Faith

The Bible teaches us the definition of faith in Hebrews 11:1- Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Not to qualify the language of that verse, but I like to include in my mind the thought that I ought to be actively taking steps in my life that are congruent with my sure and certain faith. In other words I like to recall to my mind James' counsel on the subject:

As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

~James 2:26

James' point was highlighted for me recently in an unexpected way.

My mom and I were in a cafe enjoying each other's company when she asked for a full update on all things concerning her eldest child. As I recounted for her all of the great need Dustin and I had, and all of the many trials we were facing my heart grew heavy. Her first response was, "Wow, that's alot!" She immediately followed up with, " I can't wait to see how God works through all of this!"

In that moment my conscience was pierced. Somehow, since those first weeks of stepping out in faith in pursuit of A*'s adoption I had allowed myself to feel sorry for our circumstances. And in my feeling sorry for myself I had allowed my faith to slip off track. It wasn't just that I didn't verbalized things in the same way my mom had, it was something deeper. I was no longer moving forward expectantly, actively looking for God's glory in the situation.

I wondered how my thoughts and emotions could translate into faithful deeds during this time of testing? For if they couldn't would my faith be genuine at all? I wondered even further: How could I go from telling anyone who would listen that Dustin and I were full of confidence in God's future grace for our family and His sustaining provision to wrestling hard with feelings of discouragement?

Talking the talk and walking the walk.... well, you know which is easier.

In that very moment I came to believe God was demanding some deeds out of my professed faith. I became very aware that there is a very fine line between lamenting and grumbling for me and I didn't want to cross it. I knew the Holy Spirit was pointing me toward being very careful about how I chose my words as I relay our current struggles in the future. Why? Because Matthew 12:34b says- Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.

My mother's inadvertent statement of faith that God would work through all of our difficulties stood in cheerful contrast to the dim emotions I had been feeling deep inside and was convinced was bubbling up through my speech.

Since that lunch date with my mom I've worked hard to express my faith through deeds by tempering my thoughts and speech with thankfulness for blessed opportunities to walk this faith walk.

I'm not here to say that expressing anything other than a chipper expectancy that God will work all things together for a person's good is what is required of anyone facing trials. I'm simply saying that, for me, my faith expressing itself through deeds happens to require that I make constant deliberate decisions about how I will frame my circumstances in thought and verbalization. For, how can I say I'm confident in God's future grace out one side of my mouth and then say woe is me out the other side? Either God cares deeply about me or He doesn't.

I'm happy to tell you today that I am grateful for God's redirection of my attitude. He has shifted my focus off of our circumstances at present and on to Him. His gift to me in all of this is Himself and the comfort I find in knowing Him. I love that God is able to shepherd me even when my emotions wander off on a tangent. His faithfulness is so comforting!

Through these trials, while all the strings are still left dangling, and the questions are yet unanswered, God is refining mine and Dustin's faith and developing our perseverance. That's a good thing. And so, I'm still working hard to:

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. ~James 1:2-4

*In an unrelated note I wanted to tell you that christianaudio.com is offering free downloads this entire month of John Piper's Desiring God audiobook. The coupon code is DG2009. (just enter the code at checkout)

I've just begun the book but can tell you that I already love it. There is a lot to process and pray through.

Social Workers Scary?

Often when people talk with me about our adoption they want to know what it is like to have to open your home to a social worker. I can relate. Before Dustin and I took the plunge our main source of apprehension came from the idea of having our lives scrutinized under a microscope.

Dustin and I are not perfect people. We both have "histories". We were terrified we'd be judged harshly by a social worker. We didn't feel warm fuzzies at the idea of being graded on our acceptability as parents. Social workers seemed to us to be some kind of checklist loving nitpicks.

Turns out we had it all wrong. A social worker's job isn't to judge perspective adoptive parents. While they are there to determine your accceptability as parents it isn't what you might think. A social worker wants to support families and encourage their success. They want to help determine what needs parents will be best able to meet for a child/ren. They want to equip parents and to be a resource for them. They are not the enemy.

