The Need

If you have noticed, I changed the fundraising meter to one that was big enough for the new amount we need, for now.  It's a lot isn't it?  When I look at it my heart sinks and let me explain why.  The seventeen thousand needed includes a $3000 fee for when our future child/ren paperwork and our paperwork moves out of Haiti's Social Services known as IBESR.  The $14000 is for the international fee per child with the acceptance of a referral.  Meaning, when we get our precious child/ren's picture and profile we must have the $14000 to send to Haiti once we say yes, these are our kids.  Here's the kicker, it's $14000 per child.  PER CHILD!!!!! Understand that that amount is not the adoption agency fee, it's Haiti's government fee.  I guess I could have put $31000 on the meter, and I would but we are not even sure we'll get two children, so I did what seemed reasonable to me.


 There are other fees that need to go to the agency but thankfully their fees are so much more doable from our budgets standpoint, so we are concentrating on the fee that will be crucial.  The thought that we will be matched with a waiting child and then put them on hold because we lack the money to bring them home just about breaks our hearts in two.  We have been working very hard on filling out grant applications but even now we wait.  Some places only accept apps once every quarter and because of the great demand of adoptive families needing help, the funds are limited.  So we wait, ugh, I'm starting to loathe that word for real.  One thing I have learned is that God is working, I have to trust that He is, he adores the orphan and wants nothing more than His children to be His hands and feet and go to them and show His unending love for them.  He WILL make a way.  But, He wants us all to do our part.


  Thank you for those of you who read our blog and follow our journey, it means so much, but what would mean so much more is your prayers for us,for the money and more importantly our little one/s in another country waiting, that they are getting the food and water they need and they can sleep at night.  And pray for him/her or them to be able to start dreaming of a family because God is working to make that dream come true for them!  Watch this video, maybe it will help you understand Gods heart and ours as well.  Thank you.

Where God Leads, We Will Follow

We have officially begun the process for a Haitian adoption!  We are thrilled at what God is doing, and are so excited to know that He is taking care of details, we just have to be totally on board with what He wants.  It's been amazing to remember back when adoption was just a conversation and how it would be really great to adopt from Haiti.  With the earthquake still fresh on our minds we were, at the time, thinking of all the people in need, especially the children.  My sister and her husband were a host family for a little girl from Haiti that came to the states for medical care in 2009.  She came with club feet and some other issues that I can't recall right now, but because of difficulties she ended up having to have her legs amputated.  Once she healed from that it was time to go home for a few years before coming back to the states for prosthetics.  She arrived back in Port Au Prince, Haiti two days before the earthquake.  We still don't know whatever became of her, but we do know how much my sister and her husband and kids loved this little girl.  That has never left us and we thought of her when we discussed adoption.  Once adoption became a clear calling for us, I researched Haitian adoptions and found one law that stated we couldn't adopt because we had more than two children living in our home.  The door was closed.  Or so we thought.  That's why after more research we fell in love with Ethiopia.  Then things happened, see my other blogposts to get more detail, in November that led us to the waiting children list, which led us to this orphanage full of waiting  kids, which led to me calling and finding out that there are three Haitian adoption laws and we fall under one of them!!!!  I was ecstatic and overjoyed!  So after much prayer and more waiting we took the plunge and so here we are.  It's so awesome to me how God works.  Our first initial thought was Haiti exactly a year ago, and decided on Ethiopia.  But now we are back to Haiti.  God just brought us full circle and gently guided us in the direction He wanted us to go all along.  --enter skeptical Brenda--  Now I'm saying all this with a  little reservation, because we thought we knew what God wanted for us when the possible disruption adoption was going to happen for us, and that rattled us spiritually.  But I try not to concern myself with that and look back at all the events that led us to this place we are in now.  God is still in control and if for some reason we're missing it again, I'll just trust that He's still working and getting us to the kids that need us the most.  This has been one heck of a roller coaster ride and it's been hard on us emotionally but we're getting through and still need lots of prayers!!  Also, don't hesitate to push that little donate button on the right or buy some coffee from the Just Love Coffee link on the right as well, to help bring our kids home!  I hope this post isn't just some confusing rant, just trying to keep it honest and keep everyone in the loop!