Well, we are getting closer to getting our girl. This week we received our court approval on our home study. We are officially certified to adopt, according to the state of Arizona! This was a big step that we were waiting on.
Now, we can apply to USCIS (Immigration) to bring a child from China into the US. This step will take up to 3 months. Part of the process includes getting biometrics (fingerprinting) done. Most of the time, this is approved within about 35 to 40 days, if they don't require extra information or anything. Please pray that this step goes smoothly and quickly. This step could be the difference between a fall or winter gotcha day.
After immigration approval we can send that and the home study through the same process as all the other paperwork (Secretary of State certification and Chinese Consulate authentication). This will take a couple of weeks. Then, everything can go off to China. So, lets pray for this all to happen by June. That would be a huge blessing!
In other news, we are doing a t-shirt fundraiser. Who doesn't love a good t-shirt? And all to help bring a child home to a forever family. Please take a look and share with everyone you know.
https://www.bonfirefunds.com/widner-adoption-fund
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Exciting things
So, as I stated in the previous post, we had some things happen this month. We've had some ups, we've had some downs. And we've had a really exciting past two weeks!
Less than two weeks after we had to deny a referral of a little girl, we got another referral. This one was for an amazing little one year old girl. And she is so precious, the cutest little thing you ever did see! And we fell in love. So, after less than a week consulting with a couple of doctors, praying, talking with family and friends and praying some more, we decided that we would love to bring this little girl home. After turning in a letter of intent to adopt this little one and waiting another week, China sent us our pre-approval. This means that they agree to let us apply to adopt this specific little girl. So, with great excitement, we introduce to you....
So, you see why we are praying hard for things to get moving along with our home study and uscis approval?!? We are just a little bit in a hurry to bring this little girl home. Please join us in praying for things to speed up. Please pray for little Carissa. For her heart to be prepared for this journey ahead for her, for her to be in good health and spirits. And please pray that she will be joining our family sooner than later. :o)
John 14:18. "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you"
Less than two weeks after we had to deny a referral of a little girl, we got another referral. This one was for an amazing little one year old girl. And she is so precious, the cutest little thing you ever did see! And we fell in love. So, after less than a week consulting with a couple of doctors, praying, talking with family and friends and praying some more, we decided that we would love to bring this little girl home. After turning in a letter of intent to adopt this little one and waiting another week, China sent us our pre-approval. This means that they agree to let us apply to adopt this specific little girl. So, with great excitement, we introduce to you....
So, you see why we are praying hard for things to get moving along with our home study and uscis approval?!? We are just a little bit in a hurry to bring this little girl home. Please join us in praying for things to speed up. Please pray for little Carissa. For her heart to be prepared for this journey ahead for her, for her to be in good health and spirits. And please pray that she will be joining our family sooner than later. :o)
John 14:18. "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you"
Current events.
So, it was an eventful month in the Widner household. Besides all the normal activity stuff with the kids and their school and their sports, we had several things happen on the adoption front.
A few weeks back we got a referral for a little girl. She was a beautiful 4 year old girl that was just precious. We were so close to saying yes to bringing her home. After talking to a doctor about her and reviewing her file several times, I just had a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. She just wasn't our girl. Part of it was, we had an unusually short amount of time to review her file (we are talking hours) and part of it was just that something didn't feel right. We couldn't come up with a yes, so we had to say no. It was so hard to say no. After calling the agency with our answer, I just dissolved into tears. It's an extremely difficult thing to do, to look at a child's video, see her picture, know she needs a family and have to admit to yourself that you just aren't the right family for her. Heartbreaking!
So, we moved on, praying that God would bring that precious girl her family very soon.
In the meantime, we got nearly all of our paperwork for our dossier done.(paperwork that goes to China with our application to adopt). Every piece of paper (there are a total of 13) has to go through several processes. First, you have to notarize it, then you send it to the secretary of state for them to say the notary is legit. Then, you have to send it to a Chinese consulate for them to put a stamp of approval that the document is a real and legitimate document. It has taken months for us to gather 11 of these documents and send them all through the process. So, this picture produced an awesome feeling. 11 out of 13 documents notarized, certified and authenticated. Yay!
