Urgent Plea

Late last night the following article was posted on an adoption post I follow. Needless to say I have not rested and today the adoption world is in a frenzy.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201312260586.html/


We, along with many in process have sent in emails asking our agencies for more details but like us they all seem to be blindsided and unsure of what this will mean. Below is the response we have received from our agency in our facebook group (agency name removed due to nature and sensitivity of issue)

"(Name Removed) is aware of the recent TV broadcast in Ethiopia, which portrays a generally negative perception of international adoption. This is a documentary type show which has aired for a couple of nights now after the evening news, and is sponsored by the Ethiopian Government. It provides viewers with general information about international adoption, and also strikes claims that birth parents may be unaware that adoption is a permanent placement, and that Orphanages receive money for the placement of children. It also provides opinions that children are better off remaining in an orphanage in Ethiopia, rather than being taken out of their birth country. The Ethiopia First Instance Federal Judge was interviewed, as well as head officials from MOWCYA, an orphanage director, and an adoption agency director. We are unsure as to the motive behind this news story, but ask you to pray for all those involved in adoption in Ethiopia. We understand that the NCFA has also expressed concerns over this recent televised story to the Department of State. We will keep you updated with any new information that may come up. Thank you!"

No one knows what any of this means or how it will affect the families currently in process!

We are asking all our prayer warriors to join us and all the families from our agency in prayer tonight at 10eastern/9central. Hundreds of prayers will be going up at this time and the more we can add the better. But please, don't just pray tonight, pray until we have a clear answer. 

Reminds me of the lyrics to a hymn:

Prayer Bells of Heaven

While we are living in this world of care
Many the burdens that we have to bare
But there's a prayer bell at the Lord's right hand
Give it a ring and he will understand

CHORUS:
Prayer bells of heaven oh how sweetly they ring - [Keep Ringing]
Bareing the message until Jesus our King - [Oh Glory]
When you are burdened down with trouble and care - [My Brother]
Ring on and on for God will answer your prayer

Three Hebrew children to the flames were thrown
Because a mortal King they would not own
Jesus delivered and the King then saw
Prayer bells of heaven beats a man made law

When Paul and Silas both were thrown in jail
They did not worry who would go their bail
But on the prayer bell they began to ring
Off fell the stocks and they began to sing

Into the garden Jesus went to pray
Until his sweat became as blood they say
Ringing the prayer bells there in agony
Bringing salvation that we might be free

December

So I know this is late considering we received our update last week but it took a little time for me to get it together enough to write a post.

We remained at number 31 this month. There were zero referrals for like the I don't know how many months in a row :( 

                                                                      

Looking forward to the next few weeks of celebrating the birth of Christ with family, my upcoming b-day, and ringing in a new year!

 

                          

October Blues

Have I mentioned lately that referrals are slow?

We moved one spot this month.....

I refuse to lose hope! I know were are called to Ethiopia and are exactly where we need to be right now. I know God has a plan and a purpose and in His perfect timing our child will join our family.

That being said, please understand that those are very hard things for me to hear right now. When your heart is desperately longing for that child God is hand picking just for you, you know that while you wait they wait too, only with even less understanding! After all we have been through to get to this point, those are very hard words to hear

So what do we need right now?

1) Prayer! Lots and lots of prayer! Prayer for us, our hearts, our finances, our child, our preparations..everything, please just cover this whole adoption in prayer! Just not patience please....I'm still trying to deal with the last dose I prayed for ;)

2) Patience and Understanding from all of you! Most days we honestly try not to think about our adoption. We "try" to enjoy the time we are being blessed with to grow as a couple before children. But as you can imagine, that's not always realistic. Our adoption has grown from just a way to grow our family into our family mission to "defend the fatherless"; God has opened our eyes and our hearts are literally breaking for the things that break God's heart. It's nearly impossible to not be focused on adoption. So when we seem bummed that our number hasn't dropped, or we are rambling about adoption stuff in general please try to understand we are just excited about what God is doing in and through us and we really want to share it and for you to be a part of it!

3) We are still in super savings mode to get all our funding. So if you have some neat ways to save money or fun fundraising ideas we'd love to hear them. But please, keep nasty comments to yourself!

Aside from that we are doing well. Looking forward to the upcoming holidays and time with family.

Confessions

This month has been VERY trying for us! I don't know necessarily that it has been the "worst" because there are so many factors that play into any given time frame and circumstance.

