8/21

We woke up early to travel 4 hours, one way, to get a new birth certificate for our son. The scenery is beautiful!! He was born in Nickolaev-- a very small town. The roads are horrible but Andrei was great! New birth certificate and back we go. One more stop at the bank and our day was finally done. Good news-- dad can return home on Monday as planned.

8/20 Court Finally!!

We got the call this morning! We have court at 2:00 today! Today Sergei woke up and we were able to tell him that today was the day. He was so excited! We went to the court and he waited in the van for us. The judge never asked him to come in. But he asked us why we wanted to adopt this child. We told him that there was something about him that I could not let go of after we met last year. And as we have gotten to know him, we fell in love with him. Toward the end, they asked what his adopted name would be. We told him Marc Thomas Turner. He looked a bit confused and asked why? I told him that it was a special name for our family that we chose many years ago in case we had another son. It was a way to honor 2 doctors who had saved my husband's life. That was all he wanted to hear. So, guess who is an orphan no more?

MARC THOMAS TURNER

8-20-15

He told everyone at the orphanage he is not Sergei, he is Marc!

8/17 Getting Closer...

So, there was a delay in posting my last blog due to technical issues. Now, we are on track and I will date each entry.


Now, I know we must be getting closer to making this whole adoption thing a reality. Why? "Hmm...could it be Satan?" You, Dana Carvey, will get the reference! Let's see if I can list all the things that have broken now since we bought our tickets: my car, $700 in repairs, husband's car needs inspection, AC in the house went out, son's truck is having new door issues, and we got here to discover I brought a wheelchair that I have to push him in. Is that enough? NO! On Saturday, 8/15, I get a frantic call from my son that someone hit him and it was in my car and the tow driver took I and he doesn't know where. I tried to assure him that it is just a car and it would be okay. No one was injured. Thank God! The other driver was at fault. However, my son was upset also because this guy was trying to get him cited-- the cops didn't. Anyway, my son is fine, the insurance is taking care of my car, and it's all good.


On this end, life is good. We walked to town to see the trains and get a few things at the market. Today we went to the market again and took our soon to be son. He loves to be on the go. Tomorrow is his girlfriend's birthday so we got her a gift. He is so excited! And final note, we heard that they are working on getting us to court this Thursday or Friday! Please pray for that to happen!

5 days in and lots to share

We arrived here just 6 days shop and it has been a great time to catch up with some old friends here. We have also made some new ones. Rex, the dog, is an old friend that stands guard at the gate and still comes to me for a scratch when I call him. Staying in the orphanage certainly had its advantages: we get to spend most of the day with our soon to be son, we save on taxis and they feed us VERY well! It seems that as we are just beginning to digest one meal, the next one is coming. We have made to trips to the store, mainly to get more water- you can't drink the tap water or brush your teeth with it. Thankfully it is cheap...a 6 pack off 1.5 L bottles is less than $2! There is a new cafe that just opened across the street and really they only have drinks, but we walled over yesterday and bought a 1 L bottle of Lipton peach tea and a .5L of Pepsi for $1. I was talking to my son about it and how I REALLY wanted a coke and all they had was Pepsi, blah, blah, blah. He said "Mom? Mom, mom, mom..." ***pause for effect*** "...First world problems." That was too funny, but he was right! We are here to adopt a kid that doesn't know the difference and would be happy with either! Thanks Michael!

We have been playing a lot of War and just figuring out each other. We already found that boundaries definitely have to be established about property and sharing our time with others.  He looks at us at times, like this must be a dream. It's this really happening? He is very bright, as we already knew. His teacher had him bring his school books out to show me yesterday. I know he has finished 7th forum (pretty much the same as our 7th grade in the states), but it is not as advanced as I would hope it to be. But, he got something and is eager to learn. He and his friends have asked a lot about will he go to school? What will his house be like? What about the dog, it lives IN the house?  I am still amazed at the fact that we are here and this is finally becoming a reality for our family.

The gentleman that plays music for the kids had come a few times. He is also very interested in his new life in America. He came again today and I was able to ask if he could make copies of any sheet music he had for the chorus my oldest daughter was a part of for 11 years. We offered to pay for the copies and he said no. I will take that back to our chorus director.

