The Dorsey Family, in Progress.....

The Truth About Adoption

My friend Lisa, who adopted an older boy from Burkina Faso a few months ago, lives in Wisconsin. She and I were talking just last week and I was lamenting how difficult and all-consuming the adoption homestudy, the Dossier submission, and the immigration applications were. She said that they were so overwhelming, that surely completing the process required a "supernatural stamina, perseverance and motivation". I almost wept at the truth of this (well, maybe I did weep a little bit).

I'd like to report to everyone that we, The Undaunted Dorseys, are going like gangbusters, making record-breaking progress, and that our son is so close to coming home.... But instead I'll tell you the truth. Our progress isn't speedy. There is nothing fast about international adoption. The road to our son doesn't unfold as a straight, steep, plotted line. It spans before us, a messy series of fits and starts-- tedious errands, never-ending forms and questionnaires, and the constant up-ending of our lives and our privacy in every imaginable way. It taxes our time, our mental energy, and our finances daily, but we persevere, because Charlemagne is alone in the world, and his homecoming is worth all of our effort.

Some days Joe and I power through several tasks on our lengthy adoption-to-do list, and feel great about each step that brings our son closer to home! Other times, I am sad to say, we don't do a thing-- Not one single thing to move closer to our sweet boy. I feel terrible about these days. I know each day of inactivity on our part, means another day that our son waits in loneliness. Then, when I forget who I am, doubt creeps in, and I hear the whispering sounds....(The murmurs that sometimes come from our friends, too).....that we're nuts, that we are ill-prepared, that we have bitten off more than we can chew, that this task is just too big for little old us, that we are not special...(Why in the world did we think we could do this?). It is in those lows, and in those lies, that I reach out to Lisa and the other adoptive moms, and my prayerful supporters, who I am so blessed to call my friends, and they let me come unraveled a little bit, and they tell me the truth again.

The truth is, that I am an ordinary person and we are a regular family who is following God's heart to love sacrificially. We can only put one foot in front of other, on the path lit for us, and that is what we do. We trust God's strength, timing, and provision, not our own. The truth is that Jesus loved the hurting, the lost, and the lonely, and he calls us to do the same. I know how he feels about the unloved, the broken, the unwanted, the orphan, and I know what I am supposed to do about it. There is such peace in this burden of knowing, I can't even tell you!!!! An easy road was never part of the promise God makes, but His love and grace are poured out, every step of the way.

Of course Joe and I are ill equipped and ordinary. If our adoption succeeded by us being extraordinary, by our own hard work and careful planning, by our own wealth and financial success, by our own intellect and cleverness, then we'd rob God of the glory he deserves, in bringing orphans into families, in bringing his people together for his plans. Adopting Charlemagne is God's call for our lives and although the path will change our lives, change our family, and come at a "cost" in ways we can't even imagine, we are so blessed to be part of God's great plan.

So where are we in the process?
We are under contract with two agencies: Holt International as our local homestudy agency and All Blessings International as our placing agency. We have completed more than half of the overall requirements for our two agencies, and have submitted $5,600 in fees and paid about $500 in incidental fees, training videos, and notary charges along the way. The ball is definitely rolling, friends!!

Joe's new passport will arrive any day, and then we can prepare our first immigration document, called the I800-A. (this will be submitted as soon as we finish our homestudy, along with about $860 in fees). Our homestudy will be finished as soon as we obtain a few more clearances, a 10 hour training module online, and a 22 page questionnaire about every aspect of our lives, (relationships, childhood, our marriage, our faith, parenting....you name it!). When we receive the I800-A approval, we submit our Dossier, (along with the next round of agency fees, $5,000)-- this is the formal packet that goes to Burkina Faso for approval! This is what I think of as "the end of the beginning" of the process. The majority of our work is done....then the real waiting begins, and we gather the next round of fees....$10,000 in "International Fees".

We will share updates and we hope to have our homestudy completed in the next 30 days-- your prayers are appreciated!!

Thanks for coming alongside our family, and for sharing our story.