God's faithfulness continues to amaze us! We received a letter this week notifying us that Show Hope has awarded us with a $4,000 grant! We are so humbled and grateful. We are very close to having all the funds to pay for not only our referral fee but for our travel expenses as well. Saying "Thank you" seems so small and insignificant but we are so thankful to Show Hope, Lifesong, and our friends and family who have given to help bring our kids home! It literally could not have happened otherwise. We cannot wait to introduce you to our kids!
My heart aches for my kids that I don't know yet. I pray that they know they are loved already and will soon be home with their forever family. Claire fell down today and immediately cried "Mommy!" and I was there to pick her up and comfort her. At times like that I can't help but wonder who is comforting my kids in Ethiopia, who do they cry for? Or do they not cry at all because no one is there? Please pray with me that they will get home soon. And pray for the families that are considering adoption...that they would step out in faith and be so blessed with a child.
Thank you Show Hope and Show Hope Sponsors!! You've helped change our lives and the lives of 2 soon to be ex-orphans! An anonymous donor is currently pledging $1 for every new "like" on Show Hope's Facebook page up to $25,000. So to help other families like us get on your FB and like Show Hope!!
Showing posts with label grants. Show all posts
Showing posts with label grants. Show all posts
Friday, July 22, 2011
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Lifesong Grant & USCIS being processed!!!!
Today and yesterday have been super exciting! Today almost $900 came out of our checking account and I've never been so excited! Our check for immigration went through, which means it's being processed. We can't get our referral until USCIS approval comes, so we are thrilled that it's moving along.
Yesterday we received a call from Lifesong for Orphans informing us that we have been given a $2,500 matching grant from Highview Baptist Church!!! I'm not a cryer, unless I'm pregnant (which I'm not), and I cried when I listened to the message. This is such a blessing because it does several things. First, it involves our church, family, and friends in caring for an orphan. Not everyone is able to bring an orphan into their home, but this allows everyone to help participate. Second, it provides extra motivation since it's a dollar for dollar match up to $2,500. If we can get 100 people/families to donate $25, it would double to give us $5,000!!! That's sooo huge.
In case you are wondering about costs and how it works, let me break it down for you. We are estimating that the whole adoption, including travel is going to cost close to $35,000. We don't have that laying around. As of today we have spent $10,012.69 of money we had saved and got back from taxes. This covered agency fees, home study, dossier, authentication costs, and more. We have given all we have. When we receive our referral, which we are anticipating(and praying!) late May or June we will have ten days to accept and pay the referral fee of $13,000. If we do not have the funds, we cannot accept our referral. This is where my anxiety level increases. But as I give it over to the Lord, He is so faithful in showing me He will provide. Like yesterday, through Lifesong for Orphans. We are so grateful and thankful for this blessing. After the referral fee is paid I can breathe a sigh of relief. The rest of the costs are mostly travel related (which can be put on a credit card). There will some other fees like medial exams, visas, and possibly another immigration form if our kids aren't siblings. But nothing as comparable to the large referral fee. Lifesong also provides an avenue for tax-deductible donations. So if anyone knows a billionaire who needs to get a tax break, feel free to pass along my information :).
Obviously, not everyone is able to give. Times are hard and the economy is poor. So, it also provides an avenue for us to let our family and friends know what we are doing and ask for prayer. We desperately need our family, friends, and church to partner with us in prayer. If you would like to pray for specific things, this is what we are praying:
*Pray for our children that are not home yet, that they are being loved on and cared for. That God will keep them safe and healthy while they are waiting to come home.
*Pray for us and for Bella Kate and Claire to be prepared to have two more siblings.
*Pray for the Ethiopian government and MOWA(the ministry that controls when we get a court date). There are still changes being made. Pray our process will go smoothly and that our children will not have to stay in an orphanage even one extra day due to delays. (Just a note, a friend got her court date today, so I am celebrating for her and super encouraged for our process!!)
*Pray for God's continued protection and provision over our family through this process.
If you or someone else you know would like to make a tax-deductible donation to help bring our kids home and have your donation doubled thanks to Lifesong, there are two ways you can do so.
1. Make a check payable to Lifesong for Orphans and write "preference Jenkins #1981 adoption" in the memo section. Mail the donation to:
Lifesong for Orphans
PO Box 40/ 202 N. Ford St
Gridley, IL 61744
2. Use paypal to donate online by clicking this link: http://www.lifesongfororphans.org/donation.html
All donations must be received by May 26, 2011
We are so grateful for our church, family, and friends who are surrounding us with prayer, encouragement, and support. We are blessed to be a part of a church who has a heart for adoption and partners with Lifesong to provide us this grant. What a blessing the adoption ministry at Highview is in so many ways. We love you and are thankful for you!
Yesterday we received a call from Lifesong for Orphans informing us that we have been given a $2,500 matching grant from Highview Baptist Church!!! I'm not a cryer, unless I'm pregnant (which I'm not), and I cried when I listened to the message. This is such a blessing because it does several things. First, it involves our church, family, and friends in caring for an orphan. Not everyone is able to bring an orphan into their home, but this allows everyone to help participate. Second, it provides extra motivation since it's a dollar for dollar match up to $2,500. If we can get 100 people/families to donate $25, it would double to give us $5,000!!! That's sooo huge.
