Sweet surpirses

I checked the PO box today and got not ONE letter/card for Peter, but TWO!

One from a family in Winston who are ALSO adopting and fundraising, they were abundant generous in their giving for Peter. (Thanks J & K)

Another from a Tax preparer in Gallatin that saw out latest article in the Gallatin paper (that I have yet to see) .

Both of these cards touched my heart and I am again overwhelmed with love and humility for ALL the help we have received, I have not blogged about each individual gift of Love, but each one has touched my ehart and given me such an appreciation for the Lord.

He commands.

We Obey.

We also make excuses and complain that the road is hard, or even impossible, but to reiterate my previous post......When the spirit touches your heart to act, the Lord will create the means to obey. He will not leave us lonely, and He will provide.

Step ONE

When you feel that feeling, the one where your heart aches for the child in a photo, or you feel compelled to help someone in need, how much of your energy is spent in talking yourself OUT of action?

You rationalize, that SOMEONE else will help them, or solve this problem, and that certainly if it was meant to be YOU, that you would 'know'

Faith without works is dead.

You have faith enough to consider the need, whether the need is of an orphan, or a neighbor, your heart is led to desire a better circumstance than that person is presently in.

So what do you do. Do you get out your check book, and balance and figure, how to make it happen,

or do you check that checkbook, and try to figure out how your not capable of making it happen??

Which is it? I know where I sit. and I know where I lack faith.

Now consider this, can you go without, one pair of shoes, or one trip to the mall, or perhaps one less luxury item? (boat, vacation, new furniture) and instead take that amount ($50-$25,000) and put it to use in a child;s life that very likely has not known a single night without pain and suffering, hunger, loneliness or illness.

Do you have it in you?

For those of you who still love me after I put your foot to the flame, can I share some insight on adoption?

Make the first step, BEYOND the email inquiry, or phone message asking for the informational packet.

Put your savings account to use, and commit.

Make the first step, that is to arrange for your home study to be completed.

it is a $2,000 commitment, and many of us spend that much and more on weekly dates through out the year (40 weeks at $45 is $1800  a year)

Can you trade in a years worth of dinner & movie date nights for a picnic and star gazing, your not sacrificing the TIME spent together, but rather the money spent on mundane weekly date nights.

if YOU can not commit to $2,000 right now, consider helping someone.....anyone.... allowing their time and efforts to go farther...Share what you have, because we all know we have been given SO MUCH in our lives, and it feels better to give than to receive.

Start there, make the choice, get your homestudy completed.

And for that ONE friend who spoke to me about the DESIRE to adopt but the fears have not allowed you to move onto the next step....the homestudy will wait. Get it done, and then sit on it. Pray on it. Consider it a stepping stone, the lessons and education you learn will not be wasted, but you NEVER know when you will need that homestudy in a hurry.

(P.S. there have been at least 6 friends who have shared this desire/fear with me....you are NOT alone.)

Go. spend your savings, change your life, and the life of a child who may otherwise die waiting for someone to care enough to DARE and MOVE.

ready

Set

ACTION

Niggling and Nodding

Do you ever have a niggling? a thought or feeling in the back of your mind that will not rest. When you are at rest the thought pops up, when you are at play, when you are pensive, silly, relaxed, stressed. No matter what your experiencing the idea or thought returns?

I have.

It has been a constant worry and concern for the mother-less and the father-less.

I have shed many tears over the empty feelings, and empty arms of the 147 MILLION children that have no one to kiss their boo boo. No one to worry if they are out too late, and no one to encourage them to follow their dreams.

147 MILLION folks.

That is a big number. HUGE.

It is hard to fathom how one person (me) can make a difference when the number is so daunting.

Now I will describe the nodding. I have felt like I SHOULD adopt for 13 years. I have read books, researched types of adoptions, and I have KNOWN it was my calling to love the motherless.

Do you want to know the one (lame) reason I have never followed through, not the fear of failure, not the fear of inadequacies, not the possibility of getting hurt. only ONE thing.

M.O.N.E.Y.

Yep, you've got it, I have put on my list of goals at least 40 times to adopt.

and here is the sad part, I would say to my Lord, "I am willing to bring a child into our home, and hearts, you just provide the way."

