It has been almost 2 months since our last post and things have been moving along quite rapidly. It's so exciting to see the steps being crossed off and know that we are that much closer to having our child home with us. Though we don't know for sure which child that will be yet, we are certain that God has already chosen him and will reveal that when the time is right.
So......what have we been doing the last 2 months? Glad you asked because we have been busy. Since our home study was finished, we have paid the adoption agency fee that we talked about in March. We have filled out grant applications for 6 different foundations(if you know anything about grant applications, that is not a small feat, with each application being about 5 pages long along with 5-15 different supporting documents to go with each). We have raised $2,720 for our next payment to the Burkina government. And we've filled out the paperwork for the US government to start the process of adopting a child overseas. We also have completed about 20 hours of online adoption education classes. Plus we've planned about 4 different fundraisers for the summer, which I'll tell you about in a moment.
But even with all that done, there is still more. Our next step is to work on the Dossier, which is a packet of information and documents that will go straight to the Burkina Faso government. It is comprised of about 20-25 pages, most of which have to be notarized and translated into French. As we start on that, we still have about 4 more grant applications to fill out and send. So needless to say, we won't be bored this summer. In between soccer games, mission teams, summer interns, family vacation and family coming to visit, we will have a fun-filled summer.
And oh yes, then there is the fundraisers. About a month ago, Robert and I realized that we have to raise almost $9,000 by the end of this summer. If the money doesn't come in, the adoption doesn't progress and with adopting a child with special needs, time is very important for them to reach their full potential. After an initial panic attack, :) we started trying to think of ideas for fundraising. We have already had a Car Wash, in which many of our wonderful friends here in Sherbrooke helped, and we were able to raise $600. We also have a Garage Sale planned, a Basketball shoot and 3 on 3 BB tournament during our local festival, a summer long selling of raffle tickets to win Canadian hockey tickets and 2 weeks of working a Concession stand during the Canada Games.
I get a little overwhelmed thinking of it all, but I've found that taking one day and step at a time is how to survive it. And God has been faithful to provide the energy and finances so far just when we've needed it. He's used friends and family to provide money, to help with fundraisers, to make FB pages, to sell raffle tickets for us, etc... I wish I could mention each name that has given and helped in different ways, but I know I would forget someone. You know who you are and we are so very grateful for each of you. When we finally get this little one here one day, we will all celebrate together and thank God for using each of you.
So until the next post, we will be continuing on. We pray that your summer is filled with peace and joy also. You can also keep up with us on FB if you search under Journey of Hope-Parcours vers l'espoir.
