Adding a Smith...or Two!

Happy 40th Grandma & Grandpa Smith!

2012-01-02T14:05:00.000-05:00

First Snow!

2011-12-31T20:32:00.002-05:00

We had a great first Christmas with the kids! More on that to come later. In the meantime...

Six Months

2011-09-30T19:01:00.000-04:00

Simply put, our kids are the most amazing thing ever to hit planet earth...short of Jesus, of course.

Things are gooood. It has officially been 6 months since we first laid eyes our Ellie and Elijah. Crazy. SO much has happened since then...it's really been a whirlwind. We have fought through multiple stomach parasites, ringworm, severe ear infections, MAJOR tantrums, and most recently, tuberculosis. We take bi-weekly trips to Charleston for Dr's appointments (we even got to stay at MUSC for 3 nights, quarantined in a nice corner room overlooking the bridge!). We have a nurse from the health department coming twice a week to give Ellie her meds, and we have 3 appointments a week for Elijah's therapy (speech, physical, occupational), as well as once a week with an early interventionist. And before the years end, we'll slip in a sleep study for Elijah, possibly a surgery to remove his tonsils and adenoids, and a surgery for Ellie's herniated bellybutton.

But seriously, we're doing GREAT. Despite our crazy schedule, we actually feel like things are calming down a bit. Weird, I know. Ellie is learning to keep her fingers out of her mouth (thanks to the great motivator: candy corn!). Elijah has grown almost 3 inches since getting home. 3 inches! And Ellie's grow a couple inches herself. Most notably, the tantrums are MUCH less frequent and severe. Ellie is learning to control her emotions and calm down. We've even begun the process to put her in school in January. Yeesh.

As for Erin and I, we're actually getting dates in now! We make parenting mistakes on a daily basis, but we're learning. And we're making sure Erin is getting the MUCH-needed time she needs to herself, to just have some QUIET and get refocussed. Add to all this the change in weather (starting tomorrow), football season, cute little halloween outfits (ballerina and football player), and family scheduled to come, and things are looking mighty fine for the Smith family.

Of course, I write this on a really good family day. Tomorrow, I supposed we could change our tune. But there is much joy and laughter in the Smith house these days. We are forever grateful for all those who have shared our journey with us. It's been an intensely difficult / amazing first 6 months. Thank you for walking with us and especially for your prayers and support. It seriously means more than we could ever express.

Our first moments of meeting "Rossette" and "Shyaka"

Home!

2011-08-27T08:04:00.004-04:00

We are finally HOME!!! Can't tell you how good it is to NOT be stuck in a hospital room.

Ellie started her 4 TB meds before we left the hospital last night. All but one stayed down so we are hoping she does better with them today with a little more food in her stomach.

She is a happy girl this morning...just talking and walking around the house playing with toys. She is like a different kid knowing she can just go where she wants and play with whatever she wants to. She was especially thankful that she didn't have to get the tube put down her nose this morning and that her IV is finally out of her arm. Her stomach is a little upset from the medication and her neck is sore from the needle biopsy but none of that seems to be bothering her too much since she feels so free!

Elijah has had a rough time not being home too. He never slept well in the hotel room and definitely couldn't wait to get home. It is 8:20am and he is still sleeping...think that's a record for him.

Not excited that Ellie has to take 4 medications for 6 months but after all of the things we saw at the children's hospital we are so thankful that she has something treatable. There have been times this week where we have felt exhausted and overwhelmed but it helps to know that she is now on the way to getting better. We had amazing doctors and nurses which made this whole experience as comfortable as possible. We are still all pretty worn out so we are hoping for a few days of rest and refreshing. Thank you all for your encouragement and prayers...they have helped us through a very difficult time. Please keep praying for Ellie since the road to recovery will be long, filled with lots of meds and doctors visits.

Here are a few pictures I took with my camera on my phone (thus the poor quality). One is of Elijah praying with the Beaumont girls who were kind enough to make the trip up to Charleston to visit Ellie. Yes, he's a silly one. One is of Erin trying to feed the kids in the hospital room...not the easiest thing in the world to do. And the other two are of Ellie and Erin doing the tube through the nose and down the throat procedure on her dolls that Ellie had to have every morning.

Oh, and there's a video of Ellie and Erin dancing to the TV. =O)

Correction

2011-08-26T10:03:00.003-04:00

First, a correction. I accidentally said Ellie would be getting a biopsy on her thyroid...not true. It's actually a lymph node they'll be doing that on. Silly me.

The biopsy is at 2:45 this afternoon. Then they'll try out her first dose of meds and wait to see how she reacts before releasing her. Hopefully, we'll be sleeping in our own beds tonight...after driving home through the outer bands of hurricane Irene!

We'll let you know how it all goes!

Quick Update

2011-08-25T19:55:00.002-04:00

Just a quick update to let you know that nothing really happened today. Ellie was rudely woken once again with a tube going down her throat to get some juices from her stomach. Other than that, we continued to hang out in a hospital room all day long.

Unfortunately, even though she's not contagious, the hospital has policies. When the word "tuberculosis" is used, it means masks, gowns and gloves for everyone who enters the room (except for us). It also means that Ellie is quarantined. That's right. Poor little 4-year old bundle of energy that isn't allowed to leave the room for days on end.

Tomorrow, they'll take a biopsy of a thyroid in her neck sometime around mid afternoon. She won't be allowed to eat until after she wakes up...so that will be interesting.

Very, very grateful for visits from the Beaumont girls yesterday and from Kent Knapp today. Really helps with the monotony of the day.

Praying tomorrow goes well and we can come home!

Update on Ellie

2011-08-24T16:20:00.002-04:00

Still hanging out at the hospital here in Charleston. Wahoo!

So here's the latest. Ellie definitely has active tuberculosis. Now, we're trying to figure out where all it has spread for sure. So, we'll be having a biopsy hopefully sometime today. It's possibly in her neck, armpits and groin area.

The best news of it all is that it is NOT in her lungs. For all of you who are worried about whether or not you need to be tested...please rest easy! She is NOT contagious! It is also not in her spinal column, so the doctors are confident she doesn't have spinal meningitis.

The doctors are trying to determine if she is resistant to some of the drugs she needs to get rid of this. It's possible she'll be on four different medications for at least 6 months.

That's the latest from Charleston. We'll try to keep you posted! Thank you SO much for your prayers!

Prayers for Ellie

2011-08-22T22:07:00.002-04:00

Well, here we are again, asking for your prayers.

Our doctor is quite convinced that Ellie has tuberculosis. We found out today that we need to make the two hour trek to Charleston tomorrow so that Ellie can stay at the hospital for a couple of nights for testing.

There are a lot of questions, obviously. The one thing we know with absolute certainty is that God has brought us through many, MANY hurdles with these incredible kids. Never once did we ever walk alone. He is faithful.

Please pray for healing.

Please pray for wisdom, for us and for the doctors/nurses.

Please pray for comforting for Ellie and Elijah, as our family will be separated for 2 days.

Please pray for strength for Erin and I.

Please pray for finances.

Please pray for Ellie's heart - she's scared, and doesn't understand what's going on.

Please pray for safe traveling.

Please pray that Hurricane Irene would go away. We really don't need that right now. =O)

Above all, please pray that more glory would go to God as a result of all of this.

Thank you once again for taking this journey with us! We'll do our best to keep you posted.

Vacation Pics!

2011-06-21T13:39:00.002-04:00

For all of you out there who are not friends with us on Facebook, here are the links to a bunch of pics of our kids from our first family vacation! The kids are doing amazingly well. God has blessed us beyond all reason by putting our family together the way He has. We can NOT get enough of our kids!

Vacation 2011 - part I

Vacation 2011 - part II

First Trip to the Beach!

2011-05-30T11:48:00.010-04:00

Well, we feel like we've turned a corner. Everyone that has adopted kept telling us "It will get easier, the first month is the hardest." When we were in the midst of the chaos I must say I wasn't sure that I believed them. I guess when you are in the moment and feeling overwhelmed it's easy to feel like there is no end in sight. But, in the past couple of weeks we have seen some amazing improvements with the kids. Not that new challenges haven't presented themselves but we are feeling more adjusted and it seems that Ellie and Elijah are as well!

Ellie's tantrums have decreased immensely! She has thrown a fit over something here and there but the 3 hour, all out screaming, biting, spitting has stopped. I think she is getting more comfortable with her new life and with giving at least some control over to Erin and I. She is staying in bed at night and getting a full night of sleep, something that we were praying for since we knew that her sleep deprivation had a lot to do with her controlling her emotions. She is still quite bossy with Elijah and we are constantly having to remind her that she is not the mommy, but overall her behavior has improved leaps and bounds. We are so thankful that the difficult moments are few and far between and we are able to focus more on teaching and bonding with her rather than the constant disciplining that we've had to do to this point. She really is a very sweet girl and she makes us laugh constantly!

Elijah is doing well, his thyroid levels are still low so he started taking thyroid medication yesterday. We will be taking him to see a endocrinologist sometime in the next few months. Hoping that we see some improvements with how he is feeling soon! He is also a pretty funny little guy and we find ourselves struggling to not laugh even when he is doing something rascally.

On a whim we decided to take the kids to the beach for the first time on Saturday. We were only there for about an hour but both kids seemed to really enjoy it. Elijah was never too sure about the water but he loved snuggling with his mommy and watching everything that was going on around him. He loved playing in the sand, though Erin had to keep him from eating it on several occasions. Ellie LOVED the water! She and I were able to go out and play and splash in the waves. She laughed and screamed (the good kind of scream!) and was very sad when it was time to go. So glad that we had the opportunity to share this fun family time together, excited when we get to go back and stay a little longer. The one down side of our spontaneity is that our batteries on our camera were dead and we were almost out of space on the video camera. We've posted the few moments from that day that we were able to catch so you all could enjoy them. We also posted a few pictures we took around the house and a few from the kid's first pool day with the Beaumont girls.

We can't thank all of you enough for your prayers and encouragement! We are so thankful for all that God is doing in our hearts and that hearts of our children. We head out next week for a whirlwind tour of the midwest, giving the kids the chance to meet all of the rest of their family they haven't met and getting some much needed time with their grandparents! We are super excited for the trip but we know that it will also come with some challenges. Please pray for smooth travels and for us to not loose all of the progress we've made in discipline with the kids. We will try to keep the pictures coming!

One thing after another

2011-05-15T14:52:00.006-04:00

Hey everyone!

So sorry that there have not been many updates lately...things have been a little crazy in the Smith household! Seems like there has just been one thing after another that we've had to deal with in such a short amount of time. As you may have read in our last post we have been having some issues with Ellie having tantrums. Unfortunately those are still happening pretty regularly...but at least we're learning how to stay calm in the midst of her fits! Makes it a bit more manageable that way.

We took them both to the international adoption clinic in Charleston to get a check up and we found out several things about both of the kids. We wanted to pass all of this along so that you can be praying, but also in hopes that the other adoptive families reading might find the information helpful. Both kids have been on medication for several different things since we've been home...sometimes it feels like a full time job just trying to remember what medicine to give them at different points in the day!

We found out this week that both kids tested positive for giardia (stomach parasite). We treated them both for it while we were in Africa but it either came back or they picked it up again after we treated them. Hopefully once they finish with the medication they will get to feeling better. We're doing our best trying to make sure the house keeps clean so that the kids don't pick it back up after treatment.

We found out Ellie has ringworm and is on a 6 week antibiotic for that. Erin has been trying everything to get her hair to grow and be healthy...now we know why her hair hasn't been growing! :O) Ellie also has a G6-PD deficiency. Not 100% clear on all of the details yet but it's nothing too major...fairly common in African people. It means that she has a glucose deficiency and there are certain medications that she needs to avoid for the rest of her life, or they can cause her to be anemic. She also has had a sore on her arm since we got her from the orphanage. The doctor thought it was a staph infection but after a round of oral antibiotics and an antibiotic ointment, it still hasn't cleared up.

All of the blood work done on Elijah showed that his thyroid levels are low. This could mean a million things. Right now we are in the middle of getting more blood work and tests done to see what could be causing the problem. Please be in prayer that the issue isn't too serious and that it is something that can be treated easily. Poor little guy is also pretty behind developmentally. We will be starting both physical and speech therapy with him sometime in the next few weeks. He has also has had a pretty bad ear infection since we got him from the orphanage...we are on our third antibiotic to try to clear it up.

We also found out that, prior to getting the kids, both of them had chicken pox. And Ellie had Hepatitis A. Geesh!

Erin and I have also both been feeling sick. Erin has not fully recovered from being so sick in Africa and the kids and I have yet another round of colds. You can imagine our frustration with just wanting to all be healthy and have our energy back!

So much of this post seems negative but we really are enjoying the kids! They are awesome and we love learning more and more about their personalities each day. FUNNY kids! Elijah is still loving his food (I think he could play in the NFL as a linebacker already) and Ellie is still as girlie as ever. Truly quirky and hilarious kids...definitely Smith's. We know that all of these physical and emotional struggles with them are only for a season. We appreciate you prayers as we continue to try to get healthy. Pray for wisdom for Erin and I as we handle all of Ellie's emotional issues and try to make decisions about Elijah's physical health. There are days when it all seems a little overwhelming and then God reminds us the has been faithful all along - He's certainly not going to stop now!

We love you all and can't tell you how much all of your encouragement and prayers mean to us. Here are a few pictures since we promised them to you last time :) Like usual, just click on a pic to make it bigger.

Update from the Smith Family

2011-05-03T09:01:00.004-04:00

Since there's no pics in this post, I realize at least half of you will check out at this point. No offense taken. =O) More pics will be coming ASAP, I promise!

