What’s new with our adoption?

Kevin and I have been busy the last couple weeks trying to get our last steps completed before we could submit our dossier to our agency! Finally on January 20^th we mailed our dossier to our agency with a check of $4838! Whew! Our agency will compile all the documents according to the standards of the Congo government and they will send it off! Yay! Baby Weldon, we are going to get you soon! We have not gotten our I600A Immigration approval but the Congo doesn’t require that approval to be sent with the dossier so we can send our immigration approval to our agency when we receive word that we have been approved! We had 7 months to complete our dossier and we have gotten it done in 1 month! That means we will be put on the waiting list sooner than we had thought! Praise the Lord!

Goodbye Dossier! Hello Congo!

We are now in the process of applying for grants to help reduce the cost of our adoption! We should have 2 grant applications submitted to Lifesong for Orphans and to the Southern Baptist Minister Grant Fund this week. Also, we have been accepted to be the featured family the week of February 26^th with an organization called Give1 Save1. Basically, people donate $1 towards our adoption fund and if 1000 people give $1 then that’s $1000 that goes to bringing home our baby! It is such an awesome idea and we are privileged to be part of this ministry!! 



Give $1 to the featured family this week! Click here!

NEXT STEP: FUNDRAISE, FUNDRAISE, FUNDRAISE!

OUR NEXT PAYMENT $3500.    

God's Perfect Timing

Over the past several weeks our blog has had a sudden burst of views largely due to people connecting to it from Pinterest from some of our Adoption Photos being pinned. (If you don’t know what Pinterest is then you NEED to check it out! It’s AWESOME!) I have been absolutely amazed at the adoption community out there. People from all over the world have visited our blog and my heart leaps for joy at the thought of God’s people praying for our child in Africa! This week we have had visits from Canada, Germany, Australia, South Korea, New Zealand, Italy, Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico, Uganda, and South Africa!

Who's reading our blog!?

I have also had several emails from some pretty amazing sisters in Christ who are also experiencing the joy of adoption! We don’t know each other but we know what it feels like to be on this adoption journey. Sometimes we begin the journey because of infertility or because we feel the call from God to expand our families through adoption. Nonetheless, we are all Mommas to children somewhere in the world. God’s grace is sufficient and God’s heart is kind. I feel His love everyday when I pray for our child. I see His provision when we get another donation. I know God is working! Sometimes when I get discouraged I just feel like giving up! Throwing in the towel and saying “I can’t do it!” You know what? I can’t do it! But God CAN! So I rest in the fact that God has perfect timing! God’s word tells me that He makes all things beautiful in His time (Ecc 3:11). He tells me that I can plan my life but HE establishes my steps (Prov.16:9). The most beautiful evidence of God’s perfect timing is His Son, Jesus, coming to earth! In ALL of time, God chose the time for Jesus to be born to Mary when her and Joseph were very FAR away from home registering for the census (Luke 2). When they were in Bethlehem the Bible says that “the time for her to give birth” came. At THAT time, in THAT place, in THAT city Jesus was born. Oh how beautiful God’s timing is! When I have heart ache that I must wait for our baby in Africa to come home then I remind myself of the story of Jesus coming to earth! It really puts things in perspective! To my fellow adoptive Mommas: Be patient, love the Lord, and be full of faith! The time will come when we can hold our children!

Here are a few things that have helped me when I struggle:

* Fill my heart and mind with God’s Word! Memorize scripture!

* Limit my time researching on the internet!

* I don’t get on Facebook and read the newsfeed! I usually just check my messages and then log out! Sometimes seeing pregnancy announcements, baby shower pics, and maternity pics can get my focus off of God’s kindness towards me.

* Find 4 or 5 Godly women to be your prayer partners! Text them when you struggle! Text them when you rejoice! Let them keep you accountable!

*Daily Quiet Time and Prayer.

