Our facilitator had the meeting on Monday and it led him to ask us to prepare a letter regarding our second referral. Here's the letter we just faxed to our facilitator in Ukraine:
We, David Lee Holland and Gina De Ann Holland, petition the State Department for Adoption and Protection of Children’s Rights of Ukraine to grant us a second appointment when a child or children who match our specific request are available. We are requesting, specifically:
• Girl with minor, correctible medical needs
• Age 14-36 months
We respectfully ask that you do not invite us for a second appointment until a child matching this request is available. We already traveled to Kiev for our first appointment at the State Department for Adoption on December 5th, 2007, during which we were shown only unhealthy children that did not match our request. We incurred multiple thousands of dollars in cost, spent much time and energy preparing for and being away from our employment, and expended much effort to prepare our child to be out of school to travel with us during our first visit. We do not want to incur further cost and effort for a second referral if we will not be able to adopt a child that matches our request.
Thank you for considering this request as you schedule our second appointment.
Our facilitator will be requesting a meeting with the director of the State Department of Adoption to explain our situation and hand this letter off to him/her.
Here's a verse that captures the heart of what we're praying for in regards to this second appointment: Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21.
Would you please join us in praying that everything goes even better than we could ask or imagine during the meeting, for our second referral, and for our second trip to finally go meet her and finish up the process to complete the adoption so in the end it's obvious that God did an amazing work and we all look to Him and give Him glory?
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you're reading this, it's a huge encouragement to us to read your comments. It helps us know who is tracking with us. It's easy to sign up for an account so you can post responses. Thanks!
Friday, December 28, 2007
Friday, December 21, 2007
New Info
Here's the latest from our family coordinator at the adoption agency we're going through. Continued "good news" from Ukraine!
Dear Ukraine Families,
America World received an initial reports today based on a meeting that occurred at the SDA that the previously announced 2008 quota would be abolished in it’s current form. Currently the 2008 quota is broken down by country and by age of children. The quota may be changed to be one total number for 2008, without specification for how many dossiers any one country can submit and for any particular age range. The total number for 2008 may be 1500. I would stress that this is initial information and is subject to change at any time, especially as new leadership is expected within the Ministry of Family, Youth and Sports.
I would continue to expect potential difficulties and delays for families seeking to adopt children under 6 years old due to availability. There are currently 125 families reported to be waiting for second appointments, the majority seeking to adopt children under age 4. It is anticipated that these families will be invited back to the SDA for a second appointment between January 14, 2008 and February 29, 2008. This again is initial information.
I would stress that this is information as of today. We do not know what the future will look like in reality. We would strongly encourage families in the Ukraine program to consider their flexibility in the age and health of children.
Keep praying for us. We're supposed to find out more info on Monday when our in-country facilitator meets with some officials at the State Department of Adoption. We'll keep you posted regarding what we find out!
Dear Ukraine Families,
America World received an initial reports today based on a meeting that occurred at the SDA that the previously announced 2008 quota would be abolished in it’s current form. Currently the 2008 quota is broken down by country and by age of children. The quota may be changed to be one total number for 2008, without specification for how many dossiers any one country can submit and for any particular age range. The total number for 2008 may be 1500. I would stress that this is initial information and is subject to change at any time, especially as new leadership is expected within the Ministry of Family, Youth and Sports.
I would continue to expect potential difficulties and delays for families seeking to adopt children under 6 years old due to availability. There are currently 125 families reported to be waiting for second appointments, the majority seeking to adopt children under age 4. It is anticipated that these families will be invited back to the SDA for a second appointment between January 14, 2008 and February 29, 2008. This again is initial information.
I would stress that this is information as of today. We do not know what the future will look like in reality. We would strongly encourage families in the Ukraine program to consider their flexibility in the age and health of children.
Keep praying for us. We're supposed to find out more info on Monday when our in-country facilitator meets with some officials at the State Department of Adoption. We'll keep you posted regarding what we find out!
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Delta Flight #89, 137, and 4923
We started the journey back home on Saturday @ 12:30 Kiev time (4:30 a.m. central). We touched down in Omaha about 30 hours later at 10:30 a.m. Sunday morning. We did have a 6 hour break in there and were able to catch some Z's at the ATL Embassy Suites thanks to our good friends the Giambattistas cashing in some hotel points to give our heads a place to rest (thanks guys for your extreme generosity...we were weary travelers to say the least and that helped clear the fog! You guys are amazing friends!).
