Ethiopia Have I Loved: The End...and A Beginning

I was wrong in saying "China would be the easy choice."

I guess what I should have said was something like, "If you aren't in the middle of this, and you've not been waiting 3 1/2 years for your baby girl, or you heard, in passing, that doors may be closing in Ethiopia, and opening in China, you might be inclined to say : "What are you waiting for? Its an easy choice!"

That's what I should have said. 

Because as it turns out, this has been the hardest decision I've ever had to make.

The last few weeks have been full of prayer, seeking God's will, a little arguing, some intense discussion and lots of research. It seemed like a choice would never be made.

 And then all of a sudden, it was.
By Saturday evening we both realized the answer, and not to sound dramatic, but really- it felt like a tremendous weight had been lifted.

So... we are transferring to the China Waiting Child Program this week.

We are excited about what lies ahead-there is actually a light at the end of the tunnel now. Its exciting to think about how Zoey's story is weaving in and out and around and creating this amazing picture of God's plan. But there are moments where the joy feels a little like grieving. I feel like the Lord's been separating my heart from Ethiopia in the last month, even before this all happened. And in asking Him to give me one and take the other away, I honestly didn't expect China to be it.

Its going to take some getting used to, but I am confident that our God is sovereign. Ethiopia was not a waste and Ethiopia was not wrong. All along, Ethiopia was part of God's plan. For whatever reason, Ethiopia is important for getting us to Zoey. Maybe someday we will see the why's but even if we don't, I'm ok with that. Because God is good and that's what I know.

In Which Everything is Just...Typical

Well, Thursday came and went with the only news being "no news." 

"No meeting."

"Check back next Thursday."

We went to get our fingerprints re-taken with Homeland Security/ Customs and Immigration. 

Apparently I have the fingers of an 80-year old grandmother. 2 different (very sweet and encouraging) beautifully accented ladies tried really hard to get my fingers to work. They overrode the system several times until it locked them out.

I failed. At fingerprinting.

So I will have to go back in a few weeks, whenever they send me another notice.

And I have strep. 

Its not been the greatest week.

I think I need a nap.

Ethiopia Have I Loved, Part 2

So, what I said about having always known about corruption in Ethiopia wasn't exactly true.We didn't really know until May of  2011, when we were getting ready to send in our Dossier. At that point we would be 3 months from having everything ready to send in and everything came to a screeching halt. Apparently, a lot of children were being referred who didn't have all the background checks in place to make sure there were no other family members who could take them, that they were actually orphans whose parents were not under the guise that they would be going to school in America and come back and take care of them in a few years, that they hadn't been bought or kidnapped, etc. It was found to be happening at such an alarming rate that many orphanages and adoption agencies were forced to completely close their doors. And referrals all but stopped. 

When we started, the expected wait time for a baby girl was 7-11 months. Right now, it is 30-36 months. But like I said previously, there have been only four referrals within our agency since February 2013 and we are unofficially #30. So, my guess is that it will increase again very soon.

So we have been praying like crazy, asking our friends to pray, and researching our other options. We found out today that we are "good candidates" for the China Waiting Child Program, so I will explain that a little bit.

In China, there are thousands of Waiting Children. These are kids with minor, repaired, or repairable medical needs like cleft lip, cleft palate, missing fingers or toes, heart problems, minor hearing loss, strabismus (crossed eyes) limb differences, birthmarks ( so strange that birthmarks are considered a special need there) albinism, club feet, and a whole lot of other things. There are kids with other medical needs too, like cerebral palsy, down syndrome,spina bifida, major heart defects, etc.

These kids have ALL their paperwork ready and waiting to go. They are just waiting for someone to pick them. Contrast that with Ethiopia, where none of the waiting children, or referrals, are paper ready- there are so many redundant steps to make sure they are who they are supposed to be. And China doesn't have the PAIR process, which is adding months to the wait in ET.