Yesterday was exciting! They came to him and asked him to write a letter for the court saying that he wanted to be adopted by us and he wanted to go to America. He was very excited! Since then, every time the phone rings or makes a noise, he is asking if it is Andrei, are we going to court? Only in Eastern Europe would someone be this excited to go to court! HAHA!!!! Apparently, this is a good sign of progress. So, we wait.

On a side note, last night Rich was up and down and not feeling the best. This morning, he was fine and I felt terrible. I tried to eat breakfast, but it was not happening. I went back to bed and slept most of the day. Rich hung out with our future son and played cards. He went across the street to get me a cold drink... they didn't have sprite or ginger ale (those 1st world problems rear their ugly heads again). I did finally eat some dinner. Yeah me!

Keep praying for speedy court process as we wait. We are also still $7000 short and really don't want to get stranded in Eastern Europe. Please help us get through our adoption and get this young man home. I was reminded by one of my pastors, that He is Jehovah Jireh, my provider! Thank you pastor Jim! He is faithful and He promised to open doors for us to do this, if we were faithful! God is building a testimony here...mine and this young man's.

You can donate at: http://reecesrainbow.org/86887/sponsorturner

We Have Arrived!!

So, we flew out on the 3rd from D.C.and tired through Frankfort to Eastern Europe. There was some turbulence but when we finally landed we just wanted to grab some groceries and get to the apartment. Vitaly was or driver that met us and his job was to get us set up and prepared for the next step. First stop was for money exchanging and the grocery store. Hryvina in hand, we went shopping. Let me tell you, the smell of the bread and seeing all the fresh veggies...I love it! We weren't sure how long we would be in Eastern Europe so we decided to shop light- this would prove to be wise! Really, we were exhausted and wanted to shower and swallow whatever was ready to chew...then sleep. I have to say that Rich has surprised me with his willingness to try new foods. After reaching the 'doll' apartment, we were given a phone to use that was programmed with everyone's numbers we might need while here. We gave Vitally some money to load minutes on the phone for us and said goodbye. The apartment, by the way, is beautiful! We showered, ate, watched one of the 2 English speaking channels and lost internet service. Fortunately, we had already found out from Yulia that we had DAP at 11 the next day- this means we could sleep. The next day, we went to or appointment and met our son-to-be. After a very short time, he put us back in the car with a driver of the day...Niko! Niko took us to a notary, we waited while he took care of the business end, he calls us in, we sign papers for the adoption (he did sit down and translate everything for us first...We didn't sign papers blindly!), and back in the car and return to the apartment. He told us to be ready at 4 and Vitaly would be back to get us. Ok!

Meanwhile, we did meet Yulia and Ludmilla at DAP. We told her about the internet and she said she would take care of it. Later on, we got our referral and Serge told us to be ready to leave early for the region. We were shocked! I mean we did ask for prayers for swiftness and fairness and funds too be released, but not has God been working overtime! I think He wants this young man home with us.
So, 530a.m. we are packed and downstairs from the apartment- remember how I said we shopped light? We still had food to bring with us...mainly fruits we bought. Now, it is Thursday morning and we are bumping along, serving and dodging the potholes with Max at the wheel and a GIGANTIC stuffed lion in back and starting me down! I took a nap, best defense driving on these roads..lol. We arrived in region, went to the store to get treats for the kids and a bottle of water. By the time we got to the orphanage, food was on the table and it was time for business. We met with Tatiana and Andrei and the team, had some good and went upstairs. The kids were there, all dressed in traditional clothing and the accordion player was ready to go! We immediately went to our soon to be son! He was smiling from ear to ear and so we're we! I can't begin to tell you how good it feels to finally be here and see him and let him know that he was never forgotten!

Soon, the social worker came to observe its interacting with each other. She seemed pleased and off they went to the office and before I knew it, Lena had me up and dancing with the kids! It was so nice to see them all again!

After some music and dancing and visiting, it was time for lunch. We joined Tatiana and the team for lunch and shortly after, the team was ready to go with instructions to call if we needed anything. Later that day, Andrei came to let us know he would take us to the store for any water or snacks we wanted.