So, what we are waiting on now, is our home study to be finalized and approved. Arizona has the lovely additional step of having to go through the juvenile courts for approval. So, we have to wait for that now. We had some delays at getting to this point. So, we are praying that this will go quickly. We would love your prayers that this approval will take closer to 30 days and not the 60 days they are allowed to take.
After (or possibly while we are waiting) local court approval, our international placing agency, CCAI, has to look over the home study and make sure everything is just right. When they approve it, we can send it to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Here they will, hopefully, approve us to bring a child into the United States. This time frame can be huge. Depending on if they decide they need clarification on something or proof of something we have in our home study. Please pray this will not happen and things will get approved quickly (quick is like 35 days for this process). :o) Since, the home study is taking so much longer to get finished then expected, we could really use a break on this step.
After those two things are done, we have to send those through the same process as the other 11 documents. Then, we send them all to CCAI for them to look over with a fine tooth comb. (Hopefully everything will be perfect.) After they look it over, they will bind it up, make it look professional and pretty and send it off to China. And then the waiting begins...
I'm gonna have to double blog this one. Because, before I explain the rest of the process, I would like to let you know of another event that happened this past couple of weeks.
Stay tuned...
A few weeks back we got a referral for a little girl. She was a beautiful 4 year old girl that was just precious. We were so close to saying yes to bringing her home. After talking to a doctor about her and reviewing her file several times, I just had a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. She just wasn't our girl. Part of it was, we had an unusually short amount of time to review her file (we are talking hours) and part of it was just that something didn't feel right. We couldn't come up with a yes, so we had to say no. It was so hard to say no. After calling the agency with our answer, I just dissolved into tears. It's an extremely difficult thing to do, to look at a child's video, see her picture, know she needs a family and have to admit to yourself that you just aren't the right family for her. Heartbreaking!
So, we moved on, praying that God would bring that precious girl her family very soon.
In the meantime, we got nearly all of our paperwork for our dossier done.(paperwork that goes to China with our application to adopt). Every piece of paper (there are a total of 13) has to go through several processes. First, you have to notarize it, then you send it to the secretary of state for them to say the notary is legit. Then, you have to send it to a Chinese consulate for them to put a stamp of approval that the document is a real and legitimate document. It has taken months for us to gather 11 of these documents and send them all through the process. So, this picture produced an awesome feeling. 11 out of 13 documents notarized, certified and authenticated. Yay!
So, what we are waiting on now, is our home study to be finalized and approved. Arizona has the lovely additional step of having to go through the juvenile courts for approval. So, we have to wait for that now. We had some delays at getting to this point. So, we are praying that this will go quickly. We would love your prayers that this approval will take closer to 30 days and not the 60 days they are allowed to take.
After (or possibly while we are waiting) local court approval, our international placing agency, CCAI, has to look over the home study and make sure everything is just right. When they approve it, we can send it to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Here they will, hopefully, approve us to bring a child into the United States. This time frame can be huge. Depending on if they decide they need clarification on something or proof of something we have in our home study. Please pray this will not happen and things will get approved quickly (quick is like 35 days for this process). :o) Since, the home study is taking so much longer to get finished then expected, we could really use a break on this step.
After those two things are done, we have to send those through the same process as the other 11 documents. Then, we send them all to CCAI for them to look over with a fine tooth comb. (Hopefully everything will be perfect.) After they look it over, they will bind it up, make it look professional and pretty and send it off to China. And then the waiting begins...
I'm gonna have to double blog this one. Because, before I explain the rest of the process, I would like to let you know of another event that happened this past couple of weeks.
Stay tuned...
Friday, February 28, 2014
What I know trumps how I feel....
"What I know trumps how I feel". Our former pastor at our church was known to say this quite often. It kind of has become a theme of many people in our church. And I'm reminding myself of this through this process.
What I feel: I struggle off and on with fear of the unknown, fear of what the future could hold, fear of losing friends, family and money.
What I know: I must try very hard not to make decisions based on fear!
Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you
Psalm 27:1 The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?
Isaiah 41:10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand
1 Peter 3:13-14 Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. "Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.
James 1:2 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
John 14:18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
Psalm 68:5-6 Father to the fatherless, defender of widows- this is God, whose dwelling is holy. God places the lonely in families; he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy. But he makes the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.