So, in China, in the Waiting Child Program, it is possible to get a referral OR to choose a child while you are still getting your dossier together. It blows my mind that this actually happens. It took us a year to get our ET dossier together, and we've been waiting 29 months on top of that. (Apparently a second dossier is much quicker to put together than the first. )

But, we don't know what to do. The easy thing would be to switch over to China, and if we did that right now, we have a good chance of at least getting a referral in 9 months or less. We might even be able to have her home by Christmas.
For the last 3 years+ I have loved Ethiopia. I know probably more than the average person should know about poverty and orphans there. I almost feel like deviating from this plan would be like losing out somehow. I have dreamed of a dark skinned little girl for so long that anyone else seems almost not Zoey.

We want to do the right thing, we just don't know what that is yet. Despite the above attachment to Ethiopia, we are both strangely peaceful about transferring to China. Sorry, its hard to explain. I think for awhile at least, it would be hard for me to mentally switch over, picturing a different kind of Zoey. But if that is where the Lord is leading, then that is where we have to go.
As for the other details- China is a 1-trip country ( which would be GREAT. I've been really dreading 2 trips to ET.) And the cost difference with what will transfer if we were to switch, is only about $1000. Travel fees are a little less, and there is a post adoptive report payment that is more than ET but it is refundable so we will get it all back at the end. The trip to China lasts a few days longer than 1 trip in Ethiopia though.

The meeting that was supposed to take place yesterday to give all the families in our agency The Big Update now won't happen until Thursday, so stay tuned...

Ethiopia Have I Loved (Pt 1)

What has been going on lately with the adoption, you ask?

 Well,I wish I could say something wonderful, but in actuality, there is alot of talk about a shutdown and things are really up in the air right now for everyone waiting. This last week there was a meeting to address concerns over international adoption between ET and the US,and  in-country adoptions there. A conference call was held on Thursday by our agency, America World Adoptions, that basically seemed to leave everyone with more questions than answers. There was a lot of talk of being able to transfer programs (countries), lengthened wait times,more restrictions on adopting families, etc etc etc. Not very encouraging. They said we would know more on the 13th, when the 10 days are up and the Prime Minister has his say.

Here is someones account of the meeting better put than I can explain it:
(MOWCYA stands for Ministry of Women, Children, and Youth Affairs)
The minister of federal MOWCYA, Minister Zenebu, has declared she wants to shut down adoption to foreign families in the coming weeks, and the parliament agreed with her. The meeting was adjourned with a plan to create a committee that will present a plan to end adoption within 10 days. If accepted by parliament, the prime minister will need to sign it.

There are TWO main reasons we believe this is happening in Ethiopia. First, there have been many recent negative articles on Ethiopian adoption in the mainstream media here in the U.S. and in Ethiopia. Second, the implementation of the PAIR process in Ethiopia has greatly upset the adoption process.
(There have been several stories about adoptive children being abused, even killed, by their new parents. While this has happened (and sadly even occurs in non-adoptive families) it is definitely not the norm, however the media in both countries seem to like to make it a much more common case than it is.)

(PAIR stands for Pre-Adoption Immigration Review:)
"In the new PAIR system, USCIS will review and provide a pre-approval of immigration eligibility to the adoptive family on behalf of the child that they desire to adopt.  This pre-approval has been referenced as the PAIR letter.  Starting September 1st, 2013 it is expected that the Ethiopian government’s Ministry of Women’s Children and Youth Affairs will require each adoptive family to have a PAIR letter prior to submitting a recommendation letter to the First Federal Instance Court"

This one letter is taking families several months to receive approval status before they can go get their children, and apparently the waiting is on the US side, not ET.

Another problem is that there have been no infant referrals since July, and only 4 since February 2013. We are unofficially number 30 on the wait list ( probably farther down the "official" list since this one is only for families who are part of our agency's yahoo group) We are 28 months  DTE ( Dossier to Ethiopia) and the current wait time for an infant girl is 30-36 months. Normally, the case has been that families who are the next up to get a referral get them at the last part of this timeframe. So doing the math, we would theoretically be able to get a referral in August, but there are also at least 29 other families ahead of us. With only 4 referrals in the last 11 months, its not looking too good. 

All along, we've known there is corruption that does go on in the world of adoption. Its extremely sad, but its a reality. I believe our agency is not involved in anything illegal or immoral. If they were, it wouldn't be one of the few agencies not recieving referrals for the most popular age/gender group in international adoption. There are other agencies that keep trucking along ( and also who send out referrals for kids in countries that are shut down) I completely trust our agency and I wouldn't switch to another one even if it meant getting Zoey home sooner.