It was rough getting out there, rough getting back, but we're home now and will begin the wait for the second appointment. We were told at the SDA that there were about 100 families ahead of us awaiting a referral for a child in our age range and could expect to wait 1-3 months. Not the most ideal situation, but that's what we've been dealt so we'll deal with it. The second appointment is supposed to match us up with a child that more closely resembles what we put in our documents (14-36 month old girl with minor, correctable health issues). So, we'll be praying hard for this to be a good referral.
We're all wiped out right now. Davi went to bed this evening at 4:45...we're headed that way right now even though it's only 6:30. We're all excited that we get to spend Christmas at home, but really wish that we had our other little girl with us to share in the memories. Next year, I guess. Davi is also anxious to go to school tomorrow and see her friends. Plus, they're having pancakes for lunch...one of her favorites!
Before I sign off, let me leave you with a few things we learned along the way in our travels:
* Your weight limit on luggage is 50 lbs per piece of luggage...domestic or international. We made it through Omaha and Kiev with no problem, but the fine Delta reps in Atlanta slapped us with a $50 charge for our ginormous bag. They wouldn't cut us any slack! My advice, take it or leave it, take smaller suitcases and use your 2 checked baggage limit. Your wallet and your back with thank you for it in the long run anyway!
* Don't forget your cell phone at home when you're traveling...ever! My discovery during this trip is that pay phones at airports have a horrible tendency to make you think they work. If you must use a pay phone when traveling...call the operator first the make sure the handset works before you dial in with your phone card. That nifty little trick just saved you $1.56 surcharge for using a pay phone!
* If your traveling to Kiev don't ask for too much ketchup at McDonald's! They don't just hand it out there or allow you to squirt it in those little buckets like here. You pay for it there...about a quarter for the equivalent of 2 little packets. Oh, they don't do refills either.
Well, guess that's it for now. We'll keep you posted on what's going on. Check back soon for a little video of the trip! Until next time...
It was rough getting out there, rough getting back, but we're home now and will begin the wait for the second appointment. We were told at the SDA that there were about 100 families ahead of us awaiting a referral for a child in our age range and could expect to wait 1-3 months. Not the most ideal situation, but that's what we've been dealt so we'll deal with it. The second appointment is supposed to match us up with a child that more closely resembles what we put in our documents (14-36 month old girl with minor, correctable health issues). So, we'll be praying hard for this to be a good referral.
We're all wiped out right now. Davi went to bed this evening at 4:45...we're headed that way right now even though it's only 6:30. We're all excited that we get to spend Christmas at home, but really wish that we had our other little girl with us to share in the memories. Next year, I guess. Davi is also anxious to go to school tomorrow and see her friends. Plus, they're having pancakes for lunch...one of her favorites!
Before I sign off, let me leave you with a few things we learned along the way in our travels:
* Your weight limit on luggage is 50 lbs per piece of luggage...domestic or international. We made it through Omaha and Kiev with no problem, but the fine Delta reps in Atlanta slapped us with a $50 charge for our ginormous bag. They wouldn't cut us any slack! My advice, take it or leave it, take smaller suitcases and use your 2 checked baggage limit. Your wallet and your back with thank you for it in the long run anyway!
* Don't forget your cell phone at home when you're traveling...ever! My discovery during this trip is that pay phones at airports have a horrible tendency to make you think they work. If you must use a pay phone when traveling...call the operator first the make sure the handset works before you dial in with your phone card. That nifty little trick just saved you $1.56 surcharge for using a pay phone!
* If your traveling to Kiev don't ask for too much ketchup at McDonald's! They don't just hand it out there or allow you to squirt it in those little buckets like here. You pay for it there...about a quarter for the equivalent of 2 little packets. Oh, they don't do refills either.
Well, guess that's it for now. We'll keep you posted on what's going on. Check back soon for a little video of the trip! Until next time...
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Rebook!
OK, our suspicions were right. Our facilitator, Yuri, called the orphanage where the little 2 1/2 year old is and she does have fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and two other families had visited her in the past months and declined to take the referral. The other little 4 year old was referred to a couple from Spain this morning. We were relieved b/c we did not think she was healthy either and we didn't want to load up for an 8 hour train ride each way to discover what the medical report revealed anyhow (she had FAS and micro-enchaphaly, etc. in her file).
