Brumm Family Adoption

When we adopted our son, Andrew, in 2016 he was was almost 11 years old. He had grown up in an orphanage in China. Shortly after we adopted him while we were still in China, he showed us a picture of a boy he called Ma DouDou.  He proceeded to tell us how this was his best friend and that he would not forget him.  He seemed very serious and sincere.   He wanted a family for his friend. I contacted the orphanage to see if I could get some information about this boy so that I could advocate for him... try to find a family to adopt him. I knew it wouldn't be easy as there just aren't too many families open to older children... and especially older boys. But I had to try. My hopes fell when the orphanage told me that he didn't even have a file prepared for adoption. His file was not sitting on an agency's list, it wasn't lost in the massive "shared list" of files, it simply didn't exist  He had lost his parents and had come to live at the orphanage when he was 9 years old, but for whatever reason, they never made it possible for him to be adopted. Little did they know, when they prepared Andrew's file, it would not only mean hope for Andrew... but hope for Dou as well. 

I told the orphanage I would do my best to find a family for him but I made no promises. The orphanage went ahead and prepared his file but it took about 9 months for it to get to an agency's list. By that time Dou had less than a year until he aged out of the system and would be unavailable for adoption. The cards, the chips, EVERYTHING was stacked against this happening. I did my best to advocate for him. Andrew and I prayed for a family to adopt him. We didn't know what would happen to Dou if he aged out and never got adopted. We knew his future would be, at best, uncertain. He has no one to be his support system, no one he can count on, no one to cheer on his dreams and no one to pick him up when he fails. 

As the months went by and no one had made any inquiries about Dou, I feared that he would run out of time. His file left the original agency and sat on a "shared list" of adoption files for a bit and then was moved to another agency... but still he waited. There was no one calling about a 13 year old boy... not until a few weeks ago that is. 

After hearing a sermon at church about trusting God and saying "YES" to where you feel God is leading you because you never know what or WHO could be affected, I went home and shared about Dou again on Facebook.... I had a feeling his family was out there and they were listening to God. The next day I read a message from a Facebook friend whom I had never met but felt connected to because of how supportive she and her family had been during our adoption of Andrew. They live in Michigan, and they had been praying for Andrew and our adoption process all along our journey. Her words often humbled me, and I could tell they definitely had a heart for adoption. 

Turns out, she and her family had been praying for Dou since last summer when I first posted his picture to Facebook. And while the timing isn't perfect for them (because really there is never a perfect time to make a major life-changing decision!), they felt stirred to request Dou's file and seriously consider bringing him into their family.

Over the (very short!) course of a week, the Brumm Family took a HUGE leap of faith and decided they wanted Dou to be their son and brother. They knew there was no time to waste and so they became the "YES" that we had been waiting for. When I told Andrew, he was overjoyed that his friend will know the unconditional love and support of a family. Family is forever... no matter what. To watch a child learn what that means is like nothing else in this life.

In order to make this adoption happen, the Brumm Family needs our support. It will truly take a village, and WE get to be that for them! They are rushing through paperwork and processes and approvals that normally take 10 months to complete... they are doing it in 3 months' time. The fees are all due during this time and while they are applying for grants and using their savings, they are still in need of fundraising. All money donated here will go directly to the family's adoption expenses (including agency fees, government fees, travel expenses, and the orphanage fee.)  There is no extension or exception in aging out cases. If Dou's adoption is not completed before his 14th birthday in early May, he will not be able to be adopted. This WILL happen and strings will be pulled so that the paperwork gets done in time, but paying the fees is up to the Brumm Family. I can't wait to watch this miracle unfold.  It is a blessing to be part of this amazing story God has written... it really does just keep getting better and better.

Thank you for your support of this adoption and the Brumm Family. 

Sincerely, 

The Dri Family