Matthew 18:5 And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me.
Psalm 82:3 Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed
Matthew 25:40 The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me".
What I feel: I struggle off and on with fear of the unknown, fear of what the future could hold, fear of losing friends, family and money.
What I know: I must try very hard not to make decisions based on fear!
Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you
Psalm 27:1 The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?
Isaiah 41:10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand
1 Peter 3:13-14 Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. "Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.
Romans 8:15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
What I feel: need for comfort, my space, my time. Sometimes just being selfish and wanting to just take care of me.
What I know: Life's not about me.
Philippians 2:1-4 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others
Romans 15:1-2 We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up
1 Corinthians 13:4-6 Love is patient, love is kind. It
does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is
not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of
wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
And most of all, when I'm feeling stress about the adoption, struggling with worry about how this is going to affect our lives, just kind of wigging out a bit. I remind myself of these things I do feel in my heart, but I also know.
James 1:2 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
John 14:18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
Psalm 68:5-6 Father to the fatherless, defender of widows- this is God, whose dwelling is holy. God places the lonely in families; he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy. But he makes the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.
Matthew 18:5 And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me.
Psalm 82:3 Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed
Matthew 25:40 The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me".
Thursday, January 16, 2014
Days like this...
There are days on this journey that are just plain overwhelming. When you sit to work on some paperwork, to see what needs to be done next and you make the mistake of looking too far ahead, or you look at too much at once, or you realize you have a piece of paperwork that might have a mistake and it needs to be redone. And it just hits you, "This is so much! It's too hard!". And it just feels near impossible. I had a day like that.
I know better. I know to just take one thing at a time, but I made the mistake of looking it all over. I looked at dossier paperwork I needed to get done. Plus, I was beginning to fill out a grant application. At the same time, I realized I had forgotten to get something done that was on my list (in my not-so-high-functioning head) to get done this week. I also got a piece of paperwork in last week that had a mistake and it's taking me forever to get the person responsible to correct it. And so, I just sat there, staring at all this "stuff" and got completely overwhelmed. I just had to stop and take a break. And so I ended the day feeling like I had accomplished nothing.
But, God...
So, there I was, just getting to work, after my failed attempt at paperwork, feeling so "blah", when I get a call from my hubby. He proceeds to tell me that we had received a $1000 donation! I was floored! Totally unexpected! A huge blessing! And I felt like I had a bop on the back of the head. "See! I got this." That's what I felt God was telling me. It really made me feel like He was letting me know that He has got things covered. Nudging me to continue doing my part and not give up.
It is such a humbling feeling to know that there are people out there so excited to help. Some just as excited to see us bring our girl home as we are. Some even being led to give sacrificially to help us on our journey. I feel like I totally don't deserve any of this help, any of this kindness. But, I also know that this isn't about me at all. It's about an orphaned child. It's about God providing a family for a child. Most importantly, it's about this little girl, someday soon, knowing how much God loves her, how special she is. It's about her knowing that she may have been born into loneliness and abandonment, but that God has a plan for her. He never has and never will abandon her. And she really is a real, live princess! God's little girl!
So, I will take God's hint, this proof of His provision and I will march forward. Because we have a child to go find and I want to do all I can to bring her home. I'll take one step at a time, one piece of paperwork at a time. And I don't need to worry about anything. Because, whether or not this journey works out the way I hope it will, or as fast as I would like it to, it's going to work out for the best. Because, God's got my back!
Hebrews 12:1-2 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
I know better. I know to just take one thing at a time, but I made the mistake of looking it all over. I looked at dossier paperwork I needed to get done. Plus, I was beginning to fill out a grant application. At the same time, I realized I had forgotten to get something done that was on my list (in my not-so-high-functioning head) to get done this week. I also got a piece of paperwork in last week that had a mistake and it's taking me forever to get the person responsible to correct it. And so, I just sat there, staring at all this "stuff" and got completely overwhelmed. I just had to stop and take a break. And so I ended the day feeling like I had accomplished nothing.
But, God...
