It
has been 2 full weeks since we announced that we are now officially “expecting”
another daughter (via the news of our referral for our adoption). We want to first take a moment to give God
the glory for the amazing outpouring of love and support we have received. He
has truly been moving hearts in ways we never would have imagined and we have
heard story after story about how our journey has inspired, brought hope, and
given the opportunity for so many of you to step out in faith. Thank you for
sharing those stories with us…they help us to remember that God is doing SO
many amazing things through our adoption journey, not only in what we are
experiencing first hand, but also in how He is impacting the lives of so many
others too.
It
is amazing.
As
of today, we have received over $12,600 in donations to help us bring ‘Hope’
home. Friends, that is over half way to being fully funded. In just 14 days.
14 days, 70 donations, over $12,000.
God
is moving.
It
is amazing.
YOU are part of this miracle.
Thank
you.
So..since
we are now “expecting” and so many of you have joined us in this journey, we
wanted to take a moment to answer some of your questions we have received over
the last two weeks as well.
What does “official
referral” mean?
Well,
for starters, if you didn’t think God could truly do ANYTHING, think again!
This is proof. It’s a miracle. It means that ‘Hope’ has been officially matched
with our family for the purpose of adoption. It means that she will not go to a
different family or spend any nights in the orphanage without a family waiting
for her…officially. She has a family, and it is US!
What’s next?
Paper,
paper, paper.
Wait,
wait, wait.
Pray,
pray, pray.
Our
next step is to submit our case to the “PAIR” process, which is new since we
began this journey almost three years ago. Our agency will submit our home
study along with all of ‘Hope’s’ documents to US Immigration to review it all
and hopefully approve our case. Once it is approved there, it will go to the US
Embassy in Ethiopia where they will have to review and approve it as well. Once
this is completed, we will receive a letter that is then sent to our agency and
we can be submitted to court. This PAIR
process has been known to take 2-5 months depending on how quickly it is
approved or if any other documents are needed once they review it. PLEASE PRAY OURS IS APPROVED PROMPTLY
WITHOUT ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTS REQUESTED!!! (We have still not been submitted
to PAIR as there is one document in limbo…we should be submitted next week.)
When will she come home?
Once
we pass the PAIR process, we will receive our court date (could take 2 or so months to get) where Tom will travel
to Ethiopia and we will officially become ‘Hope’s’ parents. After court there
will be more paperwork to process in order to get her the documents necessary
to come home (new birth certificate, passport, medical/physical exam etc). Then
there will be a final appointment with
the US Embassy (2-4 weeks after the court date) to approve her US Visa, and
she will come home as our daughter!!
Is there anything that
could slow the process?
YES!
The
tricky part is that the courts close for the summer months due to the rainy
season, so if we do not pass the PAIR process and get a court date before they
close in June, that pushes things back 2 to 3 more months. So, we are asking
for fervent prayers over the timeline and approvals so that she doesn’t have to
wait longer than necessary. And as I said, approvals of all these steps are
key….without approvals of each of these steps, we can’t move forward.
When do you “expect” her to
be home?
Time
and time again, we have learned that we cannot put a timeline on this adoption.
In one of my first journal entries I was looking back on, I wrote that I
thought she would be home in 4 months. I laugh at myself now for thinking that,
as we have learned that we cannot put a timeline on this adoption as things can
change at a moments notice. BUT, we feel right now that the “best case” is that
she would be home in the next 6-8 months.
Is there anything I can do
to help?
PRAY: Prayer has brought us this
far and will get her home in the end!! Please specifically pray that approvals
are met in a timely manner and that there are no more delays. Pray for her
heart as she transitions to new environments. Pray that God will continue to
provide for us as we move forward in faith. And ultimately, pray that His
perfect will be done.
SHARE: Share our story with your
friends and family…you never know who needs encouragement and this is a PERFECT
example of God’s faithfulness…both in the good parts and in the hard parts of
this journey. He remains the same and has NEVER left us, will NEVER leave us,
and LOVES us (and ‘Hope’ & YOU) more than we can ever imagine!
CONSIDER DONATING: Unfortunately when
adopting internationally there are significant financial requirements. Because
of so many generous donations received over the last 2 weeks, we have been able
to pay a significant portion of our agency fees. However, there will be more
fees as well as we move forward and eventually travel (twice) to Ethiopia. In
our previous blog Relentless Love
Returns (click here to read it) there is a breakdown of all the fees we
will need to complete the adoption. If you would like to make an online
donation, you can donate in the right column of this blog via Paypal or
GoFundMe (you must view the full website to see these options if you are on a
mobile device). We have also been receiving donations in the mail. If you would
like to donate that way to assure we get 100% of your donation, please contact
us and we will give you the information needed.
We
also still have some Relentless Love t-shirts, hand made beaded necklaces from
the village where we first met ‘Hope’, and Ethiopian coffee for sale. Please
let us know via comments on the blog or facebook message if you are interested
in purchasing something.
Thank
you for joining us in our journey to bring our daughter home.
"What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8:31
No comments:
Post a Comment