A change of heart...
Our first child
Ironically, When Melissa and I first married, she did not want to have children. I had always assumed that I'd be a Daddy one day, but I hadn't really given it much thought, being mainly concerned up to that point with finding a wife. After we were married, Melissa agreed that one day we should have a child or two of our own, but not right away. That all changed, however, when she became pregnant with our first child. It was a surprise, as we had both expected to wait a bit longer before starting a family. At first there were a few tears, and a bit of fear as we adjusted to the idea. However, the Lord did a work in my wife's heart, and soon she was excited and filled with expectation and anticipation about the arrival of our baby. Sadly, there were complications, and a short time later we lost our first baby to miscarriage. We were both filled with a grief and a sorrow that we had never imagined. Our baby was only a few weeks from conception, but we had seen the sonogram, and we had listened to the heartbeat. Our hearts were broken, and we knew then that our home would be incomplete without a child.
Alexander
Our baby boy
A few months later we were pregnant again. This time everything went smoothly. Melissa enjoyed being pregnant, and I enjoyed feeling the baby kick through her tummy. I love surprises, and so I insisted on not finding out the gender of the baby before it was born. Apparently, this is a very unusual request. Our doctor said he had only had one other couple make this request. Nine months flew by and Alexander was born. There were some major changes to our lifestyle, along with some long nights and slow drives around the neighborhood trying to get him to fall asleep. However, our baby boy was a delight to us and a blessing from God. Now, he's three years old, and it seems as if he has always been a part of our family.
Alexander needs a sibling
Trying again
For the next couple of years we became very busy. My job in Wichita Falls was winding down, and we felt the Lord calling us to make a move. After a lot of prayer, and waiting on the Lord, we moved our family to the Fort Worth area. I started a new job and we settled into a new city and a new church. Once we got settled in, however, our thoughts turned toward expanding our family once again, and we began trying for another pregnancy. In the summer of 2008, Melissa became pregnant again, and a few weeks later went through an early term miscarriage. We were disappointed, and sad, but it all happened so quickly, that it almost seemed like a "bump" in the road.
The following month, August 2008, the Lord opened the door for me to go to Russia on a short term mission trip. This was something that I had desired to do for many years and I was delighted to have the opportunity to go. I found out from the mission director that we would be visiting an orphanage while in Russia. Melissa and I joked that I would probably bring home a baby girl from the orphanage to be Alexander's sister.
On the morning before I left, Melissa took a pregnancy test and it was positive. We were excited, and cautiously optimistic that everything would work out this time. However, half way through my trip, we found out that this was a false alarm - her hormones from the previous pregnancy had not yet gone down, and the test reading was incorrect. We were not pregnant.
My Russian mission trip was the experience of a lifetime. It has left me with a deep love for the Russian people and a desire to do more to help spread the good news about Jesus Christ with that country. I did not get to visit the orphanage because it was under a medical quarantine at the time, however, the conversation that Melissa and I had about bringing home a child from the orphanage stuck in my mind. We had not been serious at the time, but I found myself thinking of this more and more often.
A few months went by and I kept this idea in the back of my mind. Summer became fall and we traveled to San Antonio to celebrate Thanksgiving with Melissa's family. During this trip we began to seriously discuss the possibility of adopting a child from Russia. I was very surprised that the Lord had done a work in Melissa's heart, and she was now very open to this idea. Months earlier, when we had joked about the idea, she was not even willing to consider this as a serious possibility. Only the Lord can change a heart like that, and I began to suspect that this was a desire HE was putting on our hearts.
Another disappointment...
What comes next?
The day after we returned from our Thanksgiving trip, Melissa found out that she was pregnant once again. We were thrilled! This time we felt certain that everything would work out okay, and we told the good news to everyone we knew. The adoption idea immediately went on the "back shelf" of our minds as we began to focus on the pregnancy. However, almost immediately, complications set in, and Melissa was ordered on bed rest. She remained in the house, on the couch, for five weeks except for an occasional sonogram, and a visit with the midwife. Sadly, however, we lost the baby over Christmas. This was (and is) a very difficult time for us. Melissa was devistated, and we were both very disappointed as we had really begun to look forward to having a new baby in our home, and for Alexander to have a baby brother or a sister. We do not understand why the Lord allowed this to happen. We do not know what His plan is, but we know that He does love us and that He still has a wonderful plan for our family.
It is now January of 2009 as I write this, and we are still trying to recover from this most recent miscarriage. We are still trying to comprehend why things didn't work out. One thing is for certain, Melissa and I still want to have another biological child of our own, and we do believe that God will bless us in this way. However, Melissa's midwife has advised us that we should wait several months before trying for another pregnancy. So, once again this idea of adopting a child from Russia has come to the forefront of our minds. We have done some research and we have discovered that it is, in fact, a very expensive endeavor. In fact, the costs run into the tens of thousands of dollars. This is far more money than I could possibly come up with over several years -- and yet, if there's one thing I've discovered, is that God's ability to guide and provide is limitless. I have no doubt that if His hand is truly in this, and if this desire that Melissa and I have to adopt is, in fact, from the Lord our God, that He will provide the funding to accomplish this. Therefore, we are going to begin to pray and take steps toward this goal. I have built this website in the hopes that you will join with us in prayer and encouragement, and perhaps some of you who read our story may feel that the Lord has moved upon your heart to make a donation toward this effort. Please register your e-mail address with us so that we can update you with what the Lord shows us.
God bless you!
Steve, Melissa & Alexander McClymont