Big Update!

Friends,

We sincerely apologize for our lack of posts over the past several weeks. We’ve been busy, and we have many updates!

Garage Sale

Wow! What a success!  Let me begin by thanking everyone who donated items and everyone who volunteered their time during this four-day event.  We simply could not have done this without you. 

So many items were donated that one garage and driveway was not enough!  A special thanks to the VerMeulen family for their graciousness as we took over their garage for a week, too!

The garage sale helped us raise over $3,500!  This amount is far beyond our expectations, and it’s truly a testament to God’s provision.  Thanks again to all of you who were involved in the event and to all of you who prayed for us.  The sale brought us one step closer to bringing our child home!

 

Garage Sale- Day 1

 Garage Sale- Day 2

 Garage Sale- Day 3

 Garage Sale- Day 4

Puzzle Fundraiser

Why don’t we just show you how far the puzzle has come…..
 

Incredibly, 984 pieces have been sponsored, leaving only 16 unsponsored pieces!  To everyone who has helped us come this close to completion: thank you!

If you do the math and total the amount we’ve raised between the garage sale and the puzzle fundraiser, you’ll see that we’ve raised about $8,500.  When I was crunching numbers before this process started and I tried to show God how the adoption wasn’t going to work because we simply could not afford it, he had a plan.  He knew how generous and caring and selfless all of you are.

I want to take a brief moment to let all of you know what your donations are funding.  It’s well known that adoption is expensive, but if you were like me four months ago, you have no idea why it’s so expensive.  Let me break it down in simplified terms:

About one third of the cost of our adoption will be to pay for two trips to Africa.  Four round trip tickets (and a one way lap seat for our child!), 14 nights of lodging, and food.

One fourth of the cost pays for the wonderful service our agency, All God’s Children International, provides.  So many people at AGCI are involved in our process, and we’re so grateful for their guidance and expertise.  The service they provide is invaluable.

One sixth of the cost is associated with our dossier, or our official paperwork that is sent to the Ethiopian government.  This international fee helps to ensure that the child we are referred is not a victim of child trafficking, among other things.

One eighth of the money pays for childcare once we are referred a child.  There will be a period of time when we will know who our child is, and they will be cared for at a transition home called Hannah’s Hope.  Our child will be fed on demand and cared for by a handful of wonderful people called Special Mothers.

The rest of the money is used for various things: adoption application fee with the U.S. Government, fingerprints, background checks, medical expenses, etc.

Again, we could not pay for all of these services without your help.  Thank you so much!

So, Where Exactly Are You In the Process?

We’re so close to being on the official wait list! Our homestudy is almost complete, then we will send our dossier to AGCI’s headquarters for approval.  Once it's approved, we will be on the official wait list!  We’ll keep you updated as each step unfolds.

What’s Next?

The summer has flown by.  The week after the garage sale, Stephanie and I took a few days off and spent some time in Grand Haven.  We came back just in time for Stephanie to begin volleyball tryouts, and she has been busy with her JV volleyball team ever since.  Stephanie has already gone back to school; her first day with students is next Tuesday!

Since Stephanie will be busy with volleyball and a new school year in the coming months, and since I have many projects to complete around the house that I’ve neglected to do all summer, we’re going to take a step back and focus on these responsibilities.  All of our paperwork is in order, and we’ll be ready to send it off as soon as our homestudy is done, so we will not be holding up the adoption process at all.  Additionally, we’re only able to take time to focus on other responsibilities thanks to your generosity which was outlined above, so thank you.