From EthioStork, an adoption resource agency that helps families with alot of their immigration papers and orphan verification, explaining why the wait is so long:

Are there children who are orphaned and need homes? Yes. Are there children who are adoptable? Not too many, at least not right now.  Let me explain why.

One reaseon is there are over fifty licensed child placing agencies operating in Ethiopia  (at least 20 of these agencies are based in the US).   Surely that shouldn't be a problem when there are so many orphans? Not true. While there are many agencies, serving many adoptive families and ready to place a child as soon as he or she enters an orphange, there are simply not many children who are ready to be placed. You may have recently gone to Ethiopia and visited orphanages overflowing with children.  Most of them are not paper ready.   But even those who are not paper ready are older children. You will not find too many available infants. 

The relicensing of many agencies (after a few months of standstill) may be seen as a good sign for adoptions from Ethiopia. Here is the problem however, the process of declaring a child an orphan and adoptable has changed. This means that you will not see many infants who are ready to be placed.  So the realtly in Ethiopia right now is there are many agencies but not enough infants who can be placed. 

My sincere advice to families;

1. Please be willing to wait.  I understand how painful it could be. But when there are not that many adoptable children , it simply means orphanages and agencies are not able to meet demand.  This opens a door for corruption. It will cease to be about best interest of children.  I hate to use a market analysis however, imagine what happens when demand rises but what is being demanded is few.   There simply are not many infants.  To keep the integrity of adoptions in Ethiopia, families must be willing to wait so that there are no orphans created to meet demand.  

2. Consider adopting a special needs or older  child (3 to 5 are not older children in Ethiopia as there is as much demand for children in that age range). There is always a child in this catagory.

However, if any adoptive family wants their baby girl right this minute. The family must be willing to accept that their demand is driving adoption in Ethiopia in the very wrong direction.  Unless more children become available, i urge families to understand that, while there is nothing wrong to wanting to adopt an infant,  they have to be willing to wait.   Because i know the last thing you want, is to learn that an orphan was created or bartered to meet demand.  


So right now, we wait for whatever happens on the 13th. Hopefully we will know more then and be able to relay some info. I really don't know where we will be with all this in the coming year. We have felt all along that Ethiopia is where Zoey is and have prepared ourselves for that. We want to make sure all avenues have been exhausted before we decide to change course, if it comes to that. We do have some other options though if things don't work out the way we thought. The Lord knows his plans, even when we don't, and I'm ok with that. Im not worried, I actually have a lot of peace about our options. Just wishing I could know for sure what's going to transpire. I know Zoey is out there, somewhere.

The kids were eating lunch the other day and suddenly there was a big commotion in the kitchen. I went in and found 3 very excited minions.

"Look what Charlotte did!

"I didn't even mean to!"

"Look its Africa! It even had the horn!"

"IT EVEN HAS THE HORN!!"

Sure enough- it even had the horn.

A Little Update

Well, things are starting to ramp up here with the adoption. I finally got around to getting things in order for our Concurrent Family Building Plan- the stack of paperwork you have to do if you decide you want to add another child by birth or adoption at the same time you are already adopting. A stack of paper and about $625 come to find out. Adoption is so much fun! Yea.

It feels like the wheels on this machine are slowly starting to grind again, like a little spark, a tiny candle lighting in my heart. If all goes as planned (ha!) this time next year we could be intimately studying the face of our 2nd daughter and planning to meet her. I am starting to feel like jumping up and down inside again at the prospect.

In other news, 4 kids is really feeling like A LOT compared to 3. Its like herding cats most of the time around here but I love it. Im both terrifically excited and terribly petrified to add another one in to the mix and yet I still want more. I must be losing my mind.

Also, Judah is rolling over, from stomach to back. And he sucks his thumb! Im so happy. It took me four to get a thumb sucker, and boy is he a cute one. And he's a snuggler to boot.

Ethan is doing so well in school. He is reading! Its such a neat feeling watching him sound out the words and know how proud he is of himself. Its almost magical to see him unlock this world of words that we live in. Im so proud of him.