Yep. I kinda gave HIM the 4-1-1

Not cool. not right, and it never worked. I felt like I was being a 'good' person for wanting to help, so He should make up the financial part and make it easy.

There it is.

EASY folks, I wanted the finances to FLOW into our home so that adopting would be easy.

I am ASHAMED to admit, that each and every time an abundance flowed into our home, I allowed non important expenses to eat up any excess that was created.

In essence I justified the extra income as necessitous, and allowed for it to be wasted.

I felt like I needed to have nice furniture, a nice car, or a finished basement BEFORE I adopted, in my mind I debated with my self that certainly I would not pass a home inspection (home study) if I did not do these NECESSITIES .

Gluttony.

I have looked an orphan in the eyes, and wiped an orphans tears. I have cried over the loss of innocence, and I have had a change of heart.

Do not get me wrong, I still want that nice furniture, or the finished basement, but the reality is this:

THINGS DO NOT MATTER.
Nope not one bit, PEOPLE matter!!

So many of my dear wonderful friends have shared with me the desire (hope) to adopt, and immediately say how the finances are too daunting. They feel the same way I did. (do) that I have so many needs (new car, new computer.....new clothes.....blah blah blah) How can i CARVE out an additional $25 THOUSAND dollars to adopt a child!??!?!
 
YOU CAN'T. There i said it.

On your own, and without many helping hands (celestial and earthly) it is not possible.

5 months ago I shared my plea with a group of friends in my immediate circle of our need to pay for this adoption.

They were shocked, and dare I even say, insistent that it was not possible!?

Later this week I will be creating a plan, for each of my LOVED ONES who have felt that niggling in the back of their minds, that THEY CAN DO something.

For ONE child, making a difference in ONE child's life, forever, yes. you can. do. it.

you can.

I promise.

How many miles?

We have come so very far. It feels like over a year has passed since we brought little Peter home.

March 21st 2012.

In this short amount of time we have made remarkable progress. We have almost reached our initial goal of $16,000.

We have overcome obstacles, we have endured many sacrifices, and we have loved so deeply it is hard to imagine.

The road continues to wind, turn and twist, we have more battles to fight, and more sacrifices to endure.

If I had known this was going to be THIS hard...would I have been willing to accept the challenge?

I honestly do not know.

But I did, and here we are, the time deadline has hit, and we still have very few answers.

The government of Liberia has asked for more papers, and more answers.

We still do not have a travel date.
We do not have any idea at this point what we are going to need to get to Liberia. It is all a bit foggy, and unclear.
One thing we DO KNOW is the insurance that was provided for Peter is coming to an end. I will not bore you with the reasons, as they are private and not of my choices. but this leaves us with a whole new hurdle to overcome,

we still need a number of tests run to petition Peter's eligibility for adoption, and it looks like very soon that will need to come out of our own pockets.

He still needs to be evaluated for his genetic disorders,  and for his dental work, these two alone could cost us thousands of dollars. Equal to or greater than the adoption fees.

I am deeply invested and have done some research, It has been proposed we host a benefit concert for Peter.

We have many family members in Utah, and we are doing the ground work to hold this concert in our home town.

We need sponsors and a location to host this event.
I need another cheerleader, as my emotional energy has dwindled. I feel so impotent and lost.

So there you have it, another stepping stone towards Eternal Bliss.

and we keep on keepin' on.

An update 8/8/2012

 "Furthermore, the child's ability to attach to a family is gravely hindered when temporary custody is taken and the child is subsequently returned to foster care in the interim waiting period to finalize the US visa. "

This is the reason I am adamant that Peter will not return to Liberia without family.  it is detrimental to HIS long term well being to remain WITH us .... forever. It is not simply a mother-son bond, or a nice thing to do. it is setting the child up for future security.

 IF the Liberian Government drags this process out, our family will make whatever plans necessary to remain with him.

 At this point, we were informed that we must file another form for the US government that may take 3 months to process, the paper work required along side it are as laborious as the home-study, and we are just getting started. on the good side, we already have organized our family documentation (for the homestudy) so now it is a matter of photo copy each item and then mail in the $850 fee.

Peter will remain with his family, he will not suffer the confusion of yet another separation.

Consider this:

We have very limited means of communicating with him what to expect, or what is coming up. So how do you tell a 5 year old with very limited communications where he is going, and when you will return for him?

we wont.