When I first started writing this post it was long and emotional. I want people to just "get it". I want you to share my passion for orphan care, I want you to journey with me, to experience each new wave and revelation, to grow and mature in your faith in the ways that I have! I want you to understand our struggles and our pain. But it just doesn't work that way! No matter how many ways I try to explain it you can never fully "get it"....and that's OK!

God is so amazing and He made each person so unique. While we all are sinners in a fallen world and only He is the answer...He uses so many different things in our lives to mold us and to develop our faith. How boring would life be if we all shared the exact same struggles and never experienced anything new to stretch and grow us?

Adoption is HARD! The process is hard, the waiting is hard, the financial aspect is hard, the adjustment once they are home are hard and the circumstances that put the child in the position of needing a new family are HARD!

So, in an effort to avoid the post with TMI about our specific journey I just simply ask that you pray for us. Pray that we have peace that passes understanding, that our hearts would continue to break for the orphans around the world, and that God will prepare and equip us for the journey He has laid before us. And we will pray for you too! We'll pray that you are being molded and your faith is growing as you walk the path you have been placed on and you fulfill Gods calling on your life.

Wait List Update

It's the rainy season in Ethiopia which means the courts are closed. Why you may ask? Because when it rains A LOT for a long period of time the roads wash out and you just can't always get to work ;)

So what does this mean for our adoption?

Children have to be "paperwork ready" in order to be referred to a family and this goes through the court for approval. Sometimes there are children who are referred during court closure because their paperwork was already complete and they were just waiting to be matched with the best family for them. But, this month there were zero referrals :(

Courts are expected to re-open in mid to late October. We hope to see an explosion of referrals in October!

Also, beginning with the courts re-opening, the new PAIR process will take effect. 

Our number remains the same:

Update

It's been a super slow month for referrals. BUT, just as I was preparing myself for our first month with no referrals I was surprised with the email indicating we moved one! One is not much but it is way better than zero.

Please pray BIG, that God would move mountains and get our child home soon. Specifically we are fervently praying to have a picture by Christmas or before.

Praying BIG

Some of you may recall our wait chain that we made last September. We started out on "the list" at number 87.

Here is a picture of the chain from Sept. 2012

Today we received our new updated number......drum roll please!

That's a drop of 15 on "the list"!!!!!!!  We have been praying for BIG movement and God answered!

Here is a picture of the links I pulled off our wait chain today...

And here is the chain now....

Prayer Requests:

Praise for all the children who now have a forever family.

Continue to pray BIG that we have a referral by or before Christmas (tomorrow is good for me)

That God will provide the finances for us to be fully funded. God has provided so far through prompting friends to give and guiding us in ways to save and plan. We still need to last 1/3 of the total adoption expenses. It's a number that overwhelms me but I know is possible.

Pray for our families. 

Fundraising:

I posted this last time, but if you want to be a part of our adoption journey please consider sponsoring a piece of our puzzle to bring our child home.

If you have ideas or want to help plan a fundraiser with us please let us know. We are open to just about anything other than home party type sales, I know some of you have expressed dislike for those events.

Puzzle Funds

For several months we have had some info in the side bar about our puzzle fundraiser and a few have asked for more details.

Here is the puzzle

We are asking that family and friends sponsor a piece of the puzzle for $20. Each donor will have their name written on the back of a puzzle piece. 

Once the puzzle is complete it will be hung in a double-sided frame in our child's room. It will be a great way to show them all the many people who have prayed for them and help to bring them home! 

Our child will have lost everything when they come home to us, their biological families, culture, etc. As they grow older, we hope that the many names will bring some comfort that in their loss, they gained so much love and support from a new and larger family.

As always we are so very thankful to everyone who contributes to our adoption both financially and through prayer. We absolutely need both and would not have made it this far without you!

Big things are happening! We are so blessed, and I know you will be too, in this journey!

Wahoo!!!!!

Got our monthly wait list number today and was in total shock! We moved 8 spaces to number

Now some of you may remember a couple months ago I was super bummed because I asked prayer specifically that we would drop into the 40's the following month. Well, as I am learning, God's timing is not my own and while it was not "when" I wanted, it was exactly what I wanted and I'm sure that while I don't specifically know why I had to wait longer, there was a reason and it will all work out to the good!

Now for some even more exciting news, though we moved 8 spaces, 10 children were matched with their forever families!!! That's 10 fewer orphans in the world....wahoo!!