I know it's only been a month or so, but so far life with kids has been pretty much what we expected. People have told us (for YEARS), "just wait!" as if there was no way we could comprehend the hardships of parenting until we had kids. Truth is, I think we've always had a pretty good grasp on what it would be like. It's hard. And amazing. The kids will frustrate you to no end in one moment, and have you rolling the next. We've lost most of our "free" time of course, but who goes into parenting not expecting that?

(Speaking of "rolling," our funniest moment came when Ellie was going potty and didn't close the door like I asked her. I realized Elijah had disappeared, and I came in to the bathroom to find Ellie and Elijah standing at the toilet. He had poop in his hand...and mouth. Couldn't even get him to let go of the poop in his hand - apparently, he really liked it).

The two surprises we've had have been the tantrums from Ellie and how we've handled them. Sure, kids are kids. They're going to do things they shouldn't and you're going to have to discipline them. We have NO problem with that. They're going to misbehave. But Ellie's tantrums have escalated to screaming, slapping, biting, pinching, and spitting. She won't stay in the time out chair or in bed, and half the time she'll start laughing the more stern you get. We literally have to hold her hands and feet together and bear hug her to keep her from hurting us or herself. We've tried to the whole "Super Nanny" approach of just quietly walking her back to the chair for as many times and as long as it takes (hours), but frankly it's proven to be rather ineffective.

Keep in mind, she recently came from another country and speaks a different language. We don't know what she's experienced, how (or if) she's been disciplined, and we can't ask her what she's feeling or explain the reasoning behind our actions. We can't necessarily use the same parenting tactics you would use on biological children.

What's worse is that Erin and I have had a hard time controlling ourselves during the tantrums. We've been quite surprised to find out how quickly we've lost patience, spoken more loudly and harshly than we want to, or have been more forceful physically than we want to. So we're definitely a work in progress. We're making mistakes, but we're learning from them! A month ago, we didn't have kids - now we have 2 partially grown children! We're trying to learn...and to breathe and think clearly. We're trying to stay calm and in control, and to relax about the things that don't really matter.

Other than that one issue, all is perfect. Our kids are hilarious, adorable, smart, and weird...which is fitting considering they're now Smiths. We love them SO MUCH. It's hard to imagine us not having them in our lives or getting to see them every day. They're amazing! Aside from their skin color, you'd have no idea that these kids weren't biological. It's unbelievable how many traits of ours they seem to have and how PERFECTLY they fit us. It's almost as if God knew...

The Sounds of Africa...and Food

2011-04-24T18:37:00.002-04:00

More amazing footage of our kids. Wanna hear some pure Rwandan music?

The Sounds of Africa...and Food from Jeremiah Smith on Vimeo.

Pics n' Updates

2011-04-22T19:03:00.004-04:00

Hey all! The adjustment is going quite well! There is a lot being learned (by both the children AND the parents). All grandparents have left, and we're settling into a bit of "normalcy"...whatever that is! Seems as though the sickness is ending in the Smith household!

In the meantime, we've learned that Elijah loves to drink bathwater (seriously...he takes the cup and guzzles it), Ellie is as girly of a girl as you can get (she wears her 5 necklaces, sunglasses, and purse as much as possible), and that both kids somehow get cuter and cuter every day.

Our first Eater Egg coloring!

It may look like Elijah is in awe...but really he just wants to eat the egg.

Elijah's pencil...errr...drumstick (in the Easter basket from "g-ma")

Ellie's first experience with getting her nails painted. She LOVED it.

Ellie being Ellie. ALL girl...and very, very cute.

A very common scene in our home. Elijah is OBSESSED with food.

Trying to fit in daddy's shoes. She can't get enough of shoes!

Music n' Dancin'

2011-04-20T22:03:00.005-04:00

Pulled out the ol' guitar for the first time tonight, just to see what the kids would think. This is the result...

Music n' Dancin' from Jeremiah Smith on Vimeo.

Metcha Day Video

2011-04-19T15:49:00.002-04:00

Finally, the video of when we had the pleasure of meeting Ellie and Elijah! Traditionally, this is called the "Gotcha Day" video...but we didn't actually "get" them that day, so...

Not sure how big you can make this one...if you'd like to see it bigger, go here. Enjoy!

Home!

2011-04-16T10:00:00.001-04:00

Whoops...forgot to blog and tell you all we made it home! Watch out Bluffton...the Smith family is back in town!

Last post from Africa!

2011-04-14T06:43:00.002-04:00

At the airport! We fly out in about 2 1/2 hours!

We'll be flying for a grand total of 24 hours, with a two hour drive after. BUT, we are so grateful because 1) We're heading home, and 2) It could be worse. The Simonson family that is traveling with us lives in Oregon - they'll be traveling TWICE as long as us. When we land in Washington DC, they'll be only half-way. It's all a matter of perspective. =O)

We would like to ask for a little bit of space for just a bit - it's a big adjustment for the kids! See you Blufftonians soon!!!

GOD IS GOOOOOOOOOD!!!!!

2011-04-11T14:10:00.006-04:00

I've lost count of the number of miracles God has performed throughout this adoption, and specifically this trip. They are far too numerous. Our latest major obstacle (which I still cannot tell you about) has apparently been taken care of. This particular one actually had us pretty nervous too as it truly seemed that there was NO way around. But when God is involved, there is always a way. INCREDIBLE!!!!!

Friends, NEVER doubt God's sovereignty. After all, He is much bigger than you. Things may not go the way you had hoped, but make no mistake - He is bigger than all of it and is IN CONTROL. Never doubt Him or His ways.

Oh, and Erin is feeling much better!

PS - I've tried for the last hour to upload more pics, but our internet is just too weak here. So sorry!

Even more prayer desperately needed

2011-04-10T12:39:00.001-04:00

Aaaaaaghhh!

Can't go into any details, but please, please pray. Again. We have even more issues that could yet again severely delay our return. Here we thought we were home free finally. These roadblocks are really, really frustrating. Please send up your prayers.

We also thought Erin was done being sick. She is not. In fact, some others are sick now as well. Please pray.

A really good day

2011-04-09T14:26:00.003-04:00

Naturally, we'd MUCH rather be home. But...

Today was great. We barely even stepped foot out of the hotel, which meant we could have somewhat of a "normal" feeling day for the first time. Erin is feeling better - not 100%, but better. Her fever was gone, and then came back some - so now she's on medication keeping it down. We're hoping she'll wake up feeling back to her old self!

There was a TON of just good ol' fashion family time today. Lots of giggles and smiles and playing. Still a few tears and screams, but after establishing a timeout chair, we were then able to give Ellie a choice of "sleep" or "chair." For nap time, she immediately chose the chair (because she's stubborn). After about 3 minutes, she chose to sleep...for about 30 seconds. Back to the chair, and then back to sleep. And then she was out! She never cried through any of it!!! Amazing! Putting her to bed tonight was much the same. She cried some, but she went to bed MUCH more quickly - and I got to snuggle with her more. =O) I can't even begin to describe what a difference this is. Last night, as I was rocking Elijah to sleep, she was standing beside me when she started falling asleep! She refused to be in bed and she was so tired and stubborn that refused, and therefor stood until she couldn't do it any longer. So yeah...today was much better!

Today was a glimpse of real life - SO much better and easier than what we've experienced prior to today. Ethiopia is quite a bit different than Rwanda. We feel much more out of place here. There are a lot of beggers on the street too, many of them children. It's very hard walking the block or so to the grocery store which a child of a different color. Speaking of...the lady cleaning our hotel room today said (pointing to Ellie), "She is dark. You are white!" Ha! Good thing she caught that and let us know! We get just as many stares as we did in Rwanda, but here it seems even more bold. And I've had 4 people try to get our kids to stop putting their fingers in their mouth (they do this when they're tired...most of the children from the orphanage seem to do this). It's certainly something we'll be working on when we get home, but people here don't understand the situation and think you're just being a bad parent, and they are very pushy about it. I also had two different ladies tell me Ellie needed a sweater because it was cold (it was not).

The only thing that would have made today better would be doing it at home. Nonetheless, we are beyond grateful for our amazing little family that God put together. We'll try to get more pics up as soon as we can!

Thank you!

2011-04-09T03:35:00.000-04:00

Of COURSE God answered the prayers. Thank you for praying and THANK GOD! No government shutdown...We're still on track. It's a wonder we ever worry about anything.

More Prayer Needed

2011-04-08T13:09:00.003-04:00

We thought Ethiopia would be the easy part...not so. Yet again, we are faced with another potential delay that would be incredibly difficult. As I'm sure you know, there is a potential shutdown of the US government. What you may not know is that it would in turn mean that the embassy here in Ethiopia would also shut down and not grant us visas for our children. In other words, we would be stuck here in Ethiopia until things are resolved. Previous shutdowns have lasted anywhere from a few hours to 21 days.

In the meantime, Erin now has a fever of 102.7. We're in a foreign country where there are very few who speak English, you have to boil the water to drink it, food is different (which severely affects Erin), and there is no AC. We are all quite dehydrated and exhausted. I'm trying to best to take care of a very sick wife and two children who scream until they fall asleep, who don't understand anything we say, and one of which has giardia infested diapers. And we're here with 5 other families who are also very hot, tired, and stressed with screaming kids they can't talk to.

We need your prayers again. Please. God has been so gracious throughout all the potentially bad scenarios thus far, and we have no doubt in his ability to bring us through again. The ideal situation would be for the government to pass the budget (deadline is midnight tonight). Whatever the case, please pray that we would somehow be able to just get home on time. We don't care what it takes. We still face the problem of our home study expiring (which is an entirely different, but stressful scenario) and the other families all have children they've left at home that they desperately want to get home to.

Of course, we KNOW that God is bigger than all of it. That has never been in question. He's in control no matter what, and He is most certainly faithful no matter what happens. We haven't lost our heads or anything - we just want to come home. Please pray.

PICTURES!

2011-04-06T13:52:00.004-04:00

We leave Rwanda tomorrow afternoon to head to Ethiopia for the week. But seriously, I know most of you have already scanned past all these annoying words to get to the pics, so...I'll shut up.

If you click on the image, you should be able to see it much bigger. Just in case you're still reading, you should know that we're not sure when our next post will be as we change country's / hotels / internet. Just a few pics to whet your appetite...

Love you all!

THANK GOD!

2011-04-05T09:58:00.004-04:00

We'll fill you all in later, but GOD ANSWERED ALL THE PRAYERS! It was NOT easy, but we got all the paperwork done and THE KIDS ARE OURS!!! They will be staying with us tonight for the first time.

The only negative was that our children had an extremely exhausting and emotional day. Poor things didn't get their naps times. At the orphanage they are on a VERY strict routine...which is killing us now. They are used to TWO very long naps, so you can imagine the difficulties we had. As I speak, ELLIE is SCREAMING her head off (Elijah finally konked out). Ellie now has the opportunity to sleep, but is fighting it with everything within her. She's almost 4 - all you parents out there know what it's like trying to get your kid to take a nap when they really don't want to. Now imagine having just met them, throwing them into chaos and not being able to communicate with them at ALL. We can't explain ANYTHING to her and she can't explain anything to us. It really is like taking care of an infant in some ways, but much harder.

Oh great...Erin just turned on the TV and she instantly stopped crying. Backstreet Boys. Ha!

Oh well. We'll figure it out...and besides, they're ours! And since it took so long to get this posted, I'm happy to report that Ellie is finally sleeping! Hoping to post pictures soon!

Thank you for your prayers!!!!

A PLEA FOR PRAYER

2011-04-04T14:00:00.003-04:00

We did not get the final document today that we needed in order to take the kids out of the orphanage for good. Once again, we drove back to the orphanage and had to say goodbye. It is so confusing for the older children. A couple of days ago, Ellie was sad when we showed back up to the orphanage to drop her off...she was whimpering as we pulled up. But the last couple of days, I think she's just figured that we're going to keep doing this - visiting with them all day and taking them out only to return them and leave them. It seems as if she thinks that this is just how it's always going to be. It's incredibly confusing and difficult on us and the kids.

WE NEED YOUR PRAYERS. Tomorrow will be a very long and important day. We will get up around 5, go get the children, and then spend the day traveling all over Kigali. Most of it will be waiting, in or near the bus, with 11 kids who are not getting the naps they're used to or an actual lunch. I won't go into details, but there are many things that have to fall in place tomorrow in order for us to get our children back into the US before our immigration paperwork expires. We are begging for your prayers and we know that God is FAITHFUL.

Please pray for every last detail to go smoothly and within the timeframe it needs to happen in. Please pray for all the children to be calm and to behave tomorrow, despite the difficult circumstances. Please pray for patience on the parents behalf. Please pray for our guide (Peter) for wisdom and favor. Please pray for the Minister of Family and Gender to sign our documents in the morning, that we'll then be able to very quickly make the stop to pick up the children's passports, and that we'll make it to the US embassy in time enough for them to work on our immigration paperwork (or at least be a little flexible and gracious with us).

And please pray that by this time tomorrow, we will be CELEBRATING (with our kids) the end of an exhausting process.

Sunday

2011-04-03T15:16:00.002-04:00

Going to attempt to keep this one shorter - sorry, but I need some sleep!

This morning we went to church. Like real, AFRICAN style church. We could learn a thing or two from them. Such PASSION. And it didn't matter that we were in a loosely boarded up building with pouring rains splashing in...we worshiped. They also sang "Happy Birthday" to me, first in English and then in Kinyarwandan. Somehow, despite the incredible volume, the kids slept through the entire 2 1/2 service. =O)

We had a little Smith family lunch after that. Very nice. And then we went to see the places around town where the adopted kids were originally found. We didn't get to see where Elijah was found, because he was from a village about an hour away. But we did see the mosque in Kigali where someone had apparently dropped off Ellie when she was around 12 months old - they must have taken her from there to the orphanage.

After breaking our hearts yet again by having to drop the kids back off at the orphanage, Erin and I had the pleasure of going to a friends house (she did a mission trip here a couple of years ago). It was truly a great time sitting in a Rwandan home instead of a hotel.

