No eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived
what God has prepared
for those who love him.
I Corinthians 2:9 (NIV)
Do not be afraid, for I am with you, I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west.
Isaiah 43:5
~ Our Story ~
Where to start when writing about our family and how adoption has become a part of our lives? When we were first married and considering what our family would look like, we both expressed interest in adopting. That seed did not take hold until later though as we were we were busy starting a new life together, having children, and later doing all the normal things that young (relatively speaking) married couples with children do.
Over the years, we had three birth children, Edward, who is now 13, Joseph, 11, and Emily, 8. Initially we both were working, but when Emily came along, Heather left her career at Sandia National Laboratories to stay home with the children and home school them – we’re in our 9th year home schooling. Steve continues to work at the Laboratories as an engineer.
One day about three years ago while dreaming about adopting, we both looked at each other and realized we were getting old for adding tiny family members. We quickly realized that if they were going to adopt we better stop dreaming and do it. Following that discussion, we spent some time researching our options, discussed it with the kids, and then we turned to God to see if this was His will for our family. The kids were unanimous in their excitement and basically said, “Let’s do it!” Through all of this, which probably took all of about three days, the whole family felt at peace about adopting. It was the right thing to do, and this was the right time to do it. God had clearly touched all of our hearts.
Now the question of what kind of adoption: domestic or international, and if international, where? Again, more research ensued. We had an uneasy feeling about domestic adoption, so we started to focus on international adoption. We looked at several countries, but kept coming back to China. We needed more information, and were trusting that God would guide us through this journey.
Our next step in the process was to find an adoption agency we felt comfortable with. Over time we learned that we’d need a local agency that could do our home study. Our international adoption could be handled by any agency, anywhere in the country. While searching on the internet for information, and discovering that there were hundreds, if not thousands of adoption agencies around the country, Heather e-mailed friends, knowledgeable about international adoptions, and
asked if they knew of an adoption agency that might be able to help us. Within minutes, she received a response to contact All God’s Children International (AGCI) in Portland, OR. Well, that’s just what she did. She asked questions, obtained information, and shared all of it with Steve. We were sold on using this agency and, if we did go with China, or any of several other countries, they could handle the adoption.
Now our quest was to find a local agency. We contacted several, but the only one we felt comfortable with was Adoptions Plus in Albuquerque (we live just outside Albuquerque, New Mexico). Heather and the kids visited Adoptions Plus, met a women, Cynthia, who became an instant friend and is now loved by all as family. Cynthia discussed adoption in general, and adopting from China, specifically. Cynthia, born and raised in Beijing, China, was certainly a wealth of information. We believe God put her in direct contact with us when we clearly needed her. What a blessing that first meeting with Cynthia and the three years since has been to every one of us. Here we go to an adoption agency on a fact-finding mission, and we walk out with a relationship with a person that only God could have arranged – is that neat or what? Anyway, back to the story. Heather and the kids returned home with information to share with Steve. By the time dinner was over, we all knew we were contracting with AGCI and Adoptions Plus and adopting from China. We felt such peace about all of this that we started forward. Note that from the first discussion of, “We’re getting old so if we’re going to do this, we’d better get going,” to obtaining the paperwork and signing contracts, only about a week’s time had elapsed. Granted, it doesn’t typically take us long to make decisions, however, everything about this seemed right and clearly we were following God’s lead.
We were told that the paperwork from when we signed the contract to when the dossier was submitted to China, would take 6-8 months. Somehow we managed to do it in 2 ½ months (we’re very organized.) When we signed our contracts, we stated that we were interested in a child under 2, however, we weren’t opposed to considering special needs children, nor siblings. Further, when asked if we’d complete a form specifying which special needs we’d consider or not consider, we said we couldn’t do that since we didn’t know. Needless to say, God did, and while we waited, expecting a referral in December, 2004, we fell in love with a little girl on the September special needs list. On January 3rd, 2005, that little girl, Rao An Ping, from the Shangrao Social Welfare Institute, in the JiangXi Province, became our daughter, Hana Anping Allen. We knew before we left China, that our family was not complete and we were going to be going back.
China has a policy that when a family adopts, a year must pass before they can submit their dossier for another adoption. Well, that’s where we are, although our dossier did not make it to China on January 3rd, 2006, as hoped, but rather, April 28th. During that year plus time, Hana’s had two surgeries and is doing great now. We moved to a new home, and we’ve basically settled in.
On this adoption, we contracted again with AGCI and started gathering all the paperwork for our updated home study and dossier, and told them we would approach this adoption the same way as before: waiting for a referral, but watching the special needs lists. We also, again, couldn’t complete the special needs form because, again, we didn’t know who God had in mind.
Well, on December 12th we saw Qin Yi Guang, from the Xin Xiang City Social Welfare Institute, in the Henan Province, for the first time and he grabbed our hearts. We still took a couple of days to learn about his medical condition, consult with our pediatrician, and pray, hoping that God would write in lipstick on the mirror – didn’t happen the first time, didn’t happen this time. With Hana, as well as Qin Yi Guang (who we’ll name Ezekiel Yiguang Allen), we prayed that if the child was meant to be part of our family, we’d feel a peace about it. Conversely, if it wasn’t the “right” child, we’d feel that. We knew that Hana and Ezekiel were to be part of our family. We had a peace about each of them and we felt a bond, or attachment. There were several children who we considered each time, but felt weren’t “ours.” This is hard to explain, but this is where faith really comes into play. We prayed and followed. Ezekiel, like Hana, was our son.
Now we wait. We have received our pre-approval from China for Ezekiel, meaning that China has agreed to us adopting him. In the next months, our travel authorization (TA) will arrive. That is the critical piece of the puzzle that will finally allow us to go to China to bring Ezekiel home. We wait and over time, when the phone rings and we see on caller ID that the call is from AGCI, our heart will catch, wondering if it’s the call telling us that the TA has arrived. When we got that call for Hana, it was an incredible feeling. We expect it to be the same when we get the call for Ezekiel.
What a day that will be. And what a week or two leading up to travel it will be as we make reservations, pack, and prepare to bring Ezekiel into our family. People say how blessed these children being adopted are. Our experience, from our first adoption from China, and what we expect again with this adoption, is that we are the ones who are blessed.
We all traveled as a family to bring Hana home. Again, we will all travel as a family to bring Ezekiel home. Please follow our journey and pray for us, for Ezekiel, for his birthparents and caretakers at the orphanage.
Blessings to all of you,
Steve, Heather, Ed, Joe, Emily, Hana, and Zeke
Our family (Joe (11), Emily (8), Heather, Hana (2 1/2 ), Steve, Ed (13)
Joe, Emily, Ed and Hana at the Albuquerque Zoo
Ed, helping with a 4-H cleanup.
Joe starting school in his bedroom, that will soon be shared by Ezekiel.
Emily doing what she does best, eating!
Hana, thoroughly enjoying coloring Easter eggs this year.