Charlotte... well good grief. That girl is a little firecracker. She turns 5 next week. How crazy is that? She is a just a blur all day long. Always running running running. Or climbing the walls, literally. Or jumping off something. But I love her.

Caden is getting tall and talking so well. He is very cunning. He and Ethan have their own soundtrack all day long of car noises and lasers and rockets exploding and horrible crashing sounds all. day. long. Do all boys do that?

Its busy and its crazy and sometimes I forget to make lunch or I cant remember where my phone is when Im holding it but I love it.

And I just got a new camera ( again- what is it with me and cameras?) I will (try) to get back to posting photos of the craziness more often. That is, if I can get to bed at a decent hour- like 9:30.

I am so old.

As Promised

I told you all last week that I had some news to share.

I wont get into specifics here, but I will tell you that we are going to have a baby! Very much a surprise, and very exciting for all of us as we wait for Zoey to come home.

As we understand it, because of God's amazing timing, this pregnancy won't affect the adoption process at all.

I can't believe I'm going to have 5 kids! And there is the possibility that Zoey and this baby could be so close in age as to be like having twins. That would be pretty crazy.

No other updates about Ethiopia adoptions lately. It is still very slow. There have been a few referrals for baby girls for our agency recently, so that is encouraging. One was for a 3 month old!

We know God has a plan and is working it out. We are not discouraged. We trust in Him and can't wait to see, when this is all done, what He was doing all this time.

A Miracle

If you want to see a miracle happening RIGHT NOW, head over to NO GREATER JOY MOM

This little girl is "Lilliana." She lives in Eastern Europe.

Because children with Down Syndrome are not valued as people where she lives, she spends her days in an orphanage lying in a crib, or in a baby bouncy seat.

Because children with Down Syndrome are not valued where she lives, Lilliana does not get taken care of like "normal " children.

Because children with Down Syndrome are not valued where she lives, it is acceptable to her "caretakers" that at 11 years old, Lilliana weighs only 10 pounds.

11 years old.

10 pounds.

Let that one sit for a minute...

But right now, Adeye at No Greater Joy Mom is holding the biggest giveaway I've ever seen.

Adeye loves children who the world says have no chance at being loved.

I think that is why God uses her to bring them families.

Adeye set up the raffle yesterday, August 18. With a total needed at $22,000.

That's a pretty big leap of faith.

But our God is bigger and He loves Lilliana more.

Tonight, not even 24 hours after starting the raffle, the amount raised for Lilliana is

$20,394

What an awesome God we have!

You can donate here, at Adeye's blog:

Nogreaterjoymom.com

There are some amazing prizes to be won.

But really, to be a part of this, is better than anything you could win...

Updates and Birthdates

Well, we got our FBI clearance. Good to know we aren't on any no-fly lists.

Should have been able to mail our Dossier to our agency this week, but alas, the girl that did our homestudy forgot 2 papers and she is working on getting them to me.

Which doesn't at all surprise me, the way things have been going with this.

Maybe next week.

In other news, Caden will turn 2 on Saturday. I can't believe it.

Hope is not far off...

More than $20,000 has been raised for Terri Lynn in less than 3 days!

"I will proclaim the name of the Lord. Oh, praise the greatness of our God!"

Deuteronomy 32:3

A Princess in Need of Rescuing...

There is a little girl who reminds me of my Charlotte, and my niece Selah. She is 5 1/2. Her name is Terri Lynn and she is one of the many children with Down Syndrome on Reece's Rainbow. Last December when she turned 5, no one threw her a party, or gave her any presents. No one sang her a song or baked a cake.

In her country, children with Down Syndrome are kept in a Baby House until they turn 5. Then they are taken on a car ride- for most, the only one they will ever have- to one of the many Mental Asylums in the country. Here they will have their heads shaved and be assigned a crib that they will never leave. Some will have their wrists and ankles tied to the bars. They will not be changed, or taken to the bathroom, or played with, or given toys, or fed anything but porridge in a bottle. They will be drugged day and night with adult tranquilzers so they dont bother the "caretakers" with their crying or whining or asking to be held.

Research shows that about 95% of children with Down Syndrome die of starvation, neglect,or abuse within the first year in the Asylums.