Adoption Resources

During our process of deciding if adoption was in our future we used several different resources to help us in the decision. Kevin and I of course first and foremost turned to God's Word to see what He says about adoption.  We know that Christ came to earth to rescue us and adopt us into His family. We desperately wanted to rescue a child and adopt them into our home and life as our son or daughter. We truly believe that adoption demonstrates the beauty of the Gospel. Here are some scriptures that we hold close to our hearts regarding adoption!

*But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. Galatians 4:4-6

*Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. James 1:27

*Father to the fatherless, defender of widows — this is God, whose dwelling is holy. God places the lonely in families. Psalms 68:5-6

*And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me. Matthew 18:5

* “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you." John 14:18

Resources We Recommend

Adopted for Life, Author: Russell Moore

This book was a huge in helping us find the answers to what God says about adoption. Dr. Moore adopted 2 boys from Russia after he and his wife struggled with infertility for several years. He gives practical wisdom on adoption and also helps answer the questions that every potential adoptive parent asks on several major topics like, Special Needs or Healthy….Can I really love an adopted child…..Bi-racial adoptions….domestic or international…..foster care or adoption, and so much more! Very helpful resource! Check it out!

Orphanology, Author: Tony Merida and Rick Morton

-a practical response to God’s command to care for the fatherless told through the stories of families and ministries who are responding. Basically, Orphanology helps explain how God cares for orphans and why God’s people should put emphasis on caring for orphans.  This book is great because it uses the adoption stories of the authors to give insight into how to respond to God’s call and what the adoption process is like physically, emotionally, and spiritually. 

Kisses from Katie, Author: Katie Davis

This book is written by a young girl who answered God’s call to minister in Uganda. She mothers 13 Ugandan girls ages 2 to 15. I have absolutely loved reading about how this young “normal” teenager considered the cost of following Christ and chose to follow Him. Katie gives stories about day to day life in Uganda and beautifully communicates how her love for these children surpasses all understanding.

It gives me great encouragement to know that even though I may not share the same DNA or skin color as my child, the relationship of mother and child will No Doubt be real and genuine!

Recommended Sermon:

Adoption: The Heart of the Gospel by John Piper

This sermon outlines 8 similarities between God’s adoption of us and our adoption of children.  Piper uses scripture to show that adoption is a beautiful and vivid display of the Gospel!

http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/conference-messages/adoption-the-heart-of-the-gospel

Where we are in our process right now:

We received word from our agency on January 9th that our home study has been approved and is ready to be notarized! Once we receive our notarized copies of our home study from our social worker then we can send in our I600A (immigration paperwork). Our agency said that the current processing time for the I600A is 40+ days. We are praying that God’s favor will fall on our paperwork and that it will get processed and approved in less time! Please keep praying for us and our child in Africa!  

The New Year and Our Adoption

Kevin and I had a busy New Year's weekend! Kevin was invited by Trinity Baptist Church from Southaven, Mississippi to lead a retreat for their youth students at Fall Creek Falls State Park in Spencer, TN. We were absolutely delighted to be able to spend time with the youth minister and his wife, Brad and Elicia Walker and their student group. Brad and Elicia have two biological children and have also been able to experience the joy of adoption by adopting their third son domestically. I absolutely loved talking to another adoptive mother! She had so much wisdom and advice to share! We were blessed by what God taught us through this weekend!

Brad, Elicia, Will, Jackson and Benjamin Walker

The youth group of Trinity Baptist Church

Now it’s 2012 and I wonder what it will bring for my life. I wonder if Kevin and I will be able to travel to Africa to pick up our child. I wonder what this next year of youth ministry will bring. Etc, etc, etc. I think, worry, and wonder about many different things. I was reminded that God is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness (Exodus 34:6). No matter what 2012 will bring I can be certain of God’s beautiful attributes. What happens next year will NEVER change who God is. God is the meaning and purpose of our lives. I have tried to tune out the clatter of what our culture says our lives and goals should be! I pray that I would reflect God in my daily life and that I would love and serve other people for the sake of the Gospel. Take the time today to pray that you would live 2012 to glorify God by serving and worshiping only Him!

