Why fundraise...

Recently a couple of people have likened the cost of international adoptions to child trafficking.  At first I was able to just brush it off, but the more I thought about it the more it bothered me.  I'm going to do my best to explain the costs and why it is NOTHING close to child trafficking.  Quite frankly, the costs are high to avoid such a tragedy!  It is also important to note that a large percentage of the money spent stays right here in the United States.  We are absolutely not just handing another country $25,000 in exchange for one for their orphans!

Social Worker Application Fee $500

Passport Renewals $220

Home Study Fee $3500 (this is VERY high compared to the national average.  There is no competition in this area.  We had only one choice in Grand Forks!)

Reece's Rainbow Voice of Hope Fund $250 

Reece's Rainbow Application Fee $25 

USCIS Fees $890

Marriage Certificates $35 

State Police Clearance $30  

Various Postage $200

Apostille Fees $450 (When we started I had no idea what this meant.  Basically, almost everything needs to be notarized.  Then, before we send it off to the country we have to send it to the office of the Secretary of State of ND to be verified.  In ND, they charge us $10 a document to be authenticated.)

Travel to Europe $2500 (2 adults rt is about $1250 per persn)

Adoption Fees $9000 

Donation to Orphanage (required) $0 (included in your facilitation fees)

Travel in Country $500

child's Medical Appt for Visa $110

child's Visa Application $230

child's Passport and Expedition Fees $600 

Living in Europe for 5 weeks $3500

Travel to America $800

Travel Items $250 

Emergency Fund $1000 

Estimate for 1 child $24,590

As you can see, adoptions are really expensive!  So does that mean only the wealthy are called to adopt?  We don’t think so! We do know that God has called us to adopt!  We cling to the truth of this verse:

"Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress..." James 1:27 NLT

We don’t think that everyone has been called to adopt, but we do believe that God’s word is clear about caring for orphans (and widows).  We’re fundraising to give others an opportunity to give as they feel led, according to their conviction and experience the blessing that comes with caring for one of His own.  Also, we simply could not afford the expense of adoption.  We are convicted that God called us to step out in faith, knowing full well that our finances could not sustain such a high cost.  If you feel led to give, we would be ever grateful, but if you don’t, that’s ok too.  We know not everyone will be called to give financially.  We need prayers, encouragement, love, and occasional help with our other kiddos!  No matter what your decision, that is between you and God, just as our decision to make a step of faith was and is. If you do feel led to give to our adoption, on the left hand column of this blog are three different ways to give. Feel free to ask if you have any questions about what they all exactly are and how they benefit us!  Thank you to everyone who has already supported us in so many amazing ways!

Stacy

Prayer Requests:

-Continue to pray our home study will be completed FAST.

-Pray for financial blessings

-Pray for Treva's health while she waits to come home.

PRAISE!! Last time I asked you to pray for the mountain of paperwork we wanted to complete in a single day.  It was a late night, but we did it!!  

A baby update...

We received a very rare update on Treva today.  We knew from the start that she was small and petite, but from the picture we were not exactly sure just how small.  We received word today that she (at close to 14months) is the size of a newborn.  It is guessed that her weight is less then 10 lbs! It's making this all seem that much more urgent to get her home as fast as humanly possible! We don't know if she is small from neglect or due to medical issues or both.  We likely won't find out those answers until we arrive in country and visit her.  Please be praying that she will stay healthy until we can bring her home!

Early this week I "met" another adoptive mom on Facebook.  She shared a few pictures of her son.  With permission, I am passing this on to you!

When her son was brought to the orphanage

When they finally had their son 2 1/2 years later

Six months being home and loved!

Please stop by her blog and read all the amazing stories from their journey and pass on some love and encouragement to her!

Our sense of urgency is real and needed.  These children need out as fast as possible.  I want more than anything to jump on a plane tomorrow and go get her.  I know that's just not possible.  I will continue to do the next right thing and work as fast as possible on my end.  I will trust that the Lord will do the same for all other parties involved! Today, as I sit here worrying about my little girl, I am so thankful I have a BIG God who knows all the details! It's Him my heart is resting upon!

