Introduction To Our Journey 3 of 3

Dec. 22 Angie was on facebook and a very good friend and HUGE adoption advocate messaged her and said she needed to look at a different adoption agencies page because there were two little ones that met our criteria.  Angie “heard” the work LOOK!  So she did.  (We had not looked at any other agencies files in the 5+ years we have been in process.) The first little one had the special need we were most open to, Cleft lip/palate. The second little one had a blood disorder.  We decided to look at the files of both little girls. Once we switched to the China program June of 2015 Angie’s prayer was to be matched by Christmas or her birthday.  Well Christmas Eve, when the social worker at the new agency wasn’t even to be working, we received both file.

During the next week we had the first little ones file checked with a specialist and looking at her picture it was obvious that her lip had been repaired.  The Dr. that did the surgery did an amazing job!

We also looked at the file of the other little one and after praying Darvin and I were in unity that we should move forward with the first little girl. 

Jan.4 Angie needed to return something to our previous agency.   The social worker asked how things were going and Angie had to be honest with her that they were reviewing a file with another agency.  Angie asked about transferring our dossier to the new agency and was told she wasn’t sure how that worked that we should check with our social worker from home office.  So that is what we did.

  Well 17 emails, 4weeks and lots of prayer, frustration and tears later we were told that the Chinese government doesn’t want our previous agency to transfer dossiers (paperwork).  The first rejection of transfer was on Angie’s birthday.  Not so Happy Birthday to her. This was not what the new agency was telling us so we needed to pray and discern who was being truthful with us.   It did cost us more money but we truly felt this new agency was being honest and that they had our best interest and the children’s best interest first and foremost at hand.   Because this little ones’ file was an LID, (logged in dossier), meaning all of our paperwork is logged in with the Chinese government, the agency only had 3 weeks to match her with her family.  The file we received didn’t have all of the little one’s identifying information so it was considered a preliminary file.  Through this the Lord gave us 3 extra weeks to try and sort things out with the new agency and our previous agency to have our dossier transferred and it still didn’t work.  Her full file didn’t come until Jan. 18. We were running out of time.  We sent a letter to the Chinese government through our new agency asking if they would please just pull our dossier, but we were told no.  On Jan. 22 the last email came communicating to us that our previous agency would by no means transfer.  In order to switch agencies we would need to pull our dossier from the Chinese government and just move it over to the new agency. This was going to cost us even more money for a new home study and loss of time. This also meant we were no long LID and we couldn’t continue or pursue this little girl. We so felt she was our daughter in our hearts.   Angie had been praying also that there would be something in the file to make it clear as to who our daughter is.  She was praying for a date, name something that would resonate with us so we knew for sure she was ours.  Well when the file came through it had 7/11 on it, Conrad’s birthday!  Bingo our daughter.  Apparently not because we did not have enough time to get our dossier updated before the agencies 3 weeks ran out.  We were heartbroken.

But we started looking at another (the third) file of a little one that had Congenital Heart Disease, which means she was born with an abnormally structured heart and or/ large vessels. The new agency knew we were open to minor CHD and this little one met that special need so when the window to the first little one seemed to be sliding shut they had shared her file with us.  She had surgery at 6 months for heart repair but, after having her file reviewed we felt her needs were manageable and we had peace.    As we felt the first little one slipping away we were feeling more and more drawn to this little girl.

At one point during the next weeks Angie asked Darvin,  “What if God splits the sea somehow, would he consider two?”  His answer was only if it were these two!  Well that wasn’t possible since little one number ones file was gone. 

As we continued on this journey we started praying first for the Lord to continue to split the sea in whatever way He chose.  We thanked him for the journey we took with the first little girl if it was simply to draw us to our new agency and then bring us to our daughter.  We continued to pray that if the first little one was not to be our daughter that he would please take the ache in our hearts away and direct her file to her forever family.

Jan.24 two days after we came to the conclusion we had to pull out on pursuing the first little girl I got a call from another sister from our church family.  She had been listening to a pastor at home that morning (snow storm) and he was talking on acceleration.  He compared this to shooting a bow and arrow.  He said what must you first do with the arrow in order for it to accelerate?  Angie said, “pull it back.”  Are you getting this?  We had just pulled back on little one number one.  She said,” and then when you let it go what happens?”  Angie said, “it accelerates forward.”  She said,” God told me your adoption is going to start accelerating.”  Family she knew nothing of what was going on in our journey.  She would ask on a regular basis what was going on and we would simply say just keep praying.

As time kept going we were getting excited about the possibility of the third little one being our daughter.  You see she also met all of our criteria down to the same as little one number ones did age, open to special need and the date 7/11 Conrad’s birthday and the specialist that reviewed her file saying it all looked good after her surgery.  Yet we still couldn’t get number one out of our hearts and mind.

Feb. 5 we sent our Letter of Intent for little girl number three. 

A few days later, the friend that encouraged us to look and thus start the journey to our daughter called and wanted to get together that next week to pray and talk about the adoption with us.  We picked Feb. 18.  That morning in Angie’s devotions she wrote, “ Lord thank you for directing us to our new agency to hopefully find our daughter!  I want to get excited about the possibility of finding her and yet I can’t because of all the uncertainties and heart ache the last few years and weeks.  You heard our prayers as we prayed yesterday that if little one number one is still to be a Stoner  perform a miracle and hide her file form the other agencies and let our new agency be able to grab it back.  If not then direct her file in the direction it needs to go for her family to find it.  Also please prepare Darvin’s heart if she is to come home with us along with little one number three.

My friend emailed me early afternoon on the 18^th and said her husband had something he wanted to show Darvin that we should both come into the house when we get there.   They asked us to sit in the living room to wait because her husband wasn’t quite ready.  This is what we learned……..

 Feb.6 the day before Chinese New Year our new agencies spokes person when to the Chinese government and they pulled our dossier and transferred it over to the new agency right then and there.   This was the eleventh hour before CNY. This meant that we never were unlogged.  This meant that we were still LID as of Feb. 6 and that our agency could still lock the file of the first little girl we were drawn to.  Her file would have been released from our agency on Feb.8.

Remember we sent Letter of intent for the third little girl and Darvin said no way for two unless these two, well we would like to introduce you to the virtual twins of the Stoner family.  Chayla will be two on March 9^th and Callie will be two on March 26. We had pre approval for Chayla on Feb. 8 and for Callie on Feb. 26. We have been told this doesn’t happen.  The Chinese government does not approve two little ones this young and with such minor special needs to the same family.  If God wants it no matter what mankind says He will do it! The next miracle is that they are both in the same orphanage and probably even in the same playroom and sleep room together.  We have already requested that if they are not to please have them moved together.  We even asked for their cribs to be put side by side.

  Well God has surely split the sea. We are now trying to not walk in fear because this is sooo much bigger than we could have ever even thought possible.  The Lord has used us to pay the ransom for Him to rescue them and lastly our prayer is that they will one day stand and sing that they are children of God.


After much prayer we truly feel we are to bring BOTH of these little girls home to our home, their FOREVER family.

This is the banner and pictures our friends presented to us
 letting us know we had BOTH girls files.