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!!
Showing posts with label home study. Show all posts
Showing posts with label home study. Show all posts
Friday, March 18, 2011
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Do Not Be Anxious About Anything
This blog is getting real honest. Just a heads up.
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Phil 4:6-7
It was officially announced this week that adoption cases processed by the Government of Ethiopia's Ministry of Women, Children, and Youth will be reduced from 40 something a day to 5. For us, best case scenario, it means significant delays. My heart is aching. If you see me out at the store and I'm mumbling to myself it's because I'm saying Phil 4:6-7 over and over again, trusting in the truth and authority of God's word. I am pleading with the Lord to change this. I believe He is in control of it and will change it. There are few times Dan and I have been praying on our faces together, literally crying, with such heavy hearts. Please pray that God will change the officials' hearts and open their eyes to the needs of the orphans to get home. For our boys to be taken care of in the mean time. That our case will be seen quickly and our boys will get home this year.
A sweet friend sent me a card in the mail today that was such a huge encouragement to me. It reminds me "For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, 'Abba, Father!'" Rom 8:15 Her sacrifice to help us bring our boys home and encouraging words are just what I needed and I am so grateful.
We have all of our paperwork for our dossier together with the exception of our official, notarized copy of our home study. Our home study has been approved! YAY :) As soon as the official copy arrives our dossier will be mailed from place to place being approved at various levels of government, then on to Ethiopia. We also submitted last week our paperwork to our social worker to request the government to allow us to bring an immigrant (two actually) into our home. It will be mailed with our official home study this week. Then we will be sent a document to get fingerprinted, then wait for official approval. Meanwhile, our dossier will be in an Ethiopian office, in a large waiting pile.
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus"
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Phil 4:6-7
It was officially announced this week that adoption cases processed by the Government of Ethiopia's Ministry of Women, Children, and Youth will be reduced from 40 something a day to 5. For us, best case scenario, it means significant delays. My heart is aching. If you see me out at the store and I'm mumbling to myself it's because I'm saying Phil 4:6-7 over and over again, trusting in the truth and authority of God's word. I am pleading with the Lord to change this. I believe He is in control of it and will change it. There are few times Dan and I have been praying on our faces together, literally crying, with such heavy hearts. Please pray that God will change the officials' hearts and open their eyes to the needs of the orphans to get home. For our boys to be taken care of in the mean time. That our case will be seen quickly and our boys will get home this year.
A sweet friend sent me a card in the mail today that was such a huge encouragement to me. It reminds me "For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, 'Abba, Father!'" Rom 8:15 Her sacrifice to help us bring our boys home and encouraging words are just what I needed and I am so grateful.
We have all of our paperwork for our dossier together with the exception of our official, notarized copy of our home study. Our home study has been approved! YAY :) As soon as the official copy arrives our dossier will be mailed from place to place being approved at various levels of government, then on to Ethiopia. We also submitted last week our paperwork to our social worker to request the government to allow us to bring an immigrant (two actually) into our home. It will be mailed with our official home study this week. Then we will be sent a document to get fingerprinted, then wait for official approval. Meanwhile, our dossier will be in an Ethiopian office, in a large waiting pile.
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus"
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Out of Control
Excited, anxious, nervous, and occasionally nauseous. All things I felt when I was prego with the girls...all things I am feeling now (except the nausea is only occasional!). Before I blamed the crazy emotions on my hormones, now I realize it's just the anticipation of having another child. I'm learning a lot about myself through this process. For example, I had no idea how much I like things to be in my control. And how all of this being out of my control is causing an ulcer to form in my stomach. I can't control the mail, the Ethiopian courts or their speed, when our tax return will hit our checking account, or how my kiddos are being taken care of tonight. But the great comfort I find in all of this being out of my control is that someone much better at taking care of all this than me is in fact in control! My God is in control. He knows who my kids are and is watching over them even as I type this. He has provided our state side fees through our tax return and knows when it will hit our account so that I can write the next few checks to continue in the process. He knows the day we will get to bring the kids home. It is so comforting that I can lean on His everlasting arms and trust that what He has called us to do will come to pass in His oh so perfect timing.
We are taking baby steps! Our home study was complete this past week. We are just waiting on our notarized copy (and tax return money to pay for it's review). Once it's final we can also apply for grants and loans. We sign our contract and pay our first fee at our incredible agency (Arise for Children) tomorrow. The rest of the week will be spent finalizing our dossier paperwork. Meanwhile, we'll submit a request to the government for permission to bring an orphan into our home. Then we'll get a notice to get fingerprinted and wait for approval. When we get all of that submitted, we wait. Wait for a referral, wait for a court date, wait to bring our kids home. (I promise I'm working on trusting in the Lord's timing...I really do know it's perfect!)
We are taking baby steps! Our home study was complete this past week. We are just waiting on our notarized copy (and tax return money to pay for it's review). Once it's final we can also apply for grants and loans. We sign our contract and pay our first fee at our incredible agency (Arise for Children) tomorrow. The rest of the week will be spent finalizing our dossier paperwork. Meanwhile, we'll submit a request to the government for permission to bring an orphan into our home. Then we'll get a notice to get fingerprinted and wait for approval. When we get all of that submitted, we wait. Wait for a referral, wait for a court date, wait to bring our kids home. (I promise I'm working on trusting in the Lord's timing...I really do know it's perfect!)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)