Since we are staying in the orphanage, we only pay for our food while we are here. Also, we have internet via a little Wi-Fi box from Verizon they have us...We are paying a flat price for that for the duration we are here, roughly $12! So worth it. Generally speaking, staying here is not that bad of a deal and it allows a lot of time with our soon to be son. I promise to write more tomorrow when I am not so tired. Thank you for your thoughts, prayers, and conversation as we proceed. We are still about $7000 from being able to finish this journey and bring him home to America! If you feel led to, please visit the Reece's Rainbow website or you can donate using the above button. Good night!

I'm Leaving, on a Jet Plane...

Today is the day!!!! We will be heading out to D.C. in a while and getting on the plane to get our son! Yesterday, at church, our pastor asked us to stand up and share what we were doing and where we were in the process. We were expecting to be sitting in chairs for prayer at communion time, but not to speak. In any case, we got up and I talked- I promised my husband, back in the early part of this that I would never make him do it again (I got VERY sick right before a fundraiser at the church and couldn't go and he had to speak in front of the entire congregation!). See, my husband is an introvert all the way and public speaking is like torture to him! I on the other hand...well let's put it this way, my mother used to say that I could talk the wallpaper off the walls! I am generally not shy and don't no strangers. Ok, so I strayed a bit...sorry! I shared about this journey we have been on and how we have been so blessed and thankful to have a church family like we do and that this has definitely been a journey that we were called to by God. This has been a learning experience in patience and in trust. I shared how God has been meeting our needs and that we are leaving today, even though we are still short on finances, because we know it will come. There is still money coming in and last night, when we were l at our bank accounts, we saw that we actually have more money to add to what we already are taking with us. God math is the best!!!!! 

So, as we prepare to leave and leave our other kids behind, it is hard to leave them. They are old enough to handle themselves an feed themselves, but it still isn't easy. We have lots of friends around to help them with anything they need. They are so ready for us to go and finish this adoption and bring their brother home!

We have done our checklists and rechecked them and I know we are ready to go. Please continue to pray for our family- for protection, for financial release, for speedy court dates, for a smooth process (in region and at the embassy), for safety, and most of all for our new son that his heart will not be broken in leaving his friends and the only home he has known. He wants to come and is ready and anxiously waiting, but we hope that God will help us all to make this transition as seamlessly as possible.

So, I will do my best to try and keep this updated while we are gone.  Blessings from the Turner family!!!!!!



You Know You're Adopting When...

I almost forgot about this part of adoption...very important to know. Actually, I think I am going to start writing down things that have happened to us and others and make it a book...haha!

No, seriously. I have hear from others about this phenomenon, but lately we have really been experiencing it. It seemed to start once we were given dates. But, the enemy doesn't want us doing good and being obedient to what we are called in to. This past week, we had a wonderful time  at the Reunion and go home and realized my check engine light was on in my car- its a 2012 and I bought it new! So, a day off from work, a trip to the mechanic and $700+ later w have to find money to fix it. But guess what...God showed up! My church Outreach Committee stepped up and in and are taking care of it! I love my church- the way that they have always love me...warts and all! They do show the love of Jesus, and they are not perfect! Love my church family! Got that problem knocked down and on Monday, my car will be fixed!

 As we were waiting for that issue to be handled, my daughter became ill last night at work. She was having an allergic reaction and we couldn't figure out why. Got some Benadryl on board and left work and her tongue began to swell again! So, off to the hospital ER we went! We walked in to Chesapeake General and within 15 minutes, they had her in a room, IV started, and pushing steroids and antihistamines! They were amazing! She had an allergy to seafood and shellfish. She had eaten a piece of ham a minute or so before the reaction, so we thought that was it. After staying overnight for observation, we came home. I called the company that made the ham and talked to a lady there. It was a division of Smithfield and they have only pork in the facility. As we chatted, I was telling her how careful my daughter is and how they sneak stuff in all the time and you can never be too careful. She agreed and then began telling how there was a yogurt she had eaten and then read the label and it had TILAPIA! Are you kidding me? It sent bells off for me, she had eaten yogurt...is it possible? I asked her which one it was and we started comparing notes and sure enough...it was the SAME ONE! My daughter had eaten it yesterday morning and also the day before...I guess the amount was small enough not to hit her right away, but with the second exposure...BAM!!!  Let me tell you, MUELLERS yogurt does not label it right out. On the Fruit Up product, it is right in the ingredients. However, the others use 'KOSHER GELATIN" for a thickener....beware, it is made from FISH BONES! REALLY? And there is no alert for KOSHER GELATIN!!!! She is home now and resting but had a slight flare of tongue swelling earlier tonight. She is giving up a weekend trip with her friend to rest and recoup.