So, we met with Yuri today and wrote out a letter requesting a second referral clearly spelling out what we're looking for in a child. The current trend has been that families get a child that closely matches their request with minor, correctable health issues on the second referral. But, if you reject the second referral (whether a good one or not), that's your last shot. The expected wait time is 1-3 months. The sticky part is Ukraine is apparently not allowing families to update paperwork any longer which means we would have to travel before March b/c that's when the paperwork starts expiring.
So, we went to the Delta office a few minutes ago and we fly out of Kiev on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. to New York. We have a flight to Atlanta from there, but have to stay the night in ATL and then we head home to Omaha and arrive @ 10:30 a.m. on Sunday.
So...the wait continues. We'll keep you posted on what's up. Back to trying to find what's acceptable to eat and brushing our teeth with bottled water for another day!
So, we met with Yuri today and wrote out a letter requesting a second referral clearly spelling out what we're looking for in a child. The current trend has been that families get a child that closely matches their request with minor, correctable health issues on the second referral. But, if you reject the second referral (whether a good one or not), that's your last shot. The expected wait time is 1-3 months. The sticky part is Ukraine is apparently not allowing families to update paperwork any longer which means we would have to travel before March b/c that's when the paperwork starts expiring.
So, we went to the Delta office a few minutes ago and we fly out of Kiev on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. to New York. We have a flight to Atlanta from there, but have to stay the night in ATL and then we head home to Omaha and arrive @ 10:30 a.m. on Sunday.
So...the wait continues. We'll keep you posted on what's up. Back to trying to find what's acceptable to eat and brushing our teeth with bottled water for another day!
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
To Mrs. Sweetman's Kindergarten Class
Hello from Davi!
She is starting to feel better from her cold but sure misses you guys! We're not as fun to play with as you guys are. I'm sure she misses eating lunch with you, playing on the playground, and all the Christmas fun things you guys are doing. When we get a chance we'll try to send a postcard from where we are so you can see what it's like here. The weather is like Omaha except it has been cloudy and foggy the whole time, along with the colder weather.
Here's one crazy fact for you...she was on ONE plane ride for the same amount of time from when you start school until you get out. That plane ride was from New York City to Budapest, Hungary! I'm sure Mrs. Sweetman can show you where those places are! Have fun!
She is starting to feel better from her cold but sure misses you guys! We're not as fun to play with as you guys are. I'm sure she misses eating lunch with you, playing on the playground, and all the Christmas fun things you guys are doing. When we get a chance we'll try to send a postcard from where we are so you can see what it's like here. The weather is like Omaha except it has been cloudy and foggy the whole time, along with the colder weather.
Here's one crazy fact for you...she was on ONE plane ride for the same amount of time from when you start school until you get out. That plane ride was from New York City to Budapest, Hungary! I'm sure Mrs. Sweetman can show you where those places are! Have fun!
The SDA Appointment
Well, it went about as well as everyone else seems to have experienced before us. Lots of sick children with extreme delays, one that will be 4 in a few days with microenchaplitis (small head) and fetal alcohol syndrome, and a little one about 2 1/2 who apparently has a medical condition she's grown out of. We saw a picture of her and we've got some serious questions b/c from the picture it seems like there may be fetal alcohol syndrome, but it's hard to tell.
There are many frustrating parts, but right now we're going to wait and see if our facilitator can get a hold of the doctor in the region where the 2 1/2 year old is to diagnose her medical condition. It's possible that we'll head out to the region tomorrow, but neither of us is at peace with that and we expected God to be a little clearer. I, David, had been praying over specific Scriptures dealing with wisdom, discernment, peace, and God's leadership so you could imagine the frustration and weariness after the events of the day.
So, we'll see what tomorrow morning yields. It's possible we head out to the SE part of the country via an overnight train ride to see the child. After all the travel junk we've dealt with I'm sure you can appreciate our tentativeness on heading out to some outlying area in the country "hoping" that what they (state dept. of adoption and docs in the region) said is true. That coupled with seeing a child and if she has obvious issues then having to walk away rejecting that child...something we have not been relishing at all during this whole process.