So, there I was, just getting to work, after my failed attempt at paperwork, feeling so "blah", when I get a call from my hubby. He proceeds to tell me that we had received a $1000 donation! I was floored! Totally unexpected! A huge blessing! And I felt like I had a bop on the back of the head. "See! I got this." That's what I felt God was telling me. It really made me feel like He was letting me know that He has got things covered. Nudging me to continue doing my part and not give up.
It is such a humbling feeling to know that there are people out there so excited to help. Some just as excited to see us bring our girl home as we are. Some even being led to give sacrificially to help us on our journey. I feel like I totally don't deserve any of this help, any of this kindness. But, I also know that this isn't about me at all. It's about an orphaned child. It's about God providing a family for a child. Most importantly, it's about this little girl, someday soon, knowing how much God loves her, how special she is. It's about her knowing that she may have been born into loneliness and abandonment, but that God has a plan for her. He never has and never will abandon her. And she really is a real, live princess! God's little girl!
So, I will take God's hint, this proof of His provision and I will march forward. Because we have a child to go find and I want to do all I can to bring her home. I'll take one step at a time, one piece of paperwork at a time. And I don't need to worry about anything. Because, whether or not this journey works out the way I hope it will, or as fast as I would like it to, it's going to work out for the best. Because, God's got my back!
Hebrews 12:1-2 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Family Table
This is our family table.
It's kinda been a source of irritation and embarrasment for a number of years. It seems like, the more time that goes by, it gets uglier and uglier. Scuff marks from dinner plates, marker marks from children's art projects and nail polish from Breanna's first attempts at painting her and her friends nails. All of it together just makes our table look plain ugly! I've been talking about painting or refinishing this table for years. When company comes over I usually throw a table cloth over it. But...
I recently had a realization about this table and it's marks.
This table contains memories. This table is our family table. The scuffs and marks all mean something very important.
It means there were children here, learning, coloring, exploring markers and paints and expressing theirselves with art.
And learning how very permanent permanent marker is. Learning they prefer those permanent markers to all the others for their thin tips and strong lines. And also learning that it's always good to put a barrier between whatever you are drawing and the table.
It means there was a daughter here learning how to paint nails, making herslef and her friends feel dressed up and pretty. Loving doing this girly stuff.
It means there is a family here, eating meals together, talking about life and dreams and just plain enjoying the company and filling ourselves with healthy and yummy (sometimes more healthy than yummy) food.
And I realized, maybe I don't hate this table so much. This table contains memories of some of our times as family. This table means I have a family and healthy kids that love to draw, color and paint pretty little finger nails. It means my kids are doing things that many don't get the chance to do. And, all of a sudden, I kinda like this table now.
I think I will keep our family table the way it is for now. Maybe I'll give a chance to let another little child learn what it means to have a family table. Maybe she can leave behind her own memory marks. Proof that she was here learning how to draw, color and paint her pretty little fingernails. Proof that she, too, is part of a family.
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Stalling....
Yep! That's what I've been doing. Stalling on the whole fundraising issue. I just haven't looked forward to this part. I don't like asking for help with anything, much less, money. But, I've just kinda gotta get over myself. This is a life we're talking about! I'm just not willing to give up on making a difference in a precious life just because I'm embarrassed to ask for money. I don't think it's a valid excuse.
So, here we go!
We need help. We can't do this ourselves. Just this fact alone almost made us reconsider taking this journey. But, we received advice after advice and also read some more advice that said "don't let money be the deciding factor on whether or not you choose to adopt." Time and time again I've read or heard about a family that didn't have the funds to adopt internationally, but God provided. He provided what some people call the "ransom" money for an orphans life. It actually ends up being a great testimony to what God can do in our lives. What miracles He can work out for those who step out in obedience and faith, to do something they feel totally inadequate and unqualified to do.
We actually had a plan for how we were going to finance a large part of the adoption. It ended up not working out. So, Paul was talking to a friend about his disappointment that this loan didn't work out. His friend said something amazing. He said he was glad it didn't work out! Say what?!? Well, he said that now, it gives God a chance to show many people His amazing abilities in working out miracles for His works to get done, rather than if we had just had the money and didn't need to spread the word about our need. So, maybe God will use our journey to tell an amazing story. A story of His love, His grace and His provision. So, we are stepping out in faith that if this is God's will for our family then he will provide. But, we know we have to do our part. We have to work hard. And we have to ask. And so we will.
