Friday, February 10, 2012

Change of plans

"We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps." Proverbs 16:9


God has moved us in a different direction. We are now adopting from Ghana!! Many different factors have led us to this decision. After lots of conversations with Dillon International and prayer, we officially decided to switch programs. God closed one door but opened another wide for us. We’ve decided to walk through this open door by faith and trust God each step of the way.


Map

As far as the timeline goes, it’s going to be as if we never switched. Since we hadn’t submitted our homestudy to the state for the Russia program yet, it’s pretty simple for our social worker to change things at this point, thankfully. Thank you, LORD! Since the Ghana program is very new, we are unsure how long referral waits, expected travel dates, etc will be. As of right now, no one has waited for a referral and the wait for travel has been anywhere for 1-6months. We will be required to take two trips to Ghana. The first trip will be 1-6 months after our referral and the second trip will be around 2-3 months after the 1st trip. However, as with all adoptions, our specific timeline is unknown at this point. We should have our homestudy approved by the state around the end of February and start our immigration papers with USCIS in the beginning of March. We will keep you updated each step of the way.


Ethan

In the meantime, Ethan is SUPER excited about a new brother. He talks about wrestling, sharing his bunk bed, and giving his brother “tickets”. He’s a boy, what can I say!?


Sarah

We are truly amazed when we sit, reflect, and look back at all the ways God has been faithful to us and used our tiny efforts to expand His kingdom for His glory. We are also blessed beyond belief to be apart of the miracle of adoption. The stories we have to share, the miracles God has done, and the family He has knit for us is more than we could have ever hoped for!! We are head over heals, totally, completely in LOVE with our kiddos. We have our rough and sad days too. However, what God has created out of those days and how He has used us to weave a colorful, loving family is just awesome. We wouldn’t want it any other way. I definitely cannot imagine what our lives would have been like without our beautiful children. They add so much to our lives and we are just so blessed to be able to have more little ones.


Sarah and Ethan making cookies

"Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate."
Psalm 127:3-5


Thank you for your prayers and support! We are dreaming of Ghana...



Love,

The Cartwrights

2 comments:

Peter and Nancy said...

Exciting news! I always remind myself that God knows who our next child is, and where she is. And that's true for yours, too -- every blessing to you as you prepare for a child from Ghana!
Nancy

Nikki said...

Thrilled for your family and to follow your journey to Ghana! Africa is/will always be in our hearts and it'll be fun to follow your journey! God does always know where to lead us!