The past six months have been a roller coaster ride with the adoption. At any given time we didn't know where we stood with it all. We were (and still are) all in. Others have not been as sure. The largest obstacle in the last 4 months has been Ghana's decision to hold all foreign adoptions. What does this mean? Good question. We have spent considerable time trying to figure it out. When our agency learned this "hold" might be happening they worked hard to get as many answers as possible. Their hard work on this front continues to this day. No matter the reason we strongly believe that the Ghanaian government is trying in every possible way to protect their people. We also believe that God has called us to love and raise this brother and sister, and, therefore, we will not stop working to bring them home.
At one point in time this year we didn't know what was going to happen with this adoption. It seemed as though we hit roadblocks at every turn. Then, a ray of hope in the form of paperwork being completed, (a little) money in hand, and a potential court date. Due to things beyond anyone's control the court date did not happen. Saddened as we were, we still held on to the hope that somehow we would soon see the children. Enter the "hold". So many questions. So many tears. But still hope.
Out of respect for those working on our case, the Ghanaian government, and the children themselves, we won't share with you everything that has happened. What we can do is assure you that we are charging ahead and we have recently been given another ray of hope. Our plan is to share more information as we have it (and are given permission to share). We ask that you please continue to pray for Shadrach and Esther, as well as for our family, Generations Adoptions (our agency), those working on our case in Ghana, and the Ghanaian government.
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Thursday, February 28, 2013
A Delay, a Move, and a Fundraising Goal
No, we haven't travelled to bring the kids home. Yes, life has been hectic. No, we haven't met our fundraising goal. Yes, we still need your prayers.
When we first started this blog there was a possibility that we would travel in December. While we are disappointed that we still haven't had the chance to hold our children, we know that God is always sovereign and His timing is perfect. There have been many things to happen in our lives since October, the most recent being our move from Kentucky to Georgia. We had decided last year that once the adoption was finalized we would move to Chattanooga, TN (more precisely Ringgold, GA...look it up, it's really close) to be closer to my (Cari's) family. With delays in the adoption, Tim being in Atlanta, GA half the month, and an issue with our house in Louisville, KY, we went ahead and pulled the trigger on the move. As I am writing this we haven't even been in our new house a week. And when I said we were moving to be closer to my family I wasn't kidding. How's two doors down from my parents sound for closer? Granted, it has only been a week, but we are loving it! The kids are so excited to be this close to Nina (Nana to all other grandkids in the family) and Papa. They have already been such a huge help with getting the house set up. God has seriously blessed me with loving, incredible parents!!
Okay, back to the adoption. With the move we now have to get a home study update. Not a horrible thing, just another $1,000. We have learned that the man who was handling our adoption in Ghana won't be doing it anymore and our new guy is $2,500 more expensive. While neither of these numbers are huge, when looked at with the other money owed, it adds up to quite a lot. A little over $30,000 to be honest. We are continuing to pray that we won't go into debt. We are always looking for other fundraising opportunities and we welcome any ideas you might have. Our total fundraising need is $12,000. If you are willing to pray, please pray. If you are able to give, please give. And if adoption is something God is calling you to do please contact us to find out more about all the options available (domestic and international). There are millions of orphans in the world and God is asking us to care for them.
When we first started this blog there was a possibility that we would travel in December. While we are disappointed that we still haven't had the chance to hold our children, we know that God is always sovereign and His timing is perfect. There have been many things to happen in our lives since October, the most recent being our move from Kentucky to Georgia. We had decided last year that once the adoption was finalized we would move to Chattanooga, TN (more precisely Ringgold, GA...look it up, it's really close) to be closer to my (Cari's) family. With delays in the adoption, Tim being in Atlanta, GA half the month, and an issue with our house in Louisville, KY, we went ahead and pulled the trigger on the move. As I am writing this we haven't even been in our new house a week. And when I said we were moving to be closer to my family I wasn't kidding. How's two doors down from my parents sound for closer? Granted, it has only been a week, but we are loving it! The kids are so excited to be this close to Nina (Nana to all other grandkids in the family) and Papa. They have already been such a huge help with getting the house set up. God has seriously blessed me with loving, incredible parents!!