PLEASE pray for God to continue orchestrating everything, so that we can keep on schedule and leave for Ethiopia this Thursday to process our children's visas. Also, please pray that tomorrow we would be able to take the kids for good instead of having to drop them off every night. It's possible, but not probable. They need to just be with us, so we truly covet your prayers and believe God can do anything.

The First Meltdown

2011-04-02T14:39:00.002-04:00

Started out the day by shopping. You may be surprised to find that Erin is quite the negotiator! They would say "5,000" (Rwandan francs), and she would be like "Will you take one?" They'd say no, and she'd say okay and walk out...then they'd follow her saying, "okay, okay" and she'd seal the deal. So proud.

After shopping, we went to get our kids! We took them out of town a bit to visit a true Rwandan home, the kind of place most people live outside the city. I can't begin to describe it to you, but those of you reading this back home should all just take a moment and THANK GOD for what you have.

We came back to town, ate some good ol' Rwandan cuisine, and went back to the hotel. As we entered the room, both kids began SCREAMING at the top of their lungs. Huge tears. With Elijah, you expect to not be able to communicate anyway, because he's only 21 months old. But with Ellie...she's talking up a storm, but we can't understand each other. It was SO hard to know what was bothering her. Erin took Elijah and calmed him down, and I took Ellie for a walk. She calmed down immediately and we took a walk around the hotel, smelling flowers and smiling. But anytime I started approaching the room...whimpers and tears. I finally figured out that when she see our room, she sees the bed - which has only been associated with sleep for her. There's no such thing in her little mind as a bedroom for her to play in AND sleep. She has only known a huge room with a ton of beds. So I just brought her back to the room, knowing she'd start wailing again...which she did. Elijah was out by then, so we both just played with her and talked gently to her and laid on the bed as she cried and quieted down. She eventually fell asleep. =O)

Elijah smiles and giggles a lot...when he's not sleeping (which isn't much). He's become quite the momma's boy. I've fed him a couple of times, but now he won't take it from me. He just cries until we put him in Erin's arms and he immediately starts eating! He's really quite attached to her and it's so good to see the bonding taking place. And because Erin's always taking care of him, I'm always taking care of Ellie more and we're bonding quite nicely ourselves.

So, we're getting the hang of it - but that communication piece is pretty challenging with the older children. And I think she's frustrated that we can't understand her. But all in all, it was a great parenting moment. It was pretty tough (again) to pull up to the orphanage and hear Ellie start to whimper. We asked our guide to tell her we love her and we'll see her in the morning...and that we have a pretty dress for her to wear to church.

Family

2011-04-01T14:31:00.003-04:00

Today, it felt like we were officially a family...which, of course, we are. =O)

First off, both Erin and Ellie felt MUCH better today...a huge answer to prayers. Ellie was back to her ol' self.

The only thing we had to do today was finish up the passports for the kids. After that, the day was ours as a family! We took them to the hotel, which was quite an experience for them. They LOVED the bed and the pillows! We've got pictures of the experience, which we still can't show, but you'll definitely see them later. Such big smiles and giggles!

And we slept. As a family, all on the bed. It's seriously a moment I've dreamed of, and it was amazing. 1 1/2 hours later, we had to wake the kids from their deep slumber to head to a restaurant, their first ever restaurant experience. Elijah grabbed for everything in sight, which we expected. And Ellie was beyond incredible. She is such a sweet and gentle girl. Erin shared some spaghetti with her, which she very quickly (but politely) took it down. Erin showed her how to push the small last pieces together, which she picked up immediately, and she also learned how to use a straw. I'm pretty sure she's the most brilliant, beautiful little girl that has ever lived.

I can't even begin to explain the feeling of dropping our beautiful children back off at the orphanage each evening. I'm not sure how much more of that I can take. If all goes according to plan, we will be able to take the children for good on Monday. That means two more days of taking them for the day and then leaving them. Please pray for Ellie and Elijah to understand that we're coming back and that we love them, and for us to be able to handle the emotions. We know that in the end, we'll have our kids and all the hardships will be WELL-worth it.

A Good Long Day

2011-03-31T14:30:00.002-04:00

We might have the most amazing kids on the planet.

We got them this at 8 this morning and returned them at 6. That time in between was literally spent solely on either riding in the bus, standing beside the bus, or waiting in lines. Not exactly what you'd dream of for one of maybe 2 trips in your life outside the orphanage. But our kids were incredible. Never got fussy. Ellie never tried getting down even once, despite the fact that there was nothing for her to do and was hot.

Unfortunately, Ellie was also sick. She had a pretty severe fever when we got her this morning which went down eventually, so she was just cuddly. Didn't really even play all that much, and it took a lot to get her smiling today. Poor little girl. She did fall asleep on her mama's lap so that was an extra special part of the day for Erin.

Elijah needed a chance just to run around and be a boy, but never got the chance. He took a couple of hard naps during the day and spent the rest of the time giggling and putting toys on our heads. =O) So enjoyable to see so many smiles and giggles from our little guy!

The coolest thing of the day was standing before the judge, holding Ellie. He read a bunch of stuff in Kinyarwandan, I signed a couple of things, and then he looked up at me said, "Rosette is yours." Ahhhh.... (Rosette is the name Ellie was given at the orphanage)

Extremely wiped out from today. Not so much because of the kids, but mostly because of our schedule. Our whole group is exhausted...and we'll get back up and pull out at 6:10 tomorrow morning! Slowly making progress. It's long and confusing, but we're (ONLY because of God!) basically on schedule. Thank you for your prayers! Erin has been sick all day so please pray that she wakes up feeling refreshed and healthy tomorrow. We love you all!

We Passed Court!

2011-03-30T14:24:00.002-04:00

Thank you all SO much for your prayers! We did in fact pass court today - something that truly could only happen if God made it happen. What a relief! We're not out of the woods yet though. We need more prayers and more miracles. Tomorrow morning, we will go first thing to get the court ruling from the judge (he's being gracious enough to work late tonight to make this happen for us). Having the court papers means we can take the kids for the day! We'll still have to bring them back to the orphanage by 5, but this will be our first trip with them outside the orphanage. In fact, from what we understand, the kids only go out of the walls of the orphanage once a year, so this will be a very big deal!

We'll take them with us to get our documents notarized (another miracle that God made happen), and then to the immigration office to get the children's passports. BIG day. Still not sure when we'll be able to take the kids permanently (we'll still be waiting on more paperwork), but at least after tomorrow morning (and from here on out), we can take them for the day.

As we arrived at the orphanage today, they told us it would be good for the moms to go hang out with the kids and for the dads to travel to the notaries office in hopes of helping to get the process moving. So Erin went in without me. I prayed desperately for the kids to be very calm, knowing that Ellie has quite a bit of energy! It was amazing to come back and find that God answered that prayer not only for our family, but for all the families! Instead of the usual craziness and loud experience we have each day with all the dads there, it was total calm. I walked in to find the kids sitting quite happily and quietly with Erin. I got to come grab them and continue the calm mood - one child on each knee, playing very kindly. Erin had given Elijah a bottle and Ellie some stickers (graciously given to us from the Vaughan family!)...they were quite content!

Loving each day getting to see more and more of our kids personalities. We're getting to know them better and they're getting to really bond with us. Still don't know when we'll get to show pics, so please be patient! Can't wait to hang out with our kids ALL DAY tomorrow!

Prayer and Rwanda pics (NOT pics of our kids)

2011-03-29T14:19:00.003-04:00

Can't go into a lot of detail, but pleeeease...our whole group needs your prayers. We need God to act tomorrow to make these adoptions happen. Our group will all be going to court first thing in the morning - so please pray for favorable rulings so that we can move on with the process.

Still can't post pics of our kids (sorry!), but we did want to give you a glimpse into Rwandan culture at least. It's truly and amazing place. Hope these pics aren't too small for you!

Day 2

2011-03-28T14:57:00.002-04:00

This morning we went to sign some really important paperwork - may not sound all that exciting for most of you reading it, but it was a pretty big deal and was a great step to have behind us. Then we went to lunch and then...to hang out with our kids for a couple of hours! We were late getting there, and apparently the kids were all asking where the parents were! They were SO excited to see us.

It was truly remarkable. At first, we weren't so sure how it was going to go...Elijah cried for the first 1/2 hour (big ol' crocodile tears), and Ellie started out a bit quiet. But by the end of our time, so many amazing things had happened and we were SO bummed when we were told our time was up. I (Jeremiah) was able to calm Elijah down and he fell asleep, and Erin had him giggling by the end of the visit. And Ellie...oh my...she is amazing. And SMART. She knows at least some of her ABC's (in English), seems to be good about sharing and listening, and repeats a lot of words. We had a blast hanging out.

One of the most amazing moments was having a nun ask her where momma was. She looked around and pointed at Erin all the way across the courtyard! And then she was asked where I was, and she looked up at me and pointed. Very cool moment. She also really seems to understand that Elijah is her brother.

Oh, and she loves playing with bubbles.

It was just a great day of bonding with two amazing children. We're learning more and more about their personalities and we feel so blessed that God has allowed us to be their parents. Can't wait to see them again tomorrow!

Meeting Our Kids

2011-03-27T13:38:00.002-04:00

Woo-hoo!!! We finally made it all the way to Rwanda!!!! We are EXHAUSTED!

We arrived at the airport, checked into our hotel, and had 10 minutes before we pulled back out to head the orphanage to meet our kids. We gathered in a courtyard area inside the orphanage walls and waited. My hands were shaking with excitement / nerves. One by one, names were called for different families who's children were coming up the ramp to meet them. We were video taping for people and taking pictures, and then we heard "Smith!"

We looked up to see two incredible children being walked up the ramp by a nun. Erin knelt down to talk with Ellie and I picked up Elijah, who promptly laid his head on my shoulder and clung to me. For the next 2 hours, we kept swapping kids, hugging them, playing with them and getting to know them. All I can say is that our kids are nothing short of incredible. And they're even cuter than the pictures we'd seen.

Ellie was rambling off all kinds of stuff in Kinyarwandan in her very cute little voice. She LOVES sitting on laps and looking at books, and seems generally curious about everything...especially the video camera. We got some pretty interesting videos that she shot. Haven't watched them yet, but they should be quite entertaining! She had several colorful hair clips in, and looked quite beautiful! Got her to smile a few times, which was definitely a goal of ours. Elijah was sick - you could feel it in his chest every time he breathed. He didn't utter a noise or take much interest in anything other than snuggling, which was fine by us! He's just stinkin' cute. The whole thing was one of the most incredible things we've ever experienced. And we got to do it with 5 amazing families. What a sight! Tomorrow afternoon, we get to go back to the orphanage to spend a few more hours with the kids!

We're not allowed to put pics or videos up, so sorry. I know I promised I'd try, but they just won't let us yet. We'll do our best to keep you posted! Please keep us and all the families here in your prayers...to say we are exhausted would be a huge understatement!

We love you all!

Taking Off!!!

2011-03-26T00:40:00.001-04:00

Leaving the house in 20 minutes for Africa!!!! Our next post will be from Rwanda...

32

2011-03-24T17:57:00.000-04:00

Just 32 hours away from departure!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Leavin' On a Jet Plane...

2011-03-21T19:43:00.005-04:00

It's really happening. This Saturday (26th), Erin and I will be flying to Rwanda, Africa to meet our kids. By this time next week, we'll actually be holding them in our arms. Words cannot begin to express how we're feeling right now, other than that it's a mixture of crazy excitement and nerves. God continues to blow us away...I mean, seriously blow us away...with his faithfulness and perfect timing.

We realized that in all the craziness and excitement, we failed to update our blog!

If you follow our blog, you know that we named our kids Ellianna (Ellie) and Elijah. Ellie will turn 4 in July and Elijah is 21 months old. We have one picture of each of them. Suffice it to say, they are incredible and we can't stop staring at their pictures (although, by now, we really have every last detail memorized and don't even need the pictures).

We recently learned that our pictures are being shown to our kids and they've been told that we're "mom" and "dad." And they know that they are now brother and sister. And at least Ellie has basic understanding that they're being adopted. Needless to say, we've been pretty emotional. This past Sunday, as our incredible church family prayed over us, I (Jeremiah) bawled like a big ol' baby. Erin bawled too, but that's hardly newsworthy. =O)

A special note to all the other families adopting from Rwanda who were ahead of us in line: We know how hard it must be to hear all of our news. Everyone has been SO incredibly supportive and we are beyond grateful, but we know that there's no escaping the fact it's hard to see people leave "out of order" ahead of you...when you thought you'd be the ones traveling. You just want to be with your kids. We all know that God's timing is perfect and that He's absolutely in control, but knowing this doesn't make the wait easy. You are in our thoughts and prayers, and we eagerly await news of your referrals!

We will be blogging as much as we can during our trip, hopefully with pics and video if possible. So...stay tuned!

In the meantime, we'll be packing!

Kid's Rooms!

2011-03-13T15:00:00.002-04:00

Ellie and Elijah's rooms are done! Here's just a few pics...if you're friends with me on facebook, you can go here to see more!

Officially PARENTS!!!

2011-03-07T19:32:00.002-05:00

Today, Erin and I legally became the parents of Ellie and Elijah!!!!!!!!!

Doesn't sound like we'll know our travel dates until the beginning of next week, but it should be soon! We'll keep ya posted!

Court Date / Prayers

2011-03-03T09:35:00.003-05:00

Hey everyone! If you could, please be praying for our court date tomorrow (Friday, March 4th). Our Power of Attorney will be standing in for us in Rwanda sometime tomorrow to help make Ellie and Elijah legally OUR KIDS! (Although the court date is tomorrow, the actual ruling will come "within two weeks").

Thank you for your prayers!!!

