Our dossier arrived in Ghana a few weeks ago and since then we've been waiting. We know the wait for a referral might be a long one, but we keep reminding ourselves it's worth the wait. We know the Lord has a precious child that will soon become a part of our family. As much as we wish we knew who this child was, what they looked like, how old they were, among other things, we are so glad that we have a Maker who already knows every bit of this information. While this makes the wait easier (knowing this adoption is God's will), my human tendency to have everything done in my timing sets in from time to time. Well, let's be honest...I deal with this up and down turmoil of feelings quite frequently. And as I'm writing this entry the song that is playing on the television is "It is well." What a great reminder. There are times of sorrow as we long for our family that is not united quite yet, but in this all, it is well. There is joy and a great story and journey that is happening. Through and in all of it may God have the glory.
You can help us by praying for the following things:
~ A speedy referral
~ A means for funds (we have some upcoming fundraising events)
~ My emotions during this long waiting period
~ All the other families that are awaiting adoptions
~ The 147 million orphans around the world
Thanks for following our journey!
~Sarah
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Monday, August 8, 2011
Dossier almost complete!!!
I'm waiting on a copy of our doctor's license to practice medicine and then we'll officially have all the documents we THINK we need for our dossier. Hopefully we have it all and it looks good. Then we'll get everything notarized and send it off for the "fine-tooth-comb-lookover"...o
We also are applying for an adoption grant. Pray that the organization would see our need for financial help. From this point on there are going to be a lot more expenses, but we know how great God's provision is for His children.
We also are applying for an adoption grant. Pray that the organization would see our need for financial help. From this point on there are going to be a lot more expenses, but we know how great God's provision is for His children.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Hooray for checks on the checklist!
A few weeks ago we received our completed HomeStudy in the mail. It is so beautiful and official with its signatures and seals. In about 10 pages our lives, goals, and home were summed up for the Dept. of Social Welfare in Ghana and for our Citizenship and Immigration Services here in the US. It was neat looking over the whole report. I have to say we look pretty good on paper...almost as good as we look in person. ;) Receiving that report in the mail reminded me of God's greatness and provision (1. He provided us with a home for our HOMEstudy (provision) (2.) He, our adoptive Father, could NEVER be summed up in 10 pages (greatness) (3.) He allowed us to begin and complete this process long before we thought it would happen (provision)). He is so good!
Now, we are going down our "Dossier Progress Chart for Ghana" and, remarkably, seeing a lot of checks in that "Completed" column. It is great to see how quickly God is taking us through this process. What an evidence that this is God's will. Since we officially began this process in October with our agency we have seen confirmation after confirmation that God loves orphans and He wants to use us to give one of His children a home. Wow...what a privilege to be used by God!
As we continue collecting items/forms for our dossier and enter into the time of waiting for our referral please remember to pray for us. Pray that we would have patience as we wait. Pray we would remember that God's timing is far better than our timing. Pray that we would remember that this is all under God's power, not our own. Pray that the Government agencies and departments we have to submit forms through would find favor with us and act quickly.
Thanks for your prayers and continued support. We'll update when the dossier is off and ready to go!
Sarah
Now, we are going down our "Dossier Progress Chart for Ghana" and, remarkably, seeing a lot of checks in that "Completed" column. It is great to see how quickly God is taking us through this process. What an evidence that this is God's will. Since we officially began this process in October with our agency we have seen confirmation after confirmation that God loves orphans and He wants to use us to give one of His children a home. Wow...what a privilege to be used by God!
As we continue collecting items/forms for our dossier and enter into the time of waiting for our referral please remember to pray for us. Pray that we would have patience as we wait. Pray we would remember that God's timing is far better than our timing. Pray that we would remember that this is all under God's power, not our own. Pray that the Government agencies and departments we have to submit forms through would find favor with us and act quickly.
Thanks for your prayers and continued support. We'll update when the dossier is off and ready to go!
Sarah
Friday, April 22, 2011
Home Study Here We Come...Take 2!
We only have one more interview left for our Home Study to be complete and we are absolutely pumped! We ended up having to wait a lot longer than we expected for the start of this process. When I last posted we were planning on moving into a cute little rental house the end of January. We thought we would have everything ready to start the Home Study no later than mid-February. Oh how things change! We ended up canceling our lease with the rental house (there were many unfortunate circumstances that caused us to make this decision) and...well...buying a house. We know our new home was all a part of God's perfect plan and are so thankful. After finally being in our home a month, our home study started this past Monday and we'll be done by next Wednesday. The agency told us to allow 4-6 weeks for the home study to be completed. We were happy to hear we'd have all our interviews complete within a week and a half. Our social worker is great and has made this part of the process stress-free and very laid back. Hopefully she'll find us fit to be parents! = )
Now that we're near the end of our home study we're starting to collect all the information we need for the dossier (a set of appropriately authenticated and translated legal documents which are used in international adoption cases to process the adoption of a child in its own country by the adoptive parents, or for the adoptive parents to obtain the legal custody or guardianship of the child in the foreign court, so the child can be brought by the adoptive parents to the United States for adoption. Just in case you ever wondered what adopting families were talking about when they discussed the "dossier.") Looking at our dossier checklist, in comparison with other countries, a list of 14 seems very simple. We're thankful that much of the information we need will be easily obtainable and hopefully we'll have everything put together to send off soon. We're praying the Georgia Dept. of Vital Records will act quickly. Birth and marriage certificates sometimes can hold up the process.
