Two awesome pieces of news today:
1. Sweet Anya has a committed family!! (And it's not us, lol). I'm so happy for this and can't wait to see who her new mommy and daddy are! Her orphanage is very good about "holding" kids who have committed families, so she shouldn't be in danger of being transferred anymore, PRAISE GOD!
2. Just a little over one week ago Rob went to the post office to renew his passport. We paid for it to be expedited and wrote a little note saying it was for an international adoption. We expected it to take about 3 weeks, with the holidays. Well, this morning the doorbell rings and it's FedEx...with his new passport!! That is RECORD time, people! Now we can get going on the paperwork that was on hold until we got his new passport number! PRAISE GOD!
Are you sensing a theme, here?? :)
Friday, December 31, 2010
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
IVAN is ALIVE!
UPDATE: In the past 24 hours Ivan and Timmy have received grants of $11,250...EACH! I am in SHOCK! Someone go get these boys...if adopted together their combined grants pays for almost the entire adoption! And Anya's grant pays for all the additional expenses if adopted with Timmy and Ivan! WOW!
Oh what great news I have today! It was previously thought that Ivan was deceased (and I even posted about it here). However, we just got word that he is still ALIVE! Praise God!
Ivan, Timmy and Anya all REALLY need families. Please pray for them and consider donating to their grant funds. I'll be honest and say that Riley having an $1100 grant fund BEFORE we committed to him was a factor in our decision. Money is the only thing keeping these beautiful children from finding their forever families.
Oh what great news I have today! It was previously thought that Ivan was deceased (and I even posted about it here). However, we just got word that he is still ALIVE! Praise God!
Ivan, Timmy and Anya all REALLY need families. Please pray for them and consider donating to their grant funds. I'll be honest and say that Riley having an $1100 grant fund BEFORE we committed to him was a factor in our decision. Money is the only thing keeping these beautiful children from finding their forever families.
Monday, December 27, 2010
We Are Over 25%!
Do you see what I see??
Look at that vine! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------>>
Last week we had a very generous donor step forward who wishes to remain anonymous. We have never met, but have mutual friends and he used to go to our church. He emailed me last week just before Christmas to tell me he was sending $2000 to Riley's fund! I was astounded and am just blown away by God right now. His generous gift, plus some others that came in this week, have put us over 25% of our goal!!
I am actually starting to believe that God will fully fund our adoption. I certainly know that He is able to do so, but I tend to struggle with if he will. Oh, what a blessing it would be to have our adoption fully funded! We are prepared to take out a loan if we need to, but what if we don't!?!
Praise God from whom ALL blessings flow!
Look at that vine! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------>>
Last week we had a very generous donor step forward who wishes to remain anonymous. We have never met, but have mutual friends and he used to go to our church. He emailed me last week just before Christmas to tell me he was sending $2000 to Riley's fund! I was astounded and am just blown away by God right now. His generous gift, plus some others that came in this week, have put us over 25% of our goal!!
I am actually starting to believe that God will fully fund our adoption. I certainly know that He is able to do so, but I tend to struggle with if he will. Oh, what a blessing it would be to have our adoption fully funded! We are prepared to take out a loan if we need to, but what if we don't!?!
Praise God from whom ALL blessings flow!
"A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed." Proverbs 11:25Thank you all, from the bottom of our hearts. Your gifts mean more than words can express.
Friday, December 24, 2010
Paperwork Delays and Setbacks
Well, the inevitable has happened: we've hit our first "speedbumps" on our paper chase. Not big ones, thank goodness, but manageable.
First of all, Rob's passport expires at the end of August. I noticed it months ago, but didn't think it was a big deal. I remember thinking, "Oh, we'll just renew it before we leave". Well, I found out last week from our WONDERFUL dossier prep buddy that renewing a passport means a new passport number. In fact, it's basically reapplying for a passport: new picture, full fees, etc. What that means is that EVERY document that has Rob's passport number on it will have to be redone...AFTER he gets it renewed! Needless to say, Rob went to the post office yesterday, got his new picture taken, and sent it overnight to the passport processing office and we payed for expedited processing (about $200). We hope to get it back in 2-3 weeks.