Names

2011-02-23T16:14:00.003-05:00

Well, we can't show you pictures or give you much information about our children but we thought we would go ahead and share the names we've picked out for them. We wrestled a great deal about whether or not to keep all or part of their Rwandan names. After a lot of discussion we've decided to give them new names. So here they are:

Our girl: Ellianna Rae (we'll call her Ellie)

Our boy: Elijah Daniel

Elijah means "My God is the Lord" an it's a name we've both loved for a long time. Actually some of our good friends named their first son Elijah and we were extremely close with him when he was young. Daniel is both Jeremiah's middle name and his dad's first name. We really wanted to be sure to incorporate family names into their new names.

Ellianna means "God has answered" (Pretty stinkin' appropriate if you ask us!) We had kind of just come up with the name because we liked it and then Erin looked up the meaning online. She started crying right there in the coffee shop when she realized the meaning of the name. After all of these years of prayers, God has answered. We really love the name Ellie but really wanted to include Anna in her name somehow. With our niece's name being Anna this posed quite the challenge. When we were in Indiana we were extremely close with one of our students, so much so that Erin and her were like sisters. She passed away in 2004 during her freshman year in college and it was devastating. Erin really wanted to be able to incorporate her name into our daughters name somehow and we know that she would be so excited to have our daughter named after her. Rae is Erin's mom's middle name and once again we wanted Ellie to have a family name as part of her name. Oh, and "Ellianna" is pronounced like banana...or Indiana...or our beautiful niece's name, "Anna."

So there you have it. Elijah and Ellie, we're coming to get you soon!!!

!!!!

2011-02-18T23:00:00.004-05:00

12 1/2 years of marriage. 20 months of going through the adoption process. A roller coaster of emotions. Waiting, waiting, and (wait for it...) more waiting.

This morning, the waiting stopped. For the first time, we saw pictures of our kids.

Still Waiting...

2011-01-14T13:40:00.003-05:00

So, we've been waiting a little over a month for the pictures of our kids. We still haven't received pictures, but a lot of exciting things have been happening since our last blog post:

1) Several other families in our adoption family have received their approvals! This makes us so happy that there has been constant movement in Rwanda and that more and more families are that much closer to meeting their children.

2) After getting our approval we have been spending time getting the house ready for the kids! We have been painting and sorting and cleaning every spare moment that we've had. Once we get the rooms all finished we will be sure to post some pictures for all of you that live far away.

3) The most exciting news is that we have officially raised all of the money for the adoption! This past Tuesday we were given a check to cover the rest of the money that we set out to raise! Of course there is always a chance that other unexpected expenses come up or if we have to wait too long to travel we may have to pay to have some paperwork redone. But, as long as we travel soon and there are no huge unexpected costs, God have provided all that we need financially! To us this is nothing short of a miracle! To start out with an overwhelming amount to raise and whole-heartedly believing that God was leading us down this path, it is amazing to see how He has provided everything that we've needed every step of the way. He's provided not just financially but with furniture and clothes for the kids, friends that have been a constant encouragement to us, family and friends that have been praying non-stop for us, and approval from the Rwandan government. It's hard to not get teary-eyed when we think about all that God has done!

Thank you all for your love and support! We truly can't wait until the day when we bring our kids home to meet all of you!

APPROVAL!!! The Best Christmas Gift Ever!!

2010-12-10T09:10:00.005-05:00

Christmas came early in the Smith household this year!

Today, we got the e-mail we have been waiting for since last Christmas.

WE HAVE OFFICIALLY BEEN APPROVED!!!

(For those of you who may not know, this is the point of the international adoption process where the country you're adopting from says, "yes, you may adopt from our country" or "no, you may not adopt from our country." So...it's a pretty big deal.)

To say we are in shock would be a severe understatement. We've grown rather accustomed to either getting news of further delay or no news at all. With recent developments, we were trying desperately to accept the fact that there is NO timeline and that it would be many months at best before we heard anything.

This is the first time we've felt that we can be truly excited. We can relax. We can breathe. We can paint, and think of names, and dream of holding our kids. Finally we know that we get to be parents! Something our hearts have desperately longed for will now be a reality.

I wish we could clearly articulate have evident God has been in all of this. There are no words to describe His faithfulness. If only you knew all that He's done throughout the process!!! He is truly amazing and has provided exactly what we have needed every step of the way.

So what's next? Well, now we're waiting on a referral. Then they'll send us an e-mail with lab results and a picture of each of our kids!!! And once we accept the referral, we'll start making travel arrangements! The timing of all of this is anyone's guess...and frankly, we're quite okay with that now that we've been approved.

There are still many in our Rwanda adoption family ahead of us in number that have not yet received their approval. To all of you, please know how much we long for you to get your letter soon. We're not sure why we found out first, but we sincerely hope and pray that they will stick to the numbers in the end and that you'll get your kids in God's perfect timing. God is more than able.

It's so exciting to know that this news is just one more step in this amazing adventure that God has led us on. We are so thankful for all of you! This process has been so difficult at times and your prayers and encouragement have meant so much to us. We can't wait until the day when all of you get to meet our kids!

COFFEE!

2010-11-23T10:37:00.003-05:00

Alright, so it's a long shot, but I thought I'd give it a try and see what happens.

Most of you know we sell bags of coffee as a fundraiser. Well, they're doing a promotional deal where the person who sells the most stuff on Thanksgiving day and Black Friday will win 20 free bags of coffee! Of course, we would then take those bags and resell them (and maybe keep a bag or two for ourselves!).

Makes great Christmas gifts! And it's really great coffee!

CLICK HERE!

Oh, What a Night!

2010-11-10T20:10:00.002-05:00

Wow. What a blast we had at our Adoption Fundrasing Open House on Monday night!!! We were overwhelmed with the love that was shown to us by our family and community here. The place was PACKED for most of the night! We are SOOOOO grateful...especially to those who made it all possible (Josh Cooke, the Beaumont family, Allan Varnadoe, our INCREDIBLE college group, Kim Rayfield, our Live Oak family and all the ladies that made desserts, The CornerPerk, Bluffton BBQ, Chick-fil-a).

Everybody's been asking how we did financially, so I'll quite beating around the bush and give the people what they want! Not counting costs, we raised around $2,500!!! We cut our remaining deficit in half (approximately). Leading up to the night, we were getting nervous and wondering, "What if nobody shows up? What if we don't even break even?" God must be saddened by our lack of trust sometimes!

Here are some pics of the grand event!

Adoption Fundraising Open House!

2010-10-29T09:18:00.002-04:00

Things are falling in place for our BIG fundraising open house! We're getting really excited!

The event will be held at The Corner Perk coffee shop from 5-8 p.m. on Monday, November 8th. We'll be serving the full menu of gourmet drinks from the Corner Perk as well as BBQ sandwiches from Bluffton BBQ! (and can I just say, if you haven't had their food, it could change your life!). And we'll also have sweet tea and lemonade from Chick-fil-a!

All food and drinks will be on a donation basis and 100% of the proceeds go toward our final $5000 we still need to raise.

We'll also be selling our coffee and t-shirts. We even have mugs to sell now! And we'll have live music!

(FYI, just in case you missed the up-dated version of our blog about the t-shirts, we wanted fellow adoptive families to know that our blog site doesn't have to be on the shirts...just let us know when you order a shirt that you'd rather not have it on there, and we'll simply print it without the blog!)

Obviously, the success of this event lies in how many people come. So, if you live in the Hilton Head / Bluffton / Savannah area, please come out and bring people with you! For everyone else, please pray for a successful event!

Adoption T-shirts!

2010-10-20T13:07:00.007-04:00

Buy one today! You can purchase them on our home page!

All shirts are a 50/50 blend. And if you'd prefer to not have the "addingasmith@blogspot.com" website printed on the shirt, just let us know! It's as simple as us doing a little less work!

"Urukundo" means "love" in Kinyarwandan. You can purchase this one in either red or pink.

The gray shirts says "Every Child Needs a Home".

Oh, and these are hand made by Erin via old-fashioned screen-printing! (we're oh-so-trendy).

Adoption "Fun"raising Yard Sale

2010-10-04T19:24:00.006-04:00

Our 3rd adoption fundraising yard sale was a great success! BEA-utiful fall day! Perfect for coffee and cider...and for raising money to bring our kids home!

(And yes, I made the sign in this pic VERY quickly and left the "D" out of of "fundraising." But that's okay...because I suppose were also raising fun in a way). =O)

People around here LOVE their yard sales! We were hopping from 7:30-11:00 without even the slightest break. And then...we were dead. But we did quite well! The final tally is still coming together. We've still got a few items up (or soon-to-be up) on Craigslist.

Thank you all soooooo much for your support and donations! We would certainly not have been able to even hold a sale without all your help. Still got a decent amount to raise, but we're that much closer! (Besides, it helped us take our minds off the fact that we still haven't heard any news).

Number 24

2010-09-10T13:54:00.003-04:00

News!

We just found out that we are number 24 in the line of families awaiting approval from Rwanda.

Granted, the info doesn't really tell us anything other than how many people are in front of us, but still...it's something. It's news. And since we've gone several months now without any news, this feels rather significant!

Since nobody has actually been approved by Rwanda for quite some time, we really still have no inclination of our new timeline other than that things should get moving again in the coming months. Rather vague, I know.

This info comes after a hard month. We found out recently the reason for the extended wait...Rwanda is in the process of becoming "Hague Compliant." The Hague Convention is a good thing. It's a way to protect kids from things like trafficking and other various dangers of adoption. So it's good. But for those of us in the program it also means more waiting. We don't know when the program will be up and running again. Anything is possible and we really don't know have any idea of how many months we're looking at. Also, the Hague Convention may make things a bit more strict as to who they let adopt so we're needing that much more prayer that we'll find favor with their government. Please pray!

And because of the restructuring of the program, Rwanda has closed the doors for anybody else to apply for the time being. So we're just grateful to be in at all!

In the meantime, we are focussing on raising the remaining $6,700 we still need. We're making our final push! Here's how:

YARD SALE: We're holding our 3rd yard sale on October 2nd. If your live in the Bluffton, SC area, any donations to the cause would be most appreciated! Oddly enough, October 2nd is only 3 weeks away.

T-SHIRTS: We've actually had t-shirts for quite some time and have failed to post them on our blog for sale. We'll get those up soon. Cost is $20.

COFFEE: We're still selling bags of coffee HERE! I've heard the "African Skies" blend is pretty dang good. You should definitely check it out. And remember, if you buy 2 bags, the shipping's the same as if you buy just one (hint, hint!).

ADOPTION AWARENESS OPEN HOUSE: On Monday night November 1st, we're holding a big open house at The Corner Perk in Bluffton from 6-9 to raise money and awareness for the enormous need for more families to adopt. We'll be selling t-shirts and bags of coffee, and all the money from people buying drinks will be given to us as a donation towards the adoption expenses. We can't express our gratitude enough to Josh Cooke at The Corner Perk...he is going above and beyond to help make this open house a success. Heck, we'll probably even have food and live music. We'll be promoting this big-time soon, so stay tuned! In the meantime, mark the night of November 1st as "SMITH'S ADOPTION AWARENESS OPEN HOUSE!"

Thank you all so much. We covet your prayers!

Waiting, waiting, waiting...

2010-08-20T13:49:00.003-04:00

Still no news. For us or for anybody else. Really, we just felt like we needed to update our blog, but there's absolutely nothing to report.

But have no fear. You, our dear blogger friends, will be among the first to know if even the smallest little thing happens!

Please pray!

Patience

2010-07-30T13:55:00.002-04:00

(from Erin)

So, at this point it would be really easy for us to be discouraged and frustrated. Most people that hear the details about our adoption process would quickly give us permission to gripe about things not going the way we thought they would go.

The wait has been longer (when we started the process we thought we would be home by now with our children). And at this point we have at least a few more months to wait before we hear from the Rwandan government with our approval. If everything takes too long then we will have to begin to redo some of our paperwork because it will expire, which would also mean extra expenses. When we began on this journey we thought for sure our children would be home with us by the holidays. Now we are coming to terms with the fact that we will more than likely not travel until after the first of the year.

But even with all of the things that seem to be not "going our way" we are still trying to focus on the bigger picture. To remember that God is in control and His plan is WAY better than any plan that our simple little minds could come up with. Even though it feels like there is no progress being made we remember that God is always working on our behalf. He never sleeps or tires, He cares about the things that we care about. He has called us on this journey and we need to trust in His perfect timing. On bad days where we long for our kids to be here with us we remember that we can't even being to comprehend all of the details that God is working out to help us bring our children home.

I think it is easy to be impatient, wanting to take matters into our own hands and make things happen in our timing. I have been reminded a lot lately to "lift my eyes," to keep the focus on God rather than all of the circumstances around me. To trust in His timing and to know how perfect His plan for us is. To remember that no matter how hard things here on earth may be, no matter how important they may be, this earth is temporary. What a gift it is to even get the chance to be parents and love children that need a loving home in this brief time we are given here on earth. And we need to see the gift that each day is, even if the circumstances of the day are not what we hoped they would be.

So, as hard as things have been these last few weeks we will keep looking at the bigger picture. Enjoying the time we have as a couple as we prepare for the adventure of parenthood. We would appreciate your continued prayers as we wait. Pray for our children, that God will continue to prepare their hearts to be part of our family. Pray for our finances as we head into what will hopefully the home stretch with fund raising. We will be posting some simple, inexpensive ways that you can chip in to help out with the rest of our adoption expenses...look for a post in a few weeks!

No news is good news, right?

2010-07-12T19:23:00.004-04:00

If no news is good news, then all is VERY well!

Still waiting to hear what number we are in the long line of families waiting for approval. And then we'll wait for the approval. And then we'll wait for a referral of our two kids. And then we'll wait for a court date. And then we'll make travel arrangements (sigh).

