Funding Update

We took a break from fundraising for a few months because we sensed that our network was possibly becoming "fundraising fatigued".  We also took the months of May and June to work on applying for several adoption grants.

Below is an outline of where adoption funds have come from so far. God has miraculously provided $14,000 in funds so far.  We still have about $30,500 to to.

It took us 10 months to raise $14,000.  We will need need to raise the remaining $30,500 in the next 2-3 months!  God is faithful and has always provided what we have needed when we have needed it. He can and will do it!  

We will soon be asking you to join with us for a crazy amazing project which you will want to be a part of!  Thank you again for all of your prayers and support!

Adoption Grants we have received so far:
Show Hope = $3,000
Promise Child Grant (WACAP) = $2,000
Woods Chapel Adoption Fund = $1,000
Jim Carr Memorial Adoption Fund = $1,000

Fundraisers and Donations:

September, October and November 2015 – Jewelry sales = $300

November 2015 – Church Fundraiser meal = $2,500

January 2016 – Clothing and Shoe Drive = $1,600

February 2016 – Donations = $1,400

March 2016 – Freezer Please Fundraisers = $1,000

April 2016 – Clothing Drive = $200

Personal Funds: 
Well over $5,000

Translation, Review and Matched!!

Our dossier was Logged In (LID) on June 13, 2016. After it was logged in, it was moved to the translation phase.  Once it is translated, it is put into the "Review" process.  We received word on Tuesday, July 5, 2016 that it had moved to "Review".  

We received word yesterday (7-8-2016) that we are now officially "Matched" with our children. The process that was supposed to take 2-3 months took 5 weeks or 36 days. 

We are a little blow away by how quickly this took place and now we have to kick our fundraising efforts into overdrive. 

Stay tuned for an exciting announcement about our next major fundraiser. It will be awesome and you will want to be a part of it!

We are LID!

What is the world is LID anyway?!?
Well in the adoption world that means "Logged In Date".  This is the date your adoption dossier (which is our entire life on paper) is logged into the country's child welfare system for adoption.  In our case this is the China Center for Children's Welfare and Adoption or CCCWA.

This is a huge step and major praise the Lord!  This means that our dossier is now in translation.  It could take up to two months to translate the entire dossier.  Why does it take so long to translate it?  Well, our complete dossier is at least 75 pages in length.  They do indeed translate every word on every page.  (I asked!)

In other news, we have applied for about twelve different adoption grants so far.  Most of which are still pending and in the review process.  

Please continue to pray that all our adoption funding needs are met.  We are still about $35,000 away from being fully funded.  

We will need to be fully funded before we can travel.  At this time it looks like we can anticipate travel sometime in October.  

Stay tuned for pictures and name announcements coming soon!

Thank you again and AGAIN for all of your prayers and support!  We are beyond grateful for all of you!  We could not do this without you!

May 2016 Updates

Here are a few of the things that happened in May:

• We completed another clothing drive in April which earned $200.
• We completed our dossier (FINALLY!) after what seemed like FOREVER!
• We applied for more adoption grants.
• We received notification that we received $3,000 grant from Show Hope. This is the organization founded by Steven Curtis and Mary Beth Chapman.  (Interesting side note:  We were one of the the very first recipients of their adoption grants in 2002 for our very first adoption.  It was not even a formal foundation yet.  We were even invited to go and meet SCC, spend the day with him and give our testimony on a nationwide KLOVE broadcast!  This was in September of 2003, so I doubt any of you remember that! But we sure do!  What an honor and privilege to express our gratitude in person. God is such a good Father and delights in spoiling us from time to time.)
• We also received notice that we received $1,000 from Wood Chapel Foundation which is located in Lees Summit, Missouri and is only for adoptive families within 150 mile radius of Lees Summit.
• God has now provided over $12,000 towards our goal of $47,000!

Please continue to pray that we are fully funded before we travel.  We anticipate to travel sometime in October.

We are still $35,000 away from our goal, but GOD IS FAITHFUL!  He has always taken care of us and always will!

Thank you for all of your prayers and support!

Fundraising Updates from March and April 2016

Ever wonder why is this blog titled "Hebrews 10:23 Adoption" blog?

April 2016

Freezer Pleaser Fundraiser Results:

First of all, a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who participated in the Fund Raiser. Whether you sold tickets, bought them, made a casserole or prayed for our endeavors, this would not have been possible without you!

The results are as listed below:

Grand Prize Winners of the Freezer and 30 meals - The Cole Family

Walmart Giftcard Winner for most tickets sold: Lois Sims

Total funds raised: $2500 - 
minus ticket printing costs and shipping of $250=$2250 

Youth received $80 

Honduras Mission Team received $1085 

Walrod Adoption Funding received $1085                            

Again, thank you all for your participation and continued prayers!