The good news is that the documents that need to be sent to Riley's country ASAP don't need our passport numbers. One of the documents had it on there, so we have to remove that and get it re-notarized, then send them all for apostilles (I'll explain those in another post). Another good thing is that our homestudy doesn't mention our passport numbers.
The bad news is that our application to US Immigration needs the passport number, plus a photocopy of the new passport. AND the fees JUST got raised, so the cashier's check I got ready in October will have to be voided and get a new one with the updated fees. PLUS I found out that I filled out the main form incorrectly. Thank GOODNESS we haven't mailed that thing yet! Lots of work to do on it still.
At least our homestudy is done :). We're now listed under "Compiling Dossier" on the RR website, hooray!
UPDATE on Timmy: Leanne has started a blog to fundraise for Timmy and Ivan (now deceased), so here is the url: http://www.lifefortimmyandivan.blogspot.com
Please, please check it out and consider donating to Timmy's fund. And please pray for Timmy and Anya's families to come forward soon. Anya's grant fund is now over $7000!!
First of all, Rob's passport expires at the end of August. I noticed it months ago, but didn't think it was a big deal. I remember thinking, "Oh, we'll just renew it before we leave". Well, I found out last week from our WONDERFUL dossier prep buddy that renewing a passport means a new passport number. In fact, it's basically reapplying for a passport: new picture, full fees, etc. What that means is that EVERY document that has Rob's passport number on it will have to be redone...AFTER he gets it renewed! Needless to say, Rob went to the post office yesterday, got his new picture taken, and sent it overnight to the passport processing office and we payed for expedited processing (about $200). We hope to get it back in 2-3 weeks.
The good news is that the documents that need to be sent to Riley's country ASAP don't need our passport numbers. One of the documents had it on there, so we have to remove that and get it re-notarized, then send them all for apostilles (I'll explain those in another post). Another good thing is that our homestudy doesn't mention our passport numbers.
The bad news is that our application to US Immigration needs the passport number, plus a photocopy of the new passport. AND the fees JUST got raised, so the cashier's check I got ready in October will have to be voided and get a new one with the updated fees. PLUS I found out that I filled out the main form incorrectly. Thank GOODNESS we haven't mailed that thing yet! Lots of work to do on it still.
At least our homestudy is done :). We're now listed under "Compiling Dossier" on the RR website, hooray!
UPDATE on Timmy: Leanne has started a blog to fundraise for Timmy and Ivan (now deceased), so here is the url: http://www.lifefortimmyandivan.blogspot.com
Please, please check it out and consider donating to Timmy's fund. And please pray for Timmy and Anya's families to come forward soon. Anya's grant fund is now over $7000!!
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Good News on the Vote!
For those of you who don't know, for the past few months Riley's country has been considering a bill that would put a moratorium on international adoptions with any country that does not already have a bilateral agreement with them (that includes the U.S.). This vote has been postponed many times and was scheduled to finally happen yesterday. We've received the official word that, not only did the vote get postponed again, but when it does happen it will ONLY be a vote about whether or not to join the Hague convention agreements, no moratorium!
HOORAYYY!!!
This is the best possible news. And just in time for Christmas!
Riley, we're coming for you!
HOORAYYY!!!
This is the best possible news. And just in time for Christmas!
Riley, we're coming for you!
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
OH!...My Heart is Breaking...
I just received some very sad news. A little boy named "Ivan" from the same orphanage as Anya has passed away. He had untreated hydrocephalus and was denied life-saving surgery. I have met this boy. Twice. He was as sweet as can be.
At least now he is in Heaven and no longer in pain.
This hits so close to home for me. The need is real. The danger of these children dying is real. Their only hope is an international adoption.
Here's another little boy in the same group as Ivan, "Timmy":
I have also met Timmy twice. This past summer when I visited him he was in a "laying room", just in a crib left to do Nothing. He is almost 5 and about the size of a one-year-old. When we went into the room he was clutching his head and moaning, "Mama..mama...". We didn't need our translators to understand that one. We started gently touching his arms and legs and he responded instantly by giggling and laughing. Then he told us that his head hurt. Oh, my heart.
