Sweet Adalinne Rose

I've been trying to get all my thoughts digested through before I posted any information on our latest happening. It's been a tough week, our sweet Adalinne Rose got picked up by her case worker early Tuesday morning. It came as a COMPLETE shock for absolutely everyone involved, including the judge, her social worker and us.

July 2, they were to have her brothers' severance (termination of parental rights) hearing and when they arrived in court, the biological mother, father, aunt (the one who already has her brother), and the aunt's mother (in which the aunt is staying in her home), all showed up! The mother hasn't showed up in 1 1/2 years to any of her other sons' hearings, so this was quite shocking. The mother reported in court that she thought she was a very small fraction of Cherokee indian, so they took a recess so the judge could call and see if that was actually true or not and it WAS, much to any of our dismay! Why hadn't this come up WAY before in the past two years!?

What you have to understand is that when someone claims they are even a 1/100 part any native american indian, the judges' hands are completely tied! He cannot terminate (and if it finally terminates it takes YEARS to finalize), he also has to find "kinship" (a family member that might be willing to take and possibly adopt the children), or a tribal foster family. Technically, if there literally had been NO "family" for her, we could've kept her in our home as foster, but would've never been able to adopt her and take her as our own. That would've been TOUGH! And eventually if it had terminated, they would've more than likely found a tribal home that could've adopted her.

All that said, our family has had a rough week. We love her SO MUCH, but are SO GRATEFUL to the Lord for the privilege of taking care of her in probably the most crucial time of her life as she was detoxing from the Meth, even if just for 5 weeks. We pray we at least planted a tiny seed that would grow in her heart and that one day she might know Jesus as her personal Saviour. We pray for her constantly. Would you please pray for her as well!? For her safety, for her protection. That she would be WELL taken care of. That God would use her life to further His kingdom again!?

Thank you SO MUCH for those of you that prayed for Adalinne and will continue!