I've recently been day-dreaming a lot about our future family. I am so looking forward to having a little one walking or crawling around (all depends on the age). It's amazing to me to look around and see how God brings families together in so many different and unique ways. I'm looking forward to seeing our whole "family-making story" from start to finish. My hope is that through each step we can give God the glory, no matter how up and down the journey may be.
Prayer Requests: 1) pray for the wrapping up of our home study 2) pray that we would be able to follow the directions for our dossier completely and thoroughly so we won't have to back-track 3) pray that we would have patience and trust the Lord's timing 4) pray that we would remember to keep Christ the center of our marriage and family; this is His adoption!
Now that we're near the end of our home study we're starting to collect all the information we need for the dossier (a set of appropriately authenticated and translated legal documents which are used in international adoption cases to process the adoption of a child in its own country by the adoptive parents, or for the adoptive parents to obtain the legal custody or guardianship of the child in the foreign court, so the child can be brought by the adoptive parents to the United States for adoption. Just in case you ever wondered what adopting families were talking about when they discussed the "dossier.") Looking at our dossier checklist, in comparison with other countries, a list of 14 seems very simple. We're thankful that much of the information we need will be easily obtainable and hopefully we'll have everything put together to send off soon. We're praying the Georgia Dept. of Vital Records will act quickly. Birth and marriage certificates sometimes can hold up the process.
I've recently been day-dreaming a lot about our future family. I am so looking forward to having a little one walking or crawling around (all depends on the age). It's amazing to me to look around and see how God brings families together in so many different and unique ways. I'm looking forward to seeing our whole "family-making story" from start to finish. My hope is that through each step we can give God the glory, no matter how up and down the journey may be.
Prayer Requests: 1) pray for the wrapping up of our home study 2) pray that we would be able to follow the directions for our dossier completely and thoroughly so we won't have to back-track 3) pray that we would have patience and trust the Lord's timing 4) pray that we would remember to keep Christ the center of our marriage and family; this is His adoption!
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Home Study...Here We Come!
God has really been at work in order to create a way for us to move forward with our adoption. We were told that it would be in our best interest to either get out of our lease for our 1-bedroom apartment or wait to have our home study until JUNE when our lease is up. We felt trapped because we didn't want to pay the high penalty fees to get out of our lease, but we definitely didn't want to wait until June to even begin the paperwork for our home study. Well, God is good. We came across some money that we felt God specifically calling us to use as our lease-break money. We felt confident that we would not regret using the money to move on and rent a house. Because we didn't have anyone interested in our apartment we thought we were going to have to pay a month and a half's rent; however, one of the manager's came up to me the other day to tell me they had re-rented our apartment and we would only have to pay a month's rent. We were so excited!
Our big move day is January 29th. We are moving into a cute, little 3-bedroom house with a fenced-in yard for our sweet dog Bella. We were excited about finding an affordable 3-bedroom because at this point there is no telling what God has in store for us. We haven't turned down the possibility of coming back from Ghana with two kiddos. We've definitely learned to never say never. We've heard so many remarkable stories about God taking families from 1-4 kids, 2-3 kids, and so on. Always more than what was expected! This is God's adoption and we are so excited to be used as vessels and give and receive lots of love through it.
Right now we are just working to collect all our home study documents. Pray that we would keep a level head and patiently work through each step. With all the documents and an upcoming move things can get overwhelming. Also, pray that Ryan and I would still put God first, each other second, and our family third. Without a strong relationship with God and a loving marriage this adoption wouldn't even be possible. Thanks for all the prayers! We'll try to update more often.
Our big move day is January 29th. We are moving into a cute, little 3-bedroom house with a fenced-in yard for our sweet dog Bella. We were excited about finding an affordable 3-bedroom because at this point there is no telling what God has in store for us. We haven't turned down the possibility of coming back from Ghana with two kiddos. We've definitely learned to never say never. We've heard so many remarkable stories about God taking families from 1-4 kids, 2-3 kids, and so on. Always more than what was expected! This is God's adoption and we are so excited to be used as vessels and give and receive lots of love through it.
Right now we are just working to collect all our home study documents. Pray that we would keep a level head and patiently work through each step. With all the documents and an upcoming move things can get overwhelming. Also, pray that Ryan and I would still put God first, each other second, and our family third. Without a strong relationship with God and a loving marriage this adoption wouldn't even be possible. Thanks for all the prayers! We'll try to update more often.
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