6- Infants
1- child over age 6
1- sibling set ages 6 & 10
1- Special needs child

Our Specific Requests:
1) We have been so blessed by the donations and prayers from friends! We are still in fundraising mode and need quite a bit more to be fully funded. Please pray that we will be directed to fruitful ways to raise/save funds.

2) Please pray for peace over our hearts. Seems like everywhere I turn another person is welcoming their child home through either birth or adoption and while I'm ecstatic for them, I'm ready for my turn.

3) While the PAIR process does make the adoptions more efficient and safe, it did add A LOT of time on to the process. Please pray there are no further "hiccups" in the process.

4) Finally, please pray for the birth mother. I don't know if our child is even conceived yet but she is going to have to make the hardest decision of her life. A decision that will give us the gift we have longed for, and a life for her child she could not provide. But more importantly, pray that in this process someone shares with her the love of Christ.

PAIR Letter

So what is a PAIR letter? Fantastic question! I'm not totally sure yet but, at the moment with my limited knowledge I'm really nervous and scared about it.

So before this requirement, the process looked something like this.

-referral

- preliminary hearing (families do not travel for this)

-if you pass, a court date is set up three months later and you travel to the country 

-once you pass court they are legally yours by Ethiopian law

- US Embassy investigates orphan status and issues visa's and passports

-Return to country 2-3 months later to bring them home.

The total process from referral to home averages 5-6 months.

Now with the PAIR letter, the process will be extended by 2-3 months. This letter must be in place BEFORE the preliminary hearing and is issued by US Immigration and it takes 8-12 weeks to prepare and get in place.

The purpose of this letter is actually really good. Although very rare, there were families who were clearing court but not embassy so their child never got to come home. This letter states that the child meets the requirement of orphan status and should make the embassy process smoother.

I guess I am happy that the process is a little more efficient, I just wish that it didn't mean taking longer to get them home.

Our current number on the wait list is 56! 

Prayer Requests:

-Referrals will boom over the next few months 

-Peace over our waiting and eager hearts, but not patience ;)

-We are considering the possibility of opening our parameters to siblings but that will require LOTS more savings and fundraising which we can't do without support of family and friends. I'm positive if this is the path we should take it will be made abundantly clear and our needs will be met but, we need you all to cover this in prayer.

Vaccinations

We got our vaccinations.....so can we get a referral now please? :)

We didn't technically need to get our vaccinations until closer to when we actually need to leave for Ethiopia. But, our current FSA account will run out at the end of May and we had just enough in there to go ahead and get them.

So we made an appointment at our local travel clinic, looked at current outbreaks in regions we expect to travel, and checked with the CDC and decided which vaccines we were going to get and which ones to skip.

Warren and I both opted for the pill form of the Typhoid vaccine as it lasts longer than the injection, was cheaper, and frankly I HATE needles. We will take that course of meds every other day for the next week. This course of meds will the most likely to have side effects such as nausea, fever, and overall blah feelings.

We also got a prescription for malaria pills that we start taking before we leave through a week after our return.  I need to check how long that rx is good before it has to be filled but we can always call if it expires before our trip (let's all pray that doesn't need to happen).

Those were the "easy" vaccinations, next we had to get shots for a few other diseases. There were three biggies that they recommended, Hepatitis A, Yellow Fever and Meningitis. I did not need the Meningitis because I had it prior to college. Warren's shot total - 3, Mine - 2

Finally we were given a rx for Cipro, an antibiotic. We can take it with us for the treatment of traveler's diarrhea or other issues due to parasites and take as needed.  

I'm not a fan of vaccines, there are ones I feel the risk really outweigh the benefits. But when traveling to a third world country and knowing I will travel outside of the developed cities and capital, I felt this was one of those times when the risk of the vaccine was worth it. 

As always, please pray for our child. That they will be cared for and loved and will come home to us soon. Pray for us in this wait. At times it's incredibly difficult to wait for what you know is going to be good. Finally, we still need the last 1/3 of the total adoption expenses. God has been so good to us and has provided every step of the way and I know that He will continue. 

One Year

So one year ago on Friday (18th), we began this life changing journey called adoption. It was a year ago that we answered our call to Ethiopia on our quest to care for orphans and "defend the fatherless"

We've come along way on our journey emotionally and spiritually. If asked a year ago I would have said we hope to have our wee one home by now, but obviously that was not the way it was suppose to work.

