For ages, acceptances had been a silent dream of mine, but I never thought it would actually come to pass. I started to question whether our family was widespread or if we could have another organic kid when we had our second. I was then gently poked to look at adoption more thoroughly.
People seldom inquire as to why we obvious to adopt rather than have more organic children. For us, faith is the basis of the solution. As Christians, we think that love, not gore, defines family. Since that is how we are called to love, it felt obviously to love an adopted child in the same way that I love my sons.
We ongoing the agreement process in 2018 following years of considerate deliberation. Espousal isn’t for the weak of heart, as I soon naked. It requires financial resources, emotional fortitude, and time. Adoption, whether scheduled, foster care, or global, necessitates tenacity. We had to follow the foster/adoption rules in Korea, where our daughter was born, as well as those in Toronto.
The form filling alone felt like a full-time job and was really threatening. The procedure in Korea is one of the most complete in the world. All of the leaflets had to be accurate, up to date, and turned in on time. We finished everything in nine months, and by October 2018, our case had been officially forwarded to Seoul. We were well versed that a match might not occur for six to eight months.
Our association contacted us in the summer of 2019 regarding a possible match a baby boy who had just been identified with epilepsy. We have three days to make a decision. It hurt like hell. There wouldn’t be a promise issue if I had given birth to him.
However, acceptance offered us the option, which appeared strange. We recognized after much prayer that we were unable to give him the attention he required. He was afterwards adopted by another family, but I continue to pray for him and think about him often.
We still didn’t have a game by the deduction of that year. We were asked to revise a significant portion of our file because rules were changing. The world then shut down as we were getting ready once more.
It had been two years. We had a puppy to add to the foolishness, our boys were at home implementation online education, and we were getting used to life during the virus. Our file was about to perish by the summer of 2020, therefore we had to start the paperwork process afresh. To be honest, I interrogated if it was worthwhile to go on. I didn’t feel free from this calling, though, deep down.
Then all changed in October 2020. A video call was setup by our activity. I was shocked when they presented us a picture of a young girl who might be a match. It felt dreamlike to see her face on that television. In order to respect family taxes, we added a Chinese name to her given Korean name, Areum, and conversed her English name.
In Korea, Canadian families typically meet their child, go to court, and then return home to await immigration certification before reentering the custody battle. However, COVID changed everything. The judicial proceedings in Seoul in May 2021 continued remarkably quickly. Adoptions were being finished by families in a matter of weeks rather than months. We were questioned if we really wanted to wait or take a plane home. We made the choiceto stay in Korea after seeing the hazards.
Our early encounters with Areum were gentle yet remote. She didn’t know us when she was 14 months old. Having been elevated by foster parents since infancy, she developed a strong add on with them. At first, I felt more like a babysitter, but my husband hopped right in.
