75%!!

We've raised 75% (well, 74.7%, close enough...) of our needed funding for the adoption!! Thanks again to all that have supported us in this process. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't concerned about the financial need when we first started this journey, but God continues to amaze me by the way He provides. We still have a bit more to go, but I am confident that we will receive the funds we need. We are eternally grateful for the 40+ (including the CO Dept of Revenue!) that have contributed to our Adoption Fund!

A capital campaign is currently underway at our church (Plum Creek Community Church) and Pastor Doug has approached it in a way that is different than other capital campaigns I've been a part of.  Rather than focusing each week on "the building", he's been focusing on generosity and challenging us to step up our generosity. Not just so we can move out of the theater and into a more permanent spot for the church, but to generously reach out to our friends, families, coworkers, neighbors, etc.  Jenny and I have been challenged in our generosity through this campaign, but we've also been SO blessed by the generosity of others.  In the same way we believe in the church and are committed to contributing to the campaign, so many of you have sacrificially given because you believe in us and our calling to adopt.  Thank you doesn't really convey what this means to us. Please know that every prayer, note and gift mean so much to us.


We mailed our official acceptance of our referral today, along with ridiculously large check #2. We've still got a number of steps to complete before we can mail our dossier paperwork off to DR Congo, but we're hopeful that we can get this completed within a few weeks.  

For now, we keep looking at this precious little face:

It's a pretty weird feeling to have minimal information about our daughter and to so desperately want to meet her.  I already love her so much yet know so little about her.  I haven't even seen her with her eyes open!! But she's ours, she's our daughter, "daddy's little girl".  I'm already so protective of her. It pains me that I can't just fly over to DRC and make sure she's being cared for the way she deserves to be cared for, that she's being loved on, that she's being fed.  I have to trust a group of caregivers that I've never met, and pray that they are caring for her as if she were their own.  I anxiously await the next update we receive about her and the latest pictures, but we have no idea when that might be.  So I pray and stare at this picture. And pray some more, and stare a little more.  It's all I can do, but it's enough. It's the best thing I can do. Pray for her. Pray for those caring for her. Pray that God prepares me for being a father, and that I don't screw it up too much! Pray that God will protect her and will fill her with His love.  Pray that He will introduce us to her while she dreams peacefully, so that we won't be strangers when we arrive.  I can not worry about the things over which I have no control. God is in control, and He is providing the care and love she needs until we get to bring her home. I am confident in that. Our paperwork will be approved in His perfect timing and we patiently (not one of my gifts...) wait for the day when we will be united and our family will be together.

Thanks for praying with/for us and more importantly, for our little girl.     

Introducing...

When I imagined how and when we'd receive our referral, I had romantic visions of how it would look when we first saw the picture of our son or daughter.  Turns out it happened in a Chili's parking lot and I wouldn't change it for the world.

We got a call from Kelly, our agency's director, that she had a referral for us and she was sending it to us via email.  This was completely a surprise since we had just sent in our contract and fees last week and were prepared to wait for our little one for quite a while.  We were just pulling in to Chili's and we frantically looked for a parking space so that we could get our good news.  I made a mental note to thank Travis for getting me a phone that could actually get email!  We waited anxiously for the huge email to load onto my phone and when it finally did, this is the beautiful face that was staring up at us:

This is our daughter!  Because of security reasons, our agency has suggested that we withhold her name and other identifying information but we have pictures to share!

Words cannot describe our emotions right now and how much we wish we could fly over there and scoop her up and bring her home.  Our agency is estimating that we will be able to bring her home 6 months from the time her dossier is received in DR Congo.  We are working diligently on it now and hope for it to be done very soon so that she can start the legal adoption process both here in the States and overseas.

No matter how much one may enjoy the food at Chili's, that meal is a complete blur to us.  All we could do was stare at the pictures of this precious baby girl...

Please keep the prayers coming... that our daughter is being loved and cuddled and is well-fed and safe.  Please also pray that our dossier preparation will go smoothly and without any complications.  Pray that there will be no unforeseen bumps in our journey. We are anxious to get our baby home!

Officially waiting for a referral!

Travis mentioned in his last post about how grateful we are to our family and friends (and strangers!) who have blessed us financially in this process.  I would echo his sentiments and can't help but wonder if this is all in God's plan to have the ones we love the most to play such an integral part of bringing our baby home.  

We reached the point this week where we had raised enough money to be able to turn in the paperwork and fees to our agency to be able to accept a referral.  Travis was able to drive up to our agency yesterday and hand-deliver our paperwork.

 This means we are officially waiting (versus all of the unofficial waiting we've been doing!) to see who our little boy or girl is!  The hardest part is knowing that we could get that important call within hours or months; it's just not certain what the time-frame will be.  A referral usually includes a photo, basic medical information as well as any family information that is known.  Once we accept the referral, we are "matched" and we start the process of bringing him/her home.  We are anxiously awaiting the call but know that we are so fortunate to even be in this situation that it makes the waiting a little easier.

I was able to partake in a conference call with our agency and other families adopting from DR Congo this afternoon and it was so encouraging to hear from families that were in our shoes just a few short months ago and are now just waiting for word that they can travel to pick up their children.  It is crazy to think that we might be celebrating Christmas with our little one!  It makes me smile to type that and although I hope it's a lot sooner than December, I know that God is painstakingly and diligently preparing our hearts to be parents.

Halfway Home!

We've secured over 50% of the needed funding for our adoption!! We have been SO blessed and encouraged by the outpouring of love and support so far in this journey.  Family, friends, co-workers, old friends we haven't seen since high school, and even some people we've never even met have contributed to our adoption fund.  We are so thankful and humbled by your generosity!!

Waiting for You...in Malta and Turkey

I (Travis) just returned from a week each in Malta and Turkey. I hope that we will be able to travel and see the world with our children. Experiencing other cultures and seeing how others live are important experiences we want our children to have as they grow up.

While traveling, I met and/or traveled with friends that were adopted, have adopted, are adopting from DR Congo, and adopting from other countries.  It's pretty amazing how we continue to connect with people for which adoption is part of their past, present, and/or future.  

I also began to read Adopted for Life by Russell D. Moore (highly recommended by another new friend that has adopted 5 children from Ethiopia).  Although I'm just a few chapters in, the book does a great job of explaining the theology behind adoption and the importance of caring for orphans and supporting adoption.

Throughout the trip, I was able to take some pictures with our "Waiting for You" sign. Enjoy!

Overlooking St. Paul's Bay in Malta, where it is believed that Paul was shipwrecked.

Jet lag & Photo Booth are a dangerous combination!

Cappadocia

Tea break to warm up after a tour of an underground city in Cappadocia

The group that traveled together in Turkey - so much fun!

Even the camel is waiting for you!

Hagia Sofia (Istanbul)

A couple taken in Hagia Sofia

We're still waiting for our home study to be finalized and for our fingerprints to be cleared by the FBI.  By the end of this month, we should be signing a contract with ALBB, which makes us available to consider referrals.  We could potentially receive a referral shortly after signing the contract!

Thanks again for all of your prayers, encouragement, and financial support!