Party of 5

We were placed on the waitlist to adopt a baby from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in May 2012 and were waiting for an infant.

18 months had passed since we were placed on the waitlist and our agency hadn’t received an infant in their orphanage in more than 6 months. Although this delayed our adoption, we were happy with this development because it may indicate that families in the DRC are more capable of keeping and raising their children.

At this point Krystle began praying about what God wanted our adoption to look like, and whether we should change our plan and consider adopting an older child (more than 2 years old).

Our agency reached out to us in mid-November, they had just started working with another orphanage in Lubumbashi, in the southeastern part of the DRC and had several children that needed families. They asked if we would consider adopting one of the toddler aged children. Krystle learned about them and was immediately drawn to one of the children in particular.

Our agency sent us a referral for a 2 ½ year old girl, from the orphanage in Lubumbashi. We felt an immediate connection.

Another family had been sent this little girl’s information, prior to us, but their unresponsiveness led the agency to reach out to us. The same day we accepted the referral - we received news the first family was interested in the little girl but needed more time to think about adopting her.

After a long week of waiting and praying, we received news that the first family decided to adopt the little girl we felt so strongly was meant to be part of our forever family. Although heart broken and hurt, we trusted God’s plan for this little girl and that He had brought her to us for a reason we could not yet understand.

Just two days later, we received another referral for a 2 ½ year old boy from the same orphanage in Lubumbashi. Although Krystle did not have the immediate (Ahhh!) moment that she did with our first referral, she quickly found herself head over heels for the little boy.

Before officially accepting the referral for the little boy, Krystle felt a tug on her heart that he needed a companion. The odds of this happening were low, as we had a window of about 3-4 weeks for this to take place in order for the court processes to line up for the two children.  We began to pray.

Five days later we received a phone call that brought us to our knees...The family that had initially accepted the referral for the 2 ½ year old girl suddenly changed their minds. They were unable to provide a full explanation to our agency, but they decided they could no longer pursue the adoption. Our agency was amazed because they had never seen anything like this happen before.

Knowing God had a plan that was clearly greater than our own, we immediately accepted the referral for the little girl without hesitation. Yes, that means we are now adopting two children, that are 2 ½ years old from the DRC!

What started as the pursuit to adopt one infant from the DRC has turned into adopting two toddlers. Our children are currently in the same orphanage in Lubumbashi and soon they will learn they are going to be siblings.

We never could have imagined our adoption unfolding like this. The cost of adopting internationally is already high and our expenses have now doubled.  

We are currently living in a small 2-bedroom townhouse with our one-year-old son and our current vehicles do not provide enough space for 3 children. Unfortunately, our current lives are not equipped to handle the additional requirements but we continue to remain positive - double the blessing, double the cost!

We are working as though it depends on us, and praying as though it depends on God.

Next steps:

Now that we have accepted the two referrals, our children are awaiting court. Once the court process is completed (approximately 3-6 months), there will be more paperwork to follow. We have no idea how fast or slow this process will move. The DRC is currently not issuing exit visas allowing children to leave the country, which is the last step in the process. However, our agency is confident this ban will be lifted in the coming months.

How you can help:

1. We are organizing fundraisers to raise money for our additional referral fees and travel costs.

2. Krystle opened an Etsyshop where she will be accepting donated handcrafted items to sell. You can help by donating or purchasing an item.

3. We started a ‘150 Envelopes for the McLaughlin Adoption’ event on Facebook. We encourage people to consider taking an envelope and sharing the event with their friends and family. Please reach out if you would like more information or are unable find the event on Facebook.

--> Most importantly, we need your prayers. Prayers that our adoptions go smoothly and quickly, that the DRC begins issuing exit visas so our children are able to come home to us, and God’s provision financially.

Don’t let what you can’t do keep you from doing what you can.