So, would you consider helping us? You can be a part of our journey...part of the story of how we all worked together to bring a beloved child of God home to a forever family.
We are going to have several options available to those who feel led to help us out.
First and foremost, we need your prayers. To us, that's the most important thing that you can do. We are asking God to provide the resources we need to bring our girl home. We are asking that He keep us sane during this time of crazy amounts of paperwork and financial stress. We know it will be so worth it, but it's still can be kind of stressful. So, we know we need to rely on God to relieve that stress. We need to keep our eyes on Him! We are asking that God be with our little girl. We don't know who she is yet. But, she is already born, waiting night after night, with no family to hug her, to say "I love you", to say their night time prayers with, no mommy or daddy to tuck her into bed at night. This breaks my heart. So, she needs prayers for health and comfort.
The next option is that we currently have a Paypal donate button on this blog. This money will go directly into our Paypal account. It probably won't be tax deductible as we are not a charity, nor can we send out forms you need to prove you made a donation. This money will be used for our non-agency related fees. These fees include documentation fees to various US government offices and Chinese government offices. It also will be used for Travel to China and the orphanage donation/fee. This amount will be approximately $15,000.
Some of the things we are also going to be doing to raise these particular funds is selling some of my crochet items and having various other fundraising events like garage sales, bake sales and some other events. Stay tuned for a fundraiser that I will be looking into as soon as we finish our home study. It's an awesome fundraiser where we get to fund raise to bring an orphan home AND help a widow with improvements on her home, cleaning, etc....whatever she may need. There are a lot of good ideas out there. So, we just kinda have to decide and narrow down what things we would like to do. So, those of you who would rather get something for your money or donate items or time rather than just give cash, stay tuned and I'm sure you will get a chance to do just that. Also, we are going to be posting a link that you can use when you go to purchase from Amazon.com (click here). They will give us a portion (about 7%) of whatever you purchase while going through our link. So, those of you that shop through Amazon can use this link to help us, without it costing you anything. All you have to do is use the link! :o)
We also have about $11,000 in agency related fees. These are fees that we pay directly to the agency for their services. We are using a non-profit agency, so not only does this money go to paying their running costs, etc., they also have a charity that goes toward caring for orphans while they are in the orphanage, helping with education, medical expenses and such. Something we felt really important to have in the agency we chose. Currently, the plan to is to use a website called purecharity.com to help us raise these funds. This makes it to where we can have any donations given through the website be tax-deductible. Also, when you set up an account with Pure Charity, you have the option of joining their rewards program. With this program, you register your credit card(s) with them and when you use those cards at certain locations in your online shopping, they will put a certain percentage into your rewards account, you can then allocate those funds to us or whatever other charity/fundraiser you choose. A great way to help all kinds of causes without actually having it cost you anything! The funds from Pure Charity never go into our hands. They go from Pure Charity right to our agency. That's what makes it tax-deductible! I'm hammering out some last minute details with them and hope to have that link set up on here soon too.
So, that's our plan so far. I know it's alot! I'm sorry if it's too much. I just wanted to give people options. I know some people like to get something for their money. Some people don't like to be bothered with "buy this, buy that" type of fundraising, they just want to give and be done with it. And some people can't give monetarily, but they can pray. It's all ok. Different things for different people and their circumstances. It's all good.
So, you are welcome to be a part of our team, in whatever way you feel led. It will be worth it in the end when you get to see me post pictures or personally meet the precious little girl that you had a part in bringing home. You get to be a part of her adoption story. And that's something to feel great about!
If you're still with me, thanks for reading this terribly long post. I'll try not to be so long winded in the future. Ha! :o)
So, here we go!
We need help. We can't do this ourselves. Just this fact alone almost made us reconsider taking this journey. But, we received advice after advice and also read some more advice that said "don't let money be the deciding factor on whether or not you choose to adopt." Time and time again I've read or heard about a family that didn't have the funds to adopt internationally, but God provided. He provided what some people call the "ransom" money for an orphans life. It actually ends up being a great testimony to what God can do in our lives. What miracles He can work out for those who step out in obedience and faith, to do something they feel totally inadequate and unqualified to do.
