Updates

Happy Orphan Sunday! This is a day we are dedicated to praying for all the orphans who need families, as well as praising the Lord for adopting us into His family, and for us personally, also praying for our future adopted orphan(s). With it being Orphan Sunday, we also wanted to take this opportunity to update you on our “Bebito o’ Bust - Adopting Baby Wags” adventure we are on as well as answer some of the frequent questions we have been hearing, updating those of you who have been praying and wondering throughout the crickets of the past few months where we are at!

FIRST, THANK YOU! Truly, with all our hearts, and a million thanks, we are overflowing with gratitude to the village God has gathered around us who have been so incredibly encouraging, faithful in prayer and generous beyond all our wildest imaginations! Though we may not ever be able to repay you, know we do pray for you all and thank the Lord for you daily, and ask that He pours out His blessings on this side of Heaven to you all, as well as that He would be storing up His treasures for you in Heaven. We are humbled, shocked and in awe to report we are about 1/3 of the way there in funding the adoption!! Just WOWZA (insert gaping-mouth emoji here)! This would not have happened without the outpouring of your support through our crowd-funding website, personal gifts/donations and the card fundraiser. MUCHÍSIMAS GRACIAS to y'all! You guys rock and go God!

Now, to answer some of the frequently asked questions…

“Are you adopting a dog?”

This is possibly a favorite question and brings a big smile to my face everytime :) We have adopted a dog, but no, Baby Wags is an abbreviation for our last name “Wagner” and a nickname people call us (Wags), so we are adopting a baby this time (a human baby…we already have a fur baby named Chamo ;)). After the human baby, it might be adopting a baby goat or horse (Cole says "keep dreaming").

“Where are you at in the adoption process and what is your timeline**?”

Step 1: Fundraising Stage. The adoption process is unique to every situation and family, as well as vastly different between international and domestic adoption. With our embarking on domestic adoption, at least for our first child, for us it begins with the fundraising step. Our prayer is that by beginning of 2021 (a yearish from now, yes believe it or not 2020 is just a month and a half away…and yes, I write this with Hallmark Christmas movies playing in the background of course!), the funds will be completely raised so we can jump into step 2 in 2021.

Step 2: Application and Home Study completion through our agency. We continue to pray for His direction, but Faithful Adoption Consultants (FAC) has captured our hearts and we have been in communication with them. We cannot have our application approved until we are ready to be active and financially ready, but unless the Lord shows us differently, we love their mission, heart for the Lord, and the vision of their team so our hope is for it all to work out with them. They work with all states across the United States, and like us they have a vision to protect and promote the value of life from conception, working with Moms who for various reasons cannot care for their baby on their own, but have decided to not abort the life God has created inside them (we are all about promoting the value of life from conception). So geographically, our baby/babies could be from any state in the US. Typically, FAC works with states who are quicker to the draw than Pennsylvania, so that the time we wait for it to be official is much quicker (often 48-72 hours or a week, as opposed to 6 months+).

Step 3: Active Stage. Faithful Adoption Consultants’ average of placing family with an orphan baby is 4.5 months, so once we are active we could get a call anywhere from one week (yes, they told us that it happens! YIKES!) to at most a yearish. So when we are active we have to be ready, literally, any day!

** A clause to our timeline is that any family who has adopted knows and reminds us, our timeline often does not line up with God’s and/or cannot be a precise timeline when it comes to adoption ~ gotta go with the flow! So our timeline is a rough timeline, but ultimately the timing lies in our Father’s hands depending on the baby/babies He has chosen for us to be the parents to!

“Why did you choose domestic adoption?”

There are several reasons. First, know we are advocates and supporters of adoption in any form, international/national/baby/child/teen. We have a heart for all orphans, all backgrounds, all ages, and are honored God has called us to this crazy adventure. One reason we have decided on domestic adoption is logistically. Most countries require both adopting parents to be 30 (some 35) and Cole is a few years from 30 and I am several years away from 35. :) Second, we both have felt a huge tug on our hearts to be able to be the solution to an expectant Mom’s situation where she has chosen to value life and go through with the pregnancy, knowing she cannot personally care for the child for whatever reason; we are honored and blessed to be able to step in and be that lifeline with God’s help and to treasure that life He treasures. Lastly, quite a few countries are closing adoption to the US currently, so we are more than happy to love an orphan from our own country as well, and maybe the Lord will direct us to international next time – ya never know!

“When is your next fundraiser?”

With the consulting of our fundraising guru sister Chelsea :), instead of having a bunch of little fundraisers, our plan is to focus on having a BIG fundraiser next Christmastime 2020, which we have already begun the brainstorming process for (get pumped)! This is not to say we might not have another smaller one or two between now and then, but as of now this is where our time and creative efforts will be focused. The hope and prayer is that this big fundraiser could be the icing on the fundraising cake, to make us ready-set-go to adopt! It will be a Christmas carnival doubled with a concert, and it will be a family friendly event you don’t want to miss! We will be getting the date to you plenty in advance so you can mark it on your calendars to bring your own kiddos, or your grandchildren/nieces/nephews/neighbors/friends/strangers!

“What about…TWINS?!”

So quite a few have told us on separate occasions “We have a sense God has twins in store for you!”, said with a twinkling eye and smile. To that we say, pray extra for us! ;). We would not be opposed (and in fact would fully embrace and love :)) having twins! So yes, that is a possibility and if that’s what He has in store, bring it on (and if that is the case, please, have the 24-7 coffee in an IV available ;)).

“What can we do right now for where you are at in the process?”

Please PRAY! We so appreciate your prayers! Some specific things you could be praying for:
- That God would be preparing us to be adoptive parents—mentally, physically, financially and spiritually. Also, prayers for our beloved families as future adoptive grandparents/uncles/aunts/cousins/great grandparents/etc. to our future kiddo(s).
- That God would continue to pour out His blessings and direction on our adoption process and that His timing would be had for every step of the way.
- For the future birth Mom and Dad, whatever is going on in their hearts and lives that God would be meeting them and helping them through any trial(s) they are going through. Also, for our future relationship with them, that God would direct us and prepare us for what that will look like, and that He would use it for an opportunity to minister to them and show His love.
- PRAISE: God has already used the beginning of this adventure to start a conversation about God’s love and hand in our lives, and please pray that He would continue to use it as a way for us to share His gospel, with actions and words!
- For His continued provision. We are AMAZED by His provision via so many of you, and we continue to pray that He will help us raise the other two thirds, as well as help us get financially ready for adoption and raising children.
Get ready for our big fundraiser and make it a point to come out and attend if you can! And if you want to help run a stand, let us know! :)
And if you feel the Lord asking you to financially give at any time, and are able to give, we have a crowd-funding page - the link you can find if you click on the heading at the top of this website that says "Abba Fund Link".
Let us know if you have any prayer requests or there are any specific ways we can be lifting you up, so we can add those specifics to our prayers! Shoot us a message, we would love to hear from you and pray!

Again, THANK YOU! We are not an island, and this adventure is a great reminder of that. We are so grateful for each and every one of you! “We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers.” ~ 1 Thessalonians 1:2