#WorldAdoptionDay

Today was World Adoption Day... a day of celebrating family and filled with education about the reality of orphans globally and domestically along with the inspiration and challenge to have a vision for A Family For Every Child and A World With No More Orphans .  We joined in the celebration :

"Children Of God" - Official Music Video

Orphan Sunday

Yesterday was "Orphan Sunday". A day that CAFO (Christian Alliance For Orphans) helped establish to mobilize Christians and the Church to engage the biblical call to care for and look after the orphan. Often times because of the magnitude of "needs" that those who have been orphaned face, we tend to think that adoption is orphan care. While certainly adoption is a significant way to care for and look after the orphan, I was reminded again yesterday of the vast spectrum of ways orphan care happens. I must admit that in being on this journey of adoption it has been easy to slip back into that mindset that only thinks of orphan care in connection with adoption. The reality is that we (Abbie and I) have been involved in orphan care for well over 10 years... most of which had nothing to do with adoption. We have housed kids and been a part of the ministry of the African Children's Choir as they tour the US and raise funds for their ministry. We have participated in missions trip to a variety of places such as Mexico, Bolivia, Kenya, and yes even Haiti; on which we had opportunities to love and encourage kids who had been orphaned. We sponsor two children through CGA (Christ's Gift Academy) in Kenya; and though neither of our sponsor kids are orphans, our partnership with the school and the family of Pendo & Haiba, we are a part of the lives of the hundreds of orphans impacted by the ministry there. You see, there are so many ways we can be "a part" of how God is touching the lives of orphans. There are vast and far reaching, almost endless, ways you can care for the orphan. Our encouragement to you is not that we think you should adopt (although we certainly would encourage you to prayerfully consider it and keep the option open should the Lord desire to ask you to do so), but rather that you should find what you can do and begin to do it.

All of this was brought to heart yesterday by this post on instagram ...

 

Adopt Together

November is "National Adoption Month".  It's was great to see this week the celebration here in Great Falls of the finalization of 17 local adoptions!  As the month goes on, we will be posting several videos and ther blog posts that we hope will be an encouragement to you of things that are impacting our own hearts in this adoption journey.

Several family and friends have asked about how they can financially be a part of our adoption journey with us.  We looked into several ways that would allow us to fundraise and for friends and family to give.  We felt like Adopt Together was the best way that allows your gifts to be tax-deductible, while also being used solely for our adoption journey as we continue to take steps forward and pay fees as things progress.

Here is a short video about Adopt Together.  If you feel led at any time to give, simple click on the Adopt Together button located on the right side of our blog page.  It will take you directly to our adoption profile page so you can give.

Adopt Together- How it Works from AdoptTogether on Vimeo.

A Storm Is Brewing

Hurricane Matthew is building momentum and poised to potentially hit Haiti hard!  Please be praying for Haiti, it's people, and all those that could be tragically affected by this storm.

Here is what ABC is saying about this storm :

"This still looks like a high-impact event for Jamaica and Haiti ... We expect conditions to deteriorate in Jamaica and Haiti by Sunday night, early Monday morning, with the worst impacts throughout the day on Monday and into Monday night."

PLEASE PRAY!

A Changing Season!

Well, it is June 20 … the first day of Summer and the change to a new "season.  It also marks the day of a change in season of our adoption journey!

Today we received word that our agency has placed our dossier of all our adoption paperwork in the mail to Haiti.  Last week they received back our paper work having been approved by the Haitian consulate here in the US, and now it's on its way to Haiti for legalization and submission into their adoption system.

While we certainly have had a share of hiccups along the way with the process here in the US we also know there is a high likelihood of many more such delays, issues, and setbacks along the way.  These have been good "learning" experiences to help us emotionally handle what this next season of the journey will hold.

Thanks for all your prayers and encouragement along this journey.

It's All French To Me

This week we crossed another big step in the journey.  We got word today that CCAI received back all our dossier documents, completely translated into French!  Now, they can package all those documents up and send the the Haitian Consulate here in the US for our first legalization!  Please celebrate this step with us, and pray that the Consulate would process the legalization of the documents quickly, so that they can then be officially sent to Haiti.

I guess it's time to start working on our HaitianCreole learning.

Mèsi 

(Thank You)

Why We Adopt ?!?

Today, included another quick trip to Helena.  This time to get our USCIS Approval Notice certified by the Secretary of State so that our agency can begin translating our documents next week and get them to the Haitian Consulate soon.

Earlier this week I came across this video posted by one of the adoption organizations I follow on social media! It is so good, that we just have to share it with you all.  The decision to adopt and the reasonings are different for everyone… but the picture of adoption as it correlates to the gospel is always there.  Please take 10 minutes and watch this video.

Approved!

Yes!!! Yesterday we received our approval notice letter from the USCIS! As many of you know we had been praying that we'd receive it by May 1; and the Lord blessed us with an extra week.

Now our agency will work on translating all our documents and then work with the Haitian Consulate here in the US to legalize the papers.  Hopefully all that can be completed in 3-4 weeks and then our dossier will be sent to Haiti for a second legalization by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Haiti.  Please pray this all goes well.