We actually had a plan for how we were going to finance a large part of the adoption. It ended up not working out. So, Paul was talking to a friend about his disappointment that this loan didn't work out. His friend said something amazing. He said he was glad it didn't work out! Say what?!? Well, he said that now, it gives God a chance to show many people His amazing abilities in working out miracles for His works to get done, rather than if we had just had the money and didn't need to spread the word about our need. So, maybe God will use our journey to tell an amazing story. A story of His love, His grace and His provision. So, we are stepping out in faith that if this is God's will for our family then he will provide. But, we know we have to do our part. We have to work hard. And we have to ask. And so we will.
So, would you consider helping us? You can be a part of our journey...part of the story of how we all worked together to bring a beloved child of God home to a forever family.
We are going to have several options available to those who feel led to help us out.
First and foremost, we need your prayers. To us, that's the most important thing that you can do. We are asking God to provide the resources we need to bring our girl home. We are asking that He keep us sane during this time of crazy amounts of paperwork and financial stress. We know it will be so worth it, but it's still can be kind of stressful. So, we know we need to rely on God to relieve that stress. We need to keep our eyes on Him! We are asking that God be with our little girl. We don't know who she is yet. But, she is already born, waiting night after night, with no family to hug her, to say "I love you", to say their night time prayers with, no mommy or daddy to tuck her into bed at night. This breaks my heart. So, she needs prayers for health and comfort.
The next option is that we currently have a Paypal donate button on this blog. This money will go directly into our Paypal account. It probably won't be tax deductible as we are not a charity, nor can we send out forms you need to prove you made a donation. This money will be used for our non-agency related fees. These fees include documentation fees to various US government offices and Chinese government offices. It also will be used for Travel to China and the orphanage donation/fee. This amount will be approximately $15,000.
Some of the things we are also going to be doing to raise these particular funds is selling some of my crochet items and having various other fundraising events like garage sales, bake sales and some other events. Stay tuned for a fundraiser that I will be looking into as soon as we finish our home study. It's an awesome fundraiser where we get to fund raise to bring an orphan home AND help a widow with improvements on her home, cleaning, etc....whatever she may need. There are a lot of good ideas out there. So, we just kinda have to decide and narrow down what things we would like to do. So, those of you who would rather get something for your money or donate items or time rather than just give cash, stay tuned and I'm sure you will get a chance to do just that. Also, we are going to be posting a link that you can use when you go to purchase from Amazon.com (click here). They will give us a portion (about 7%) of whatever you purchase while going through our link. So, those of you that shop through Amazon can use this link to help us, without it costing you anything. All you have to do is use the link! :o)
We also have about $11,000 in agency related fees. These are fees that we pay directly to the agency for their services. We are using a non-profit agency, so not only does this money go to paying their running costs, etc., they also have a charity that goes toward caring for orphans while they are in the orphanage, helping with education, medical expenses and such. Something we felt really important to have in the agency we chose. Currently, the plan to is to use a website called purecharity.com to help us raise these funds. This makes it to where we can have any donations given through the website be tax-deductible. Also, when you set up an account with Pure Charity, you have the option of joining their rewards program. With this program, you register your credit card(s) with them and when you use those cards at certain locations in your online shopping, they will put a certain percentage into your rewards account, you can then allocate those funds to us or whatever other charity/fundraiser you choose. A great way to help all kinds of causes without actually having it cost you anything! The funds from Pure Charity never go into our hands. They go from Pure Charity right to our agency. That's what makes it tax-deductible! I'm hammering out some last minute details with them and hope to have that link set up on here soon too.
So, that's our plan so far. I know it's alot! I'm sorry if it's too much. I just wanted to give people options. I know some people like to get something for their money. Some people don't like to be bothered with "buy this, buy that" type of fundraising, they just want to give and be done with it. And some people can't give monetarily, but they can pray. It's all ok. Different things for different people and their circumstances. It's all good.
So, you are welcome to be a part of our team, in whatever way you feel led. It will be worth it in the end when you get to see me post pictures or personally meet the precious little girl that you had a part in bringing home. You get to be a part of her adoption story. And that's something to feel great about!
If you're still with me, thanks for reading this terribly long post. I'll try not to be so long winded in the future. Ha! :o)
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