Okay, back to the adoption. With the move we now have to get a home study update. Not a horrible thing, just another $1,000. We have learned that the man who was handling our adoption in Ghana won't be doing it anymore and our new guy is $2,500 more expensive. While neither of these numbers are huge, when looked at with the other money owed, it adds up to quite a lot. A little over $30,000 to be honest. We are continuing to pray that we won't go into debt. We are always looking for other fundraising opportunities and we welcome any ideas you might have. Our total fundraising need is $12,000. If you are willing to pray, please pray. If you are able to give, please give. And if adoption is something God is calling you to do please contact us to find out more about all the options available (domestic and international). There are millions of orphans in the world and God is asking us to care for them.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Here we go again!
Nearly 2 years ago God laid it on our hearts to adopt again. This time from Ghana, Africa. We weren't looking for this new journey. We were perfectly happy with our family of 4 and our new home in Louisville, Kentucky. In fact, we were completely comfortable in our little situation...or so we thought. Then God began to change us. Again! This was not the first time He had made it known that we were in need of a some major priority shifting.
In 1999, God led the way for us to begin building our family by adopting a little boy from Thailand. We brought Joseph home in March of 2001. For 8 years it had just been the 2 of us. We did what we wanted, when and how we wanted. And so we began shifting our priorities to fit our new family. It was 8 more years before God would lead us to adopt again. Oh, we had tried many, many times before. Did you catch the key word there? "We" had tried. "We" had done everything we thought was necessary. But the truth is we didn't need to try on our own and in our time. If one of those adoptions had happened we most likely wouldn't have travelled to Ethiopia in 2009 to bring home our daughter, Terefech. Once again, a major shift to every aspect of our lives.
When we heeded God's call to adopt from Ethiopia we didn't have any money for the expenses. We expressed our concern to our pastor and his response was, "no, you don't have the money, but God does." This simple truth has stuck with us. God doesn't need us to trust in our own resources. God wants us to seek after Him and trust in Him for everything. As we moved forward with the adoption God provided for our needs with every step. It was amazing and a blessing we will treasure forever!
Fast forward to the present. When we heard about a brother and sister in need of a family our reaction was, "we'll think about it". One night, after hearing much about them and seeing their pictures, we told our kids about them. First, we told Terefech who was immediately excited about having more kids in the family. Then we told Joseph. We told him their names, Esther and Shadrach. He sat up in bed, told us their stories from the Bible, and said, "those are great names and I would like to have them as my brother and sister". We knew it was time to trust God and shift. Again.
We have completed our home study and received immigration approval. Now the hard part begins. The hurry-up-and-wait. The truth of knowing how close, and yet how far away, we are to having them home. And, of course, the great discovery of how God is going to provide.
In 1999, God led the way for us to begin building our family by adopting a little boy from Thailand. We brought Joseph home in March of 2001. For 8 years it had just been the 2 of us. We did what we wanted, when and how we wanted. And so we began shifting our priorities to fit our new family. It was 8 more years before God would lead us to adopt again. Oh, we had tried many, many times before. Did you catch the key word there? "We" had tried. "We" had done everything we thought was necessary. But the truth is we didn't need to try on our own and in our time. If one of those adoptions had happened we most likely wouldn't have travelled to Ethiopia in 2009 to bring home our daughter, Terefech. Once again, a major shift to every aspect of our lives.
When we heeded God's call to adopt from Ethiopia we didn't have any money for the expenses. We expressed our concern to our pastor and his response was, "no, you don't have the money, but God does." This simple truth has stuck with us. God doesn't need us to trust in our own resources. God wants us to seek after Him and trust in Him for everything. As we moved forward with the adoption God provided for our needs with every step. It was amazing and a blessing we will treasure forever!
Fast forward to the present. When we heard about a brother and sister in need of a family our reaction was, "we'll think about it". One night, after hearing much about them and seeing their pictures, we told our kids about them. First, we told Terefech who was immediately excited about having more kids in the family. Then we told Joseph. We told him their names, Esther and Shadrach. He sat up in bed, told us their stories from the Bible, and said, "those are great names and I would like to have them as my brother and sister". We knew it was time to trust God and shift. Again.
We have completed our home study and received immigration approval. Now the hard part begins. The hurry-up-and-wait. The truth of knowing how close, and yet how far away, we are to having them home. And, of course, the great discovery of how God is going to provide.
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