After just a few weeks, she is not the same little girl. Her beautiful hair, her pink cheeks, that curious look in her eyes, is all gone.

No one cares that she wears boy clothes, or clothes that fit. No one cares how those bruises on her face got there, or what or who caused them.

But we should care. We know she is a child of the Most High God. We know that a child with Down Syndrome has so much more potential than what her current environment has in store for her.

There are many families trying to raise money for Teri Lynn. There are no prizes to offer, just the knowledge that by donating you are helping rescue this little princess from certain death.

Some matching grants have been offered at No Greater Joy Mom and the total is climbing.

Terri Lynn doesn't have a family yet.

Most times families who consider adoption end up not going through with it because the cost seems too great.

But, as we are singing in VBS this week, Our God is so BIG!

Soon, I just know it, her Mommy is going to see her picture and know this is the little girl she has been praying for. And she won't have to worry about how on earth she will get the money because it will already be there.

God doesnt need our help, or our money, but what a blessing it is that He gives us the chance to be a part of something like this. That He opens our eyes to see beyond our little comfortable bubbles and gives us the opportunity to do more than just talk about being the hands and feet of Jesus.

Please give.

Updates on Zoey

Here is an update in case you've been wondering...

We have our fingerprint appointment on July 27th. If all goes as planned, we should recieve our Customs/Immigration clearance about 2-3 weeks after that. Then we can send our dossier to our agency and get it approved and they will send it on to Ethiopia and we will be able to get on the waitlist.

The wait time between getting the dossier to Ethiopia (called being DTE) and a referral has been raised from 7-11 months for an infant girl to 11-18 months.

And the courts are getting ready to close for the rainy season soon. They don't open till late September I believe so we may not officially be DTE until the end of September. Which makes the earliest we could expect a referral, as of right now, late August 2012.

Which is really depressing.

Why does God's timing always have to be so S.L.O.W?

And, just to keep it real, Im not a very good Christian. I haven't been reading my bible very much lately. I feel really bad about that. But today I got it out and really just shared my heart with God, which He already knew, of course. I asked Him why it has to take so long. If there is such a need, why is it so hard to do something about it?

I read this. It didnt really answer my question, but it made me feel a little bit better.

"God is not unjust; He will not forget your work and the love you have showed him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised."

Hebrews 6:10-12

In other news, I am having new shirts made. By real shirt-makers this time. My other ones were good, but it took a lot of time to make them myself, and it got to where it wasnt so much fun anymore. As soon as we get some in, I will show you all what they look like.

VBS is next week, and when that is over we will start thinking about more fundraisers. I know we will have another garage sale, which I said I would never do again, but oh well. Gotta do it.

And maybe another kickball tournament or something.

Hope you are enjoying your summer so far! I will post more pictures of ours tomorrow!

The Winner of the Giftcard is...

Pam!

Congratulations!

The total raised was:

$385 plus an anonymous donation by one of my readers.

Thank you all for helping Ian's family bring him home. I know they are very grateful and appreciate your support and prayers!

Last Day to Win

I will be closing the giveaway at midnight tonight, so if you haven't entered yet, now's the time!

You could win a $100 Visa Giftcard!

All you have to do is go here and donate to Ian's fund. Scroll down a post and read why Ian's family needs your help!

Thank you to everyone who has donated!

I will announce the winner tomorrow!

I am ending the fundraiser on Saturday, so you still have time to enter to win the $100 Visa Gift Card.

As of tonight ( Wednesday), you all have contributed $350 to Ian's Fund which Gretchen told me will pay for Ian's passport fee!

Thank you all so much for caring and acting in love for this sweet little boy!

I will announce the winner of the gift card Sunday evening. Please link to the giveaway on FB or your blog and let's see if we can help bring in more by Saturday!

There is Still Time to Win!

**Updated total: $350.00**

As of right now, 8 people have donated to Ian's fund! I know there are some of you out there that are in a crunch financially, or maybe you are also trying to fund your own adoption, and maybe you think you cant spare anything. Maybe you would like to help, but you feel bad for taking away from your own adoption.

I understand! We are adopting and I know how hard it is when you want you own child home so badly, and yet your heart breaks for other families who are so close...yet so far away.

