How Great an Adoption

We are still busy making plans to travel. We will be leaving in two weeks. As the day of meeting Eli draws closer, I've been thinking more and more about him. He has no idea how his life is about to change. The orphanage has been showing him pictures of our family and telling him basic information about us, but really he has no idea that he is about to be lovingly received into our family as a son and a brother. His life will be totally different because of this adoption.

The Lord has been reminding me of what a great adoption has taken place in my life. I was raised by my birthparents and had a great childhood, never questioning my place within my physical family. But spiritually...I was an orphan. I was fatherless. I was more than a stranger and a foreigner. I was an enemy of Christ.

Yet, while I was still a sinner Christ died for me. When I was young, I didn't know it, but plans were made for my adoption. I was lovingly accepted into the family of God as a son. And that...that has made all the difference in my life.

Travel Packet Arrives

Earlier today we received the travel pack from Heartsent. It was filled with all kinds of information about our trip as well as so many more instructions for things that must be done before we travel. Plane tickets have been purchased and hotel reservations have been made. We are gathering all the paperwork that we need as well as purchasing items that will be helpful on our trip. This is a very exciting time for us and a very busy time as well.

Work began on the church this morning. I am excited about the renovation to the church building, but it is adding stress to an already hectic schedule. We will get through the Easter holidays and then travel will be right around the corner. Heather and I will miss the awards day at school for our children and we will be gone for the last few days of school, but Rachel and Micah are great. They completely understand and they are just as excited as we are about bringing Eli home.

Please continue to pray for Eli and his caretakers. Also pray for a safe, comfortable trip for us. Please be praying for the day we get to meet Eli's birth family. We want to be able to share the love of Christ with them and present them with a Bible in the Mandarin language. Pray that God opens doors.

If anyone has some tips about international travel that you think would be helpful for us, let us know either on Facebook or as a comment here.

Travel Itinerary

Over the weekend, we received a brief itinerary of our trip. We should be receiving a travel packet soon and over the next few days we have to book flights and hotels and all other travel arrangements. So the next few days and even the next month will be very busy as we plan to travel and continue to prepare our home for Eli.

Here is the trip itinerary. Please pray each day for that day's activity.

May 14 - Arrive in country

May 15 - Rest and get over jet lag

May 16 - 10am - Meet Eli at Jonah House, Visit with caretakers

May 17 - Visit with Eli

May 18 - Visit with Eli, possible overnight stay

May 19 - Meet Eli's birthparents and family

May 20 - AIT appointment (to get paperwork completed)

May 21-22 - Weekend

May 23 - Receive paperwork from AIT giving Eli permission to travel

May 24 - Head home

Article about Government Shutdown and Adoption. (from America World Adoption agency)

What a Possible Government Shutdown Means for Adoptions

As rumors of a possible shutdown of the U.S. Government increase, we wanted to take a few moments to pass along some information about how this may affect America World families. Currently, members of Congress are working with the Obama Administration to pass a budget for the 2011 fiscal year. If an agreement is not reached by midnight on Friday, April 8, parts of the federal government will close until a new budget is passed.

We are working to stay on top of the situation and to get accurate information about what adoption services will be affected if a shutdown occurs. It is important to remember that, at this point, a shutdown is only a possibility and is not guaranteed.

While the information coming out of Washington is unclear, what is known is that a shutdown would result in the furlough of any “non-essential” government personnel. It is unclear exactly which services are considered “essential,” but it appears that “essential” functions are those that the government considers necessary for the protection of human life and property (i.e. national security, air traffic control, medical care, etc.).

Unfortunately, it appears that the Department of State and USCIS will be affected if a shutdown occurs. Information that we received from a recent meeting held at the Department of State indicated that furloughs will affect many staff who work with adoptions at DOS, USCIS, and embassy and consulate offices around the world. Embassies will be officially “closed” during the shutdown, meaning that embassy staff will not be able to serve the public during this time. If this happens, delays in processing paperwork and completing adoptions are likely.

If a shutdown occurs, it is unclear how long it will be until all government services are back up and running. Previous shutdowns have lasted from as little as a few hours to as long as 21 days. It is also important to remember that there are ways for the government to avoid a shutdown completely. First, Congress could pass a budget prior to the Friday deadline, which would fund all government services throughout the remainder of the fiscal year. Obviously, this is the ideal scenario. Congress also has the option of passing a short-term “continuing resolution” that would continue spending at current levels in order to buy more time to reach an agreement on a new budget.

In the event of a shutdown, here’s how we think America World families will be affected: Families currently building their dossiers could see delays in paperwork processing of USCIS approvals and document authentications. Families who are preparing to travel could likely see delays in receiving Embassy/Consulate clearance and appointment dates. Families who are already in-country would likely not be able to receive a US visa for their adopted child and experience delays in returning home until the government re-opens.

America World is in communication with U.S. government officials and will provide you with any new information we receive. Please be in prayer that our elected officials will be able to come to an agreement so that the government can continue processing adoptions.

WE HAVE TRAVEL DATES!!!!

We are going to pick up Eli May 16th. Jill called at 1:36pm to tell us that our case is through the court system and we are traveling next month to get our son! I can't think straight right now. So much to do.... Will write more later. Thanks for praying!!!!

Moving Along

My heart skipped a beat yesterday afternoon. I was driving home with the kids when my phone rang. The call was from Heartsent, our adoption agency. I almost ran off the road trying to answer it, but remained calm when I said hello. Jill, our adoption worker, said hello and began asking how our family was doing. I'm thinking, "we don't have time for all this small talk...are you calling to tell me we can travel?" Finally, Jill got around to telling me why she was calling. Cathwel, the orphanage in Taipei, emailed her asking for more photos of Heather and I and of our entire family. She said they asked for the photos because they wanted to show them to Eli and prepare him for the adoption. I asked if that meant we were almost ready to travel or if they gave us any indication of the time frame for travel. Jill said there was no way of knowing, but it did mean that our case was moving along and the orphanage is making plans to place Eli into our care. At this point, any information that we receive is great news. We have not heard a word since November and the waiting has become very difficult. Just knowing that they orphanage workers care enough to prepare Eli for his new family gave us great comfort about his current care. Please continue to pray for Eli, his caregivers, and the adoption process.

Amazing News

Yesterday, I posted a story about a family attempting to adopt Kirill, a toddler with down syndrome. This morning, another family went to court in an attempt to adopt a toddler girl with down syndrome. This family had to appear before the same judge who ruled Kirill medically unfit to have a family. It goes without saying that they were extremely nervous and anxious about their court hearing. No child with down syndrome has ever been adopted from this country. The officials of this country believe that children with down syndrome should be institutionalized for their entire lives. It blows my mind to think how ignorant some people must be. Anyway, the prayers of so many people were answered by the Lord as Eva Noel, the little girl, was accepted to be adopted by the Hook family. Clark and Angie Hook wrote on their blog,

"Today we became a family of six!!! At noon Russian time, the judge accepted our application to adopt Evan!!!! Our excitement cannot be explained or described!!! We hope that today's victory of one less orphan will open the floodgates to this region so that other children with special needs will be able to go home to their forever mommies and daddies."

Let's join them in this prayer.