Family and friends,
We have exciting news to share with you! Stephanie and I have partnered with All God's Children International to adopt a child from South Africa. Adoption has been on our hearts since before we met in 2009 and we can't believe the time has finally come. God has been so good!
We have started the adoption process and much like our childbirths, we don't know if we will bring home another momma's boy or daddy's princess. Many have heard that adoption-related expenses can be pretty hefty; from agency fees and travel, to the home study and educational requirements. We are hoping to raise $35,000 to help bring this child to Colorado. Part of the South African program is traveling to the country for 6-14 weeks to bring our child home. This alone will be a leap of faith financially and logistically.
Our prayer is that this platform will encourage you be a part of our tribe and be a part of this child's life before God shows us His miracle. More than fundraising efforts, we ask for your prayers for this child that will become a part of our family. We will need courage, endurance, wise counsel, favor throughout the process, and boldness. Please include our three children in your prayers as well as this will shift our entire family dynamic and our children will need to rise up in ways we didn't even know were necessary.
There is a bible verse from Jeremiah on Presley's wall that says, "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born I set you apart." We do not yet know the age of the child we will bring home, but we pray that the James family was God's plan for this child before He formed this child in the womb.
Psalm 82 says, "Defend the weak and the fatherless, uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed."
We are thankful to walk this journey with you behind us; praying, encouraging, and uplifting the entire way.
Hello our support warriors!
It's been quite awhile since I wrote an update, and frankly, I haven't wanted to. We are in a phase that is not exciting or uplifting where time seems to be aging us ten fold. Our dossier paperwork has been with the South African authorities since earlier this year. Meaning, we are fully approved and waiting to be matched with our future children. We were told 18-24 months once that was received, putting us less than a year into that estimation of months. Ugh. Time can be so so heavy.
Several weeks ago, I felt the heaviness to pray over our adoption. So much so, I asked my bible study gals to pray alongside me. I couldn't figure out why and I leaned in and asked for clarity. Last week, we had a South Africa scheduled update call that our agency hosted. They announced that South Africa may be changing the entire adoption process and it will be voted on in March by the country's authorities. This could be bad, it could change nothing, or could speed up the process... You read that correctly - the update could mean anything.
I wonder if this is why I felt pulled to pray.
As I type this update, I think there is still more to my heaviness. When I told Chad about how I was feeling after bible study, I tossed around several ideas of what could be going on. The one that feels the most accurate and what I'd like to ask you to pray for is; our adopted children are going through a huge turmoil and we need to intercede for them. Maybe they were just abandoned. Maybe got super sick. Maybe their hearts were just broken. Maybe they were hurt... I could cry thinking about the possibilities.
Will you pause and pray for them?
Thank you for supporting us through prayer, donations, and affirming words. We are hopeful <3
Hi all,
Today I trekked all over the state to get documents submitted, collected, edited, and then plan for tomorrow's paperwork to-dos. We are incredibly close. Today, I completed our immigration phase 1 paperwork with Hope's Promise (our home study agency), took our dossier documents (international portfolio) to the Secretary of State, and found the missing links. In the morning, I have to go back to the Secretary of State's office to get the edited documents now apostilled and pick up those that were completed. Phew!
Then, only then, when our dossier packet is completed, we will send it off to our international agency - All God's Children. Once they submit it to South Africa, we are officially on the waiting list to be matched with our future child(ren). During this waiting period, Chad and I will be completing mandatory training and courses that will compile an unreal amount of hours. Which honestly, we are thankful for. Even though the classes we have done thus far took almost every evening to complete for several months, we learned A TON. These kids will be coming from hard places. These courses are meant to give you tools to help them not only thrive, but feel loved by their adoptive family.
So as I hustle around going through wild repetitive hoops, I am eager. I hate the paperwork. I hate the back and forth. I hate the red tape and systems. But ultimately, each tedious step brings us closer to our child. We. Are. Ready. God is going before us and we will be obedient in deep prayer.
- The James Crew
Our wonderful community,
Today is interview #3 of our Home Study with Hope's Promise. We have been very blessed with an amazing case worker named MaryBeth. This final interview will consist of Chad and I, all 3 kids being interviewed (good luck), our wonderful au pair Maria, and a home inspection. I will be vacuuming :)
Up until now, Chad and I were doing endless hours of online education in the evenings and official paperwork to get approved to even start the Home Study. After today, MaryBeth will then write up our official file which will take approximately a month to finalize (we will not be able to see our results). During that month, we will be focusing on finishing our Dossier (international paperwork) which takes every document to be notarized AND apostilled (signed by the secretary of state). Once our Dossier is completed, it will then be handled by All God's Children International and sent off to South Africa.
This is when waiting begins officially to be matched with a child. This part can take 18-24 months and we will be required to do paperwork, an incredible amount of education, mandatory in person trainings, and whatever else that may come up. We are excited to submit our Dossier as soon as possible so our waiting timeline can start. The sooner we get on that list, the sooner we can bring our child home.
Thank you for all of your kind words, donations, prayers, and encouragement. The more we educate ourselves, the more we know this is a heavy blessing. We know we cannot do this alone.
Lord, sustain us. Go before us and prepare our path. Equip us with faith and favor; we are eager.
Amen.
Steph