We're trying very hard to be patient and let God do His thing. After all, He IS a wee-bit smarter and bigger than us. And before we know it our house will be bustling and we'll say "Wow! God, Your timing is SO good!"

For now though, things are very very quiet.

Why My Wife Will Be a Great Mom

2010-06-24T10:57:00.005-04:00

I'm not sure that Erin believe's it, but she is going to be an incredible mom to our two kids. How do I know?

Erin is an incredible woman of God. She strives daily to be transformed. To grow and be stretched. To do whatever it takes to follow Christ, no matter how hard it is or what it looks like to the world. What a GREAT example to our kids!
Her priorities are right. God first. Family second. That may sound harsh to some of you, but it's Biblical and good, I promise! And again, a GREAT example to our kids.
She knows what matters and what doesn't. She doesn't get sucked into materialistic thinking and knows (and exemplifies) the importance of spending our time, energy and money on others rather than ourselves.
She has a great mothers instinct. I've seen it in how she takes care of other people's kids...it's kind of unexplainable, but it's definitely there. It's something God puts in women that He doesn't put in men...like a sixth sense or something. She'll be a great mom because God equipped her to be one.
She's stronger than she thinks she is.
Erin gives her best at everything she does. And when she's doing something that she truly believes is making a difference in someone's life, there's no stopping her. I think she'll surprise herself...
The love that Erin will (without question) give to these kids will always be unconditional and strong. Love is the underlying motive behind everything she does.
Erin is beautiful. Okay, so that doesn't make her a good mom, but I thought I'd point it out because it's what I was thinking about.
Erin will, without question, keep me and our marriage a priority (right under God). She will always put the work into our marriage that a marriage requires...our kids need to see that.
She knows when to relax and just be plain goofy. Trust me...it's true. And I think it's an important trait for parents to embrace.
She also knows when and how to lay down the law. She will most definitely discipline our kids when they need it. And they will need it.

I cannot wait to see Erin embrace the role of mom. I can't wait to see her as she plays, laughs with, and teaches our kids. I believe there is a part of her spirit that will awaken as she becomes a little more of who she was created to be.

It will be exhausting and hard. And there will be a lot of times that she feels incredibly ill-equipped to do this. But this is a role she's taking on because God called her to it and I believe with all my heart that He will give her the strength she needs. I know that she will be an amazing mom!!! I trust her. I love her. I need her.

I can't wait!

The Rumors are True!

2010-06-19T09:25:00.002-04:00

In our last update, we mentioned that we'd heard a rumor going around that Rwanda might have hired somebody on to help process through all the paperwork to get things moving. Last night, we received an e-mail from our family coordinator verifying the rumor! Woo-hoo!

We have no idea what that means right now other than that our wait will not be as long as it would have been had they not hired somebody. So...that's really really good news!!!

They have also assigned numbers to each families paperwork. We will hear from our Power of Attorney in Rwanda sometime in the next few weeks, and she will tell us our number. Which means we'll know exactly how many families are ahead of us and maybe a better idea of our timeline.

Please continue to pray for God's direction in every last detail. Thank you so much for taking this journey with us. We'll keep you posted!

One Year and Counting

2010-06-04T11:44:00.006-04:00

It was about a year ago to the date that we sent in our our application to adopt. Geesh. SOOO much has changed in that year.

1) The original time frame was 9-14 months. Silly us...we thought that by this point, there was a good chance we'd already be there and back with our kid. Ha! Now we're looking at November-January (which is really okay...God knows what He's doing).

2) Erin went on a life-altering mission trip to Rwanda. She got to experience the culture and even visit the orphanage. Despite her best efforts, they were able to restrain her from sticking a kid in her suitcase (ummm...that's a joke. Dear lovely people of Rwanda who may be reading this and making decisions about whether or not we should adopt, please know that she would never do that). God did some rather remarkable things in her and through her on that trip. What an amazing country and people.

3) We decided shortly after that trip to adopt 2 children instead of one. After seeing and falling in love with the kids there, and thinking through what would be best for the children, it seemed pretty obvious that it was what we should do...even though it would be harder raising 2 and would add even more $ to our needs. We just do what we're told.

4) God has absolutley blown us away with how He's provided for us financially. It has been unbelievable (and quite emotional) to have friends and family, our church and our former youth group kids pour out their love on us. With adding a second child to the mix, our needs rose to around $30,000. Even though I'm in ministry and all, this was still going to be tricky. We really didn't have any idea of how God would pull it off, but we dove in anyway because it's what He wanted. Not only has He used the people in our lives to bring that amount to a mere $7,800 we have left to raise, but He's made a dramatic change in our personal finances as well. We've got a long way to go, but we're actually making progress for the first time...ever....which is a MUST with the kids coming and all. Honestly, it all happened once we really and truly made the conscious decision to turn all of our possessions and money over to Him. We got serious about using any and all money above our basic needs to help others...and ever since, God has poured out His generosity. It just took a rather (seemingly) dramatic step of faith.

Please continue to pray. It means everything to us.
Here's what we need prayer for the most:

Patience to trust in God's timing as we wait.
God's guidance of our paperwork...to get in the right hands at the right time, and for their government to approve us (our next step).
Wisdom to know how to raise our kids (we really don't know what we're doing...)
Our kids safety and for them to somehow sense that they are loved, by us and by God.
The remaining $7,800 we need to raise.

We love you all!!!

Colorado

2010-05-17T22:36:00.004-04:00

We head out first thing Wednesday morning for Colorado and "Best 8 Days"!!! It's a college-age Christian retreat that my parents run...that I've been going to for 20-some years now. It's home. And I can't wait...especially since Erin's coming with me now!!!

For some reason, I seem to hear God better out there. Seriously. Years ago, this trip was where He told us He wanted us to move from Indiana to South Carolina. We were stubborn on that one, but He was quite insistent and we've never regretted it! A few years later, it was during B8D that He moved me out of youth ministry into worship and college-age ministry. Kind of threw me for a loop there, but I LOVE what I do. And last years trip was when God convinced us to adopt from Rwanda. Sheesh. Didn't see that one coming.

At least He doesn't ever tell us to do anything crazy or life-altering out there. Oh wait...

Maybe it's the clean air. Or maybe it's the higher elevation - being literally closer to God (okay...He's everywhere, so that's not it). Or maybe it's the breath-taking beauty that makes Him so evident. Or the fact that we have such awesome leaders and friends out there.

Or maybe it's none of those things. The truth is, I'm pretty sure God does not speak in a louder voice in Colorado than He does in South Carolina...or anywhere else for that matter. I just listen better there. Why?

Best 8 is designed to help you connect with God. He's the focus of your whole day, from the very moment you get up to when your head hits the pillow again...which of course is how our everyday life is supposed to look too...it's just that our everyday life is noisier and we're not so good at really making Him the focus). At Best 8, you're surrounded with people who are doing the same. Great, theological conversations are had...much deeper than your average day in "the real world." Heck, we've had people get baptized the day we our caravan reaches camp.

So I hear God better there, because I listen better there.

To be honest, I get a little nervous going out there these days. God seems to shake our lives up pretty radically at this camp. I can't even fathom what He would bring to the table this year. I mean, we'll be adding two Rwandan orphans to our family by the of the year (we hope!), so I'm not sure how much more change we could handle!

Or maybe He'll just spend the time encouraging us and giving us and extra dose of patience as we wait. =O) That would be nice. And needed.

FYI, we are now 4 1/2 months into the 7-9 month waiting period for approval from Rwanda. Nothing has really changed time-line wise or financially. We're just...waiting...fairly patiently.

What's going on...

2010-04-03T14:43:00.003-04:00

Realized we hadn't updated this in awhile! Oops! Since last posting, we got some really good news! We received the matching grant we'd been hoping and praying for! So $2,000 that a certain generous beloved couple gave us is turning into $4,000! This puts us at needing a mere $8,500 to pay for the rest of the adoption.

Honestly, it's such a relief for us...and not just because of finances, but because we kept getting rejected for grants and loans and were feeling like something was wrong with us! (although, I'm sure it's mostly just because these organizations receive so many requests...not because they think we're unstable or something!). It would have been quite a bummer for us to not get this one too. God just keeps spoiling us rotten!

No new news on the wait. We're still looking at somewhere between the end of July to the end of September for approval and between November and January to travel to Rwanda to get our kids!

Prayers are coveted!

A Longer Wait

2010-03-12T15:24:00.005-05:00

Well, it appears we have longer to wait for our kids than we thought.

Due to the number of people that are starting to adopt from Rwanda and the changes in personnel and how the process works, our wait for an approval from the Rwandan government has changed from a 3-6 month wait to a 7-9 month wait. Our dossier got to Rwanda just before January, so we won't be hearing about approval from their government now until sometime between August and October. That puts our travel to Rwanda to get our kids sometime between November and January 2011 instead of late summer like we were thinking.

To be honest, we're pretty bummed. We are about 2 weeks out from what was originally the earliest possible approval time...which we already knew probably wouldn't happen. But now our earliest possible date is a month later than our original latest possible date. Whew. Did I say that right? Confusing, I know! Ha!

The hardest thing in all of this is feeling like we can't be 100% excited about being parents until we receive the approval from Rwanda. We know that God has led us down this path and we are trusting Him with all of the details, even if we don't really like the timing. And we absolutely know that everything is in God's timing. That He knows best and it will be here before we know it. We know that everything will be just fine!

But it still stinks. We're still bummed. Things were moving along quite well and we had it all planned out (loosely), and now everything's changed. BUT, there's no point in sitting around wishing things were different. It is what it is and wishing for it to be otherwise doesn't help! We will press on and we will grow in our waiting.

Thank you so much for walking with us through this journey! We love you all!

The Waiting Game

2010-02-26T15:49:00.003-05:00

I (Erin) am not really sure why anybody would ever say "playing the waiting game." The term "game" usually implies something fun that you enjoy doing. Well, I've gotta say I've used that phrase before but now that we are in the waiting stages of this adoption I have to say there is nothing fun about it. We are making the best of it, knowing that there are many other couples that have to wait much longer than us. But there is not a moment in any day that goes by where I don't long whole-heartedly for our children to be home with us. What a great day that will be when it comes!

We are continuing to use this time to read books, spend quality time together, fund raise and organize our home. I was thankful to have my mom here over the past few weeks, she gave me some much needed help with sorting and organizing our house. I'm a pretty organized person but I am in full blown nesting mode, really wanting to sort and organize as much as possible while we wait. I know, all of you that know me well can't even imagine me being in full organizational mode (note my sarcasm). It has been just the two of us in our three bedroom house for five years now and you tend to grow into the space that you have. I am trying to purge and sort and make room for our two new little ones!

Things financially are going pretty well. We should hear about a matching grant sometime in the next week or so, then we will be able to give a better update after we hear from them. God continues to provide as only He can, we are constantly amazed!

We can't tell you all enough how much we appreciate all of your prayers. There have been some changes within the Ministry in Rwanda that we ask you to keep in your prayers. We are unsure at this time whether or not this will affect our time frame for the adoption. As far as we know we are still looking at another 1-4 months before we receive our approval letter...knowing that we will be much closer to the 4 month mark. Every day we can see how God has everything under control and we learn more and more to trust in Him and His timing. We are being stretched and prepared for what lies ahead, knowing that we need to trust God no matter what. We love you all and realize more and more how blessed we are to have you all in our lives.

Pre-Kid Relaxation

2010-01-29T14:49:00.006-05:00

Happy Friday!

Today we are soaking in another chance to hang out at a coffee shop for the afternoon. We're really trying to take advantage of this time we have before kids! Hanging out in coffee shops for hours isn't exactly going to be an option for us soon. And in our childless ignorance, we're REALLY okay with that! Not exactly bad trade-off considering what we're being called to do. We just pray we never forget that when the kids are screaming all hours of the night!

A quick note about our financial status for those who have given and are curious! Our overall costs for the adoption should fall somewhere in the $27,000 range. To date, we have raised $15,000 of that. And another $2,000 for Erin's mission trip to Rwanda last fall. So we have raised a grand total of $17,000 in with only $12,000 to go!

Unbelievable! As you can imagine, the organizations that provide grants for adoptions are overwhelmed with requests for money, so that hasn't exactly been a successful method of income for us. And yet, God has still provided faithfully...just in other ways! Please be praying as we are about to put in our application for a $3,000 matching grant...and just for our remaining $12,000 in general.

Oh, and btw, we are designing shirts today that will be up for sale soon! We'll post them on our site when they're ready!

What a year!

2010-01-08T13:45:00.003-05:00

So, we have had a lot of time while on the road for the holidays to talk about everything that has happened this past year and get excited as we think about what the next year may hold for us.

As we think back over the last year we realize how much our lives have changed. A lot of exciting things have happened and we have also had our share of difficult times as well.

-In January Erin lost her job at the church because of some major budget cuts that needed to happen for 2009. As difficult as this was, we are thankful that this past summer Erin was able to start working again at the church office doing her old job as a Ministry Assistant!

-During those same budget cuts the youth minister at our church also had to be let go. Micheal Thiele and his wife Jen are our closest friends and having to say goodbye to them in February was one of the hardest things we had to do this year. We miss them a lot but have loved the times that we have gotten to see them over the past year. Their departure also meant us moving out of their house and back into ours.

-In September Erin was able to go on a mission trip to Rwanda and absolutely fell in love with the country and the people while she was there. Getting to visit the orphanage and the Ministry of Family and Gender while she was there has helped her a lot in this process. It is comforting to her to know that even though our children can't be here with us right now, she can picture where they are and she has met the women that care for our children daily. Once Erin got back from that trip we decided to adopt two children instead of one, something that God really showed to Erin during her time in Rwanda.