So, we'd continue to appreciate any prayers you can fire off for us. It's been an ordeal so far...we were hoping it would yield some more fruit at this stage in the game, but I suppose we'll have to see. If we do not choose a child this time around it looks like we would be coming home this week and would have a second referral anywhere from 1-3 months from now that SUPPOSEDLY matches our request.
We'll keep you posted as events unfold as quickly as we can. Wish we had more good news to tell you, but now we're still in a holding pattern.
We know...
* God has a plan
* He's calling the shots
* He can speak clearly
* We'll wait on Him to do all these things so we know what step to take!
There are many frustrating parts, but right now we're going to wait and see if our facilitator can get a hold of the doctor in the region where the 2 1/2 year old is to diagnose her medical condition. It's possible that we'll head out to the region tomorrow, but neither of us is at peace with that and we expected God to be a little clearer. I, David, had been praying over specific Scriptures dealing with wisdom, discernment, peace, and God's leadership so you could imagine the frustration and weariness after the events of the day.
So, we'll see what tomorrow morning yields. It's possible we head out to the SE part of the country via an overnight train ride to see the child. After all the travel junk we've dealt with I'm sure you can appreciate our tentativeness on heading out to some outlying area in the country "hoping" that what they (state dept. of adoption and docs in the region) said is true. That coupled with seeing a child and if she has obvious issues then having to walk away rejecting that child...something we have not been relishing at all during this whole process.
So, we'd continue to appreciate any prayers you can fire off for us. It's been an ordeal so far...we were hoping it would yield some more fruit at this stage in the game, but I suppose we'll have to see. If we do not choose a child this time around it looks like we would be coming home this week and would have a second referral anywhere from 1-3 months from now that SUPPOSEDLY matches our request.
We'll keep you posted as events unfold as quickly as we can. Wish we had more good news to tell you, but now we're still in a holding pattern.
We know...
* God has a plan
* He's calling the shots
* He can speak clearly
* We'll wait on Him to do all these things so we know what step to take!
The Luggage Has Been Liberated!
OK...we finally made it to an internet cafe!
So, here's the scoop:
Day One: The previous blogs update what happened for us to get to Kiev.
Day Two: We landed in Budapest only to find that our luggage was not on the plane and they could not locate it. When we finally arrived in Kiev it was not there either so we had to file a lost luggage report. That's quite an experience when the people behind the desk don't speak very good English, let me tell ya! After about 1.5 hours we cleared that hurdle feeling like we'd never see our stuff again.
When we landed the experience busting through customs in VIP status...Ask me about it all when we're back home...quite interesting.
When we cleared customs we finally met Yuri and he took us to our Kiev crib (heartlanders...hopefully there's a video to come). It's pretty nice and we feel safe there. We ended up crashing about about 8 p.m. Davi had a little bit of a rough night as she is still battling a cold. She's feeling much better, but it made it much harder. We set her up with a movie (there's a TV with a DVD player) and went back to sleep. After her stint with High School Musical 2 she came back to the room and we slept until....ready....2 p.m.! After about 15 hours of sleep we felt a little better! But, still no luggage!
We got a call from Yuri saying our luggage had made it and there was someone who could bring it by the apartment...we declined and asked if we could go out and get it so there were less hands touching it and we could just head out there and liberate it from the hands of the airlines! Going out there to get it was another slick story that I'll have to tell you about when all is said and done...quite interesting!
When we got back we met another family adopting with Yuri @ TGI Fridays in the middle of the city. We hung out and talked for a while and then headed back to the apartment to hug our clothes and meds! We seriously thought that our bag would be AWOL the whole time and we'd have to make some kind of claim and figure out what to do next.
TODAY: It's just about noon (4 a.m. Omaha time) in 3 hours we head to the SDA. If you're reading this before we go, pray for these specifics:
* That Yuri can come to our appointment with us. They have not been letting the facilitators come, but in a conversation last night with him he asked that we insist that this happens.
* Pray that our little girl is at this appointment. Pray that God would unload unbelievable amounts of wisdom, discernment, and peace during our time there.
I guess that's it for now...we'll head back another time soon to keep everyone up to date on what went down at the appointment.
So, here's the scoop:
Day One: The previous blogs update what happened for us to get to Kiev.