Most refreshing of all, our experience with social workers has been that they are surprisingly realistic. Turns out they don't walk through your home doing white glove tests to ensure your housekeeping is immaculate. Nor do social workers care if your home decor is modern or country in style. The don't mind sitting on a couch that a child has drawn on with crayon. (Trust me) It seems they only want to know your home is filled with love and is safe to place a child in.

So, if you've been tossing around the idea of adoption and apprehension about the home study process has been a hang-up for you I want to encourage you to contact me. You can pick my brain about the process, types of questions asked, anything. Truly. My email is in my profile info. Feel free to write any time.

In similar news I finished my last visit with our family's super awesome social worker today. We are one step closer to bringing A* home! Yipee! We also have our 12 month post placement visit with her scheduled for the beginning of December.

A friend cracked me up today mentioning how insane we are to be doing another adoption while we are finishing up paperwork from the first one. I totally agree! Whose idea was this anyway?

Zip, Zing, DONE.

We went to our appointment today at USCIS to have our biometrics recorded for A*'s visa. Unbelievably, we made it in immediately and were completely finished within a half hour. Amazing! So, that's it. Done.

Next Tuesday is my last HS visit with our SW. Just waiting on that HS to be approved by the state court and our dossier will be finished :-)

It's a (dee-dah-doh) Date!

I've got the final visit with our SW on the books for Tues the 27th.

I'm not sure how long it will take her to type up our HS but I assume it's going to be relatively quick because 1) she's professional and prompt in all our dealings 2) she has the existing framework of our previous Home Study to work from. All she will need to do is update a few ages and add the changes in request to include A*'s special needs. I don't think it will take her more than 2 weeks to finish and submit to the courts.

As I mentioned before it seems the courts in our state are still returning HS approvals in about a month. If that's the case for us the timeline is proving true. Our dossier should make it to ET by Christmas. Which puts us on track for a court date in the new year and travel sometime early-mid spring.

On the home front the kids are all doing great. We're healthy once more. Finally! The girls are loving school and doing quite well. They've made lots of friends there too.

Yesterday Jonas strung his first two words together and said "it dropped." I was really excited. Of course the "it" was a huge glass of water which splashed all over the floor. Never mind the details, though.

Ever since Jo came home he's enjoyed a particular fondness for the consonant D. Jonas repeats his beloved consonant with various vowel combinations often throughout the day. De, Da, Doh, Duh, Doo, Day is his banter when he's really communicating something important to me. You should see his face. He's so serious about it. He does his Ethiopian head nod and cracks me up! Jonas loves the letter D so much that I'm thinkin' I need to get him a spot on Sesame Street when D is the letter of the day.

Because of his D obsession, dah-dee (daddy) was Jonas' first and favorite word. After learning how to say mah-mee he's now reverted to calling me daddy again. HAHAHA Now Dah-dee is back with a vengeance and, let me tell you, it's kind of embarrassing when, in public place, your son walks around pointing to people all over asking "Dah-dee?" A black man looked at me like "This poor child doesn't know who his daddy is." Then, he saw white momma and really wondered what the heck was going on! hahaha

On Eating Elephants

Our rummage sale yielded $1000.00. I think that's pretty awesome for two days.

We have a few larger furniture pieces left over which I will be listing on Craigslist. Also we have a few specialty items which we realized would fetch more money if we sold them on ebay. I think after those things are sold we'll have close to $1500.00.

Because we are adopting with AWAA a second time they offer a 10% discount on all their fees. We've paid in two months, thus far (including the 10% discount given) : $4,862.25

Our next installment will be a biggie. I calculate that we will owe $11,600.00 in about two months.

We'll gladly accept any and all prayers on our behalf related to the provision we require!

The saying comes to mind: How do you eat an elephant?

One bite at a time.

Garage Sale

We held a garage sale this weekend to help earn some money to apply towards our adoption expenses for A*.