-Which leads us to the big thing that God has done in our lives in the past year. At the start of the year we committed to praying about whether or not God wanted us to adopt. In May (while in Colorado) we decided that God was calling us to adopt from Rwanda. The road to adoption has been quite a ride so far! There have been many ups and downs but we feel like God has stretched us and taught us to trust in Him completely through this whole process. We continue to trust Him as we head into this next year unsure of the timing of everything that is ahead of us. We are so excited to know that by this time next year (hopefully) our lives will look completely different because our children are finally home with us!

We are excited as the next year begins to think about what is in store for us. Knowing that there will be hard times but also amazingly exciting times, we enter into this year with great anticipation of what God is going to do in us and through us in the year to come.

Thank you all for all of the love and support that you have showed to us through this whole adoption process. We would not be where we are today without all of your prayers and encouragement, and we are blessed to have you all in our lives!

Paperwork Made It!

2009-12-28T13:12:00.002-05:00

Our paperwork was delayed a bit due to Christmas, but it has safely arrived in Kigali, Rwanda!

We're on vacation for the holidays right now, but when we get back to SC, we'll be going full throttle on fund-raising again! We'll be making t-shirts, selling coffee, holding a fund-raising dinner in February, applying for grants and loans, and anything else we can think of.

We'll keep you posted! Thank you so much for being a part of this journey!

GO FED-EX!

2009-12-18T19:04:00.002-05:00

Just got the e-mail we've been waiting for!!! Our dossier is on it's way to Kigali, Rwanda!!!

Should take 5-7 days to get there (or maybe longer because of the holidays...we're not sure). Once it arrives at the Ministry of Family and Gender they will be spending the next few months looking over all of our paperwork and processing our request to adopt two children. It should be 3-6 months before we hear from their government about whether they've "accepted" our request to adopt from their country or not. I'm sure it will feel like a long wait but we will pass the time by focusing on a lot of fund raising and applying for some grants and loans. Though we want the approval to come quickly we are reminded that we need to trust God's timing in this whole process. He has it all under control and everything will happen in His perfect timing. All through this process we have been praying that He would guide us and provide for us, He has far exceeded anything we could imagine.

Once we get a "yes" (please pray they do say yes!) from their government, then we'll wait another couple of months or so for a referral. That will be the first time we get to see pictures of our new son and daughter. What a great day that will be! This Christmas season has really made us think ahead to next year with great anticipation...our first Christmas with our children! Oh, how life will change. And though it will take some adjustment time, we can't wait for this new chapter in our lives to begin!

It's a long journey of waiting ahead, and it will require a great deal of patience, prayer and faith. Thank you so much for following along with us on this journey! We appreciate your prayers!

The dossier is on the move!

2009-12-04T14:16:00.003-05:00

So we officially fixed all of the paperwork (that we had done incorrectly) and re-sent it to our agency! Months and months of paperwork, finally done!

And we got word yesterday that our dossier had been taken to the US State Dept for authentication, and should now be at the Rwandan Embassy here in the states! It should take a couple of weeks and then the whole kit-n'-kaboodle will finally be sent to Rwanda!!!

God is good!

Prolonging the Process

2009-11-19T23:17:00.002-05:00

So we sent all of our paperwork in a week ago (complete with all the money we needed, thank you very much!). But...we got an e-mail from our family coordinator saying that some of our paperwork was done incorrectly. They are sending back a few documents which we will, in turn, mail out to various places to get things fixed. Those places will mail things back to us, and then we'll mail it all back to our family coordinator.

In other words, the process has now been extended. Not sure how long it will all take, but please pray for the mail system to be abnormally FAST. =O)

The Dossier Is On It's Way!

2009-11-10T14:23:00.002-05:00

Woo-hoo!

For those of you not familiar with the term "dossier" (pronounced "daw-see-ey"), it's basically just a collection of documents on the same subject. We have been compiling our dossier for months...they call it the "paper pregnancy." Ha!

Anywho, it's in the mail! Our agency should get it tomorrow!

Technically, we're still $200 short. But we wrote the check anyway. Faith? Or stupidity? We say faith, obviously, or we wouldn't have done it! We have our reasons...and we truly believe God will provide.

We'll let you know when and how He did it!

God's Faithfulness!

2009-11-05T08:08:00.004-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, I posted that we had received our final document for our paperwork (the coveted I-171H form), and that we would be sending our completed dossier within a week, as long as God provided a mere $1,650 within 7 days.

Well, we haven't sent the paperwork. I'll tell you why in a second.

But did He provide? Oh yeah.

In fact, He blew us away. Of course. If you ask me, $1,650 is a lot. Especially to come up with in 7 days, when we didn't have a penny to add to it. But not for God. He not only met our need, He surpassed it. By a lot. He decided to give us $4,200.

Why do we ever worry about these things? I mean, really?

For all of you who doubt God's existence or love for us, I'm here to tell you that you're missing out. He's real. His love is beyond anything you can fathom. This kind of thing doesn't just happen. We have gone weeks upon weeks without receiving donations. And TWICE now, with our backs against the wall, we have received amounts of money far greater than we've ever held in our hands! The first time we were in a jam, we needed $4,000 within a 1 1/2 weeks. Really. I mean, it was a situation where we simply would have failed if God had not come through. And God gave us $3,500 of it within 24 hours of pouring our hearts out to God. And now, He's done it again.

Coincidence? Please.

Don't tell me God isn't real. Don't tell me God doesn't love us. Don't tell me this is just a fortunate coincidence. God is real. God loves us more than we could ever imagine. And God provide. Make no mistake: GOD GETS ALL THE CREDIT. None of this is possible without Him. He is a God who knows you intimately and who wants nothing more than for you to TRUST HIM. I mean, really trust Him.

If you already believe in Him, can I ask you a question? What are you doing for Him that truly requires faith? What are you doing for Him that would absolutely fail if He doesn't come through? Because if you aren't doing anything like that, frankly, you're not living.

Now, like I said, we still haven't sent the paperwork. We've had a couple of hiccups, which have been frustrating, but hey...it is what it is. Just the way the process goes! We had to send for another birth certificate, because something wasn't done right on mine. And even though God has provided all this money, we won't have some of it for a few weeks, so we're still $200 short...BUT, as it turns out, God knew that we had a little more time to come up with that $200 (go figure). We had all of our paperwork "state certified," only to find out that they did something wrong. We thought it would take another week, but Erin worked her magic on the phone with the State people, and we should get that fixed by today or tomorrow.

So, we're now a day or two (or maybe it won't be until Monday) from sending out all the paperwork...Assuming that God provides us with another $200 in the next couple of days (seems like a puny amount for God to come up with now!). God is faithful.

We'll keep you posted!

Coffee Fundraising!

2009-10-26T09:57:00.002-04:00

Love coffee? Or do you know someone who does?

We're SO excited to be able to announce a new fundraiser for our adoption. COFFEE!!! It's a really cool deal started up by a guy who has adopted in the past and understands firsthand the difficulties of raising money for an adoption.

Here's how it works. We have a website to sell coffee from (link below). For every bag sold, $5 goes toward our adoption! It's that simple!

There are 6 different beans to buy (including Rwandan...and I can tell you first hand that Rwandan coffee is AMAZING! I've also heard the Ethiopian Yirgacheffe is amazing as well). We even get a percentage for any t-shirts, scoops, mugs, hats or bags that get sold too!

And FYI, 2 bags of coffee cost the same as 1 to ship!
You can even sign up for a membership!

Makes great Christmas gifts!!! (just sayin')

FOLLOW THIS LINK!!!

Final Paperwork!!!!

2009-10-22T18:05:00.002-04:00

So we got our I-171H form in the mail today!!!!

What the heck is that?

It's our "notice of favorable determination" from the department of homeland security! In other words, it's our LAST piece of paperwork for our dossier! We just have to get all the paperwork "state certified" and then we'll be able to send all of our paperwork to AWAA (our adoption agency) for them to assemble and send to Rwanda!!!

Oh, and we have to send $5,025 with it. We have $3,375 of that...which we're INCREDIBLY grateful for. So now we're trusting God to provide another $1,650 within one week. Prayers would be GREATLY appreciated!!!

We'll keep you posted on what happens next!

tidbits...

2009-10-19T19:47:00.002-04:00

So there isn't a whole lot of new changes but we wanted to take the chance to update you on a few things...

First, we have made a decision about the age ranges and genders of the children that we plan to adopt. We will be requesting a boy ages 0-2 and a girl ages 2-4. We are in the process of updating some paperwork changes that have to be made because of our decision to adopt two children instead of just one. Mostly minor changes, nothing that should slow down our process.

We had another yard sale on Saturday and were able to raise about $400 (thanks to the kind donations of our friends Chuck and Randi Bader). With the money that we raised from the yard sale we now have about $1,650 left to raise in order to be able to send our paperwork to Rwanda.

We are expecting our immigration paperwork anytime now and that will be the last piece of paperwork that we need for our dossier to be complete! We are really excited to be to this point and are getting really excited about sending our dossier to Rwanda. Once it is received by the Ministry of Family and Gender in Rwanda we will be waiting for about 3-6 months before we receive approval from their government.

Please be praying that the timing of everything works out and that we are able to get all of our paperwork together and sent out as soon as possible. We are so blessed to have the prayers and encouragement from all of you! On those days where we feel impatient or frustrated your encouraging words mean so much to us.

Change of Plans...

2009-10-05T19:56:00.005-04:00

So we've officially made the decision to adopt 2 children instead of 1!

I know, I know. We don't know what we're getting ourselves into.

If we adopted again separate from our current adoption, it would cost at least another $25,000. And we do want to adopt again. Adding a second child to our current adoption process will only cost another $4,700, at the most.

Not a bad deal.
These children desperately need someone to help them.
We can't ignore that.

Financially, we were already asking God for a miracle anyway. We have no doubt that He's able to handle another $4,700. There's a difference between faith and stupidity, and we've been weighed that thought carefully. We've thought through this thoroughly, bathed it in prayer, made the ol' pro's/con's list, and sought wisdom from people. We can think of a million reasons that people may argue that we're doing the wrong thing. But we can't think of one reason that God would not be honored by this decision.

Of course, the Rwandan government may tell us "no." They may not let us adopt two children. They may not even let us adopt one! But, in the wisdom of my father, we've come to realize that their decision can in and of itself be God's final answer. If He wants us to have two children, we believe that He'll allow that to happen. If we're wrong, He can easily take care of that too.

Again, our desire in all of this is not just to have a children. We're excited about it, of course! But our main motivation has always been out of a conviction to help children in need. It's what the Bible calls us to do. This isn't about us.

We're not naive. We know full well that having two children is dramatically different than having one and that we can't possibly understand what it's like until we have them here. And we know people may think we're crazy adding that much more to our already overwhelming adoption costs. But we would not have peace about this otherwise. This is what we must do.

We're trusting God to provide and to guide. He knows what He's doing! And we're just excited to be a part of His plan. We want desperately to be used by Him, no matter the "cost."

In the meantime, we're we would covet your prayers as we are needing another $2,800 by the beginning of November. We're waiting to hear about the two grants we've applied for, but we won't have heard anything in time for this chunk of money. Once we get that money, finish our paperwork, and get one last form from our government, we will officially be sending our completed dossier paperwork to America World (our adoption agency) to be compiled and then sent to Rwanda!

Going Home

2009-10-02T13:47:00.002-04:00

Well, I (Erin) had an amazing time on my mission trip to Rwanda. It is so beautiful there and I loved all of the people that I met during my time there. I heard amazing stories about how God is at work in Rwanda and how He has healed people from a great amount of pain.

I learned so much about myself while in Rwanda. I learned that God can use me in ways that I never imagined as long as I let Him have control of my life. I know that Jeremiah shared on a blog post that I spoke to over 1,000 prisoners while I was in Rwanda. For anyone that knows me well at all you know that would be incredibly difficult for me to do. When I got done I realized that the only way I was able to do it was because God wanted me to and because He wanted me to do it He equipped me to do it. Since speaking at the prison I've also had the opportunity to speak at a church in Kigali, Rwanda as well as at our church here is South Carolina. God continues to teach me what it means to truly follow Him and stop living a safe, fearful life.

I know that Jeremiah also shared that my day at the orphanage didn't go exactly as I had hoped. I was not able to hold and play with the children. Once I spoke with some of the people at the orphanage I learned that it was out of protection for the children as well as for me. They didn't want me to get attached to a child since we really have no say in what child we adopt. They felt that me getting attached to a specific child would only make our process more difficult and painful. Though I didn't get to spend a lot of time with the children I was able to make some really important contacts that day that will hopefully help us in our adoption process.

I must say that I will always cherish the time that I spent in Rwanda. We were able to work with so many different people. From homeless children to prisoners, people affected by AIDS to pastors giving up what they want to serve and love the people of Rwanda, people that took part in the killings during the genocide to people that are choosing to forgive in spite of the loss of their entire families. Such powerful things are happening in Rwanda and I could see the fingerprints of God everywhere. I think that my heart will always feel at home in Rwanda. People keep asking me if I'm happy to be home and even though I am I feel like I left part of myself in Rwanda. I can't wait to share with our child about the amazing country that he's from and the wonderful people that I met during my time there. It's amazing to me that when Jeremiah and I travel to get our child there will be a part of me that feels like I'm going home.

Video Slide Show of the Mission Trip to Rwanda

2009-09-30T14:44:00.003-04:00

Update from Rwanda - 9.24.09

2009-09-24T20:04:00.002-04:00

As I write, Erin is somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean...on her way back to me! Yay! She's had an unbelievable time...more impacting, I think, than she ever imagined. Their last couple of days have been a bit more relaxing. Yesterday was a day for them to simply shop and take a tour of the city. The night before, the team had one of the translators and his wife over for dinner. This is a guy who was in Uganda for college when the genocide happened. He came back to find his entire family murdered. So, as you can imagine, he's a pretty cool guy to sit down and have dinner with. They had an amazing time of prayer afterwords, followed by dancing...yes, dancing! The translator taught them a traditional Rwandan dance!

