We are adopting a child from INDIA!
God has been calling us to this for so long (over 20 years) and we are thrilled to see His plan unfolding right before our eyes.
As part of our adoption process, we have started a crowdfunding campaign. We know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God would provide every penny we need for this adoption (even without any fundraising efforts). We fully trust Him with financing this adoption. We decided to move forward with crowdfunding because we firmly believe that not everyone is called to adopt, but many people want to play a role in “caring for orphans,” and we want to invite others into this ministry with us.
Many may be surprised to know that an international adoption can cost approximately $50,000. We don’t really have a goal for how much to raise but AdoptTogether requires us to put a number, so we set the goal to be $15,000. Whatever God provides will be perfect and will help to ease the financial burden (both now in paying for the adoption and for preparing for what our child will need after coming home).
We pray that by inviting you into this process, you will see yourself as part of this ministry God has called our family to. We also cover your prayers during this time.
We love you all!
It’s been a hot minute since I shared an update about our adoption here (and not just Facebook)!
On December 26th, we received our adoption order from India! This means that the District Magistrate (aka judge) in India recognizes Divya as our daughter! It was formally signed on December 24th…the sweetest Christmas present we could have asked for. At this point, the only thing keeping us from jumping on a plane right now is that Divya needs a passport. Her orphanage is working on getting this for us. We assume this process has already started and it generally takes approximately a month to get the passport issued. As soon as the orphanage has her passport, we will book our flights!
In the meantime, we are packing and preparing to pick Divya up! We have to get some medication from our doctors for travel (for us and for Divya) and Matt and I will have to get a few vaccinations before travel. We will likely have some copays associated with these 2 things, as several recommended vaccines are not typically covered by insurance. We are working to add Divya to our health insurance and plan our time out of work when we bring her home
Please be praying for the following:
- that Divya’s passport will arrive to the orphanage soon!
- that the Lord will prepare Divya for leaving the orphanage and that the transition will be smooth.
- that the Lord will prepare our family for this huge transition!
- that our packing will be sufficient and everything will come together perfectly with travel.
- for safe travels.
- opportunities for Matt and me to share the gospel while in India!
- for insurance and time off details to work out.
Thank you for your partnership and support of us!
Matt and I just got word that there is a court hearing scheduled tomorrow (2:00 pm India’s time = 3:30 AM our time!). We aren’t really sure if we have to be “present” (via video call), so we will be prepared to jump on the video call if needed. Be praying for the District Magistrate (aka judge) and everyone involved in this process. Generally speaking, this hearing will likely result in the Adoption Order being granted!
Once we get the Adoption Order, we will request our daughter’s passport and plan travel! We are anxious to go pick up our sweet “D,” and we trusting in God’s perfect timing! We covet your prayers through this time. If you happen to be a person with insomnia, or wake up randomly in the middle of the night, please pray for us, sweet “D,” and the District Magistrate.
We love you all!
We have several exciting updates to share! Not too long ago, we received our No Objection Certificate from India that essentially means India’s adoption agency has given us their final stamp of approval to adopt “D.” We are in the very final stage of our adoption- now all we need is our “Adoption Order” (an approval from a judge in India)! Once we get this, we plan our travel!!
This morning, we were able to have a video call with our sweet girl. It was so fun to “meet” her and see her precious face. (See the pictures, but please ignore how rough WE look..it was 5:50 am!)
Lastly, we are so pleased to announce that we were recently awarded a grant through Gift of Adoption for $3,500. What a blessing and gift!! We are lowering our adoption fundraising goal by this much since there is no way to add the gift to our total amount. Thank you, Gift of Adoption!
We can’t wait to update again soon with news of travel! Please pray for God’s timing. Ideally, we would be able to bring her home before needing an updated home study (which means MORE paperwork to complete). 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
Today, I have been working on all things adoption this morning and writing a huge check (over $13,000!!!!) to cover the remainder of our adoption fees to our agency! God has been SO good to provide for every fee and expense. Thank you for continuing to pray over this with us.
Exciting updates:
- We received provisional approval from US Immigration for little “D.” This is an exciting step! We can now work on getting her immigrant visa among other approvals!
- Once we have filed the immigration visa request, we will be able to file with the U.S. Embassy in Delhi for final immigration approval!
- With the approval from Delhi, we will FINALLY get final adoption certificate from India, and will be able to plan to travel to India.
- We are finishing up our dossier (all documents that go to India for final approval to get the order to go pick her up). We have to have multiple documents “apostilled” (notary of the notary) in order to finalize our dossier. This is the home stretch!
Please keep praying for a smooth process. There are so many moving parts in getting all these approvals. The stress level is high in crossing all the T’s and dotting all the I’s!
#bringingDhome ❤️🇮🇳
We are so excited to share that after seeking the Lord regarding this sweet little girl (I’ll call her “D” for now) we have decided to accept this referral! This means that following a lot more paperwork, we will be bringing home “D” from India (hopefully within 8-11 months from now)!
Pray for us as we work through MORE paperwork. We’ve submitted the I-800A application with the USCIS (immigration) requesting permission to bring “D” to the United States. Once we receive approval, we will be able to complete the DS260 application (to apply for “D’s” visa) and then Article 5 (approval issued by the US Embassy in Delhi allowing “D” to immigrate to the US).
Please pray with us:
- Pray with us for speedy processing of applications and approvals so that we can bring her home sooner than later.
- Pray with us for her growth and development. I think a lot about how much time will pass between now and when we bring her home…how much she will grow and develop (or maybe lack of growth and development) and how much time we will lose with her. And then I’m reminded that God is so good. He is with her and He is caring for her because He loves her and is a good Father. She will grow and develop just as she should during this time.
- Pray that God will protect “D” from any abuse or neglect. Many children in orphanages experience abuse or neglect of some kind- physical, sexual, emotional- and the risk increasing the longer the child is in an orphanage.
- Pray that God will prepare her for this transition. Moving to a new country, leaving your culture and everything you’ve ever known is hard for anyone, but especially for a child who has already experienced so much loss. Pray that God will prepare “D’s” heart and mind for this transition and that it would be as smooth as possible and that she is able to quickly adapt.
- Pray for “D’s” current caregivers at the orphanage. That God would bless them and that they would be able to see HIS hand moving. The primary religion in India is Hinduism. Pray that GOD would be made known to “D’s” caregivers and that we might have opportunities to share the gospel in some way!
I will continue to post updates as I can! I think we are entering another “hurry up and wait” phase. We will work hard to complete all the paperwork and then we will be back to waiting… Thank you so much to those who has partnered with us, financially and through prayer. We are deeply grateful and blessed by you!
Until the next update…