----------------------

March 2016

We received and unexpected donation of $1,000.  This covered the costs of our I 800 A application and USCIS fingerprinting.  Praise the Lord!

TOTAL FUNDING RAISED SO FAR is just over $7,000.

Why is this blog titled what it is????

This is why ....HE IS FAITHFUL!  ALWAYS AND FOREVER FAITHFUL!!!

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who

promised is faithful."

Hebrews 10:23

Remaining Timeline Estimates and explainations

               Dossier phase:  

This is the phase we are in right now. Here are the remaining steps in this process.

1.     I 800A approval letter - Approval received on March 28, 2016  (This is our clearance notice that we passed the FBI background checks and we are cleared to proceed)

2.     Send notarized documents to Kansas Secretary of State’s Office for certification and authentication of all the notary signatures.

3.     Send one document to Maryland for certification and authentication.  It has to go to the county of origination first and then on to the Maryland Secretary of State. 

4.     Send another document to the Illinois Secretary of State for certification and authentication.
5.  Send completed dossier to the Chinese Consulate in Chicago.
6.  Send completed dossier to WACAP (our adoption agency)
7.  Dossier reviewed by WACAP China staff specialist
8.  WACAP submits dossier to the China Center for Children's Welfare and Adoption or CCCWA.

CCCWA Phase:

1.  Wait to hear back that our dossier has been logged into the CCCWA system.  This is called the Logged In Date or LID.  
2.  Once it is logged in, the ENTIRE dossier is translated.  This is will be AT LEAST 50 pages of documentation.  Maybe more if they translate all of the Secretary of State's certification pages.  
3.  After it is translated, then it will go into review.  This is where they will look through all of our pre-approval information and make sure we are officially matched with our children.  

4.     We will receive notice of acceptance/Letter of Acceptance or LOA.

                 Prep for Travel phase:

I have to find my notes on this phase before I write more about it. 

That’s enough to keep you busy reading for awhile. More later ….

As always, Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all of your prayers and support!

March 2016 Updates

I am sorry for the delay in the March update.  We were busy trying to get our taxes ready to file and working on adoption paperwork. 

Everything about this process seems to move about the speed of cold molasses while we wait.  One the other hand, time is moving along so quickly that it is hard to keep on top of our adoption funding progress and goals.

Here is an update on what has taken place the last few weeks.

On Monday, March 14, 2016, Paul, Jamison and I traveled to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service which is located near the KCI airport. This is otherwise known as “the fingerprinting appointment” or the technical term is biometrics appointment.  It was scheduled by the USCIS several weeks ago as part of our I 800A application.  Our fingerprints will be entered into their database and ran through the FBI database.  The goal of this is (once again) to make sure we have a clean background and no criminal history and prevent child trafficking.  The purpose of the I 800A application to determine our suitability to adopt a child.

While we’ve been waiting for our I 800A to be processed, we’ve been working on our dossier documents.  This seems like it takes forever to get all of this done.  Here is a list of all the documents we have to have for our dossier.  Most of these have to be notarized, and not only notarized but the notary commission cannot expire for 12-18 months.  We also have to be sure the date on the document is the same as the notary signature date.  The officials reviewing our documents are apparently very attentive to this particular detail.

Thankfully, since we are not divorced, single or dead it makes ours a tiny bit easier to complete.

The following documents are required for the dossier and must be notarized, verified and authenticated:

_____1. Birth Certificate(s)

_____2. Marriage Certificate

_____3. Financial Statement

_____4. Medical Form(s)

_____5. Police Clearance Report(s)

_____6. Letter of Employment(s)

_____7. I-800A, Approval Notice

_____8. Adoption Application Letter

_____9. Home study Report

_____10. Affidavit of Single Status (*Single applicants only. Forms are enclosed)

The following documents are required for your dossier and DO NOT need to be verified and authenticated:

_____11. Notarized Reference Letters (3)

_____12. Copies of Signed Passports

_____13. Passport Photos (Two (2) per applicant)

_____14. Six (6) Family Photos

_____15. Statement from Guardian (*Single applicants only)

_____16. Medical letter from a doctor (if required)

_____17. Psychological Evaluation (if required)

_____18. Divorce Decree (*Single applicants only, if required):

_____19. Death Certificate (*Single applicants only, if required):

Once we get our I 800A approval letter, we will take it to be notarized and then our dossier will go to the Kansas Secretary of State’s office for authentication.  This means they will verify all of the notaries and make sure they are all legit.

After our dossier is done at the Secretary of State’s office, it will come back to us where we turn around and send it to the Chinese Consulate in Chicago via a courier service.  We have to use a courier service because the Consulate does not accept mailed in documents.  They have to be hand delivered.  So we have to pay a courier service to deliver it for us and then return to pick it up a few days later ….that is unless we want to make a leisurely drive to Chicago and back.  So I guess a courier service will be cheaper and work better than us trying to do it ourselves at this point.