Guess what Satan? God has this too! You will not stop us for what He has called us to do. We already love this boy as our own and we will get him home. Please keep our family in prayer as we move forward. Pray a hedge of protection over all of our kids as we prepare to leave. Prayer for provision and for God math to be at work in all aspects of this adoption- God math is when He makes that money go further than is mathematically impossible.

Fundraising Never Ends!

    So, we left off with some fundraisers in the works. Let's jump in and say that our spaghetti dinner was a great success! I was able to have most everything donated and for decorations, I went very simple- Dollar Tree tablecloths and vases, I went to a wholesale florists and purchased some flowers to have on the tables. The sauce and pasta were donated by Ted Papfil of Norfolk Catering Company & The Norfolk Grille restaurant- THANK YOU TED!!!! The bread was donated through our church via the Day end Doughnation program at Panera Bread! And Salad and drinks were donated by friends! And last , but certainly not least...my new friend Candy and her jazz band came as a trio to provide the entertainment for the evening- FREE of charge!!!!!All told, we spent out about $45 and we were blessed to the tune of almost $2000!!!! Talk about being blown away! We had so many people come out to support us and our adoption of this young man. Friends from church, friends from our choir family (even one family that lives more than 30 minutes away), from our dance family...all came to show love and support for us and this young man they only know through our words. How could we not call that a success? God showed up again!

    The other fundraiser we were doing was a donation yard sale. Well, that was not as successful, but I saw families that didn't have much, come and able to get some thing that made them happy and realistically, I needed to get things out of the house. We made almost $50 dollars from it- but we got started late and it had been drizzling that morning. I am okay, because we will do another one.

    I almost forgot...when we came home from the spaghetti dinner, my mother had tried to call and sent me a message through Facebook Messenger. I didn't know she knew how to do that...HAHA! Anyway, she was calling because she was feeling bad and wanted to send us some money, but felt like we wouldn't be helped by it. WHAT!? I told her exactly what her money would cover and she felt relieved and put a check in the mail to us right away. See, she was worried that her donation wouldn't help and so, she didn't send anything! It is SO important to let people know what their donation amounts can help pay for! Her money will put a roof over our head for a day and food ion our bellies for at least a day. My son asked if he and his sister could do stuff to raise money after we leave and my answer was- SURE...ABSOLUTELY!!! I am so impressed with our kids through this because they just get it and want to do something bigger than themselves. These are the days that really make me see that what we poured into them over the years, it sunk in. I have been saving all these daily scriptures I get on my phone from K-Love, the ones that have spoken to me through the process or have encouraged me. One day, after the adoption is done, I am going to add them to this blog.

   So, I remember last time we were waiting to see if we would get submitted and we were racing the clock to beat the quarterly shutdown. well, the shutdown hit and....we heard crickets. I was so disappointed. But, I had to remind myself that this is NOT about me or my timing or my wants! God has this and has had it from the beginning! So, I began to help my friend with vacation Bible school at church ( I was a little disappointed because I was supposed to have been gone already) and decided to be busy and wait...patiently. UGH! There's that word again...Yes God, I hear you! And my mom "Jeannie, patience is a virtue." . So, as our anniversary approached (23 years), we were at the church doing VBS stuff(my 17 y/o daughter and I) and we ate Taco Bell and the next morning, July 10th we woke up sick with food poisoning! My phone rang a few times and my response was to throw it under the covers and go back to sleep. I finally woke up around 1:30 in the afternoon and thought I should check for messages in case anything important was happening. I had numbers I didn't recognize and let go to voicemail and a couple of texts and other messages. Well, one of the ones I ignored...it was Nancy. I still didn't think anything of it and thought let me get awake and then I will call her back. I called her back and whined a bit about being sick and she said, 'Well, maybe I can help. I just found out you guys got submitted the Thursday before the break!'. WHAT? 'And there's more, you have your DAP on August 5th!' I couldn't believe it!