God's heart is for orphans. It's written all throughout the Bible- He is the Father of the Fatherless. He could save them all, find them all families, fund every adoption in a heartbeat.

But what a wonderful blessing it is that He hasn't, in that He asks us to be a part of bringing families together, to sacrifice for the purpose of helping give a child a home, love, safety, and the love of Jesus.

To give any amount will be to help Ian come home.

If you can give $5 you are a part of this.

If you give $100 you are a part of this.

You don't have to be rich to save a life, you just have to step out and trust that the Father of the fatherless is also our Provider, and He is faithful.

He is not in the business of leaving us in our hour of need, and He blesses those who bless others.

Please read what Gretchen has written on her blog about their need. Please see it from her perspective- a mother desperate for her son.

I am extending the giveaway for awhile, and anyone who donates ANYTHING to Ian's fund will be entered to win a

$100 Visa Giftcard.

Go Here to Donate!

Please leave me a comment and tell me how much you donated so I can tell you all the total at the end. You can leave a comment under this post or scroll down to the previous post and leave one there.

We need people to dig deep, to step up, to challenge the devil and show him what Love is made of. What happens if we don't raise this money now? To tell the absolute truth, if we would miss our court date because we didn't have the money, Ian will very likely pass away within a year or two. He will be transferred to an institution that he cannot be adopted out of, and he will die there. He will face multiple surgeries, one major, in his country (that alone could be it for him), and our hearts will be broken forever. We would never have the chance to adopt him again (if we missed court because we could not come up with the money needed). It would be devastating.

To tell another absolute truth, we could put this almost $9,000 on a credit card and carry that debt until the adoption credit comes through next year at tax time, and we would, if the day came to travel and we had not raised this last eight thousand dollars. We will NOT let Ian be sent on the car ride, and we will not miss our court date...he is our son already in our hearts and we would go to ends of the earth for him.

We do not want to do that however, because we know for certain that Ian is facing multiple surgeries, and when that time comes, we will be faced with insurance co-pays of 10%. What does heart surgery cost these days? $100,000? That would be a $10K co-payment. Leave time from work, COBRA costs, Ian's schooling, Ari's treatment (which incidentally Autism is NOT covered by insurance), and on and on. So, we yes, we could put it on a credit card and call it done but we have prayed about this and God's answer was to us was to go to his people for this last little bit to get Ian home, so we have what we need to cover Ian's surgeries when he comes home. Imagine trying to fund raise for that.

We beg for our Christian family to step forward and help us answer God's call to care for orphans. We are bringing Ian into our home forever. He may never live on his own, but that does not matter to us - what matters is that he LIVE, and he and we need all of you and everyone you know, to stop for a moment and make hearing about Ian and a need that is being shown, the most important part of your day in the coming week.

Our final dossier is in Ian's country. We expect to travel for court within 4 weeks, and 10 days later, return to bring Ian home. We have been told by our agency to prepare for first week in July court date.

Time is fleeting, we are at this hour, "just" $8,835.00 short of what we need to, as we say in the south - Git-R-Done! (humor sustains us:)

Seems like a lot, but not for God.

He has already provided more than $23,000.00 in donations for an adoption that will come close to a $50,000 price tag.

Ian's nation being among the most expensive and longest from start to finish.

I will keep this page up for awhile to allow more people to donate! Check back as I will post the amount raised periodically- Help us raise $1000 for Ian!

Win Win

This is Gretchen and her son Ian.

Gretchen lives in Georgia. Ian lives in Russia.

He has Down Syndrome and they recently found out he will need heart surgery.
He is almost 5 and will be transferred to a mental institution if his adoption isn't completed by then.

You've heard me talk about that kind of thing before right? Once or twice?

I don't know about you, but of all the things I have ever wanted for my birthday, for the last twenty-some birthdays I've had, I have never once asked for a family. Ever.

Because I already had one.

Ian doesn't have one.

Ian needs one.

Ian doesn't need to get transferred out of the orphanage he has lived in his entire life and into what amounts to hell on earth.

Hell.

Yes, I said it on my blog.