Prayer Requests:
-Please pray for Treva's health and growth
-Pray we can miraculously complete all the home study documents tonight to get that rolling!
-Pray we can receive the quickest approval ever seen! :)
-Pray people will be lead to donate financially as this is happening quickly! (I will blog more about costs soon so you have an idea what it goes for!)

The Process...

Our sweet angel we are working so hard to hold!

We have been truly amazed at the support we are receiving from those around us! We need you all to keep rallying around us! This is going to be a long and chaotic process.  But, take a look at that sweet face - it will be worth EVERY SECOND!!

Many of you have asked what the process is like so I am going to do my best to explain.  Now, keep in mind this is still new to me and there are a lot of unknowns for us.  So, please forgive me if I misspeak about a process! We are definitely learning as we go!

After finding our angel, our first step was to officially commit to her.  We had a series of forms we needed to fill out and submit quickly.  During this process we needed to keep our plans relatively quiet.  The country we are adopting from is unique among most countries.  Most countries allow adoptive parents to place a "hold" on a child they are intending to adopt.  Meaning, they will no longer be available for other families to adopt.  Our country does NOT allow this.  What happens is a letter of intent is sent notifying them that they've identified an adoptive family, but this by no means is a 100% guarantee.  Now, it is very, very unlikely that another family would be identified and get their paperwork finalized faster than we can, but it could happen.  She could also, at any time, enter their local foster care system or be adopted by someone locally.  Again, these scenarios are very unlikely, but they're still there.  So, to put it mildly, adopting from this country is a HUGE leap of faith.  One we have complete confidence in making! 

Now, if absolute worst case scenario were to occur and we lost our babe, we would still proceed with an adoption from this country.  We would complete what is called a blind referral.  Basically, when we arrive in country they would present us with 3 kids who we would qualify to adopt and we can choose from those.  Now, the chance of this actually happening are so slim, but we wanted to be upfront with everyone. If you have already donated to our adoption or are considering it, please know that any money you give WILL be applied to the adoption! If we tragically are unable to adopt Treva it would transfer to a new child.  But, like I said, the chances are very slim this will happen.  We are certainly not dwelling on the "what ifs" but daily thinking about what we know is truth at this moment! I've been clinging to this passage:

   Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true...think about such things. (Philippians 4:6-8 NIV)

Now, our next step is to complete our home study by a local agency.  I just spoke with the social worker today and we should have the paperwork in hand by tomorrow afternoon!  I am so afraid of this process.  I just feel like they are coming into my home to judge me as a wife and a mother.  I'm not sure why I'm so scared.  I've done foster care home studies twice and it wasn't a big deal, but I am so anxious this time.  I basically feel like if they don't like me or how I mother they can put a complete stop to our adoption.  I've talked to the social worker about my fears and she has been so understanding, but boy will I be glad when this process is over and all has been approved!

We are also applying for our passports to get those on the way to us.  After that, your guess is about as good as mine as to what we will need to do.  I'm so thankful we have amazing support from our Reece's Rainbow facilitation team and they will walk us through each and every step from here on out!

Once everything is submitted and approved we will get a travel date from the country.  We may have a week's notice to plan or a month's.  There is no way of knowing.  Dave and I will then travel to country for about 2 1/2 weeks.  I'm not exactly sure what will happen at that time.  I do know we will get to spend time with our baby.  We will then come back to the US for about 10-14 days.  I will then head back to the country for another 1-2 weeks to finalize the adoption and bring our sweet girl home! Dave really, really wants to come the second leg of the journey too, but we felt it was more important for him to be home with our other 4 kids and he will need to get back to work.  I'm hoping my mom will be able to join me on the second trip so I won't have to be completely alone!  While both Dave and I are gone we will be relying so heavily on our family to take care of our other kiddos.  It is going to be tough on all of them, but I am so thankfully to have such a supportive and encouraging family to help us out!

Please, if you have any questions or what clarification on the process don't hesitate to ask! We want to be an open book through this journey and will do our best to answer questions! Thanks again for all your early support and encouragement.  Keep rallying with us!

Prayer Requests:

-Pray our home study can be completed in record time.  They typically take 6-8 weeks and even up to 12 weeks.  We are praying for 4 weeks until completion!

-Pray that my heart will settle about the home study process

-Pray for fundraising ideas and opportunities to present themself.

Stacy