    In the meantime, I had met some folks that we all thought we would travel together, but that's okay because we are going to get our son! So, now time is drawing closer and we still need so much more raised in financial support! Please keep us in prayer and donate if you can. We have to book our flights in the next few days and I know God has this!

Since we got our date, we have been to the Reece's Rainbow Reunion and met some folks that we knew online and others that we didn't know at all, got a couple of bumps in our FSP, but there is still more to go!



Time to get back to work!

So, here we find ourselves, it's mid January and we are thinking everything is right on track and we can start to focus on new fundraisers. Well, that in and of itself is enough to make you go bonkers...and we had a lot to do. We started doing multiple events and sales of different items and a little at a time we started to make some money for our adoption. Things were beginning to look up. We did a couple nights at Buffalo Wild Wings and they were the easiest restaurants we have ever worked with! They allowed us to hand out flyers at the door and even let us go around and talk with other patrons and give them flyers! If you have one close to you- use them for a fundraiser night!

Then, we get a letter from USCIS with an RFE (request for evidence) and realize that , in an effort to save us some time, our immigration lawyer had filed the I600 and not the I600A! Now for those of you who have been through this, you know that is not good. It essentially out us in a Catch-22 with paperwork. We needed the approval to go complete the adoption, but we cant complete the adoption without approval. GRRRR!!!!! So, we began talking to our attorney and also with our congressman's office and giving them info so they can try to help us get immigration to give us a provisional approval, This battle went on for a few weeks. A lot of back and forth, but in the end we prevailed! We were finally given approval and received a new RFE and a later date to complete the adoption by! In the process of all of this paperwork and waiting, I discovered that my attorney is a believer and was paying for a quick resolution to this. We knew that the odds were against us, but we kept pressing on and telling them how THIS child was aging out and we were his only hope and chance! Someone had to know how to fix this error! Finally, in late May or early June,  we got a call from our immigration officer that we had been given approval and she would get it out to right away!

I have to tell you that during all of this, we had people praying for God to remove all mountains in our way and as they came up, I would let my friends and prayer warriors know what the name of the mountain was and they would begin to pray against it. And as they prayed against it, the mountain was moved out of our way! Praise God! While we were waiting for this last document to be sent, we were busy compiling all other things for our dossier and sending them over to be translated.

So, we knew we were approved, but the actual papers from immigration did not come and after more than a week, we got approval to receive them via email. We got them, had them notarized and off they went to Eastern Europe! Many thanks go out to all these amazing parents who care enough to carry all these paper babies over!

During all these months we have been able to Skype twice with our son and let him know we love him and that we are still coming to get him. I spoke to him the last time about 1 1/2 weeks ago. He finally got to meet his 'poppa'! I think they were both a little nervous. Anyway, we had a nice chat and our friends were with him for a missions trip they were doing. We were able to send him some items as a belated birthday gift. He loved them!

Since then, we have gotten the final document over and we expect to be submitted this week and get travel dates soon. YIPPEE!!!!  We still need prayers and support to bring him home. This coming Friday we have a fundraiser Spaghetti dinner wit a local jazz band. On Saturday, we have a yard sale going on and friends have generously donated items to sale! Say a prayer for us as we hope to raise lots of money and have lots of people come out for some fun!

There will be more to come as each day we get closer to adoption day!!!!

Oh, and God is still trying to teach me that patience thing...I am starting to understand it!

Holidays are coming!

Heading Home for the Holidays

So, the paperwork has been filed and we are still letting people know that we are pursuing this adoption. Through all of this paperwork and home study process, we find out that not one, but BOTH of my sisters-in-law have cancer. This makes it imperative to get home for Christmas and to share our pictures and our story with them and the rest of the family. we have told the family about our plans and I think some think we must be a bit crazy, because our youngest has started her junior year of high school and soon we could have an empty house!

I remember telling my mom about our plans and her reaction was too funny! I called her and asked her how many grandchildren she was up to now , because I had lost count. She said "I have eighteen. Can you believe that?". I said 'Wow, well how would you like to make it 19?' and she screamed...lol! Then she started talking about how she just knew I was going to be like her and have another baby later in life. I had to laugh and then remind her that that was impossible since I have already had a hysterectomy. She was a bit confused and then asked what I was talking about. I then shared with her about this young man.

