Read about the first two parts of our Adoption Story before reading this.
So Noli and I arrived back in Manila on the last week of September and first week of October, respectively. We did not have the same flights because Noli had to stay behind to close all our accounts. We rented a small house not too far from my parents house. Same street, three houses away. If we could all fit in my parents' house we would not have rented, but then again, we had to make a good impression for the home study. And that meant having our own home.
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| this information is from a poster outside DSWD Region 4 Field office |
We submitted the questionnaire
a week after we gave our application and were asked to expect a call from our
social worker to schedule our home study. We were scheduled on November 9. By
then our house was ready. As we prepared to welcome a baby into our home and into our lives, we also prepared for Jesus' coming into our hearts. Advent was just around the corner.
The home study went quite
well. Our social worker could not promise, but said she would try to have us
matched before Christmas. Oh, but we were hopeful. What a blessing to have a
child with us on Christmas!
It was such an exciting time for us. And it felt like the longest two weeks in our entire married life! After our family Advent Wreath prayers, Noli and I would add our own personal prayer, again praying for the child God has chosen for us and all the people who are and will still be involved in this adoption process.
We got a call from our social worker informing us that we got approved and that the matching is scheduled on December 15. We would also know if we have been matched the same day. So we updated our closest family and friends and again, asked for prayers. This time for us, for our hearts to be ready to welcome this baby.
In the afternoon of December 15, we got our much awaited call. Our social worker told me on the phone that we have been matched to a 20 month old boy named Mateo. While she finished her first sentence, tears of joy were already flowing and I knew that this boy is the one. Even before our social worker could ask the question, "Do you want him?" I had already said, "Yes, we want him!". She then explained that the name was given to him by the people in the barangay hall who took him in after he was found. She went on and told me that the boy looked a lot like me and that his birthday was on April 29. Then I thought for a moment and tried to recall if we had told our social worker that we secretly wished that our child would have the same birth month as us. No, we did not tell her that. I did not even tell God about that. But He knew.
Still in tears, I rushed upstairs to tell Noli all what our social worker had told me. We wiped our tears and hugged each other.
I then contacted the social worker of the orphanage where Mateo was. She told me that we can begin our adoption birth immediately. So we scheduled our three day adoption birth on the 18th, 20th and 22nd of December.
Again, we updated all our closest friends and relatives. A friend replied after we messaged him the exciting news. He said, "That's just a novena away!" So we added this novena to our Advent Wreath prayers. Here are two more links where you can find Adoption Prayers: Adoption Prayer and 10 Prayers For Your Adoption Journey
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