Some friends might remember we did a big fundraising garage sale with 2 other families who were adopting from Ethiopia a little over a year ago. The multi family garage sale we had that year was epic. I mean it. So many generous friends and family gave donations that our ENTIRE carport, back patio, storage room, and several bedrooms in our home will filled to capacity last time. We had so much stuff I was panicking that we wouldn't sell it all. I had no clue what we would do if we didn't.

Start a resale shop, maybe?

Thankfully most everything did sell (and what didn't went to a friend to raise money for medical bills for her mom) We 3 families split $5000.00 for our efforts and were elated!

While our sale this year is a bit smaller it's definitely more manageable for just our family. Though, our same wonderful friends who worked with us last time are back at it again, lending a helping hand. We have some of the best friends!

We are so thankful for your help, Kim, Brooke, Julie and Mark!!!

Have you ever noticed that there's a certain culture to garage salers? They are a breed all their own. The people watching never disappoints at these events.

This year we had many return customers. Some of the more colorful shoppers showed up in full force much to my amusement!

One particular woman who came back again was a woman my dear friend Julie had to get firm with last year when she caught the woman greedily rolling and compressing clothes into a 5$ fill-a-bag we offered. She piled the clothes so high over the top of her sack that Julie just couldn't let her get away without charging her for half a bag while pointing to the sign which said "Adoption Garage Sale Fundraiser." (I realize it isn't reading as humorous as it truly was because you just had to be there to see it. But, trust me, it was a hand-over-my-mouth in disbelief, don't-burst-uncontrollably-into-laughter kind of moment.)

Our over-stuffing friend was back this year dismayed to find we learned from last year and marked items individually. hahaha Of course she still complained that we were selling near new children's jumpers and jeans for fifty cents.(No stains people! Not faded one bit.... worn maybe twice)

The outrage!? How could we?

I guess we're greedy to get our son home like that ;-)

Another woman I'll refer to as Ms Indecisive came back again this year too. She's the one who asked all about items and haggled us down to a really good price only to leave. Then, she'd come back and buy one item at a time. She did this several times at varying intervals from 10 minutes to an hour. Sometimes she even came back to buy some random thing she didn't even act interested in the first time around. One time she parked pretty quickly, jumped out and went looking for some other item that had already sold, much to her dismay.

Seriously, she cracked me up! I guess she's been burned by buyers remorse once to many times and likes to stew on things for a bit. Maybe she has a commitment phobia. Whatever the case she's a hoot.

Then there are the people who steal. We've had them every time. I can't say I understand adults who behave this way. My feelings about people who steal are that if they need it that bad; God bless them. But it should be noted they just stole from my baby boy and I know God's not going to be very pleased with that.

I especially enjoy the garage salers who just love to get out on a cool morning and do some chatting with neighbours and maybe shop a little.

I love to hear people's stories. The older people are my favorite. They talked to me about how when they were a child and how they had a thing-a-ma-bobber just like this and they used it for this or that. Or, they'll just shoot the breeze while explaining to us about some mysterious contraption we're selling and don't know what it is. I enjoy watching them use their years of expertise in the art of being thrifty (for many, like my grandmother, had to learn this art the hard way during the great depression)

Garage sales are sentimental in a way because I enjoy seeing objects our family enjoyed and used going to a good new home. I so appreciate items that were lovingly donated to our cause being purchased by folks who will have their needs met for a good price.

I *may* have let a few items go for less than they were worth (I'm a horrible haggler that way) but there's something in me that's wired to be a giver, I guess. It's so hard for me to charge people for items that we're graciously given to me. I understand I might need some better boundaries but I'd also rather be a softy on that matter than run the risk of being too stingy.

In the end we made $800 for today. Not bad at all!

Tomorrow we wake up the crack of dawn, brew some coffee and do it all again.

Ah, yes, a good garage sale is so satisfying. Especially since the proceeds bring us one step closer to bringing A* home.