I think my in-laws were about more confused as to why we would do this and why now. I kind of thought it might take a little more time for them to wrap their head around it. So, we took pictures with us when we went home, as a way to introduce him to everyone. It wasn't until then that I realized he looked an awful lot like my oldest brother, as a teen. Amazing how God does that isn't it? My mother thought he looked like our youngest daughter until I pointed out the resemblance to my brother. This was just more confirmation to me that he was our son and that God had called us to him. He is supposed to be a part of our family.

Oh, I almost forgot! Our friend David had gone over in October, while we were doing paperwork, ad nauseum, for some business and to visit the orphanage where our son lives. We quickly put together a photo book with some pics of the family and our dogs and the house so he could deliver them. While he was there, he was able to go to the café with our son and a couple of friends to Skype with us. We had planned everything out so he could meet everyone (except Beth, she was in college)- and then life happened and he only got to 'meet' Michael. Oh and we talked and he was looking through the book as we talked and I had him meet the dogs too! I gave him a tour of the house and we were able to talk about things he liked and was interested in trying. He was very fascinated with the fact that we had 2 dogs and they live inside with us. He wants to learn to swim and to dance. I was struck by the things we take so easily for granted are his actual dreams!

Back to the holidays!!!!

We had a wonderful visit with our family and they started to understand the plight of these children and that we were called to this one child. We felt very grateful and encouraged by our family. The day after Christmas we had a photographer that came out and took family photos for us and it was wonderful! We were able to capture some beautiful shots of my husband and his sisters being goofy, loving each other and everyone's family's. These would be memories that we were going to be grateful we took the time for.

Over Christmas, I would become friends with someone from California- Tracy! She was overseas to adopt her son, from the same orphanage as us. We quickly became friends and she was able to message me and let me talk with my son through Facebook messenger. We spent A LOT of time on there! My son would come up to her every time she was available and point to her phone and ask 'Mama, mama Jeannie.", meaning he wanted her to message me. I am SO grateful to Tracy for her relaying info for us and being there to encourage him that he is loved and he has a family that will come for him. Tracy has been such a support and an encourage when things have not gone the way they should. And she has prayed through every mountain that needed to be moved.

January came and we got news that we had to travel home again. Our church and friends were awesome and supported u with funds to go home again, this time to say goodbye to one of my sisters-in-law. I tell you this, not to be a downer, but this is all part of how life happens in the midst of this crazy journey and how your faith can be tested and how God brings you through and makes you stronger in the end. All these trips home can be expensive and when you are trying to save every bit to get your child home, it is hard. We began to put together a package to send to our son in honor of his birthday...it has taken time to do that.

I will end here for today, but I will pick up the journey soon!

Stepping out

Where do We Start?

So, we decided to step out on faith and do whatever we needed to be obedient to this journey that I, and eventually the whole family, would be called into. We got home and talked about the whys and hows of adopting an older child and one from another country, etc. We talked with or friends- David and Jane- and asked how this all works and how will we ever get the funds, and what does the home study involve. There were a million questions and we had no idea how this was going to happen, but we had to give that over to God.

I struggle with control issues- I know how shocking this revelation will be to all my friends! This was going to prove to be my most difficult lesson in this. However, God puts people in our lives to help give us the reality check we need at times. After being told, several times by my friend Jane, that I needed to just get over any semblance of having control in this, I heard it again from another lady at church. She knows the struggle, because she went through it as well when they adopted their son. She was very sweet and VERY real with me. As we chatted by the bathroom sink on a Sunday morning, she looked at me and laughed (I think it was sort of that knowing kind of laughter) and said "Jeannie, you are NOT in control of any of this, God is. And the sooner you realize this and get on board with it, the better you will be and the sooner you start to see things come together." I don't know why her telling me was any different than when Jane did, but it was like that moment in a cartoon when the light bulb literally pops up above the characters head! From that day on, I have made a conscious decision everyday to tell God that He is in control of this adoption and I am just doing my best to be obedient. Surprise...things started to go more smoothly and I wasn't as stressed. Is everyday perfect and without hiccups...heck NO! But I find myself drawn back to those few moments here and there where I am reminded that I am not in control and IT IS OKAY!