The team will arrive in DC around 8 in the morning! They'll have a 4 hour layover and then the'll be in Savannah (where I'll get to see my beautiful bride!) at 2:01...to be precise. =O)

Stay posted...I'm sure Erin will write on here soon! Thank you so much for all your prayers!

Update from Rwanda - 9.22.09

2009-09-22T18:42:00.003-04:00

So, Erin's visit to the orphanage wasn't exactly what she had hoped. I won't go into all the details, but part of the problem was that that even though Erin had called them twice to make sure it was okay to come, they said it was a bad time to come. I guess one of the nuns originally thought Erin was a young, single student. Once she realized she was married and in the process of adopting, the nun was went to get the "mother superior" who turned out to be very helpful. They were very helpful in giving her information about the orphanage, but they wouldn't let her hold any of the children or take pictures. Since we don't have any say in choosing which child we want, they said it would be bad for Erin to get attached to one of them, and that the young babies are susceptible to infections and can't have outside visitors. Erin said, "I was pretty bummed but maybe it was God's way of protecting my heart."

She could see some of the older children, but they were in places where she could barely get to them or play with them. Even though it wasn't how she had dreamed, she did at least get to meet the people that will be caring for our child. And the mother superior is the lady that will actually match us with a child!

Erin also got to visit the Ministry of Family & Gender and actually meet the lady that will be processing our application. She didn't know if it really did any good, but she's hoping maybe God will use that meeting to help us somehow.

Which I guess pretty much sums up her visit to the orphanage as well. It wasn't what we had hoped for, but who knows what God will do through that. Maybe it changed everything.

Update from Rwanda - 9.21.09

2009-09-21T17:18:00.002-04:00

More e-mails from Erin! Still doing great...very tired and frankly, wishing she could stay in Rwanda. She loves it that much.

She spoke again at church on Sunday and wasn't nervous at all. And today, they got to go on a "safari," and saw hippos, baboons and giraffes! No lions, zebras or elephants though.

And she said she might get to actually watch the Colts Monday night game! Though, they wouldn't see it until Tuesday night I guess. Weird.

God is working hard on Erin. She's learning a lot and trying to process it all. And tomorrow is hopefully the day she'll visit the orphanage. She's really pretty nervous about it, because her heart is already so broken for the people there. She's not sure she can handle seeing all those kids. Please be praying for this visit - not sure what to tell you to pray for other than for God to be with Erin through it all.

I'll keep ya posted!

Update from Rwanda - 9.19.09

2009-09-19T18:33:00.002-04:00

I talked to Erin!!!!! Woo-hoo!!!

She's doing great! She actually spoke to over 1,000 prison inmates yesterday. Yeah, you read that right. MY wife! Unbelievable. And she said she was completely calm about it too. Shared her testimony (with a translator).

She sounded tired - but good. She'll be speaking at a church in the morning. After that she doesn't think she'll have as many awkward situations so far out of her comfort zone. She'll get to just kind of enjoy the rest of her time and relax a little more.

She also said she loves Rwanda so much that she'd stay there (if it weren't for all of us loved ones here, of course!). I can't wait for the day she and I get to go there together to get our child!!!

I'll keep ya posted!

Update from Rwanda - 9.17.09

2009-09-17T18:29:00.002-04:00

Got another e-mail from Erin! She has very limited time on the computer, so she keeps saying things like "We did this...I can't wait to tell you all about it!"

The team hung out with 300 orphaned kids again today - kids who's parents were either killed in the genocide or who died of Aids. And they visited another prison today. Most of you know Erin pretty well, so you may be thinking, "Wow...I wonder how she did with that." She LOVES it. She said "it is envornment that you would think would bring me great fear but I have felt nothing but peace and comfort while inside the prison walls. God has been teaching me so much about His power and trusting that He is in control."

She also said that she is very thankful for fried potatoes and white rice, b/c she'd probably be dead without them.

So, that's the latest! Kim also posted a new blog...you can check it out HERE!

New blog from Kim about the trip

2009-09-16T21:57:00.000-04:00

http://goatsforrwanda.wordpress.com/

Update from Rwanda!

2009-09-16T19:18:00.002-04:00

Erin e-mailed me!!! And she is doing GREAT! Here's part of her e-mail to me: "I can't describe to you how amazing it has been to be here. As our plane landed I sat in my seat and cried. I was in Africa! God called me and I came, such an amazing feeling."

She also talked about visiting some orphans and a little girl named Violet coming up to her and holding her hand. She can't wait to go back tomorrow!

I'm not gonna lie: I teared up pretty good reading her e-mail. It wasn't just hearing from her - it was knowing that she's having such an incredible time and that God is teaching her so much already. Since I hadn't heard from her, I didn't know if she was sick, miserable, exhausted, uncomfortable or hoping to come home. To find out that she's having such an amazing time got me a wee-bit choked up. I can't wait to hear how God works in and through her. This could totally flip her life upside down.

God is good.

And now I can relax a bit.

Contact!

2009-09-16T14:23:00.002-04:00

We don't know much...but we know the team made it on time to Rwanda and that everyone's safe! Still haven't heard from Erin directly, but Kim (the team leader) posted on SCC's mission's website a few minutes ago. If you click on that link, you can read what she wrote for yourself. They've had problems with cell phones, internet and power...but they're there and they're safe.

Yay!

Sound like I'm not going to have much contact with her... =O(

I'll definitely keep this blog updated with whatever I do hear though!

No word from Rwanda yet...

2009-09-16T11:08:00.003-04:00

Still no word from my wife or from anyone on the Rwanda Missions trip. Kinda driving me crazy to be honest! I'm sure all is well!

Yesterday, they should have visited the Genocide Memorial - which had to incredibly hard. Almost a million people were killed within 100 days back in '94. Today, they were supposed to have sat with people who lived through the Genocide. They'll have heard testimonies from these people about how they've been able to reconcile with their neighbors who killed their loved ones. People who have literally gone through "reconciliation workshops" to heal from the inner wounds of the Genocide.

They also should also be visiting the Remera Prison today. There are a ton of these prisons in the area, full of people arrested for the things that happened during the genocide. I think they'll actually get to sit down and talk with these people and have an opportunity to tell them about Christ and the hope He brings.

This is a overhead picture of the prison.

Please continue to pray for them! I'll post something when I hear something!

Mission Trip to Rwanda - Erin's officially on her way!!!

2009-09-14T16:32:00.003-04:00

So, as I write this, Erin and the team are in the air on the way to Rwanda! Unbelievable. I can't even express to you how I feel. It's a mixture of just being really proud that my wife is stepping out in faith like this, anxiousness just knowing that she's anxious, and excitement for how God is going to work through her and in her. I can't wait to hear the stories and see the pictures!

I'll try to keep this blog updated regularly with what's going on, but at this point, I don't know how much I'm going to get to hear from her. I do at least have an itinerary of their trip and what they'll be doing each day.

The team got off to a great start - everything went smoothly and on time (other than having to pay for their carry-on luggage, b/c Ethiopian Air makes you pay for anything over 15 lbs!). They will arrive in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia at 2:20 a.m. our time, tomorrow morning (so they're in the air for 15 hours, 15 minutes - yikes!). They'll have a couple hour lay over and then take a 1 1/2 hour flight to Kigali, Rwanda where they'll be staying (and where the orphanage is!).

So, they'll be in Rwanda by 6 a.m. tomorrow morning!

Please be praying...for physical safety and for effectiveness.
Be praying that God uses them for whatever He wants to do over there - no matter the cost.
Be praying that He would totally wreck them spiritually.
That each person would come back with their eyes opened.
For growth.

And for the people of Rwanda to see a group of people who love so deeply by their actions that they can't help but ask "Why?" That they will see what true Christianity is really all about. To see that we as Christians are fighting for the cause of the broken, lonely and poor because that's the heart of God and we are compelled to do so as a result of what He's done for us.

Getting Ready for the Mission trip to Rwanda!

2009-09-11T12:17:00.005-04:00

I (Erin) can’t believe that Monday at 6am I leave for my mission trip to Rwanda! When I decided to go on this trip it seemed so far away and here I am just four days until I leave.

God has already been teaching me so much through my preparation for my trip about myself and the people of Rwanda. At our last missions team meeting we watched a short documentary called “As We Forgive.” It tells the stories of five people that were greatly affected by the genocide. Three are survivors and the other two are men that had done killings during the genocide. Their stories are so encouraging to me, stories of hope and forgiveness. Stories of how God has changed their lives and their hearts even after all of the pain in their lives. One of the ladies that they interviewed chose to forgive the man that had killed her husband and four children during the genocide. The man that did the killings helped build a new home for her and now they live in the same neighborhood.

It is so amazing to me the amount of forgiveness and repentance that these people had to have for living in the same neighborhood to be possible. There are stupid little things that I hold grudges about and here was this woman choosing to forgive the man that took everyone she loved away from her. Now that is a true picture of forgiveness. I am so excited to meet the people of Rwanda, to hear their stories, to see the reconciliation happening there. God has already done amazing things in the lives of those who have repented of the horrible murders that they committed and in the lives of the survivors that choose to forgive in the midst of their pain. I think sometimes you go on a mission trip thinking that you are going to make such a difference in the lives of the people that you help and though that may happen I think I too will be changed by the love that I see in the people that have been healed.

Pray for me and my team. Pray that God uses us how ever He so desires and that we come back changed people for the better.

Erins talk with a Rwandan Orphanage!

2009-09-10T06:06:00.007-04:00

Well, this has been an exciting week! I (Erin) was able to talk via Skype to the nuns in the orphanage that I was hoping to visit while I’m over there for my mission trip. They gave me the okay to come and visit, so on Tuesday the 22^nd I will be able to go visit the Home of Hope orphanage in Kigali! Though there is a chance that the child that we adopt will not be from this orphanage, so far all of the children adopted from Rwanda through AWAA have been from Home of Hope. Even if our child is there I will not know who he is, but I am so excited to go and see where he will be. I think the many months of waiting for a referral will be a little easier for me because I can picture, more than likely, where my child is…pretty cool thought.

Also, we received our finalized home study in the mail yesterday and our agency has sent one to USCIS as well. Which means all of our immigration paperwork can start being processed. This is what we are waiting on to finally be able to send our documents to Rwanda! The process can take up to 90 days so we are hoping that it will not be the full three months. Once they receive our paperwork in Rwanda it will take anywhere from 4-6 months to hear from the government there. Then we wait for a referral of a child which can take up to two months. A month later will be our court case which we will not be there for and a few weeks after that we would travel over there. The whole process keeps changing since Rwanda is such a new program. Hopefully the time frame will not get any longer, but we are trusting in God’s timing with all of this.

Thank you all again for your prayers and support. We currently have about $2,000 of the $5,000 that we need to send our paper work to Rwanda. We have applied for some grants but it may be a few months before we hear anything, so prayers for the financial side of things would be greatly appreciated. Also, please be praying for my mission trip over there. I leave Monday and am so excited about my time there. I’m sure we will be sharing photos with you all when I return!

Sometimes in April

2009-09-07T22:38:00.003-04:00

Just watched the very sobering movie, "Sometimes in April" that HBO put out in 2005. It's all about the Rwandan genocide that took place in 1994.

Almost 1 million people were killed in a matter of 100 days.

It's the same affect that Schindler's List has on you. You kind of know the story, but once you see the movie, you realize the true severity of it and the emotion behind it all. Same for "The Passion of the Christ." We know the story, but seeing a well-made film about it brings it to life. You begin to understand, even if ever so slightly, the pain behind what happened. You think about what had to have gone through peoples minds and how they must have felt. That it's not just a story. Unfortunately, the holocaust DID happen. And Christ DID allow himself to be murdered.

And the genocide that took place in 1994 was very real.

What's sad to me is that I remember hearing about something big going on in "Rwanda, Africa," but I never really paid much attention. I was busy, you know? I was a junior in high school. I was consumed with trying to get people to like me. I was immersed in youth group, playing tennis, and working so I could have a car.

While we clung to the news channels to see what happened to O.J. Simpson (yes, it's been that long), almost a million people were being killed in a tiny country in the middle of Africa.

And oddly enough, we had just been sobered up by the horrendous story of Schindler's List. I remember our entire class in high school going to see the movie. And I remember thinking "Wow. I can't believe that was only like 55 years ago! Hard to believe that kind of thing still happened!"

Little did I know that it was happening again.

Why didn't I know about? Was it because I was in high school and didn't really care? Well, that probably didn't help. But the truth is, NO one was talking about it. We Americans kind of brushed off the whole thing and went on with our "crazy" lives.

Now, 15 years later, we are in the process of adopting a child from this country. And Erin leaves next Monday to go visit these people who have dealt with SO much - we can't even begin to imagine. Anyone 15 or older that is alive there has had so much pain in their lives. No one escaped the genocide - all were affected rather traumatically.

The thought crossed my mind during the movie that the mother of our child (whoever is she) lived through this. She survived. But her parents may very well have been murdered. Her mom may have been raped. If she was old enough, she may have watched friends and family die.

Please pray for the people of this amazing country. Put yourself in their shoes. They are trying to shed their past, but it's only been 15 years. They can turn down any street any day and have a flood of painful memories fill their mind. And they still deal with enormous poverty and disease as a result of all that happened.

Yes, we are blessed to live in America, but let's not ignore the world as we enjoy our riches.

fingerprints

2009-08-28T21:16:00.004-04:00

So we got fingerprinted today. Yes. VERY exciting! Okay...not really...but it is cool that they don't use ink anymore. Guess we should have known that, but it was cool to experience the "electronic" fingerprinting system. And can I just say that on their forms they have you fill out, "pink" and "maroon" are listed amongst the choices for eye color?!!! I asked if they'd ever had anyone check one of those boxes. Surprisingly, they have not.

