We have wonderful news! We are adopting a child!
Back in 2021, God spoke to us very clearly to start the process of adoption through the agency America World Adoption. When we prayed about where, he clearly spoke India to our hearts.
Our oldest daughter was so excited to hear the news and has been eagerly praying for and asking about her sibling in India since.
Since 2021, we have diligently worked together doing everything we can to be prepared to welcome a beautiful new life into our home. From gathering paperwork, background checks, medical reports, blood work, to meeting with our home study agency to complete our list of requirements. Finally, here we are in 2023 getting closer to our final steps before referral. It has certainly been a family mission God has called us.
As part of our adoption process, we have started a crowdfunding campaign. To date, we have seen over $31,000 in expenses. God has provided and we are truly grateful! It may surprise you to hear that adoption-related costs can easily total up to 35,000 or more. For us it is looking between 41,000 and 51,000. This is why we have set a goal of $10,000 to help towards these adoption costs.
We hope that by inviting you into this process, you will see yourself as part of the community we hope to build around our child as she grows up. Thank you!
Hello, Friends and Family, and Happy Holidays!
We hope you are all doing well. We are ever so grateful for your continued prayers and support on this journey we have been on!
We have wonderful news to share, and it feels a bunch like a Christmas miracle…
We have been MATCHED to our little girl!
While we cannot share her name and photo until she arrives home, we are excited to share with you some details of our beautiful girl:
* She is almost 15 months old!
* She has a beautiful head of black hair, and brown eyes.
* Her birthday is September 28th.
* She is located in East India.
* The moment we saw her photos, we both knew… she is special. She is bright and talkative. She is adorable. She is… ours.
Since we were matched to our baby girl in October, we had been working very hard on our final paperwork to get notarized, certified and Apostilled by NY State. By God's grace we have completed our Dossier and Acceptance Paperwork (over 60 documents!) and submitted it all just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday break.
Since then, this month (December 2024) we submitted our DS-260 application with the US Department of State. We are now waiting for our Article 5 letter to be completed by USDOS. This is the letter that informs the central authority in India that we, the prospective adoptive parents, are eligible to adopt a child and that the child can permanently reside in the United States. Once the article 5 is received, the next step is the NOC (No Objection Certificate) — which is one of the last green lights before we can book travel! We expect to travel in early Spring, maybe sooner :)
This year, we have experienced a lot of progress and it feels so good! Appointments with doctors, police precinct, notary, county clerk, and social workers. These have been such big steps in the journey. We have seen papers getting processed way faster than we were told, received help from family, friends and strangers, consistently received stellar assistance from our adoption agency with documents and requirements, approval of paperwork in a timely manner and hearing back from U.S. Customs VERY quickly. We have experienced miracle after miracle in this process, and it’s just the beginning. We are thanking God for his faithfulness and for his love!
We want to take a moment to thank you for being a part of the journey and supporting our family in prayer!
And we invite you to take a moment to pause and thank God with us. Not just for the good He does — but for who He is. He is so wonderful. In control. Heavenly Father. Provider. Prince of Peace. This is His story, and we know that this little girl’s life is already blessed because He is watching over her. God certainly has had his hand on our little girl and we cannot wait to meet her!
A special THANK YOU to our family and friends who have supported us in so many ways. Your love and support means so much to our family!
Please keep “baby girl Palmeri” in your prayers:
* Protection & Provision
* Healthy Growth & Development
* Healthy attachment and bonding for all of our family members
* To know God’s love through Jesus at an early age
Thank you! We love you!
Josh & Amanda
I wanted to share a brief testimony of God's provision!
June 22nd brought us to the 2 year mark since completing our NYS Home Study. Hard to believe it! We were required to update several documents for our home study which include medical reports for all household members, including our tenant. We needed to have all of the required paperwork in before end of July in order to not time out and have the potential to do everything all over again from the start.
The last go around took us weeks to get done so we got to work immediately contacting our doctors. I was amazed at God's goodness when within 2 weeks we had our home study visit with our social worker, doctors appointments, and all required paperwork filled and sent to our home study agency. It was truly a miracle!
In addition, one of the doctors chose NOT to charge for the visit because it was for the purpose of adoption. What a miracle and blessing!
This was a reminder to me that we are not in this alone. God is fighting for us and our little girl in this journey, even moving on the hearts of strangers to bring her home.
We thank you for your continued prayers. Thank you for asking questions along the way and supporting us. Together, we are fighting for her future, fighting against the plans of the enemy for her life and bringing her home.
Much love,
Amanda and Josh
Hello friends and family!
It’s June of 2024 already, and I am sure some of you may be wondering how the adoption process is coming along and if it is still happening. That answer is YES! We are still in our adoption journey.
We have been waiting for a referral since last July already — almost one full year. We are believing and praying for this phase to be complete soon!
Since then, we had one referral come through for a little girl. We took time praying and sought the Lord and did not feel a peace to say yes. Her disabilities were outside of our wheelhouse and God was not releasing us to say yes. I cried when we said no, because I didn’t want to say no to any child, and yet His peace surrounded us the moment we did. We know God has the right forever family waiting for this precious girl.
So for now, we continue to eagerly wait for our little girl who will be the newest member of the Palmeri family! This mama’s arms are getting eager for another little one in our home. We eagerly wait to meet our little girl as we trust God’s perfect timing.
Until then, we would like to share with you the name God has given us for our little girl. We will name her Abijah Grace. Abijah means “God is my father.” We love to see how God’s heart of adoption is at the center of our girl’s story before we even know who she is.
I want to take a minute to thank each and every one of you who have prayed for us, asked questions or have supported us financially on this journey! We wouldn't be where we were if not for the grace of Christ and the love of each of you. We ask you to join us in prayer for our little girl to be kept safe and nourished well until she can come home. Please pray for her to come home to us soon and for our family to be ready for her when the time comes.
Once we are matched, the process will include more documentation, citizenship, legal fees and travel fees, and more. So it will be busy when the time does come.
We will continue to keep you all posted! ❤
❤ Galatians 6:9- We choose to not grow weary in good-doing because we know that at the right time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. ❤
We know the truth that if not for the waiting, praying, obedience and surrendered will of Jesus, we would not be adopted as sons and daughters of God. So in our journey we follow the example of Christ in our waiting, our praying, our obedience and surrendered will until our little girl comes home.
