Day by day. Week by week. We know we are getting one step closer to adoption day. It doesn't always feel like we are getting closer as we wait and wait while another month disappears. We aren't just waiting around though. I realized tonight that this would be the first month since June 2010 without a post if I did not write one tonight! This is not because there is nothing to tell, but only because there is so much to tell! Now I just don't know where to begin! We've made so much progress with the girls! They have spent the past two long weekends with us and we can hardly wait for the day that they will never have to go back to the orphanage. Eric and I have been taking Creole classes the past few weeks for 2 hours each night. This is one (among many) reasons there has been no time for blogging this month. Our improved communication with our girls in Creole in addition to their English aquisition is one more praise in our progress report!
Here are a few more praises this month!
We received word on November 7th that President Martelly signed our dispensations! We had to have the President of Haiti personally sign waivers on our adoptions (even though we meet all of Haiti's adoption requirements) simply because we have biological children. Others we know have been waiting for months to get this presidential dispensation signed. Ours came through within 18 days of our adoption paperwork being submitted after we completed Haitian court. Now our paperwork has moved on to Parquet. We are hopeful that we will exit Parquet soon. One of our friends that went to Haitian court with us (but who didn't have to have the dispensation because they do not have bio kids) came through Parquet within 2 1/2 weeks after exiting court. It has been longer than that since our dispensations were signed, but we are not exactly sure when our paperwork was submitted in Parquet. And of course there really is no telling how long something will take in any step of this crazy process! We continue to pray for soon. Thank you for praying for soon with us and celebrating each time we are one step closer.
Lord willing we will be one step closer one week from today. We have our U.S. Embassy (in Haiti) appointments set for Wednesday December 7th. We will have more questions asked of us as to why we are adopting, if anything has changed in our circumstances (pray for wisdom as to how to answer that one), if we will be able to provide for our adopted children, and show proof of all these things. We will have to submit more forms (for the U.S. goverment this time), and pay another $800 to the U.S. (for the second child because we are adopting two that are not bio siblings). We have a list of documents we have to collect from our orphanage director as well. Today I received an e-mail from him saying he would have all the documents ready for us. This was a huge relief to hear! There are still a few details to work out such as when and where we will get the required documents from him, arrangements for our boys (we will need to be at the appointment way before they go to school), and how to pay for that $800 (we are hoping to get our Chosen Marathon money by then, but not sure we will). Please pray with us for all these details!
And one more prayer request!
Our I-171 approval to adopt issued by the U.S. was granted in June of 2010. This approval expires after 18 months if the adoption is not completed. We get one free extension for another 18 month period. Our approval expires on December 13th. We have to submit an updated homestudy along with our extension request. We have contacted our case worker who gave approval before and he has told us that we need to include our "significant changes" with our updated homestudy. We have discussed all these things with our social worker who is currently updating our homestudy for submission. We would like to ask for prayer that our case worker reapprove our extension request and that no further information is requested other than what we are able to give at this time. We are thankful that our Embassy appointments were scheduled on December 7th just shy of our December 13th expiration date so that we would have a non-expired form in hand. We requested by e-mail that our appointment be in November, but I realized later that our prayer request was that we receive an appointment before December 13th. God is so good. And even when we can't see or feel Him moving, we know He is here fighting off the enemy. We know the enemy doesn't want to see two more orphans step out of darkness. We know that he doesn't like it that our girls are already stepping out. WAY OUT! We know he doesn't want us to take one more step closer. We know we are still in a war. But we are one step closer to victory day!
Here are a few more praises this month!
We received word on November 7th that President Martelly signed our dispensations! We had to have the President of Haiti personally sign waivers on our adoptions (even though we meet all of Haiti's adoption requirements) simply because we have biological children. Others we know have been waiting for months to get this presidential dispensation signed. Ours came through within 18 days of our adoption paperwork being submitted after we completed Haitian court. Now our paperwork has moved on to Parquet. We are hopeful that we will exit Parquet soon. One of our friends that went to Haitian court with us (but who didn't have to have the dispensation because they do not have bio kids) came through Parquet within 2 1/2 weeks after exiting court. It has been longer than that since our dispensations were signed, but we are not exactly sure when our paperwork was submitted in Parquet. And of course there really is no telling how long something will take in any step of this crazy process! We continue to pray for soon. Thank you for praying for soon with us and celebrating each time we are one step closer.
Lord willing we will be one step closer one week from today. We have our U.S. Embassy (in Haiti) appointments set for Wednesday December 7th. We will have more questions asked of us as to why we are adopting, if anything has changed in our circumstances (pray for wisdom as to how to answer that one), if we will be able to provide for our adopted children, and show proof of all these things. We will have to submit more forms (for the U.S. goverment this time), and pay another $800 to the U.S. (for the second child because we are adopting two that are not bio siblings). We have a list of documents we have to collect from our orphanage director as well. Today I received an e-mail from him saying he would have all the documents ready for us. This was a huge relief to hear! There are still a few details to work out such as when and where we will get the required documents from him, arrangements for our boys (we will need to be at the appointment way before they go to school), and how to pay for that $800 (we are hoping to get our Chosen Marathon money by then, but not sure we will). Please pray with us for all these details!
And one more prayer request!
Our I-171 approval to adopt issued by the U.S. was granted in June of 2010. This approval expires after 18 months if the adoption is not completed. We get one free extension for another 18 month period. Our approval expires on December 13th. We have to submit an updated homestudy along with our extension request. We have contacted our case worker who gave approval before and he has told us that we need to include our "significant changes" with our updated homestudy. We have discussed all these things with our social worker who is currently updating our homestudy for submission. We would like to ask for prayer that our case worker reapprove our extension request and that no further information is requested other than what we are able to give at this time. We are thankful that our Embassy appointments were scheduled on December 7th just shy of our December 13th expiration date so that we would have a non-expired form in hand. We requested by e-mail that our appointment be in November, but I realized later that our prayer request was that we receive an appointment before December 13th. God is so good. And even when we can't see or feel Him moving, we know He is here fighting off the enemy. We know the enemy doesn't want to see two more orphans step out of darkness. We know that he doesn't like it that our girls are already stepping out. WAY OUT! We know he doesn't want us to take one more step closer. We know we are still in a war. But we are one step closer to victory day!
"But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
1 Corithians 15:57
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