If asked today I would tell you we are praying big to simply have a picture of their sweet face by Christmas. But, obviously we would be over the moon if it were sooner!

Some days the wait is a hard pill to swallow! My whole life I've never wanted anything more than to be a Mama. Warren and I have tried to grow our family since the day we said "I Do" and sometimes it's really hard not to throw a pity party and ask "why me"?

So in our confidence that our adoption will continue moving at at least a steady pace, we got our vaccinations today! This event will receive it's own blog post so watch for it soon!

In the meantime, please continue to pray for our child, for us, and for our fundraising endeavors.

Monthly Update

Referrals have been super slow lately and we have been feeling really discouraged. But, just as we were losing faith and had resigned ourselves to move *maybe* one space this month we moved 3!!!

We are officially

I know that this seems like we are still so far away but seeing movement AND dropping into the 50's after being in the 60's for so long feels great!

How to specifically pray for us:

1) That next month there will be 9 (or more) referrals. I could use another emotional win of dropping into the 40's

2) We are trying to plan some additional fundraisers, pray that we will be directed toward ones that will help to raise needed funds AND raise awareness to the needs of orphans around the world

3) That we don't become so engrossed in the details of the adoption that we forget to make our marriage the top priority

Holidays

So we've been trying to keep up with the happenings, holidays and whatnot's going on in Ethiopia. Since a noticeable percentage of the country identify as Christian, a lot of the holidays are the same. The problem is that they don't observe them on the same day as the U.S.

Ethiopia is on a 13 month calendar rather than a 12. When you are only thinking about events one year at a time it's not too difficult to just think a month out of sync. When you think of history and even recent years, it's gets a little more complicated. But, that's a story for another day. :)

The next upcoming holiday in Ethiopia is Good Friday which will be observed there Friday, May 3, 2013. Wouldn't it be fun to celebrate Easter again this year?

Here's a link to the public holidays celebrated in Ethiopia
Public Holidays

Manager Special

Ok, so anyone who has been around me for more than about 2 minutes knows I've gone completely baby crazy!!!!

Every time I make a trip to any store that has a baby section I just have to go look...and usually buy a small something ;) So for example over the last few months I have bought things like pacifiers, bibs, a couple cloth diapers, cute blanket, crib sheet. All just small things on their own but really add up when bought all at once.

We have been researching carriers for a few weeks now as it was highly advised by our case worker, other adoptive parents, and adoption resources that we should not use a stroller for our baby for a while when they get home and that using a carrier helps them feel more secure and therefore attach//bond better.

Tonight Warren and I made a quick run to Kroger for a few groceries and in the front of the store they had a rack of Manager Special items. They had carriers on sale for $10!!! This is a carrier we had looked at online, in Wal-Mart and even a baby store while shopping for a friend and it was priced between $25-30. So we figured that for $10 it wouldn't hurt anything to go ahead and get it.

We also bought one extra....with all the baby showers happening someone is getting a carrier ;)

License Renewal, #63

It's been a busy month in Ethiopia in the adoption world, so busy in fact that we only moved one spot on the wait list. I'm a little bummed about the lack of movement, but I do at least understand why there were fewer referrals this month. Let me try to explain.....

We are working with several different agencies who are working with several orphanages in Ethiopia and they all have to work together with their government and ours.  Because we had not decided on which country we were adopting from when we started, we had to have our home study completed by an agency licensed in the state of KY, and for various reasons we chose Adopt!inc. They are licensed to complete Hague home studies for international adoption but they do not have an international program so unless we chose domestic adoption we were going to have to work with at least one other agency.
Adopt!inc

After we prayed...A LOT, we decided to adopt from Ethiopia. Since we already had a home study completed by a licensed agency in our state, it didn't matter if the international agency we chose was licensed in our state as long as they were Hague Accredited.

As it turns out Lifeline is licensed in our state, Hague Accredited, AND with Ethiopian adoptions!!

Ethiopia only allows so many agencies on the ground and it's extremely difficult to obtain a license there. So we had to add..sort of, yet another agency. For the Ethiopia program, Lifeline partners with West Sands adoptions. Now you may ask why we didn't just choose to use West Sands directly rather than go through another agency to work with them. Well, we interviewed both and they would both would be fine to work with but, Lifeline has an office in Louisville and West Sands is based in Utah! 