Day Two: We landed in Budapest only to find that our luggage was not on the plane and they could not locate it. When we finally arrived in Kiev it was not there either so we had to file a lost luggage report. That's quite an experience when the people behind the desk don't speak very good English, let me tell ya! After about 1.5 hours we cleared that hurdle feeling like we'd never see our stuff again.
When we landed the experience busting through customs in VIP status...Ask me about it all when we're back home...quite interesting.
When we cleared customs we finally met Yuri and he took us to our Kiev crib (heartlanders...hopefully there's a video to come). It's pretty nice and we feel safe there. We ended up crashing about about 8 p.m. Davi had a little bit of a rough night as she is still battling a cold. She's feeling much better, but it made it much harder. We set her up with a movie (there's a TV with a DVD player) and went back to sleep. After her stint with High School Musical 2 she came back to the room and we slept until....ready....2 p.m.! After about 15 hours of sleep we felt a little better! But, still no luggage!
We got a call from Yuri saying our luggage had made it and there was someone who could bring it by the apartment...we declined and asked if we could go out and get it so there were less hands touching it and we could just head out there and liberate it from the hands of the airlines! Going out there to get it was another slick story that I'll have to tell you about when all is said and done...quite interesting!
When we got back we met another family adopting with Yuri @ TGI Fridays in the middle of the city. We hung out and talked for a while and then headed back to the apartment to hug our clothes and meds! We seriously thought that our bag would be AWOL the whole time and we'd have to make some kind of claim and figure out what to do next.
TODAY: It's just about noon (4 a.m. Omaha time) in 3 hours we head to the SDA. If you're reading this before we go, pray for these specifics:
* That Yuri can come to our appointment with us. They have not been letting the facilitators come, but in a conversation last night with him he asked that we insist that this happens.
* Pray that our little girl is at this appointment. Pray that God would unload unbelievable amounts of wisdom, discernment, and peace during our time there.
I guess that's it for now...we'll head back another time soon to keep everyone up to date on what went down at the appointment.
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Ahhhh!
The snow has followed us to New York! We can't outrun this storm! Please pray for wisdom for us as we'll likely have to make some decisions on what to do next and how we can get over to Europe. Our flight from New York arrives in Budapest and then we have an 1.25 hour layover and head to Kiev. If we're late out of NY we're going to miss the flight for sure. Maybe they have other alternatives to fly into Paris, Frankfurt, or Amsterdam. We'll see! Thanks for praying!
We'll keep you posted as best we can. It was nice to have a great nights sleep at the hotel here in Boston.**MANY THANKS to our brother Curtis for putting us up with your Hilton points...you have no idea how thankful we are! You're awesome!**
We'll keep you posted as best we can. It was nice to have a great nights sleep at the hotel here in Boston.**MANY THANKS to our brother Curtis for putting us up with your Hilton points...you have no idea how thankful we are! You're awesome!**
Saturday, December 1, 2007
We're Here!
Well...we're not in Kiev, but we're staying the night in Boston at the Hilton thanks to my brother-in-law cashing in honors points for our stay!
Anyway, we sat at the gate in Omaha for 2 1/2 hours in the middle of that lovely ice storm and were finally cleared for takeoff. When we finally arrived in Cincinatti we missed both possible options for the next leg to New York and then on to Kiev. So, we were re-routed and now tomorrow we head to NY, then the Budapest, then to Kiev.
There's one small piece that I forgot to mention...our bag is lost and no one knows where to find it! I'm heading back to the airport in the next few minutes to file a claim for lost baggage. Apparently the first time around the lady didn't follow procedure and was supposed to do this, but didn't! So, now I'm a little lit up for having to go back to do what should have been done in the first place! Everyone on the phone is so assured that our bag will arrive in Kiev. Me and Gina...not so sure.
Please pray for us...this has been a hard day of jockeying around trying to figure out how to get where we need to go. We were going to come home and hit it again on Monday with the same itinerary, but couldn't get a flight back to Omaha. We were going to go to Paris and then Kiev and then they re-routed us when the ticket was re-issued. Now we fly all over planet earth to get to our destination somehow hoping our bag catches up with us at some point!
So, hopefully it does. All our meds, clothes (yes...including underwear) are in there and we'll have to wear the same thing over and over until our stinkin' bag gets there. Which, based on our current luck on the trip could end up being about when we're ready to leave!