In case you are wondering about costs and how it works, let me break it down for you. We are estimating that the whole adoption, including travel is going to cost close to $35,000. We don't have that laying around. As of today we have spent $10,012.69 of money we had saved and got back from taxes. This covered agency fees, home study, dossier, authentication costs, and more. We have given all we have. When we receive our referral, which we are anticipating(and praying!) late May or June we will have ten days to accept and pay the referral fee of $13,000. If we do not have the funds, we cannot accept our referral. This is where my anxiety level increases. But as I give it over to the Lord, He is so faithful in showing me He will provide. Like yesterday, through Lifesong for Orphans. We are so grateful and thankful for this blessing. After the referral fee is paid I can breathe a sigh of relief. The rest of the costs are mostly travel related (which can be put on a credit card). There will some other fees like medial exams, visas, and possibly another immigration form if our kids aren't siblings. But nothing as comparable to the large referral fee. Lifesong also provides an avenue for tax-deductible donations. So if anyone knows a billionaire who needs to get a tax break, feel free to pass along my information :).
Obviously, not everyone is able to give. Times are hard and the economy is poor. So, it also provides an avenue for us to let our family and friends know what we are doing and ask for prayer. We desperately need our family, friends, and church to partner with us in prayer. If you would like to pray for specific things, this is what we are praying:
*Pray for our children that are not home yet, that they are being loved on and cared for. That God will keep them safe and healthy while they are waiting to come home.
*Pray for us and for Bella Kate and Claire to be prepared to have two more siblings.
*Pray for the Ethiopian government and MOWA(the ministry that controls when we get a court date). There are still changes being made. Pray our process will go smoothly and that our children will not have to stay in an orphanage even one extra day due to delays. (Just a note, a friend got her court date today, so I am celebrating for her and super encouraged for our process!!)
*Pray for God's continued protection and provision over our family through this process.
If you or someone else you know would like to make a tax-deductible donation to help bring our kids home and have your donation doubled thanks to Lifesong, there are two ways you can do so.
1. Make a check payable to Lifesong for Orphans and write "preference Jenkins #1981 adoption" in the memo section. Mail the donation to:
Lifesong for Orphans
PO Box 40/ 202 N. Ford St
Gridley, IL 61744
2. Use paypal to donate online by clicking this link: http://www.lifesongfororphans.org/donation.html
All donations must be received by May 26, 2011
We are so grateful for our church, family, and friends who are surrounding us with prayer, encouragement, and support. We are blessed to be a part of a church who has a heart for adoption and partners with Lifesong to provide us this grant. What a blessing the adoption ministry at Highview is in so many ways. We love you and are thankful for you!
Friday, March 18, 2011
We're Getting Official!
We received our official home study today!! Notarized and everything :) So we mailed off our applications for LifeSong and Abba Fund for grants and loans. Yesterday, our home study agency also mailed our application to the government for us to bring an immigrant into our home. This week I met with our placing agency and got all of my dossier paperwork looked over and "approved". So Monday I will be officially submitting our dossier to our agency!!! This is such a huge sigh of relief and weight lifted off of me. After Monday I will be fundraising and waiting...which you already know I'm working on.
While there is still no resolution with the previous post about the decrease in cases the Ethiopian government is seeing a day, our agency is optimistic about it and I am more so now than I was. An adoptive mom I met last week was so encouraging. She said, "God is writing their story." She's so right. Another friend encouraged me that maybe our kids aren't ready yet, maybe they aren't at the orphanage or maybe their paperwork isn't up to date. All these things could be true. I'm so thankful for these encouraging friends and conversations!
In other news, Bella Kate learned to say "Ethiopia" which sounds like "Epeepeeia" and it's probably the cutest thing ever! She watches the video I posted over and over again. She also said, "I want to go see brothers!" because they are not home, they are in "Epeepeeia". Second cutest thing ever. Yes, there were tears in my eyes as I answered, "I want to go see them too."
Thanks for taking this journey with us...it's a long one, but we're thrilled to be on it!
P.S. Only 2 more days to order from 31 Gifts if you want something!!! Thanks everyone!!
While there is still no resolution with the previous post about the decrease in cases the Ethiopian government is seeing a day, our agency is optimistic about it and I am more so now than I was. An adoptive mom I met last week was so encouraging. She said, "God is writing their story." She's so right. Another friend encouraged me that maybe our kids aren't ready yet, maybe they aren't at the orphanage or maybe their paperwork isn't up to date. All these things could be true. I'm so thankful for these encouraging friends and conversations!
In other news, Bella Kate learned to say "Ethiopia" which sounds like "Epeepeeia" and it's probably the cutest thing ever! She watches the video I posted over and over again. She also said, "I want to go see brothers!" because they are not home, they are in "Epeepeeia". Second cutest thing ever. Yes, there were tears in my eyes as I answered, "I want to go see them too."
Thanks for taking this journey with us...it's a long one, but we're thrilled to be on it!
P.S. Only 2 more days to order from 31 Gifts if you want something!!! Thanks everyone!!
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