Since West Sands in the agency on the ground in Ethiopia, they are the one who must be licensed there. Ethiopian law requires that license's be renewed every two years. The catch is, the license must expire BEFORE it can be renewed. Well, during this time, those agencies can not submit cases to court for adoptions to be finalized, cases that have been to court can not be cleared at the US Embassy and so on. 

There was very little danger that West Sands license would not be renewed, but working with a government in a third world country is always tricky. 

So not only was our agency in the process of license renewal, nearly all of the Ethiopian orphanages were as well. There are two types of orphanages West Sands partners with in Ethiopia. Those that are private and supported by US missions, like Lifeline, and government run. 

When an orphanage is going through license renewal they are not able to get the paperwork ready for children to be referred. Also, to my knowledge,  because their license also must expire before being renewed they can't even hand out referrals they have ready.

All this to say.......I think almost all the orphanages who were up for renewal are finished or nearly finished, West Sands in now re-licensed and everyone on the wait list has all sighed a huge breath of relief!!

This past month, 5 children found their forever home and we moved 1 space on the waiting list.

Please continue to pray for the child God has for us, that they will be protected, loved, and cared for until we are given clearance to go meet them. Also, for lot of movement on the list! We are currently at #63 and REALLY REALLY want this to be our last year of holidays, events, etc without our child!

Queen of Sheba

Last weekend we went to L'ville with a few friends to an Ethiopian restaurant called Queen of Sheba. I have to admit that I was so nervous. Ethiopian food is known to be full of not only onions (which I HATE) but spices (which I also really don't like).

The restaurant is run by an Ethiopian family who visit their homeland annually to bring back spices and decor and everything is served authentically.

This is a pic of Warren enjoying his appetizer of stuffed jalapeno peppers called Seneg Karia....btw, they were stuffed with more peppers and onions and it was all raw!!! Gross!

Next is a picture of our food. Everyone orders what they want but it's all served together on one plate and you use injera (kind of a sour bread tortilla) to eat with and everyone shares that platter. The food is mostly a combination of wots which are like super thick stew and tibs which are like fajita fillings. On this platter there is: Doro wot, Alicha Sega wot, gomen wot, Atakil, and Derek tips. For a drink we tried Ethiopian spiced tea which was basically chi tea without the milk.

Mostly, we just had a great time with dear friends and Warren was ecstatic that not only did I try something new and flavorful, but that I didn't completely hate it :)

For a description of what we ate check out the menu here: Queen of Sheba Dinner Menu

Tax Credit

Just got an email from our agency with the wonderful news that the tax credit was not just extended, it was signed into law! The email is below....

Lifeline Children's Services January 2013 Dear families,    We are very excited about the recent news that Congress has extended the Adoption Tax Credit.According to a media release from the National Council for Adoption, Congress passed the American Taxpayer Relief Act which will become law once signed by President Obama. Included in this act was an extension of the adoption tax credit. Our Executive Director Herbie Newell sees the extension of the adoption tax credit as a victory for vulnerable children around the world: "While I certainly cannot speak for the entire 'Fiscal Cliff' bill that was signed into law by President Obama, the portion pertaining to the adoption tax credit was a huge victory for vulnerable children around the world and those American families called to provide them families. This piece of the legislation was organized by a truly grassroots campaign aimed at simply extending the adoption tax credit. The measure to make it permanent assures that foster children, orphans, and vulnerable children will have one barrier to a home, finances, alleviated."    Complete details of implementation of the bill are still to be seen, said the release, but the bill permanently extends the adoption tax credit currently set at $10,000. However, the amount may again be scaled for inflation, bringing it closer to the 2012 amount of $12,650. Families whose incomes fall under $150,000 will receive the full credit, and the credit will gradually phase out for families with higher incomes.   We are thrilled to share this news with you and hope you have a wonderful end to your week!

67

Our new number as of Jan.1, 2013

For those keeping track, that's a drop of 20 spaces over the last 3 months. This was not as much as we had hoped for, but it is more than we expected.

Now for the not so great news...to the best of our knowledge, the adoption tax credit was not extended. We knew this was a possibility, but are still disappointed. It doesn't change our adoption plans at all, as the credit would not have taken effect until after an adoption was final anyway. 

If extended, the credit would have been used to repay debt from the adoption. At this point, our debt is small and very manageable as we have been VERY diligent in savings and budgeting  and also because of generosity of family and friends. 

We are so excited about this new year and all that has to offer. 

Please continue to pray with us that:

1) our adoption fund will be full soon

2) lots of children will find their forever loving home

3) that we can be patient in God's timing