Because imagine that you are five years old, and you are taken away from the only people you have ever known, to a place where strangers will shave your head and tie you to a crib, where you will not be fed, or changed, or washed, or played with, or touched, or talked to, or loved, or prayed with, or taken outside, or taken to the bathroom, or read to, or sung to.

Where they give you adult doses of drugs to knock you out for most of the day so they don't have to deal with you. Because if a place for kids like you even exists, if there is actually a need in your country for a building to house children with Down Syndrome that nobody wants, and everybody says are trash, then what are the odds that the people who are paid to work there will actually take care of you?

0.

Because what's the point?

85% of the kids who are transferred do not live more than a year.

But Ian has hope. Ian has a family who is fighting for him and trying so hard to get him home. He has a mommy and a daddy and a brother.

But they can't do it alone. Right now, they need $11,385.

And they need it before the first week of July, when they must appear in court to finalize the adoption.

If they don't have it, they won't be able to bring Ian home.

They've already traveled once. They've seen him and held him and played with him.

They have this mountain of money before them. But our God is a Mountain-Moving God!

So here is the point of this post:

Ian needs a family.

The Stewart family needs money to bring him home.

You can help! ( Isn't that exciting?!)

I have 72 followers, and a few more who are not "official."

So if every follower donated $13.89, Ian would have $1000 more in his account at Reece's Rainbow- the tax-deductable (if you are into that sort of thing) account that is reserved for him and only him.

But if every follower donated say, more than $13.89, that would be ok too.

And to make it a little more exciting for you, besides the fact that you could literally be a part of saving Ian's life, how about if you donate at least $10.00, then you will be entered to win a $100 Visa Gift card?

(I'm no financial expert, but that's not a bad return on your money.)

It is so easy!

1) Go here and donate.

2) Come back and leave me a comment telling me how much you donated( I want to keep track so I can tell you all the total at the end)

3) Feel good about uniting a family.

4) Be entered to win a $100 Visa Giftcard.

You don't have to donate just $13.89 either.
You could donate $10.00

You could donate $72.63

You could donate $1000.00

You could transfer your Paypal balance.

Whatever amount you donate, the Stewarts and Ian will be so thankful!

You will feel awesome knowing you helped!

Its just a lot of feelin' good all around!

I really really believe we can raise AT LEAST $1000 for the Stewarts!

I will leave this up for a week. That's 7 whole days that you can donate. But don't put it off!

Do it now!

Ready

Set

Go!

And here is a really sweet Gotcha Video from another Reece's Rainbow family-this little girl Anya was friends with Ian and was adopted! Enjoy!

A Small Request...

I thought tomorrow was June 1st. Darn.

I love the beginning of Summer.

Well, I guess it is,technically, since its after midnight as I write this.

Why am I up at midnight you ask? (You know you did...)

Because I have heaved this notebook that weighs as much as my 3 year old and contains all our adoption paperwork and multiple sets of copies onto my lap and I can't get it off.

I am praying that tomorrow we will finally, FINALLY get Jeremiah's proof of employment letter and then we'll be able to send this stuff off to USCIS and get our fingerprinting appt.

I hope I never, ever have to talk about Paperwork again. I'm sick of that word.

At least until our next adoption. hehe. hopefully...

Anyway, we need our letter to get here and our stuff sent off to USCIS, get our fingerprints done, and have everything State Certified and to our agency preferably in the next 18 days, when some of our Homestudy documents start to expire.

Thats really fast.

Probably a little too-humanly-possible-fast.

But our Great Big God can do it.

Will you pray for us this week?

thanks!

What Hope Does

Hope looks at a little girl and does not see it's reflection in her eyes.

But it keeps looking anyway because she is beautiful.

Hope says she is not a burden, not unworthy, not unloveable.

Hope says she wont amount to nothing.

Hope says she was created in the image of the Living God.

That she was knitted by His hands in her mother's womb.

Hope says God knew her before she was born.

When the world says her transfer is imminent,

Hope says its a long way to September.

When the world says it would take a lot of money,

Hope says Our God owns the cattle on a thousand hills.

And He owns the universe too.

The world says, "There are plenty of healthy kids here in America too, you know."

Hope says someone will see that beautiful, sad face and say

"THAT"S MY DAUGHTER!"

