Wednesday, April 25, 2007
A date set
We received a call last night from our case worker for the agency we will be working with in Denver on our Home Study. She has sent us about 25 forms we need to fill out but in particular needs to get to them first. So we filled that one out last night. It is amazing how personal they get, and we've been told this is only the beginning. The exciting thing is that she told us we will probably start the actual Home Study the second week of May! Everything is moving so fast. Yea!
Monday, April 23, 2007
Adoption Support
Friends and Family :
As most of you may know, this spring finds us eagerly pursuring the first steps in the process of adopting a child from Ethiopia. We have submitted our application and contract to the agency we have chosen, Christian World Adoption. We have also submitted our application to an agency here in Colorado for our home study. The home study is a series of interviews and in-home visits by a social worker employed by the adoption agency. The purpose of these visits is to determine whether or not our family is suited for an international adoption and to assist us in gathering all the necessary documents. After this is completed, we are entered into a waiting list to be placed with a child. Once we are placed, we will begin the process of traveling to Ethiopia and bringing the child home with us. The whole process takes about 6 to 18 months from start to finish.
We would like to take a moment to describe how we arrived at the decision to pursue international adoption. We were both raised in families composed partly through adoption. I. has an older step sister that was adopted and J has an older brother and sister who were adopted. Because of this, both os uf thought it a possibility that we might build a family through adoption when the time came. Because of the influence this had on us in our own families, we had both been instilled with a heart for children in need of homes. Three years ago, during our senior year of college, J took a class surveying the history, culture and current state of the continent of Africa. Through the things that she learned in this class and the discussions we had concerning the state of this part of the world, God developed within us a deep compassion for those millions of orphans in Africa displaced due to AIDS, hunger, war, and corruption. We knew that we had to be involved in helping in some way. Adoption is our first step. Though we know we can never completely replace the loss that these children have experienced, we do hope to give at least one a brighter future. We hope this is the beginning of a deeper involvement ministering to the people of this part of the world.
As we feel led to pursue this course in our lives and with our family, we want to ask for your support. This process is costly, both financially and emotionally, yet we are confident that God has called us to this and we believe that He will provide both the funds and the strngth to complete it. We would like to ask you first for your prayers and encouragement as we move forward, as this journey is sure to be an uncertain one. We ask that you would not only support us through your own prayer, but ask others to pray for us as well. In addition, we are also asking for financial support as a way to build the funds we need to carry out this plan. If you choose to support us in this way, donations can be made by check directly to the adoption agency in our name. These donations are tax deductible. Please only give financially, or otherwise, as you feel led.
Thank you for your time. We hope to keep you updated with progress as it happens.
Financial gifts can be mailed directly to Christian World Adoption; Attn: Accounting Department; 777 South Allen Road; Flat Rock, NC 28731. Please include a note specifying our names and address as the recipients.
As most of you may know, this spring finds us eagerly pursuring the first steps in the process of adopting a child from Ethiopia. We have submitted our application and contract to the agency we have chosen, Christian World Adoption. We have also submitted our application to an agency here in Colorado for our home study. The home study is a series of interviews and in-home visits by a social worker employed by the adoption agency. The purpose of these visits is to determine whether or not our family is suited for an international adoption and to assist us in gathering all the necessary documents. After this is completed, we are entered into a waiting list to be placed with a child. Once we are placed, we will begin the process of traveling to Ethiopia and bringing the child home with us. The whole process takes about 6 to 18 months from start to finish.
We would like to take a moment to describe how we arrived at the decision to pursue international adoption. We were both raised in families composed partly through adoption. I. has an older step sister that was adopted and J has an older brother and sister who were adopted. Because of this, both os uf thought it a possibility that we might build a family through adoption when the time came. Because of the influence this had on us in our own families, we had both been instilled with a heart for children in need of homes. Three years ago, during our senior year of college, J took a class surveying the history, culture and current state of the continent of Africa. Through the things that she learned in this class and the discussions we had concerning the state of this part of the world, God developed within us a deep compassion for those millions of orphans in Africa displaced due to AIDS, hunger, war, and corruption. We knew that we had to be involved in helping in some way. Adoption is our first step. Though we know we can never completely replace the loss that these children have experienced, we do hope to give at least one a brighter future. We hope this is the beginning of a deeper involvement ministering to the people of this part of the world.
As we feel led to pursue this course in our lives and with our family, we want to ask for your support. This process is costly, both financially and emotionally, yet we are confident that God has called us to this and we believe that He will provide both the funds and the strngth to complete it. We would like to ask you first for your prayers and encouragement as we move forward, as this journey is sure to be an uncertain one. We ask that you would not only support us through your own prayer, but ask others to pray for us as well. In addition, we are also asking for financial support as a way to build the funds we need to carry out this plan. If you choose to support us in this way, donations can be made by check directly to the adoption agency in our name. These donations are tax deductible. Please only give financially, or otherwise, as you feel led.
Thank you for your time. We hope to keep you updated with progress as it happens.
Financial gifts can be mailed directly to Christian World Adoption; Attn: Accounting Department; 777 South Allen Road; Flat Rock, NC 28731. Please include a note specifying our names and address as the recipients.
Monday, April 16, 2007
It begins!
God is so faithful. Doing this adoption is such a huge exercise in faith. I mean for a young couple just starting out to find all the money for this, is impossible...without God. We knew from the beginning that it was going to take a lot of faith in God to get through this and only through Him would it be possible, but we knew it was what he was calling us to do. So...I knew the money would come but I never thought He would demonstrate His faithfulness so quickly. Last week we received an enormously generous check from some family friends towards our adoption. Enough to sign the contract with the agency and get this thing moving! It is so amazing. So today we send in all the necessary paperwork. We are now able to apply to begin our home study and start working on getting all our international paperwork together. We thought this wouldn't happen for a couple of months. Thank you all for your prayers. We will keep you updated with each exciting step!
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Orientation
We had our orientation call with the adoption counselor last Wednesday night. It all feels so much more real now. She asked why we decided to adopt and why Africa. Then she told us about what the agency will be helping us with and what we need to do next. She explained that she thinks it will take 9-12 months to complete the process. Everyone tells us something different so...we don't know what to expect. There is only one judge in Ehtiopia for these cases and the judge works with 56 other agencies as well. He also takes the month of August off so, as you can imagine, things might take a while there. She then gave us advice about bringing the baby home. So just a heads up, she really suggests that no one else hold the baby for the first two weeks. It can be a very confusing and scary time for the little one and we will need to be respectful of that. That will probably crush many people but it is what's best. So, that's about it on the phone call. We'd appreciate all of your prayers as we wait for the first batch of fees to come together. We've already received more than we expected - God is gracious. More news as it comes...
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