Biometrics Appointment Version 2.0

Dustin and I received our biometrics appointment dates in the mail. We'll be going October 23rd.

The saga continues.

I case you've forgotten the joys of our dealings with USCIS I've come up with a convenient numbering system to help track our various experiences with the fine folks there. May I remind you of appointments 1.0 (which was so devastating I posted about it twice), 1.1, and 1.2.

We would endure any number of visits, though, because we've got a precious boy waiting on us. He is oh SOOO worth it!

Immunizations and Immigration for Adopted Children

Okay, so by now I think we all know about how our kiddos adopted from Ethiopia are considered immigrants until readoption in the US.

I wanted to write today about the vaccination requirements for immigrants. To see a list go to: http://www.immihelp.com/greencard/vaccination-requirements.html

In the case of HIV+ children the issue becomes whether or not is is medically profitable for the child to receive these vaccinations. Because of a diminished ability to fight off infection it is often advantageous to stagger immunizations for these children. In the Visa process parents of children 10 years or younger can apply for a waiver HERE. They must attest that they will vaccinate the child within 30 days or "at the earliest time it is medically appropriate." This will allow them to delay their child's vaccinations until they become medically beneficial for their child.

Adopted children who are 11 or older are subject to the immigrant vaccination requirement. This was another cited reason for the FACE Act as proposed by EACH which would make our internationally adopted children citizens while they were still in their birth country so that they would not be subject to immigration requirements. (I've already written about the immigration concerns related to TB in children.)

The issue of the vaccination requirements for immigrants is a heated debate right now as problems surface with regard to blanket requirements. I completely understand the need and benefit of vaccinations. I also see how the CDC might want to consider adjusting their regulations based on age.

To read up on how these requirements play out in real life for child immigrants I offer for your consideration a story about how Gardasil was added to the list of recommended vaccines, and became an immigration requirement. It seems like even the advisory council that recommended Gardasil to be added didn't mean for it to be an immigration requirement.

Now that is is a requirement you can see how a girl's ability to gain citizenship was affected when she refused to receive the Gardisil injection. There are two articles about her case. Here and Here

Amazing!

The Lord is so good. I found out this afternoon that Surafel received the money he needed for his trip and that the funds we were going to give are no longer needed. That means we can keep the proceeds from the fundraiser and apply them toward our adoption expenses.

Yahoo for God's provision on both counts!

Important Update

Have I mentioned this family has been sick almost constantly since the girls began school? (Warning: I'm about to complain a bit.) The third day of school they came home with Strep. Then they got ear infections, then the flu. Dustin and I also got the flu. I had a bonus fever/flu event last weekend. This week I have a constant tickle in the back of my throat and am coughing. We just can't seem to get healthy these days. It's difficult since our family doesn't usually fall ill easily.

My heart has been aching for A* so much during this time. Every time we get a new sickness I think of him being constantly exposed to germs. I pray continually for his health and for the strength of his immune system. I know there have been outbreaks of chickenpox and the ever present, ever deadly pneumonia among the kids in the Transition Home (TH) where A* lives. Please keep A* and all the children in your prayers!

We recently received news that our dear friend Pastor Surafel fell short on money needed for his upcoming trip to Ethiopia. I don't think I have ever posted here about the work Surafel plans to do this October in Ethiopia. He is organizing a trip, a crusade as he calls it, to speak with some 700 pastors about their role and responsibility to care for people suffering with HIV/AIDS. He wants to educate them about the disease and admonish them to reject stigmatizing those in their community living with it. HIV/AIDS sufferers in Ethiopia face living life as outcasts and Surafel's heart is to see the church in Ethiopia step up to take care of God's beloved people. He also plans to travel around the country providing food for people and sharing the Gospel.

Of course, Dustin and I support what Surafel is doing! His work or very dear to our hearts. When we heard that Surafel was $5,000 - $6,000.00 short of the amount he needed for his trip we knew we had to act. We had already planned to hold our fundraising garage sale the weekend of Oct 9 & 10th which would be too late to give them money to Surafel so friends graciously agreed to pitch in the money and let us pay them back with the proceeds from the garage sale.