Hope says Her ransom will be raised, and she will know the love of a family, and fulfill her God-given purpose on this earth.

The world says it can't be done. Just forget about her.

Hope says, I may not be able to do it alone. But I don't go alone. He who has set a good work in my heart will finish it. My God is with me, and He is bigger than the cost, bigger than the red tape, bigger than my fears. He will not leave me.

A Perfect Lily is raising money to get Albina adopted and away from the danger of the mental institution she is headed for when she turns 5 on September 20.

She has Down Syndrome and a Septal Defect.

Through the month of May, an anonymous donor is giving her a matching grant. If she recieves $5,000, her grant will actually be $10,000. Currently, it is up to $2964.

There are some awesome prizes being given away too. But more importantly, there is a family for this girl somewhere who will be able to bring her home where she belongs.
She will be the winner.

Will you be her hope?

Reece's Rainbow

There are things that adoption brings to your attention that you just really don't want to know. Before we started this, the world was a better place. In my happy ignorance, I could just worry about my kids. 3 is easy. I could focus on dishes and dinner and occasionally read magazines about all the pretty ways to decorate my home.

My favorite YouTube videos were funny and had nothing to do with Third World Countries, Trash Dumps, or HIV.

I didn't know about the things that come up when you go through an international adoption.

I didn't know about Reece's Rainbow. I have spoken about them before. They are a wonderful organization that advocates for children with down syndrome, HIV, and other special needs in Russia and other Eastern European countries.

But more than just advocating for these children, they also raise funds to get them adopted(called grants, which attach to individual kids) and help potential families understand how to take care of their needs.

And when they don't make it to their families, they grieve.

In these countries where RR works, children who have Down Syndrome are treated like trash. Thrown away, abandoned, mistreated, abused, starved.

Children with HIV are treated just the same. Their society doesn't know what we know about HIV and AIDS. Children with HIV may go to the institution, or will age out at about 13, which means they will be put on the street. They will have no one to support them, and will not be able to get a job because of laws that mandate that employees not be HIV+. They will live, and die, on the street.

There are stories from RR Adoptive Families that would break your heart. Absolutely crush it. Stories of twins born in a hospital, but only the healthy one went home with the parents, because they didn't want the one with Down syndrome.

Stories of children who weigh only 11 pounds at 3 years old because no one saw the point in feeding a child who was called worthless by her society.

Stories of children that are drugged twice a day by their "caretakers" who can't be bothered with feeding, changing diapers, playing with, exercising or bathing them.

Stories of children who are only 5 years old being transfered to a mental institution for adults because they are not perfectly healthy, where most of them will die within 2 years because they cannot handle the abuse and neglect. Some of them have Down Syndrome, some have HIV, some are unable to walk but are perfectly healthy otherwise.

All just need a family to rescue them and love them. Feed them. Show them that they aren't worthless.

While most people who are considering adoption want to wait for a sign from God about whether or not He is calling them, whether now is the right time, whether they should save up the money first, these kids are spending their days hoping that TODAY is the day, that money will not stop someone from loving them NOW.

While we are weighing the pros and cons of adoption, how much it will cost, what it will do to our social circle, our children, our vacation opportunities, our retirement, these kids wait for someone to just help them survive.

I want to tell you, I am not a voice for God. I don't have any special insight to His will for your life, but I do have a Bible. And it tells us exactly what to do.

And I'm guessing that if you are reading this blog, you know what it says too.

I believe that God grieves for these kids. His heart breaks because He loves them more than an of us ever could. He made them with a purpose and without flaw. Only we put labels and stipulations on them. Only we make them out to be imperfect and undesirable.

There are some people who have no business adopting. I understand that.

But what if God gave us all our talents, our income, our creativity, our location, our church family,our particular job, our ability to stay at home, our resources, so that we could use them for the purpose of rescuing a child from certain death?

Isn't that more worthwhile than a new car, expensive clothes, or a cush retirement?

"Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act. Do not say to your neighbor, "Come back later, I'll give it tomorrow"-when you now have it with you."

Proverb 3"27-28

"Once our eyes are opened, we cannot pretend we do not know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls knows that we know, and holds us responsible to act."

Proverb 24:12