own to adopt, but trusted His call on our hearts and knew that He would provide no matter what.

Our garage sale in October was a major success and in total we raised almost $6,000. God has provided through donations from friends and family in unbelievably generous ways. Our amazing sister/sister in law, Gretchen Watson, designed some awesome shirt for us to sell and they have been a big hit (we still have a few left if you are interested). We have had three sweet people (Kim Truss, Sally Jones & Robin Schwoch) host Noonday Jewelry trunk shows for us. If you haven’t heard about this company check it out at www.noondaycollection.com. The company was started by a woman who was adopting her son from Rwanda and was looking for ways to raise money. With a heart for the nations and the vulnerable, this Austinite created Noonday.  A foundational verse of this company is from Isaiah 58 “if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday” v. 10.  Noonday employs men and women all over the world who make beautiful jewelry with their local products. The jewelry is then sold at trunk shows hosted by friends and a portion of the profits can go towards an adoption. The company works two-fold by allowing women and men around the world to enter the work field so that they don’t have to put their children up for adoption, and works here in the states by enabling families financially to adopt.  If you are interested in hosting a trunk show, we would love to connect you with some resources.  We cannot stop praising God for his blessings and continued provision.

In total we have raised close to $17,000 and expect the entire process to cost around $28,000 - $30,000. We still have a ways to go, but have been so encouraged by family & friends response to the gospel and the James 1:27 mindset of caring for the orphan. We are planning on some more fundraisers in the future so look for updates on Facebook. If you want to learn more or feel led to give, check out the link below to our You Caring fundraiser page. We can’t thank you all enough and couldn’t live out this gospel call without you.

https://www.youcaring.com/adoption-fundraiser/schwoch-a-bye-baby-adoption/79828

We are honored to get to be a part of this story and are beyond thankful for all the people around the world who have chosen to be a part of this story with us.  Even just by reading this blog you are taking time to hear our hearts.  We thank you.  Please pray that we can wait well, for our child’s well-being and heart, for the birth mama and for our paperwork every step of the way.  Until next time.  Love ya!

Jen & Luke Schwoch

P.S. Do you have a question you’ve been dying to ask us or are you considering adoption?  We would LOVE to hear from you!