Other than that, we're patiently waiting for our home study report to be finalized. It's a rather big piece of the whole paperwork process. We're expecting it to be completed within the week. After that, we'll start filling out grant paperwork for as many grants as we can possibly find!

And Erin is still preparing for her trip to Rwanda and trying to work out the details for visiting the orphanage while there. We actually have a phone number for the orphanage now! Very cool!

We'll keep you posted!

Erin's Heart

2009-08-16T21:39:00.001-04:00

I (Erin) am stealing the chance to blog from Jeremiah for this opportunity to share my heart about my upcoming trip to Rwanda.

God has been preparing my heart in so many ways for my trip coming up in less than a month. At first my trip, in my mind, was something separate from our whole adoption process. I would go to Rwanda and serve on a team there and learn more about the culture, but at the time I couldn’t see how much God would use this trip to prepare my heart for our adoption as well. I have come to see that in God’s awesome plan my mission trip to Rwanda is as much a part of our adoption as filling out paperwork and finishing our home study.

In this past week God has begun to absolutely wreck my heart to the very core of my being. Right now at church we are talking about living a life of service which has been convicting me Sunday after Sunday. I am reading the book “The Hole in Our Gospel” that is challenging the way I think about people in need all over the world, what it mean to really love your neighbor. But that’s just the beginning.

I have read articles about Rwanda and heard information at our team meetings, but this week God has overwhelmed me with love and compassion toward the people of Rwanda. Last Thursday night at one of our mission team meetings we watched the movie “Sometimes in April.” It is a true story filmed by HBO about the genocide that took place fifteen years ago in Rwanda. I knew heading into that meeting that it would be painful to watch and I found myself not even wanting to see it. Once the movie was over I found myself totally overwhelmed with emotion over the pain that this country faced. How selfish did I feel that I didn’t want to endure the pain of watching what had happened in Rwanda in a two and a half hour movie when they had to live that horror for 100 days. So many things in the movie caused me so much discomfort, one of the things that really disturbed me is how little we in America knew and did about what was going on there at the time. It is painful for me to think about what I was doing while one million people were dying and nobody was helping them. I was in high school, thinking about college, picking out my class ring, deciding what to wear to the prom…and one million people were dying, kind of puts things in perspective.

God has been convicting me so much in the past few years about how I spend my time and money, about living the life He has for me instead of the comfortable life I think I would rather have sometimes. Jeremiah and I have been on quite a journey that has lead us here, me going to Rwanda and us adopting from there. It is not always easy or comfortable but we are right where we are suppose to be doing exactly what God wants us to be doing…there is nothing in life better than that! I can’t wait to see what He has for us next!

Thank you so much for letting me share some of what God is doing in my heart. I think I anticipated that God would change me while I’m in Rwanda, I guess I just didn’t realize He was going to go ahead and get a jump start on it now. Please be praying for me and my team, not necessarily for safety as much as for the opportunities for God to use us in amazing ways for Him to make a difference in the lives of the people of Rwanda and to bring glory to Him in all that we do. There is a chance that I could visit the orphanage in Kilgali where our child could be from. Please be praying that all of that will work out however God sees fit. I’m sure that once I enter that place it will be hard for me to walk back out those doors. Thank you all for your ongoing support and encouragement. On the really tough days your kind words keep us truckin’. We love you all!

The Road to Rwanda

2009-08-13T12:20:00.004-04:00

Quick update on the adoption process! We've had several documents approved and notarized and we're really moving along pretty quickly with everything!

Financially, we've about $1,000 towards our next chunk that we need ($5,000)...and then our next chunk after that is about $12,000. Yeah. That's a 12 with THREE zeros! Wowser! Needless to say, we're really anxious to get our paper work done and approved so that we can start applying for grants!

Erin's mission trip to Rwanda leaves in only 35 days! And it sounds like she might get to visit the exact orphanage where we will get our child from!!!!!!!! Needless to say, if it happens there will be a lot of pictures that we will, of course, share with you on this blog!

We'll keep ya posted!

Home Study Finished!

2009-08-05T17:17:00.003-04:00

We have officially completed our home study! All four visits have been made. Our social worker is finishing up the report that will be sent to and reviewed by our government and eventually by the Rwandan government! We were actually able to stop by the office for "Christian Family Services" on our way back from vacation to finish up our last visit. We became such good friends with the ladies working there that we ended up going out to eat afterwords...at the "Wing King Cafe." Mmmmm....

We're still working on paperwork and raising money for the next big check we have to write - $5000. We're about $500 on our way!

God continues to be faithful!

Home Study and Other Updates...

2009-07-28T11:39:00.004-04:00

So we just finished our 2nd home study! It was a breeze! Our social worker came to our home, plopped herself on the couch, talked with me, talked with Erin, talked with both of us...and we were done! It pretty much involved questions about how we were raised, how we were disciplined growing up, how we planned on dealing with the interracial part of all of this, etc... We were completely relaxed and felt great about how it went. And even though we'd cleaned our house so it was spotless, she never looked at the rest of the house (nor did she accept our offer for cinnamon rolls and coffee (Rwandan coffee, even). =O)

So we just have one more home study visit that we'll get done on our way back from Ohio next week (we leave tomorrow FOR Ohio).

We also have been working on more paperwork, of course! We had our physicals yesterday. I've taken the vaccination for Heb B, so the blood results showed that I had a higher level than normal of whatever it is related to Hep B that they look for. So it looks bad on the report. But my doctor also explained on the report that it was because of the vaccine that the results showed this, so I think we're okay - but I'll probably have to have another test done to prove that I do not, in fact, have Hep B!

The picture I've attached is from our trip to Panama City Beach (BigStuf) with our youth group. They had a children's choir there from Kenya. Kenya actually is right next to Rwanda, so when I saw these kids run out and start to do their songs, I bawled like a baby! Seriously. Tears running down my cheeks and a constant lump in my throat. It's one thing to see pictures, but to actually see these kids who look exactly like what your kid is going to look like, in person - it totally blew me away. I've actually got some video too...maybe I'll try to post that as well. Very, very cool.

CRAZINESS!!!

2009-07-18T19:54:00.002-04:00

So we're off to camp with the middle/high school students first thing in the morning! We won't be back until the end of the week, so I thought it would be wise to give you a quick update on the little that's been going on!

We completed our online training course! Yay! Not exactly fun, so we're very glad to have it done!

As soon as we get back, we have church, then our first meeting with our social worker, then physicals, then a two-hour meeting with our social worker (all part of the "home study"). Then we leave for a whirlwind trip to Ohio. On our way back, we'll be getting in our third and final home study visit!

Other than that, we've been working on various paperwork items - some of which are now ready to be notarized and mailed...but we've got a long way to go. Again, we're anxious to get all of this done because it means that we can then apply for grants - which could REALLY come in handy!

With any luck, we'll be able to update this blog next weekend and let you know what's going on! God continues to be faithful! Please keep us in your prayers - we need them all!

Update on the adoption process!

2009-07-09T23:06:00.003-04:00

Sorry we've been so terrible updating about our progress! Been a wee-bit busy!

Things are going well and moving right along! We are up to our eyeballs in paperwork. We have to sign all kinds of things and get everything notarized and make copies of all of it...this includes getting new birth certificates and a new marriage license, a letter from our doctor, background checks, fingerprints, letters of intent, etc... Some of it's for our government, and other stuff is for the Rwandan government. It will be at least 3 months before it's all done, I think.

We've also got our first home study set for the end of the month! So, that's a big piece of the puzzle. Until we have all this paperwork finalized and the home study done, we can't apply for grants...so...we're anxious to get that done.

We're also in the middle of taking our online course that's basically all about the risks involved with international adoption. It's really...ummm...long, and not so exciting. But, as my friend Micheal Thiele always says, "It is what it is."

Financially, we are very near being able to pay the cost for Erin's trip! And we have a big chunk toward the next immediate financial needs. In the last blog, I mentioned we were praying for $4,000 in the next 1 1/2 weeks. It seemed like a ridiculous amount of money...but within 24 hours, we had $3,500 given to us. God is so good!

I think we're needing another $800 or so now to be able to cover the next immediate steps.

We're learning and growing and being stretched! Good times.

We'll do better at keeping everyone posted! We love you all!

Money, Money, Money (but more importantly, PRAYER)

2009-06-29T15:08:00.004-04:00

We sent in our application for our "home study" today!

The study should take place sometime at the beginning of July if all goes as planned. This, of course, adds to our ever-growing list of financial needs!

We're praying for God to provide another $4,000 or so in the next 1 1/2 weeks. An overwhelming thought without God involved. Fortunately, God IS indeed heavily involved! This was all His idea, after all. Needless to say, our prayer life has increased greatly! =O)

$1,800 of this is for Erin's mission trip to Rwanda.
The rest is for the home study and for government paperwork.

We continue to covet your prayers for finances and wisdom! Stepping out in faith like this is really teaching us a lot!

The Journey of Faith Continues!

2009-06-26T13:17:00.003-04:00

We sent in four signed documents and our first big payment yesterday! It's so amazing how God works - He gave us exactly what we needed to meet our first big payment. No more, no less. Amazing! I don't think He wants us to stop relying on Him. =O) A huge thank you goes out to all of you who have given already. Between your donations, our yard sale, and the discount we got b/c of me being a pastor, we were able to send in the initial program fee without it crippling us!

We will be assigned to and hear from our Family Coordinator within a week or two and will begin the long "Dossier" paperwork process. In the meantime, we need to come up with another $175 to take a required online course entitled, "The Intercountry Country Journey" designed to help us prepare for all that is to come...and another $1,900 for Erin's mission trip.

We're trusting God to provide for all this, and for the many, many more payments to come! Erin's money has to be in within two weeks, so we're really trying to relax and trust! He's been faithful this far, so there's no reason to doubt Him!

We love you all!

The Last 24 Hours

2009-06-22T20:08:00.003-04:00

A lot has happened in the past 24 hours! First of all...we have officially been accepted into AWAA's Rwanda program!!! It wasn't as easy as you may think. We went through quite the grueling thought process trying to figure out exactly what direction to go. AWAA had contacted us and wanted to know if we'd be interested in changing courses and pursuing Ethiopia instead of Rwanda. Ethiopia's program is much more established and there are few restrictions. Based off our financial situation and some health concerns, AWAA thought Ethiopia might be "safer." But Ethiopia is also more expensive, would take longer and is not what God laid on our hearts. We sought advice from a few family and friends and we prayed A LOT. It became very clear that we should continue on this path. It's a risk...but so is Ethiopia as it requires more money. If the Rwandan government ends up rejecting us, we will be set back $3,000 or so and have to start much of the process all over again. But we MUST proceed with what we believe in our hearts and minds we are supposed to do.

If you have given or are planning on giving to our cause, please understand that none of this is official until we bring the child home. We know that makes giving to this cause hard, but we hope you understand that we have to follow our hearts and what we think the wise thing to do is. We truly have peace about this decision and hope you understand.

Since we have now been accepted into the program, we recieved a ton of paperwork today! We have four documents (a grievance proceedure, the Rwanda Agreement and Disclaimer forms, and a Client's Rights and Responsiblities form), that we have signed and will send as soon as we can with our first payment of $1,125. We have almost reached this amount through donations and the yard sale! (AMAZING!)

Once we have sent the paperwork and money in, we will be put into contact with our "Family Coordinator" and begin the real paperwork. =O) It's so crazy that we have only been in this process for 3 weeks! It seems like so much has happened.

We continue to seek guidance and wisdom from God. It occured to us yesterday that it's quite possible that our child is just about to be or has just been born. Gives me goosebumps just thinking about it!

Yard Sale!

2009-06-20T22:15:00.005-04:00

Hottest day of the year. Nice day for a yard sale! With several donations from a few other families, we had a great yard sale to raise money for the adoption/Erin's Rwanda missions trip! A special shout out to the amazing Beaumont family who not only donated several big-ticket items for the yard sale, but also endured the scorching heat with us...even sold lemonade!

One of the coolest things about the yards sale was a Hispanic couple we met who bought a couple couches from us for $50 each. They found out we were doing the whole thing to raise money for adoption from Africa, and they were just SO excited for us and SO encouraging. We even exchanged phone numbers! They asked that we keep them posted on how things go, to let them know if we need any help, and they asked to call them when we get the boy so they can come meet him. They asked a lot of questions and told us that "everything has a purpose" and to "trust that God will provide." Very cool.

Here are a few pics from today!

First Contact!

2009-06-13T15:45:00.001-04:00

Well, it may not seem like much, but we actually heard from America World Adoption! It's exciting to us, just because it's our first contact with them. They actually got the application! Here's the e-mail we received last night:

Dear Jeremiah & Erin,

Congratulations on your first step towards adoption! I wanted you to know that we have received your application and have begun processing it. The next steps are that within 10 business days you will receive a call from our intake coordinator, Amy Pearson, regarding acceptance into the Rwanda program. Upon acceptance, she then sends out two emails that contain agreements that will need to be signed and sent back. If you have any questions before then, please feel free to give myself or Amy a call.

Thank you and we will look forward to talking with you soon!

Deborah Huisman
Administrative Assistant

Thanks for stopping by!

2009-06-11T20:53:00.002-04:00

If you're here, it means you went a step beyond just finding out we are adopting. Thanks! We are so excited! Right now, not much has happened other than turning in our initial application and attempting to contact EVERYONE. Yeesh. And yet, even though nothing has happened, it all seems so huge to us! We've each had 2 or 3 nights already of not sleeping well...not necessarily because we're worried, but because we're stepping way out in faith here and because there are just SO many exciting things to think about. Can't wait to see what happens next!

We will update this blog at least once a week if not more, so please keep stopping by!