Some have asked us why we're willing to give up the money from the sale. Dustin's answer is my answer too. "We know that the Lord will bring home A*- it's going to happen! Surafel has a need and it's more immediate than ours. God will provide.... And, think of all the lives that will be touched by the work he is doing!"

That's just it! So many people stand a chance to learn about HIV/AIDS and many people living with the disease stand the chance of seeing a real change in the hearts of Christians around them. I want Surafel's dream to become a reality!

So, while we still don't know how we are going to come up with all the money we need we know we made the right decision. For those of you who donated to our garage sale fundraiser we pray you'll agree with us and see the same value in what Surafel's trip can accomplish as we do. What you gave you gave to the Lord and we know you want to see it used to honor him. We think this is the best way to do it. We thank you again for your generosity toward our family.

Readoption Day

Here's the photo of our big day in court. Jonas is officially a US citizen.

A Rose By Any Other Name

Today is all about names. Oh how we've grappled with them since coming home last Christmas. Tomorrow is our scheduled re adoption court hearing, during which Jonas will receive his new name.

Again.

I wonder, as my son grows, how will he come to terms with the complexity of his owning many names? Reflective of so much of my young Jonas' life the changes of his name speak to all that he has gained and lost. While his names will never be able to completely define his person they do tell at least a part of his story.

For me, it's just one more instance of how adoption is never simple. Not for any of us involved.

Jonas was given the name Yonas A* Geremew by his birth mother. (I'm leaving out parts of his name on purpose) We treasure his given name because of it's significance and history. Each name was lovingly chosen for him by his first mother and has deep meaning. It is unique that he was given 3 names at birth. To this point I have not known any other Ethiopian with what we would consider a middle name.

In Ethiopia the custom is to name a child and for their second name - what we would call a last name- the father's first name is granted. So, for example, the son of a man named Fikadu might be Yonathan Fikadu. There are no real surnames in Ethiopia.

After the Ethiopian courts granted us custody of our prince they dropped all but his first name, Yonas. As is custom officials gave our son his father's first name. Then they tagged on our last name (I guess this was their effort to Americanize the name) We knew from the beginning that Yonas Dustin wasn't going to stay Jonas' legal name.

We were burdened to make the right decision in renaming Jonas. We wanted to honor his first mother and bestow upon him a place in this family as well. Because Jonas is the English translation of Yonas it's obvious how we came to that conclusion for his legal name though we often call him Yonas or his Ethiopian nickname, "Yoni".

A* will remain the same because it is the male version of his first mother's name, thus we value it deeply.

All the members of this family have middle names which begin with "L", so we determined that Jonas would have to have an "L" middle name too. Liben is an Amharic name meaning "Ethiopian King" which, of course, he is!

We made the tough decision to drop Geremew from his legal name and add Liben instead.
Honestly, I'm not entirely sure what is the "right" thing to do.

There is so much to consider when renaming. We wondered if we should we leave his first name intact. Could altering it to the English pronunciation be something he would grow to appreciate? We also worried that not having an "L" middle name might make him feel left out in some way. I think he will both mourn trading yet another piece of the history his first mother granted him by naming him Geremew and appreciate the common bond of our "L"-ness. I did imagine Jonas growing up with 5 names and wishing we had edited a little so he could be like every other kid.

Ultimately, four names seemed like plenty enough for a legal name. So, the child will be Jonas A* Liben (and our last name). I find great solace in the fact that my nephew has two middle names as well. Thus the two can commiserate when in each other's company.

We will teach Jonas that all the names he's been given are his possession regardless of what any piece of paper says. He is so much more than a name and can never be defined by one (or, in his case seven.)


I pray one day Yonas A* Geremew Dustin Jonas Liben will understand how painstakingly and thoughtfully we attempted to proceeded in choosing his legal name. Then, I pray he'll find grace and peace for all the decisions made which were out of his hands.