Where we are in our adoption process…….

We had our final meeting with our social worker on December 26^th. She has made a couple changes to our home study paperwork and we are currently waiting for our agency to approve it. Once we get it approved and finalized we will be able to 1) Send in our I-600A (Immigration paperwork) 2) Start applying for grants and 3) Finish our dossier. Our dossier paperwork is coming together nicely and we are currently just waiting to receive documents back from several people that need to sign or produce a document for us. Hopefully we will have our dossier completed by the end of January! Woo Hoo! Keep praying for us!

10,000 Reasons

Over the past couple months Kevin and I have been super busy trying to do a balancing act with youth ministry, holiday events and travel, and of course our adoption. It has been hard to sit down and think long enough to organize our thoughts on our adoption and just life in general. It is just a few days before Christmas and I wanted to do a quick posting on what our hearts are feeling this Christmas. I have such an overwhelming feeling of gratitude and thankfulness for Christ. I cry EVERY Christmas when I think about Jesus coming to Earth by the way of a young faithful girl named Mary. The Christmas story is so incredibly beautiful. Imagine Mary. Mary had the privilege to carry the Savior of mankind in her tummy. It says in Luke 2:19 that Mary treasured what she was told by the angel about the child she would carry. Jesus came to Earth as a humble baby that needed to be cared for, fed, changed, rocked, and loved. As I pray for our child in Africa today I remember Jesus. I praise him for the 10,000 reasons we have to be thankful. Christ has already chosen the child that will be a Weldon. He has known for all of time that small baby in Africa would be part of Our family. Just like God knew for all of time that he would send a Savior to Earth by way of a young virgin named Mary. I may not be able to know what it is like to carry a child in my womb like Mary but I will know the same joy that Mary had as she sat and cared for the child that she was promised. Take the time today to thank God for sending Christ Jesus the Savior to save and redeem His creation.

Our little Christmas Tree! :)

Our silly Christmas sweater party on our youth Winter Retreat!

Home Study Meeting & Compiling our Dossier

Kevin and I had our first meeting with our social worker for our home study last week. For those of you who are new to adoption I will give you a basic run down on what a home study and dossier is. A home study is where adoptive parents meet with a licensed social worker and the social worker will compile a profile about you to submit to your country as part of your dossier. The social worker will basically look at what kind of people you are and what kind of home you will provide to an adoptive child. They will also make recommendations of the best age of child you and your spouse will be suitable to parent. A dossier is a set of documents that includes very detailed information about yourself. The dossier is sent to the country you are adopting from and is used to find a child that best suits your family. The dossier phase of your adoption is often referred to as the “great paper chase”. Your social worker and agency will provide you with all the help you need to get your dossier completed. Completing a dossier can range from 3-7 months. It can be quite overwhelming but just think of the beautiful child you are going to rescue! This is just part of the process. It will all be worth it and forgotten when you hold your dear child!

Our first home study day was crazy! By the time we made it to our meeting we were 15 minutes late and completely frazzled! Our meeting was scheduled so we could meet half way from where she lived and from where we lived. Our meeting was at 1:30pm and I worked till noon. Kevin and I had worked for hours on our questions from our social worker! Kevin went to his office to print everything off and get it all ready to give to our social worker and he could not find them ANYWHERE on our laptop! Somehow and someway, our 35 questions plus his 25 questions that he needed to complete on his own got deleted. So needless to say we were freaking out! But our social worker was very patient and gracious and allowed us to submit those questions later. Our meeting with her went awesome and we were relieved when we had completed the meeting. She was very nice and professional and knowledgeable. We have scheduled our next meeting to be in our home on December 26^th! She will look at our living situation and include a description of our home in her report. She will also be able to give us feedback on how we need to improve our home or make our home a better environment for our adoptive child. We are so excited about completing this step in our adoption process. Once we have a completed home study on file then we will be able to apply for grants and loans that will help in reducing the overall cost of our adoption.