Timmy has also been denied life-saving surgery for his hydrocephalus. He is currently blind because the pressure is affecting his eyes. He will not live much longer without surgery. It is not too late for Timmy, not yet.
Anya and Timmy could be adopted together for a very low additional cost. They need families NOW! They don't have time to wait. Their lives depend on us.
Please, please pray for Timmy and Anya. Check out Timmy's page on Reece's Rainbow and consider donating to his grant fund.
| | |
| Ivan, 2010 |
This hits so close to home for me. The need is real. The danger of these children dying is real. Their only hope is an international adoption.
Here's another little boy in the same group as Ivan, "Timmy":
 | ||
| Timmy, 2010 |
Timmy has also been denied life-saving surgery for his hydrocephalus. He is currently blind because the pressure is affecting his eyes. He will not live much longer without surgery. It is not too late for Timmy, not yet.
Anya and Timmy could be adopted together for a very low additional cost. They need families NOW! They don't have time to wait. Their lives depend on us.
Please, please pray for Timmy and Anya. Check out Timmy's page on Reece's Rainbow and consider donating to his grant fund.
Monday, December 20, 2010
A Beautiful Princess To Rescue
Meet Anya:
Isn't she beautiful??
Anya just turned four years old. She lives at an orphanage I've been to twice, although I've never met her personally. She desperately needs a family.
God has really laid Anya on my heart the past few weeks, and Rob and I have been praying hard about whether or not we are her family. Just as He made it clear to pursue Riley, He has also made it clear not to pursue Anya. But my heart is still breaking for her.
She is not in a good situation.
The room she is in is not a good one. She is ignored by the caretakers and other children. At the age of four she still cannot walk, mostly because nobody has made the time to teach her. She is more than capable of walking. The fact that she just turned four puts her at high risk of being transferred to an institution, like the one I wrote about here.
The problem is, from what I understand, the institution where children from this orphanage are sent is a "closed" institution. That means once she is transferred she cannot be adopted. She will die. That is the painful truth.
This beautiful princess needs a family to rescue her from DEATH and bring her LIFE!
She already has a $6000 grant from Reece's Rainbow. That's about 25% of the total cost of an adoption, twice the money we have currently raised for Riley's adoption. That is a huge grant!
The travel for her adoption would be relatively easy. Her orphanage is located just an hour's drive from the capital city, so you could stay in the capital the whole time. This cuts down on travel time (no trains!) and expenses.
Please take a look at her page on Reece's Rainbow. They have a lot of information about Anya available, much more so than we have about Riley. Please pray that her family steps forward soon, before it's too late for this sweet princess.
| | |
| Anya, August 2010 |
God has really laid Anya on my heart the past few weeks, and Rob and I have been praying hard about whether or not we are her family. Just as He made it clear to pursue Riley, He has also made it clear not to pursue Anya. But my heart is still breaking for her.
She is not in a good situation.
The room she is in is not a good one. She is ignored by the caretakers and other children. At the age of four she still cannot walk, mostly because nobody has made the time to teach her. She is more than capable of walking. The fact that she just turned four puts her at high risk of being transferred to an institution, like the one I wrote about here.
The problem is, from what I understand, the institution where children from this orphanage are sent is a "closed" institution. That means once she is transferred she cannot be adopted. She will die. That is the painful truth.
This beautiful princess needs a family to rescue her from DEATH and bring her LIFE!
She already has a $6000 grant from Reece's Rainbow. That's about 25% of the total cost of an adoption, twice the money we have currently raised for Riley's adoption. That is a huge grant!
The travel for her adoption would be relatively easy. Her orphanage is located just an hour's drive from the capital city, so you could stay in the capital the whole time. This cuts down on travel time (no trains!) and expenses.
Please take a look at her page on Reece's Rainbow. They have a lot of information about Anya available, much more so than we have about Riley. Please pray that her family steps forward soon, before it's too late for this sweet princess.
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