Changing the World One Child at a Time

I felt like I really needed to share this tonight. After updating my blog I read an email from some friends of ours whom we haven't seen in over a year. They were told that they were not going to be able to have kids and saw that we were adopting and inquired about staring the process. When I read this my heart ached for them because I know how painful it us to find out that you will not be able to have kids but my heart also rejoiced. My heart rejoiced because I know that God is going to bless them with the opportunity to adopt a child and change the child's life forever, as well as theirs. My heart also rejoiced because I see that God is already using our adoption for his works. He is using our adoption and our story to reach others and motivate them to adopt. If this chain keeps going several orphans will be given loving Christian homes. I feel so blessed to be a part of it! If this continues we will be able to change the world. I have committed to pray for this couple daily so that God will lead them to the child he has prepared for them. Gods word tells us that " we should take care of the orphans and the widows in their distress and to keep ourselves from being corrupted by the world" James 1:27. I can already see that God is working in a BIG way and I can't wait to see what he has in store for all of us:)

Half way done

Well tonight was our second adoption class and even though we finished completing our paperwork 30 minutes before class tonight we still managed to get that binder full of paperwork done:)Tonight's class was very interesting we discussed the different ways that trauma affects children. I learned today that trauma can even happen during utero and at birth. Due to domestic violence, malnutrition, difficult birth and preterm labor. This trauma affects the children and causes changes in their brains which creates problems for the children. I also learned that certain emotions are triggered by the 5 senses. If a child had a certain bad memory in a room that was red, the child would associate the color red with the bad experience therefore triggering negative emotions. This was fascinating to me because I could see myself doing the same things. I often connect smells with the loss of my babies and when I smell those smells an emotional trigger goes off causing me to become sad. How much more difficult must this be for a child who has gone through bad experiences. They don't even understand it! Today's class was very informative and I feel like we learned a lot of information that will be helpful to us. I feel that even with getting a younger child we may have to deal with some trauma from birth and utero. We are now half way through the adoption classes and I love the fact that we chose to have an accelerated class. Next week one of our instructors will be visiting our home to help us prepare for the home study. It is all happening so fast and we are getting very excited. Gods blessing is truly evident in the process so far. We are continuing to pray that God send us the right child that will bless our lives. There is still a long way to go in the process and we can't wait to be holding a sweet baby in our arms. God has truly blessed us with a great opportunity. We left tonight with a lot of knowledge and a lot less homework. LOL:) we are clinging to Gods word where it says "thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path", my favorite scripture that is tatooed on my foot, trusting that he will light our path through this journey through the adoption process.

First Adoption Class

Well, last night was our first adoption class and to be honest im a little overwhelmed. There is so, so, so much paperwork. I am also a little scared because now what we've been waiting on for so long is  finally happening. There is so much information to take in, but the one thing that was said during class that stuck out to me the most wasn't even about adoption. It was about foster care. It is so sad that there are no foster families in Hardee county. All the kids who are removed from homes in Hardee county are sent to other counties. How scary is that? Those poor children are dragged out of their homes, sometimes at night and taken to a strangers home in a strange place and have to change schools and their lives overnight. The number of foster kids in foster homes right now is also sad. There are over 2,000 in Highlands, Hardee and Polk County.
It was good to hear about all the resources and support available to adoptive parents. I am so glad to have close christian friends who are also adopting. It will be so great to have them around to help and to be able to walk with them through the process. I know God is going to do amazing things with us and I feel that the relationships being built will be lasting. I can't wait to learn more about everyone in the classes and to learn more and more about their stories.
Last night we were asked to share a little about the reasons why we wanted to adopt. I couldn't do it! I knew that it was going to be too emotional for me to try and share my reasons but my hubby did an amazing job. He shared with me that he had no idea what he was going to say but that he prayed about it and God gave him the words. He said "I don't even know what I said, it just came to me".  I would definately call that a God thing. He continues to reveal himself  and his plan for us daily. We are so excited about it all! Even though we have a binder full of paperwork as homework.....LOL.

Our Story

We are Eddie and Linda Hernandez and have been married for 10 years. We love Jesus and we attend First Christian Church of Wauchula. Eddie and I have just begun our journey into adoption. We have been pregnant four times but due to a condition called an incompetent cervix we lost all of our children at five months into the pregnancy. Our hearts were broken when this happened. We thought we would be like everyone else and be able to start a family with none of these complications but our thoughts were not what God had planned for us. Loosing five children was one of the hardest things weve ever had to go through. After so many years of marraige our dream was to start a family. I can remember an instance during the loss of one of the babies the intense emotional and spirituall conection of a family. I can remember my husband and I holding our baby in our arms (after a 12 hour labor and delivery process) and feeling what it was like to be a family. The amount of love that was in that hospital room was indescribable. We never though we could love someone so much, and then that moment was gone. This left our hearts aching. God through his amazing love for us healed our hearts and gave us the strength needed to overcome and accept what had happened and slowly started showing us his plan. Through lots of prayer and talking with God we decided that God was calling us to adopt. We thought of his word and where it is said that "we are to take care of the orphans and the widows" and this scripture spoke loudly to us and here we are on this journey of adoption....