One of the things I've enjoyed very much about mission trips in the past is getting to know our team mates. We have a great group serving alongside us from Vermont and it has been very challenging to learn about the state of the church there. Vermont is the least Christian state in the U.S. and to hear one of the ladies share about it was powerful. They truly walk around as the outcasts, aliens and strangers in their community up there. They long for Christian fellowship in their schools and businesses but it is very hard to find. We need to be praying for our brothers and sisters up in the Northeast. Also, the pastors up there have the highest burn-out rate of anywhere in the country. It is difficult when you are pouring out your life and you see little fruit. But there is a strength in these Christians and a determination to depend on Christ for everything that is very challenging to me. They are waiting upon the Lord and standing up for him boldly and expectant of what He is going to do.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Honduras
It's wonderful to have the opportunity to be here in the country that we are trusting God for an adopted child from. i am so grateful to God for this opportunity because He has made it possible through the generous donations that people in my church have given. All of you who have given are a part of this trip and your generosity encourages me and challenges me to trust Jesus more and more. It's a beautiful country, very tropical, and the people are very friendly and have contagious smiles. It was special to work with some of the kids from a village here yesterday and laugh with the, hold them and spend time with them. I couldn't help but imagine our own future child as i looked into their faces. Will write more soon....
Monday, June 4, 2012
Second Phone Interview
Well last Thursday we had our second meeting with Gladney. This time we talked with a lady who focuses on Latin American countries. So we learned a few more things specific to Honduras. Our immediate steps right now are filling out gobs of paperwork known as Group 1 and Group 2. Some of the items are just on us to fill out and get completed while other items are a little more dependent on others like getting our 5 references to fill out their forms and mail them in.
Last Friday we had another donation of $1000 come in so we are so thankful for that family who gave towards our goal. That puts our total account up to $7600.00 at this point (praise God!). I am really pumped for Whitney as she has also decided to step out and go on our church's mission trip to Honduras at the end of July. I know this is definitely out of her comfort zone but I think it will be a powerful week of going and serving the people down there and also getting to know the country first hand where our future child will come from one day. Thank you all so much for your continued prayers and interest in this journey!
in Christ,
Brian
Last Friday we had another donation of $1000 come in so we are so thankful for that family who gave towards our goal. That puts our total account up to $7600.00 at this point (praise God!). I am really pumped for Whitney as she has also decided to step out and go on our church's mission trip to Honduras at the end of July. I know this is definitely out of her comfort zone but I think it will be a powerful week of going and serving the people down there and also getting to know the country first hand where our future child will come from one day. Thank you all so much for your continued prayers and interest in this journey!
in Christ,
Brian
Thursday, May 17, 2012
A much better picture of the process...
Well today was a very informative day in the adoption journey. We had about an hour and a half conversation with a really sweet lady from the Gladney adoption agency and she walked us step by step through the whole process. There are definitely alot of variables as far as the overall time frame is concerned but from what I can gather it looks like it could be about a 2-3 year process before we have our child or children (whatever God has in store). As far as the overall cost is concerned we will probably be looking at over $30,000.00 ($16,000.00 of which will need to be paid within the first 6 months). We are rejoicing that God has already provided $6600.00 to our adoption account so far (what an awesome boost of encouragement and confirmation for us!).
It looks like if we stay on top of things that all of the major paperwork (homestudy, immigration forms, foreign dossier, etc) should be able to be done and sent off in the next 6 months. After that we will be assigned a number and put on a waiting list (6-12 months?) until we are assigned a child from the IHNFA (the Honduran Adoption Agency) based on our criteria. We will then have a doctor check out the info about the child and we will approve the child they have selected for us. Within about 6 weeks of getting our child we will travel over there for our first visit which is about 5 days and we will undergo a psychological testing to make sure we are a healthy family. After that we will wait another 4 months and then go for our final trip (about a 4 week trip) where we will receive our child and have an 8 day bonding or trial period with them. After the bonding period we will sign off on everything and then just wait the remainder of the time to get all of the paperwork from the Honduran government which takes a couple of weeks.
It is great to have a more clear idea of what the process will be and how we can be praying more specifically for these steps. Lastly, I have had some people ask me if there was a way they could give towards our adoption. I will be adding a feature to the blog very soon where you can submit an online donation that will go into our adoption account. My plan is to have a running total on this blog to let everyone know how our fundraising is going. We are also starting to brainstorm on creative ways to fund raise as a family and will let you know what those will be soon. Thanks so much for your continued prayers and support!
in Christ,
Brian
It looks like if we stay on top of things that all of the major paperwork (homestudy, immigration forms, foreign dossier, etc) should be able to be done and sent off in the next 6 months. After that we will be assigned a number and put on a waiting list (6-12 months?) until we are assigned a child from the IHNFA (the Honduran Adoption Agency) based on our criteria. We will then have a doctor check out the info about the child and we will approve the child they have selected for us. Within about 6 weeks of getting our child we will travel over there for our first visit which is about 5 days and we will undergo a psychological testing to make sure we are a healthy family. After that we will wait another 4 months and then go for our final trip (about a 4 week trip) where we will receive our child and have an 8 day bonding or trial period with them. After the bonding period we will sign off on everything and then just wait the remainder of the time to get all of the paperwork from the Honduran government which takes a couple of weeks.