I'm Telling 2. Will You?

thebody.com has interesting articles to read. This is one of many about the need for increased education to combat stigma related to HIV. I thought it would be a good one to highlight while encouraging you to consider joining the Tell 2 campaign which began with Erin and whose torch has been picked up by these folks on Facebook.

Dossier Almost Complete

Today I collected the last document we're responsible for chasing down to include in our dossier. There are two others I need, one being the all important Home Study, but they don't depend on me getting them here. Other folks have to do it. So, basically I'm done.

Can you believe that!? Less than two months from the date we were accepted into the program we're done* paper chasing. Praise the Lord!

Our Social Worker (SW) is waiting to schedule our last visit with her until most of the work related to our HS is complete. That's because the HS has to be finished and turned in to the courts within 14 days of her last HS visit with us. Our last meeting will be my one on one interview. I'm looking forward to it. As I've said before we LOVE our SW. She's just fabulous to work with.

As things stand now we're on track to finish up our dossier before the end of October. We are chugging right along down the potential timeline we initially received (give or take a month or two).

Seriously, WHEN does this ever happen in the world of international adoption? On time? Ahead of schedule?

This must be some alternate universe. Or something.

(Wait! Tell me I'm not dreaming this!!)


* In reference to adoption paperwork the term done is used VERY loosely.

God's Balance Sheet

Dustin and I have entered into that space in the adoption process* where, I'll say it as candidly as I can, all hell has broken loose. Literally. I know those who have been through it know exactly what I'm talking about. Stuff just starts to seemingly fall apart. Usually all at once.

All of life's difficulties before this season of life feel kind of like the trial runs that stunt men make before the big feat. You know? The ones where they test out the projection of the ramp and the velocity of speed required to prevent their absolute destruction. Yes, there's danger involved but it's less intense knowing there's a safety net available, a pit of foam waiting for them at the end. It's not quite the real deal.

Dustin and I have learned to relate on some level to Paul's expression of being "hard pressed". Since December 2006 my husband and I have been in some of the most trying times of our entire existence.Since then the gloves have come off of our enemy. It's as if God decided we'd had enough test runs. If I were to list all the trials we've faced I'm pretty confident you'd agree it's been, and continues to be, intense for us. Each individual trial has felt like a debit from our reserves of strength, a transaction which has us feeling weary. Added together I've lately begun to feel bankrupt. Truly broken.

The other day I sat down before the Lord with a pen and paper in hand to list the major life events we've faced on a day when yet another immense trial had risen up before us. As I wrote my list I grieved over the losses, the suffering, the heartbreak, and the pain we have experienced. But, I couldn't deny the HUGE blessings we had also received, and while I didn't enjoy the trials on my list I knew that I'd never want to trade the victories for a smooth path marked by the absence of God's miraculous provision in our lives.

Lately, I've gotten really intentional about studying and living out James Chapter 1. James is no joke. He doesn't ease us into anything... he hits us with truth right away. BAM!

"CONSIDER it pure joy..."

Finally, finally, this week I decided to get to work on engaging FULLY in the act of considering. As I worked at "considering" God showed me so much. He recalled to my mind some parables. The parable of the sower and the different types of soil, particularly vs.8 came to mind. Other seeds fell on good soil, and yielded grain--some a hundred times as much as was sown, some sixty times as much, and some thirty. The parable of the talents also struck me as oddly being important to my work of "considering". (Hang with me here, I think this will make sense)

Our God is a God who loves increase. He's a God of fruitfulness. In my quiet time I was reminded that God, being eternal, has no end. Nor do His blessings and victories. Trials, while difficult, have and end! I desperately needed to be reminded of this truth as I faced another trial straw on top of my suffering donkey's back. I needed God to remind me that without trials I am immature and lacking all that He desires to give to me. So many times I have looked at God's blessings in my life as only those "good" and enjoyable things and called them fruit. It's been easy to talk about increase and fruitfulness when they came with interest on things that turned out "right". When I say "right" I mean things in this life that went the way I wanted them to or in a way that wasn't particularly painful to me.