Home Study & Dossier Tips:

*When searching for a social worker you need to check with your adoption agency because they will usually have a list of home study agencies in your state that they have used previously. Our agency provided a list of 5 or 6 agencies. We contacted each one of them. After speaking with these agencies we were able to look at prices, the process in which they complete the home study, and how we connected with the person we spoke with. You need to choose a social worker/home study agency that you feel comfortable speaking to and discussing your adoption. Our social worker was very professional and helpful and we felt full confidence that we made the right choice.

*Make several copies of everything you give to your social worker and your adoption agency. I have made several copies of our driver’s licenses/social security cards/marriage license etc. This will allow you be able to have access to all the documents just in case anything gets lost or needs to be resubmitted.

* BE ORGANIZED: buy a cardboard filing system so you will be able to place all your documents and copies for your adoption in one place. This will save you time and frustration when you are trying to mark things off your to do list!

* I have also printed our 53 page dossier guide and placed it in a sturdy 3 pronged binder so I can reference it easily and quickly.

*You will need to have many, many, many things notarized! Choose a notary that you will be able to easily access and whose notary commission doesn’t expire before your dossier gets sent to your child’s country. Our notary will be our church secretary so we will be able to get her to notarize something every week if we need it!

I hope this information helps you in understanding the process and I hope this helps those of you who are in the adoption process!

Paperwork, Passports, and Provision

We wanted to post an update on what has been going on over the past few weeks! We have begun working with a social worker out of Clarksville. We have mounds of paperwork that we need to complete for our home study. That paperwork includes 5 personal references, 35 questions to be completed together, 20 questions to be completed individually, medical examinations, criminal background checks, home safety checklist, copies of birth certificates/ marriage license/ social security cards/ proof of income, and fingerprinting. Right now, all of our references have been sent in and we have also completed all of our questions. We have appointments with a physician next week to complete our medical exams. Also, we have bought another smoke alarm, fire extinguisher, carbon monoxide detector, plug covers, and we have moved our medications to higher shelving. We have also turned in our passports and requested our birth certificates and we have completed 3 out of 10 hours of adoption training through our agency. Whew! It has been such a whirlwind of paperwork but each step we complete is another step closer to getting our child! I am glad to do paperwork and safety check our home if it means we can fill our extra bedroom with a smiling baby Weldon!

God has also provided another $1750 which brings our grand total deposited into our adoption fund to be 11555.05!! We have sent in our 2^nd payment to our agency of $2150 and we have gotten the okay to begin our 2nd and final step in completing our dossier. Another answered prayer is that God provided better vehicle for Kevin to drive. We were able to sell his current vehicle and purchase a bigger vehicle that will last us the next couple years until our family grows a little more! The family that sold us the vehicle was such a joy to meet and it was wonderful that we all shared a common faith in Jesus. They have a 2 year old son and are expecting triplets soon! We praise the Lord for his kindness and faithfulness to his children. Our God is such a wonderful Father and he loves to give good gifts to His children.

Kevin's "new" vehicle.

Over Thanksgiving we were able to spend time with Kevin’s family in Michigan. We were able to see our nephews and spend time with the whole family for dinner on Thanksgiving! It was a great trip and we miss everyone already! Praise the Lord for family and for his love! Now we are gearing up for Christmas time! We are excited to prepare to take our youth group students on their winter retreat December 16th-19th! Pray that God will bless this trip and that he will speak to each individual student!

This is the group of girls we brought on the Winter Retreat last year!

This is the group of boys we brought on the Winter Retreat!

We always have so much fun! It's my favorite youth trip of the year! Nothing like admiring the beauty of God's creation than by spending time in the
Smoky Mountains! :)