It is great to have a more clear idea of what the process will be and how we can be praying more specifically for these steps. Lastly, I have had some people ask me if there was a way they could give towards our adoption. I will be adding a feature to the blog very soon where you can submit an online donation that will go into our adoption account. My plan is to have a running total on this blog to let everyone know how our fundraising is going. We are also starting to brainstorm on creative ways to fund raise as a family and will let you know what those will be soon. Thanks so much for your continued prayers and support!
in Christ,
Brian
Monday, May 7, 2012
The Twists and Turns
Well, the wild adoption adventure continues on. Last week we ran into quite a game-changing obstacle. Our plan thus far has revolved around us not using an adoption agency but working directly with our lawyer in Honduras (a lawyer we were connected with through some relationships from our church's missionary work). In using a lawyer we still need the services of an approved agency to do our home study which is called a 'modified program'. As of a few days ago it appears that all of these agencies have shut down their 'modifed program' forcing individuals like us to have to do the full program.
It appears that perhaps God may be steering us towards doing this adoption through an agency. On the positive side an agency really takes you by the hand through every single step along the journey. The negative side is the cost of this adoption just shot up way high (estimated at like $28,000-$30,000?). One thing I am already learning is that we need not put our hope and trust in a certain set of expectations of how we think this will all go but simply put our hope and trust in God. All we know is that God has put this on our hearts and we know it's in His heart and only He knows how it all will turn out and unfold. We must simply trust in Him and not the circumstances. On another note, a couple from our Young Couples class has also stepped forward to begin the adoption journey from Honduras. So we now have three of us walking through it together which is really awesome!
Again, thanks so much for all of your interest, prayers and support towards us!
God bless,
Brian
It appears that perhaps God may be steering us towards doing this adoption through an agency. On the positive side an agency really takes you by the hand through every single step along the journey. The negative side is the cost of this adoption just shot up way high (estimated at like $28,000-$30,000?). One thing I am already learning is that we need not put our hope and trust in a certain set of expectations of how we think this will all go but simply put our hope and trust in God. All we know is that God has put this on our hearts and we know it's in His heart and only He knows how it all will turn out and unfold. We must simply trust in Him and not the circumstances. On another note, a couple from our Young Couples class has also stepped forward to begin the adoption journey from Honduras. So we now have three of us walking through it together which is really awesome!
Again, thanks so much for all of your interest, prayers and support towards us!
God bless,
Brian
Thursday, April 26, 2012
More blessings to fuel the marathon!
Well we had another huge praise this week that appeared in our mailbox. Inside one of the envelopes was a check from another anonymous giver for $1500.00 that simply said 'God bless you on your adoption journey.' What a cool blessing to receive in our mailbox that normally is just filled with companies trying to get me to sign up for a credit card. These gifts have come along and really renewed our confidence that we are stepping out in faith and doing something that is in God's heart. I had to laugh because as we were filling out the Home Study application one of the questions is 'How are you going to fund your adoption?' I really just wanted to write 'I have a really rich Father.'
Meanwhile, we have been approved for our homestudy and are staring at a mountain of paperwork and questions and information we have to fill out. Wow! It's a truly overwhelming process and by the end of it they are going to learn just about everything there is to know about our family. Also, you can pray that God will protect us from discouragement because as we talk to people and read blogs there seems to be a recurring theme of how nearly impossible it is to actually walk away with an adopted child from Honduras. However, we still believe that God has led us to this country and we are going to trust Him all the way through to the point where one of His little orphans becomes a son or a daughter with a Mom and a Dad! Thanks again for all of your prayer and support!
God bless,
Brian
Meanwhile, we have been approved for our homestudy and are staring at a mountain of paperwork and questions and information we have to fill out. Wow! It's a truly overwhelming process and by the end of it they are going to learn just about everything there is to know about our family. Also, you can pray that God will protect us from discouragement because as we talk to people and read blogs there seems to be a recurring theme of how nearly impossible it is to actually walk away with an adopted child from Honduras. However, we still believe that God has led us to this country and we are going to trust Him all the way through to the point where one of His little orphans becomes a son or a daughter with a Mom and a Dad! Thanks again for all of your prayer and support!
God bless,
Brian
Friday, April 20, 2012
Well, yesterday was a great step in our adoption journey. First of all, I need to stop and thank God for a huge step of provision! God, moving through the heart of an anonymous saint, provided $5000.00 towards our adoption fees yesterday. This same person also provided that identical amount towards Josh and Suzanne's adoption fees. This provision came at the end of a long and tiring week and was a beautiful ray of hope and confirmation for us that God is with us and has resources beyond what we can imagine. Obi, my friend from church, prayed over us on Sunday and quoted Philippians 4 in his prayer that says, "And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus." We have really seen God answering that prayer this week.
So we feel a new spark of motivation as we run this marathon. Last night about 11:00 we finished our application to be considered for a home study (not the home study but a 13 page online application to start a home study). So that was good to get that done. I think our next step is to contact the Honduran Consulate downtown and sign the power of attorney paperwork. Already, this process is strengthening our faith and creating great conversations with friends and family about adoption and why it matters to God and to us. So thank you for continuing to pray for us!
in Christ,
Brian
So we feel a new spark of motivation as we run this marathon. Last night about 11:00 we finished our application to be considered for a home study (not the home study but a 13 page online application to start a home study). So that was good to get that done. I think our next step is to contact the Honduran Consulate downtown and sign the power of attorney paperwork. Already, this process is strengthening our faith and creating great conversations with friends and family about adoption and why it matters to God and to us. So thank you for continuing to pray for us!
in Christ,
Brian
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