So, we proceeded to find an agency that could and would do our home study, given the short amount of time we had. Oh yes, we began the process in earnest in August and he was aging out in late December! This meant that we had to act quickly and get our home study finished and paperwork filed with USCIS before that happened. That gave us a limited number of choices for agencies and all the paperwork that must be gathered from various states- we moved around a bit as the military will do. Every single day counted and there was not one to spar if this was going to happen. We connected with an agency and then 6 weeks in, they said they didn't want to do our home study after all. We were devastated and shocked! How were we going to find an agency that could make this happen now? We asked people to pray and contacted a new one. That was the BEST thing that could have happened for us. The new agency was more than happy to help and understood the plight of this child if we didn't adopted him. Our social worker was and continues to be amazing! She and I talked and on a Wednesday we set up our 3 home visits, the first of which she drove to us (3.5 hours) on a Sunday afternoon. We met that Sunday and completed the first visit and interviews with 2 kids. The social worker was very realistic and very proactive and helped us complete things quickly.

Changing agencies was very hard to get my head around too because now with a new agency came a new requirement of either another agency to sign off or an immigration attorney. This of course meant more expense. Well, because of some generous friends and certain circumstances, we had the money to cover that. Again, God stepped in and spoke to some friends' heart and they had prayed about it and decided to bless us with enough to cover the fees that we had at that time! So, when we found that we needed more funds for this part, we asked for prayer and kept on doing some fundraising. we have been so blessed through the whole thing and God has not let us down! He keeps showing up! I guess He figured that if I was going to give up control, and let Him drive this, then He was going to show me in BIG ways that He is in control! And yet, at this point I was still trying to get in the drivers seat.

By the time we started heading in to November and the deadline was getting closer for filing our papers with immigration, all I wanted for Christmas was to know that we had the documents done in time! We decided that our main gift for each other (myself and hubby) was to get this boy filed to give him a forever home! Because of the expense of the adoption, we talked to our kids and it was agreed that Christmas was going to be done small this year so we could fund bringing home a new son. We also, wanted to go home to see family and introduce this boy through pictures to them.

The Monday before Christmas, we got the call from our immigration attorney that the documents had been filed! They were sent FedEx on Monday and he turned 16 on that Saturday!



Our Adoption Journey:

A Step Out Into Faith

Our adoption journey begins with us traveling to Eastern Europe with friends for a missions trip.

My daughter, Alicia was 16 and we were very excited to make this trip together. We had worked to put together crafts to go along with Bible stories that we could teach the children.

I have to admit that when we left, I had NO intention of adopting! We traveled to a place in Eastern Europe to provide a 4 day Bible camp for the kids- complete with the story, a craft, and music! The kids were so excited about it and they participated with such joy! While we were there, Alicia fell in love with 2 little boys- both 10. I still didn't have the feeling that I wanted to adopt. While my heart broke for these children, I didn't think I would be one that would actually adopt...perhaps I could just share with others about the need. While we were there working with the kids, we had the chance to share a lot of 'first' experiences with them- going to an amusement park, a day trip to swim in a river, even a dinner out for pizza at a local cafe. I not only got to experience some of their 'firsts', I got to experience of lot of my own daughter's 'firsts'.

We left from the orphanage and headed back for a Conference on Children with Disabilities. We were very excited to be a part of this and learn what the needs and desires of the people are for their children. As I learned more and more about this, I had this little voice that began to prod me- softly, quietly, constantly. Why? Why couldn't I forget this one child we had met? He kept being brought to my mind and with each thought I tried to deny that I was hearing. I continued to try and ignore that little voice- you can't ignore God forever! On one of our last nights there, we had a wonderful meal with several of the conference presenters and the orphanage director and a few others from the orphanage. As we were taking a few pictures and preparing to say goodbye I found myself giving in and asking the director for more information about this one young man we had met. She was surprised and happy! I told her that I could not stop thinking of him and wanted more information about him. We soon would learn that he was very close to aging out and we had to act quickly if we were going to do this.

I messaged my husband and told him about the young man and he had the perfect response- "Just one?". He was surprised I didn't want 2 or 3! From the beginning Rich was on board. We had no idea what we were doing, how we could do it, but I was sure that we were being called to do it and for that we had to simply step out on faith. So, we did just that and God has provided all along this journey for our every need. 

So, this is how it all began and I will add more about how God has shown up and provided for us and helped to move the mountains that we have had!