Oh...and when we left our house I forgot my cell phone so there's no way for us to get a hold of anyone! How'd we ever get along without cell phones?
Anyway, we sat at the gate in Omaha for 2 1/2 hours in the middle of that lovely ice storm and were finally cleared for takeoff. When we finally arrived in Cincinatti we missed both possible options for the next leg to New York and then on to Kiev. So, we were re-routed and now tomorrow we head to NY, then the Budapest, then to Kiev.
There's one small piece that I forgot to mention...our bag is lost and no one knows where to find it! I'm heading back to the airport in the next few minutes to file a claim for lost baggage. Apparently the first time around the lady didn't follow procedure and was supposed to do this, but didn't! So, now I'm a little lit up for having to go back to do what should have been done in the first place! Everyone on the phone is so assured that our bag will arrive in Kiev. Me and Gina...not so sure.
Please pray for us...this has been a hard day of jockeying around trying to figure out how to get where we need to go. We were going to come home and hit it again on Monday with the same itinerary, but couldn't get a flight back to Omaha. We were going to go to Paris and then Kiev and then they re-routed us when the ticket was re-issued. Now we fly all over planet earth to get to our destination somehow hoping our bag catches up with us at some point!
So, hopefully it does. All our meds, clothes (yes...including underwear) are in there and we'll have to wear the same thing over and over until our stinkin' bag gets there. Which, based on our current luck on the trip could end up being about when we're ready to leave!
Oh...and when we left our house I forgot my cell phone so there's no way for us to get a hold of anyone! How'd we ever get along without cell phones?
Friday, November 30, 2007
The Land of Ice and Snow
No...it's not Ukraine that the title speaks of. It's Omaha! Our flight is scheduled to take off out of here right in the middle of a raging ice storm. So, if it's too backed up I suppose we'll miss our connecting flight in Cincinnati. That, of course, causes us to miss our flight in New York to head to Kiev. Hmmm...
Worst case scenario has us leaving Monday morning and arriving in Ukraine Tuesday morning just in time for our Wednesday appointment at the State Department of Adoption! Best case scenario is the weather-guru's are wrong and we head out without a hitch tomorrow at 8:25 a.m. and arrive in Kiev Sunday morning at 10:10 a.m.
It's been a challenge to get to this point with lots of spiritual struggle, lots of paperwork, piles of cash, and now it's here. It will be nice to finally place a face with all the challenge to this point to see that it was all VERY worth it.
Here's some specific prayer requests:
* Please pray that we have a healthy referral on December 5th.
* Please pray that Yuri is our translator on our trip to the region where our little daughter is b/c he seems to understand Westerners and how we best cope.
* Please pray for Davi. She's developed a little cold and traveling when you're sick is never very cool!
* Please pray for our safety! We're carrying around ridiculous amounts of cash and it's a bit unsettling to say the least!
* Please pray for all of us while we're there that we stay physically healthy and can rest well. We want our minds to be sharp so we can make wise decisions.
* Pray that our 10-day waiting period could either be eliminated or shortened to allow us to be able to come home faster.
* Pray that our new little girl's passport waiting period would be expedited as well so we're able to get back home. Anyone who has been out-of-country understands what I'm asking here. Hey...we have 3 people's goods for a month packed into one big suitcase...it's a miracle!
We'll keep the blog posted as much as possible to keep everyone in-the-know as best we can. Thanks for charging to the front-lines and bringing these requests to God. We're excited to see how He moves and know that we'll be stretched in ways we never dreamed.
Next time we blog...Kiev! Or maybe here...if we get stuck in the ice!
Worst case scenario has us leaving Monday morning and arriving in Ukraine Tuesday morning just in time for our Wednesday appointment at the State Department of Adoption! Best case scenario is the weather-guru's are wrong and we head out without a hitch tomorrow at 8:25 a.m. and arrive in Kiev Sunday morning at 10:10 a.m.
It's been a challenge to get to this point with lots of spiritual struggle, lots of paperwork, piles of cash, and now it's here. It will be nice to finally place a face with all the challenge to this point to see that it was all VERY worth it.
Here's some specific prayer requests:
* Please pray that we have a healthy referral on December 5th.
* Please pray that Yuri is our translator on our trip to the region where our little daughter is b/c he seems to understand Westerners and how we best cope.