It's been so much more difficult for the Lord to move me to include in my definition of fruitfulness and increase those blessings which come by walking through suffering with the Lord. It's been difficult to consider pure joy those things which likely will not be added to me this side of eternity. Things like death and the loss of loved ones, the injustice of corrupt people in the world, the suffering of innocents, abuse, illness, and on and on. It requires much faith for me to entrust these things to His care and to hold on until that Great Day.

What God reminded me of through Romans 8:28 is that we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. And again, that If God is for us, who can be against us? So if God is inspiring James to tell us to be joyful about our trials it's because we can KNOW that they truly are for our benefit. In God's economy everything is profit to His children who obey and trust Him. Blessings, victories AND even the trials we face equal a net positive to those who belong to Jesus Christ. This truth has made all the difference in the way I "consider" my trials. It somehow takes my focus off the current pain and difficulty and keeps me looking forward to the future!

James 1:12 Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him





*I don't mean to say that things aren't going well with the process. Things are moving forward with the adoption and we are anxiously awaiting the day when A* comes home. I'm refering to the spiritual trials that often happen during an adoption.

She's done it again!

Heidi Weimer has a way with words! Her POST on expanding our children's capacity to love by pushing the boundaries of their comfort zone is a great reminder that when we step out in faith to serve the LORD we can't lose!

I love the the title of the documentary being made about this special family: We Have Room. Those words are so inspired to me! It can sometimes be tough to make the room in our hearts and our lives for orphaned children but once the work is done it's such a JOY to sit back and see what God will do to fill the spaces we've cleared for Him

Promo for "We Have Room" Documentary from David Watson on Vimeo.

My prayer is that God continues to expand our capacity as Christians to love beyond ourselves and our comfort zones in order that we may provide homes for MORE children. Of course, I never want us to extend ourselves beyond our ability to meet our children's needs as parents, but I KNOW that families can thrive well beyond the status quo and the "acceptable" number of children in this society!

HIV Resource

A helpful and informative HIV resource titled Living With HIV by Riley Children's Hospital (I admit, I didn't have a clue where it was and just googled it) was forwarded to me by our HS Coordinator and I thought I'd share it here in case anyone could benefit.

http://rileychildrenshospital.com/resources/documents/LivingwithHIV_ECox.pdf

TB Testing for Adopted Children

The CDC has an outdated protocol for the admission of children who have been adopted abroad and are coming home to the US. Adoptive families are petitioning to remove the TB testing requirement. Please follow this link to learn why the sputum form of testing is a ridiculous requirement for children.
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-7928-International-Adoption-Examiner~y2009m8d14-Interview-with-pediatric-tuberculosis-expert-Dr-Jeffrey-Starke

TB testing directly affects waiting children- like our son A*- and their ability to come home in a timely manner. You may have heard some news about adoptive families being stuck in country when a child's test result comes back positive and denied entry to the US until treatment has been given BUT read the article above. The risk of transmission by children is LESS THAN one percent. With children who already have compromised immune systems the minimum 7 week delay exposes them needlessly to the health risks associated with orphanage life and could be potentially deadly. A family with our agency recently had to return home WITHOUT their child because of TB related issues. Aside from the health risks of staying in an orphanage one day than is necessary and the emotional toll institutional care takes on children these delays also cause financial hardships on adoptive families. That's why it's so important to adoptive families that the TB testing requirement be removed.

If you agree that the testing creates needless delays in bringing children home please read and sign the petition at http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/build-families-not-barriers.html

Please help spread the word.

Paperchase Update 1

I can't believe how quickly things are moving. We are 75% finished with our dossier. I only need our health examinations (scheduled for the beginning of September), our updated home study and well, I would say our I-171h forms but when adopting an HIV+ child you don't get a visa approval for the I-600a so I'm not sure what will happen with our dossier. I know we'll need to apply for a waiver but I'm not quite sure where in the process that happens- If it's before the dossier gets sent over to Ethiopia, during, or after. I'm sure we'll know more soon.

