When we walked in the door at the immigration office, (for
the second time because the first time they made us return my purse and our
cell phones to the car), we handed our IDs and appointment letters to the
guard, and I quickly explained that while this was not our appointment date, we
knew that we would be allowed in because my Soldier was wearing his uniform.
The guy looked at me and asked, “So you’re just going to use him like that?”
And I said, “yes.” Luckily, the guy laughed instead of arresting me, or kicking
us out, or something silly like that.
I was going to tell you that we did a happy dance while
standing in line waiting to be given another form to fill out, but my husband
wants me to make it clear that it was me who danced, and he just stood there in
uniform and supported me, which is good, because a few minutes later some very
official looking federal officers walked in the door, and if they had seen a Soldier
dancing in uniform, who knows what would have happened?
After a lovely conversation with a friendly British
immigrant, our numbers were called and our fingerprints taken on a fancy,
computerized, biometric fingerprint-taker, and when we had left the building, escaped
the rainstorm outside and closed our car doors, we both squealed in delight...both
of us, uniform or not, and that’s the truth, because we’re sooooo excited and
thankful! Finally, we’ve jumped through the hoop of having our third set of
fingerprints completed for our adoption application! And now, we wait for India
and the U.S. to decide that we’re allowed to adopt our daughter, which we will
be, because God is all about adoption, and this whole thing was His idea, but
maybe it just makes the authorities feel better if they get to have a say.
God has been faithful to provide!
- We have received two grants, one a matched $4,000 from Jeeah’s Hope/Lifesong for Orphans, the other $8,000 from The JCS Foundation.
- Lifesong for Orphans has been helpful, caring and easy to work with. All checks made out to Lifesong with our name and number (2600) in the memo line are tax-deductible and go directly toward paying our adoption fees! In the past few months, Lifesong has managed all of the funds from donations, sending checks directly to the adoption agency as fees were due.
- Generous donations of time and money from family and friends, combined with proceeds from various fundraisers such as Quilting for Orphans, Flowers for Families, Ergon handmade Indian stationary and Amazima handmade Ugandan necklaces from 147 Million Orphans.
- Last month’s Project 5x7 silent art auction was a huge success, bringing in almost $7,000 to be shared among the four adoptive families who are raising funds to adopt from India as part of Project 5x7.
- Through God’s provision of these grants, donations and fundraisers, we now only owe our adoption agency about $3,000 more! After that, we will need about $6,000 for travel. Isn’t that amazing?!?
Just look what God has done! He promises that He will
provide for our needs, and He has! And He will continue to do so!
In addition to our ongoing Amazima and Ergon fundraisers,
there are two more fundraising projects in the works:
- An adoptive family who owns a local pick-your-own-blueberries patch has generously offered to donate all proceeds from this summer’s harvest to benefit Project 5x7, the adoptions of the four families (including us) in our area who are adopting from India!
- A local Chick-fil-A is sponsoring a Spirit night this week to raise money for these four adoptions! Twenty percent of sales from patrons who mention the Project 5x7 cause at the counter will go toward the adoptions!
- We plan to apply for more grants as necessary, and we know that God will provide every penny we need to bring our daughter home, just as He has been doing already.
- A local newspaper is publishing our story this week, along with the stories of the three other adoptive families involved in our adoption fundraising. I can’t wait to see how God continues to work!
God is good. Thank you for supporting us and loving our
daughter. Thank you for your prayers!
Glory to God in the Highest!
