Matt & Anna Ward
are adopting a child from India
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!
Adoption Status
Adoption Agency
Updates
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Update 8
I-800 Provisional Approval!
August 3, 2024Today, 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 ❤️🇮🇳
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Update 7
Match Accepted
July 7, 2024We 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…
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Update 6
Adoption Referral!!
June 15, 2024We’re so excited to share a quick update! Our family has been matched with a sweet 3 year old girl in India. ❤️ 🇮🇳 We are in the process of working with a medical doctor who specializes in interpreting international medical records. Per her recommendation, we have requested more medical information on this sweet girl before accepting the referral and preparing our home and family for her.
Please be praying over our family and over the orphanage (and those involved in her healthcare) as we wait for more information and prayerfully make decisions!
If we accept this referral, there will be more paperwork to be done - approval via US Immigration to bring HER to the US, approval from India for this match, passport requests, travel preparation, etc. The typical timeline that we have been told is that pick up of the child is approximately 8-12 months from the date of match.
Thank you for your prayers and partnership! ❤️
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Update 5
CARA approval!!
March 17, 2024We have some exciting news on the Ward adoption front…. We received word that we have been approved by India (CARA) to adopt from India. This is so exciting! We are one big step forward.
We are still waiting for USCIS (US Immigration) approval. This is the one we’ve been a little more worried about, as they requested additional information about our time fostering and the neglect allegations. We submitted the documentation we were able to and have not heard anything else (which is a good thing because that means they haven’t asked for further information on the situation, according to our case manager). Hopefully we will hear from them about approvals very soon!
Once we receive USCIS approval, we will be ready to be matched with a child. The matching process has no specific timeline, as some families are matched within a couple weeks, while others may have to wait months! God knows the child that should be joined to our family, and we are trusting that His timing is perfect. Pray with us that God’s plan will be accomplished.
My prayer for you this week is this: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” Romans 15:13. Abound in hope with me today! God is doing wonderful things!
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Update 4
Request for Evidence
January 23, 2024Most of you may remember back in 2021, Matt and I were fostering two sweet kiddos. One of the kiddos fell and broke his arm/wrist in 2 places. The next day, DSS came and took both kids and filed allegations against us for neglect. Wayne County DSS launched an investigation and the claims were unsubstantiated. Praise God!
Well, now that we are attempting to adopt, our life is under the microscope and US Immigration requires evidence of the unsubstantiated claims. We had previously gotten a letter saying essentially this, but US Immigration needs more layers of proof…letters from the court (it never went to court…), letter with a raised seal, etc. Pray for us as we navigate this request. Pray that Wayne County DSS will be cooperative and understanding. Pray that Matt and I will be patient in this part of the process. It’s easy to feel like victims and become bitter about that experience. Pray that we will see God’s hand moving in this.