The Presidential elections that had been scheduled for April 24th were once again postponed.  Please continue to pray for the political situation in Haiti and that it does not affect the processing and legalizing of our documents when they arrive in Haiti.

How Time Flies … sort of

Wow, It's been over a month since our last blog post.  Really?!?!?  It's not like there has not been anything to blog about, but man does time sure fly by.  And yet at the same time, just as fast as the past six weeks have seemed to go, it also seems so incredibly slow as far at the amount of movement along our adoption journey.

Here's a quick update since the last post.

Upon receiving our paperwork on March 9 (after it's short little adventure of being lost), the USCIS informed us that they were beginning to "process" our application to adopt.  As part of the process they scheduled an appointment for us to get fingerprinted by the Homeland Security office in Helena.  Task Complete!

We were extremely blessed by some good friends who generously covered the cost for us to stay in a hotel in Helena the night before our 8am appointment, saving us the early morning trip 90 miles down I-15 with potential of a spring storm in the mix; and at the same time blessed by some other friends who took the girls over night and the next day while we got done what was needed to get our fingerprints processed for the USCIS requirements.  To those friends we cannot say THANK YOU enough.

After the excitement of accomplishing this next task on our to-do list, we have now returned to wait mode.  Originally we heard that processing our I-800A form by the USCIS would take 45-60 days.  However recently we have also heard that it is currently taking them closer to 75 days to process applications.  As you know from previous posts we are under a bit of a time crunch as we need everything completed on the US side, translated and in the hands of the adoption authorities in Haiti (IBESR) before any of our documents are 1 year old, which is coming up on August 7.  So, please join us in praying that this approval from the USCIS comes quickly.  Our prayer has been that we would hear back from them by May 1, which would be the 53 day mark.  We'll keep you posted!

Thanks again for your commitment to pray with and for us, and for the great support and encouragement you all have been.

Lost & Found

So last week as we were wondering what happened to our package with our homestudy and application that had been mailed to the US immigration office.  I remember being told by a gal with the post office not to worry, she was certain our package was not "lost", but that it would eventually show up.  Those were not exactly comforting words at the time… I've always been one to think that if nobody knows where something is, it's lost; even if eventually it will be found.

Well, the good news is that our paperwork that was mailed has been found.  On Monday I received a call from the USPS that the package had been delivered to the PO Box it had been addressed to.  They don't know why it was so "delayed", but it was delivered.  Last night we received confirmation via a text message from the USCIS that indeed they had received our paperwork and are beginning to process our application.  What once was lost now truly is found!

The Unknown!

We know that this adoption journey will be filled with lots of unknowns… we've already had a few like, "where are our fingerprint cards" and "where is Paul's Illinois background check", not to mention bigger unknowns like "will we get 1 or 2 children" and "what were the circumstances that led to their becoming orphaned".

Today we are currently facing an unexpected unknown thanks to the good ole' USPS.  Last week we put our certified homestudy report along with our I800 immigration paperwork in the mail to the USCIS (immigration department) for approval to adopt.  It was "scheduled" to be delivered last Friday.  As Friday came and went the tracking number I had continued to show nothing beyond that it had "departed Great Falls" on Wednesday night … and that is still the case; several phone calls to USPS a personal visit to the post office and a call to US immigration and still nobody knows where our paperwork is!  It could have been delivered (and just never scanned in), or it could be sitting on a truck or plane or in a post office literally somewhere between Montana and Texas (or anywhere else in this great country) … it truly is unknown at this time.

So we wait patiently and learn more about trusting God and believing He can work all things together for good.

"Never be afraid to trust and unknown future to a known God" ~ Corrie Ten Boom

the language barrier

One thing we know that will be a huge adjustment for our kids from Haiti and for us as parents is learning to communicate beyond the language barrier.  Most likely our children will not have learned English, so we are going to do our best to learn some basic Creole to help open the communication lines until they learn English.

We came across this ministry and their website with helps for learning basics of Creole and thought it would be fun to share with you all.

http://www.haitihub.com/haitian-creole-phrases/

N a we! (see you later)

This could be the week we have a complete homestudy report!

Today we got word that our social worker received the clearance report from Illinois, which was the only missing part to our homestudy!  What all this means is that if our adoption agency can review and finalize our homestudy report this week, we maybe be able to get it certified and mailed off to the USCIS by the end of the week or early next week.  We then wait for approval to adopt internationally by the US government, which could take 6-8 weeks to process.  At that point our agency can then translate all our documents into French and finally get them sent off to Haiti (of course by finally I mean 3-4 months from now).

Thanks for those who have been praying that piece of the puzzle would come in quickly.  Please continue to be praying for Haiti and the political turmoil they are facing.

Oh so close

Well, February is here and still no completed homestudy; but we are oh so close!  Our social worker informed us she has completed the homestudy report, but that they are waiting on my background check from Illinois to come through so they can include in the report a date that my background check was cleared.

