Mommy! Daddy! – For a decade we dreamed of hearing those words. In 2005, our beautiful Guatemalan born daughter, Kaili, made our dream a reality. Parenthood was all we had imagined and more. In 2010, we began the process again with the country of Panama. The program was newly formed so we expected a slower process. What no one could predict was the amount of time it would truly take. As the years rolled by, we prayed continually for the child we knew God had planned for us. I will admit there were times we questioned ourselves, wondering if we should keep up the hope of another child. We finally made the heartbreaking decision to stop the adoption process. We decided no more home study updates, no more fingerprinting, and no more expense. On September 22, 2015, a few short months after we had decided to discontinue, God revealed His plan. We got the miracle call! After 4 years of waiting for a referral, when we had decided to discontinue, when there was no “reasonable explanation” for how it happened, we learned that there was a child in Panama waiting for us. We sobbed as we soaked in the miracle of our new daughter. As if time hadn’t taken long enough, another 5 months slowly passed before we could kiss her sweet cheeks in person. It had been such a long wait but our journey was far from over. We were expected to stay in country 3-4 months to finalize her adoption. However, on numerous occasions foreign politics prevented our case from moving forward. We would take one step forward and 2 steps back. Eight months later, we finally returned home with our beautiful 2-year-old, Kaya. In all, our journey spanned six and half years. It wasn’t what we had planned but in the end as we peer into her smiling chocolate eyes, we know God’s timing is perfect. …….Damon and Meridith Hobbs.
Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord! Psalm 27:14
