She brought up some thought provoking questions such as how we will feel about the possibility of meeting the birth parents/family (which is likely because now we are both required to appear in court in Ethiopia) and also how we would feel about the birth parents in general- thankful, judgmental, resentful, etc. and how that could in turn affect our child as he grows up. We talked about how we will have a transracial family and how it is important that our son have friends who look like him and that we are proactive in promoting friendships with families of different races. We also talked about ways in which we can celebrate our son's Ethiopian heritage as he grows up.
We also went through a serious conversation about possible issues that our adopted son could have and that we have to realize we are knowingly deciding to parent a child that can have a lot more challenges than our biological children. We talked about different medical issues and mental/emotional issues he could have. On the flip side, we also talked about the awesome privilege we will have of raising him and that how each child (no matter what challenges arise) is a true blessing from the Lord.
We have a few more meetings with our social worker during the home study process which includes individual interviews with her where I assume we get a lot more personal than we did during this first meeting. It is a bit weird to have our lives under scrutiny but we feel that it is so worth it and also understand the importance of making sure adoptive families are fit to parent.
Next steps- fingerprinting, applying to USCIS (our country's immigration department), police background checks, and more paperwork!
I've been waiting anxiously for this post! Praise the Lord for His work in the meeting yesterday and for the work he is doing and will do throughout the Fisher family during this process. We can't wait for more updates and will continue to pray for you all!
ReplyDeleteHearing you refer to your future adopted child as "son" made me so happy because it's like finding out the gender of your child at an ultrasound:) Yeah for another boy!!! :) Those were all very thought provoking questions...things I never would have thought about much had they not been presented to me. So glad to hear that the first visit went well, and continuing to pray for all the future stuff to fall into place well in Jesus name!!
ReplyDeletegeez, I haven't been on here in a while. I love that Maddie is praying for her new little brother. I can't wait to read more updates as you guys get closer to bringing your new baby home.
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