While we wait for this last piece of the puzzle, we'd like for you to specifically be praying for the nation of Haiti.  The current president has stepped down effective immediately even though a new president has not yet been elected.  The two previously scheduled elections were postponed due to concerns with election fraud.  Here is a brief news story on it :  http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/07/americas/haiti-president-no-successor/index.html

This is just another reminder of how volatile things are in Haiti and the effect of "third world" problems.  Please continue to pray for our children, and all the children and people of Haiti.

Quick Trip

Today, Abbie and I made a quick trip down to Helena and back in order to meet that additional requirement of face-to-face visits with our social worker.  We again are so thankful for her and her willingness to prioritize our homestudy.  It's a little strange unpacking your life with a complete stranger; however we were both reminded just how blessed we are each to have been raised in godly homes by loving parents who provided a safe and healthy (physically, emotionally, relationally, and spiritually) environment for us to grow up in.  It truly has shaped who we are today.  We certainly do not take for granted the privilege we have been afforded in that way, that many people do not get to say is true of their upbringing.  Thanks Steve, Janice, Dave, & Judy!!!

Please pray with us that this week Twila is able to keep her schedule open on Friday to complete the first draft of our homestudy for us to review. We can then hopefully send the report off to our adoption agency sometime next week for final approval.  At that point they will be able to begin the process of legalization, translation, and finalization of our dossier so it can be sent to Haiti.

A Big Day!

We all know that every day is precious, filled with God's plans and purposes for that day; but some days just seem like bigger days that others.  Today was a Big Day!  We finally were able to have Twila in our home this afternoon for our homestudy home visit.

This felt like a big hurdle we were finally able to get over and really the thing we were waiting for to set the adoption process in motion in a far greater way.  Up until now it has basically been collecting documents, notarizing documents, certifying documents, paying fees, and doing some learning through reading and online parent training classes.  Now certainly all those things are important and a big part of the process, but the home study is like the official now you are "approved" to adopt and get your information over to Haiti.

We were both nervous and excited leading up to today's home visit, and are so thankful for the social worker that has been assigned to us (Twila).  She has a wealth of experience, fits well with our personalities, understands our faith and values, and is going to work hard for us to help do what she can in her part of the adoption journey we are on!

The next step is that over the course of the next week or so she will be taking all of the written information we provided for her as well as the insights she gleaned from her time in our home with us today and put together the home study report that will accompany our dossier to Haiti.  We will also head down to Helena on Wednesday next week for follow up individual meetings with her.  As soon as the home study report is done, CCAI (our adoption agency) will review everything for correctness and to make sure it we are not missing anything.  Then they will legalize everything with the US and translate everything in to French and get it sent off to Haiti.

Its not easy

We watched the journey of family and friends who adopted, heard their stories, knew their struggles, and had heard time and time again "there is nothing easy about adopting".  We are still very early on in this process (likely 2-3 years before we have our kids home), and are already starting to see how difficult the waiting is, how difficult the not knowing is, how difficult the "its out of our control" is.  And yet we know, without out a doubt, this is what God has asked us to do here where we are and now in our lives.

Today, I read a post from a blog of some folks serving in Haiti that Abbie's grandma had posted on Facebook.  It's really really good, and thought I'd share it here on our blog.  Beware, this will give you some great insight into Haiti, but also be a great challenge to your own life.

http://mshaiti.blogspot.com/2015/12/dirty-is-why-we-are-here.html?m=1

We are also excited to share that we have a date for our home visit!  January 20th we'll be spending the afternoon with our social worker in our home, sharing about our life and family, so she can write the home study report we need to file our official application for adoption in Haiti.  Please pray for us these next 5 or so weeks leading up to our home visit as we finish up some "parent training" and "adoption preparation" classes.

Hope you are all able to enjoy this great Christmas season, and able to remember and reflect on the reality that God took on the mess and flesh of humanity to come into this broken place and our broken lives to show us His great love for us!

Merry Christmas!

Watch the Hands and Feet Project

The Benefits of Technology

There are some things about having and using technology that are pretty incredible.  For example, I have a weather app on my phone that shows the weather, humidity, allergy information and UV intensity (as well as other things) for our area of the world. One thing I often catch myself doing throughout the day is checking out the temperatures and current conditions in Haiti at the same time.

Yesterday was incredibly rainy and chilly; a soup and homemade bread kind of day.  We wore layers of clothes, made hot meals, and snuggled up under blankets with cups of tea. Of course I was checking out the weather on my app many times throughout the day to see how much rain had fallen and what the temperature was. Here the temp was in the 40s and in Haiti? It was 89 degrees with a "real feel" of 99. Whoa!! Talk about different!

As I checked on the weather and waited in line with Paul and the girls to get our fingerprinting done for the next part of the adoption process, I was reminded of just how much of a culture shock our children will have. Weather just being a smidgen of what they will experience.

My prayers today revolve around all the extreme differences our children will face when they come home and praying that Paul and I will have wisdom to help them adjust to all the "new" they will be facing when they come home.

Isaiah 43:19

"See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.