Getting Closer…

It’s been over a month since we have written an update, so we thought it would be good to inform you all of our progress. A LOT has happened and we want to share it with you!

At the end of our last post we were super excited that our home study had wrapped up and that we had completed some important medical and psychological evaluations which was awesome. That said it took a little longer than we had hoped to get our final home study and psychological reports. Needless to say, we were a bit frustrated. In that time we trusted in the truth that God is sovereign and that He was working things out in His time. In thinking back on that time, the old hymn “It is Well With My Soul” comes to mind. Clinging to the truth that Christ is present with us in all circumstances is the greatest hope. Also knowing that each step in the process, no matter how long or short, is what is necessary to get us to our daughter(s)!

We also learned through this process that we made a fantastic choice in our adoption agency, Lifeline. In our moments of frustration, we were able to express our concerns to the Latin America team and they stepped up and advocated on our behalf. It is so comforting to know that we have such a capable and compassionate team walking with us as we take this journey. Their belief in us was evident in how they pushed for things that we needed, and also in the fact that in our final home study they supported us potentially being matched with not just one but two sweet little girls!

Once we received our final home study report and psychological evaluation, we were able to take a couple of big steps. With our final reports we could get our documents notarized and apostilled. Most of your probably know what it means to have a document notarized, but to have a document apostilled might be foreign to you as it was to us. Per Hague Convention requirements, documents have to have a second form of approval that essentially notarizes the notary of the public that signs any given document. This step required us to go to the Secretary of State in Georgia AND Tennessee to have our documents made official. By God’s grace, all of the documents that we needed notarized and apostilled have been completed. This means that we are just days away from sending our dossier to Lifeline who will then send it to Colombia!

This is what we have been working on since November! It’s hard to believe that we are so close. In addition to this, once our home study was complete, we were also able to begin applying for grants. We have been so blessed to receive the love and support of others financially up until this point. At the end of March we held a fundraiser at a local restaurant, Righteous Que. The owners are some guys from our church who love to minister to others by sharing proceeds from food sales on a specific day. They did this for us and we are so grateful to them for their support!

Their support and the support from many of you has gotten us to this point, but we still need more in the way of finances. Being able to apply for and receive grants is an important step that will allow us to cross the finish line with this adoption financially.

How You Can Be Praying for Us:

• As always, please pray for our unity as a family. Pray that Laura and I stay on the same page with communication, especially through moments of frustration. Also pray for our boys as we at times have to sacrifice time with them to do things for the adoption. They have at times been frustrated by this, but they have also been super sweet and understanding. Everytime they find a piece of loose change, they bring it to us and say “this is for our sister” because they know we are raising money. It’s been difficult, but also very encouraging.
• Please pray for God to continue to provide the financial resources we need to meet our financial requirements. Specifically, we are asking you to pray for favor with those that will be reading and deliberating on our grant applications.
• Pray for us as we pull together the final documents necessary to send off our dossier!
• Finally, as always pray for our daughter(s). As we get closer to the matching process our hearts are feeling the gravity of finding her/them. Pray for their safety, their health, their patience, and above all God’s perfect timing.

That is all we have for now. Our next update will be much sooner than this one as we will have some big news in the next few weeks. Thank you for your continued support and belief in us. STAY TUNED!!!