We dropped off our fingerprints to the Juvinille Court today and have to wait for our clearances. We are scheduled to begin visits with our Social Worker the first week of September. I have all the paperwork in line for that as well.

We also have our first appointment scheduled for mid November with the Bill Holt Clinic here in Phoenix to review A*'s medical profile and get acquainted with the staff/facilities.

I'm amazed at how quickly things are coming together this time compared to the last time.

Miraculous.

We ask for your continued prayers for our financial situation and A*'s health.

It's Gonna Be....

a wild ride, folks!

Strap in if you plan on joining us here at the blog, because things are moving fast (for now) in this, our second, adoption. We have identified a child and we are pursuing him. We will not be officially matched with him until our home study is complete and approved by the state. Therefore, we cannot say we have a referral. But, we are pursuing a referral for this particular boy- who we'll call A*.

A* is a little younger than 3 years old and is HIV positive. We believe he will make a great addition to our family and are so thrilled to be on this journey! We are asking for your continued prayers for A*'s health. We are also asking for prayers concerning the financial aspect of this adoption. Since we already have a child identified the process moves a lot faster, (provided we don't crash headfirst into any of the MANY bumps in the road common to adoption) since things are able to move faster it means payments are required sooner. It could be that finances are the major roadblock to A* coming home quickly. That would be a HUGE bummer since every day he spends in institutional care is another day spent in risk of illness and opportunistic infections, not to mention the typical developmental delays.

Here is where we are at now: Our Home Study Documents are cranking along and I've almost got every document gathered for that. We will begin visits with our AWESOME Social Worker the beginning of September. We have to have a payment of $2,400.00 ready before our first visit can take place. That, my friends, is where the snag lies!

It's not so much the overall cost of the adoption but the shortened time frame that makes paying the fees difficult. There just isn't as much time to save money. We just paid our initial fees to the tune of $1750.00 last week and less than one month is a SHORT time to come up with the funds necessary for the Home Study. I am also aware that God's timing is PERFECT and that just because this adoption could happen faster if the funds were available doesn't mean that God's provision will be late if it doesn't happen to arrive before we'd like it to. He's been waaaay too faithful to our family for far too long now for us to doubt Him. And, at least I can say that I have learned some patience with the last adoption because I am at peace with the possibility of having to wait through this second one. Praise Jesus!!!

I will say, though, that we have a major sense of urgency right now and this time it is totally different. It's NOT about us and our personal time lines or preferences. It's about A* and his need for the best medical care he can receive, for the love of a father and mother to help strengthen him for his health battles, for kisses and hugs to help soothe his aches and pains. It's about preventing opportunistic infections. It's about proper nutrition being a key to helping his immune system fight tough. It's about so much more than just our desires to have him home with us for the sake of being with him. (Don't get me wrong, we DO want that too.)

The deal is that we cannot do any fundraising before our Home Study is completed. Just Love Coffees isn't up and running until October and we can't receive grants or other funds without a complete Home Study. So, it's us and the LORD all the way baby!

I am fully confident that the LORD will provide! He called us to this and even though the timing seems impossible (for us) I KNOW the Lord is ABLE!!! He's more than able and I trust Him fully. Won't you please join us in petitioning before His Holy throne for miraculous provision for sweet little A*? Please pray that our eyes are opened to the path that God would have us take in raising, saving, scrimping, slaving for money for this adoption. Pray also that Dustin and I would be diligent in holding up our end of the bargain with the Lord and be responsible with the opportunities to Lord presents us with.

Dustin and I will do whatever it takes to give this boy a forever family! If the Lord presented an opportunity to scrub toilets with my personal toothbrush to earn extra cash for this adoption, I would. Seriously, I would. I'd dye my hair purple if someone with a bunch of $$ wanted me to.

We're. That. Serious. About. Bringing. A*. Home.