* Please pray for Davi. She's developed a little cold and traveling when you're sick is never very cool!
* Please pray for our safety! We're carrying around ridiculous amounts of cash and it's a bit unsettling to say the least!
* Please pray for all of us while we're there that we stay physically healthy and can rest well. We want our minds to be sharp so we can make wise decisions.
* Pray that our 10-day waiting period could either be eliminated or shortened to allow us to be able to come home faster.
* Pray that our new little girl's passport waiting period would be expedited as well so we're able to get back home. Anyone who has been out-of-country understands what I'm asking here. Hey...we have 3 people's goods for a month packed into one big suitcase...it's a miracle!
We'll keep the blog posted as much as possible to keep everyone in-the-know as best we can. Thanks for charging to the front-lines and bringing these requests to God. We're excited to see how He moves and know that we'll be stretched in ways we never dreamed.
Next time we blog...Kiev! Or maybe here...if we get stuck in the ice!
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Christmas in Kiev
We finally got our travel date! Our first appointment in Kiev is December 5th, so we'll probably fly out of Omaha on December 1st or 2nd.
The next couple months will be filled with planning and delegating for several weeks-worth of church stuff, hopefully raising more funds, trying to finish projects on the house, filling out more adoption paperwork, learning to speak some Ukrainian, and looking for crisp $100 bills with no marks or cuts (we have to use cash only, and it has to be "nice" cash).
Unfortunately, Ukrainian and American holidays fall over the end of December and the first couple weeks of January, which means delays. We anticipate being able to return to the States in mid to late January. There is a possibility that we will end up taking two trips b/c of these delays, but we don't know yet.
Another hurdle that could cause delays: as of late, several families have been first referred a child that does not fit their request (primarily due to health). Obtaining a second referral adds one to two weeks to the time in-country. Please pray that we are referred to our daughter the first time around.
We would also appreciate your prayers. Pray for us as we continue to try to raise money, learn some of the language, and get all our details in order. Also, we are dreading such a long stay in Ukraine without many of the things we're used to and without kids for Davi to socialize with. And we know that there will be many unexpected turns along the way, which will add to the stress. We are hoping to be able to enjoy the journey as much as possible.
On the day we got the call with our travel date, I was in the middle of a Bible study I've been working on. When I returned from talking on the phone, the study had me read Psalm 146:5-9:
Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them—the LORD, who remains faithful forever. He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free, the LORD gives sight to the blind, the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous. The LORD watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.
We are so excited to see how God provides for our new little girl.
For anyone interested and living in or near Omaha, our agency is offering an international adoption seminar on October 13th. Check out the America World link to the left for details.
The next couple months will be filled with planning and delegating for several weeks-worth of church stuff, hopefully raising more funds, trying to finish projects on the house, filling out more adoption paperwork, learning to speak some Ukrainian, and looking for crisp $100 bills with no marks or cuts (we have to use cash only, and it has to be "nice" cash).
Unfortunately, Ukrainian and American holidays fall over the end of December and the first couple weeks of January, which means delays. We anticipate being able to return to the States in mid to late January. There is a possibility that we will end up taking two trips b/c of these delays, but we don't know yet.
Another hurdle that could cause delays: as of late, several families have been first referred a child that does not fit their request (primarily due to health). Obtaining a second referral adds one to two weeks to the time in-country. Please pray that we are referred to our daughter the first time around.
We would also appreciate your prayers. Pray for us as we continue to try to raise money, learn some of the language, and get all our details in order. Also, we are dreading such a long stay in Ukraine without many of the things we're used to and without kids for Davi to socialize with. And we know that there will be many unexpected turns along the way, which will add to the stress. We are hoping to be able to enjoy the journey as much as possible.
On the day we got the call with our travel date, I was in the middle of a Bible study I've been working on. When I returned from talking on the phone, the study had me read Psalm 146:5-9:
Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them—the LORD, who remains faithful forever. He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free, the LORD gives sight to the blind, the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous. The LORD watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.
We are so excited to see how God provides for our new little girl.
For anyone interested and living in or near Omaha, our agency is offering an international adoption seminar on October 13th. Check out the America World link to the left for details.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
We're In!
We were notified this week that our representative in Ukraine was finally able to submit our paperwork to the SDA (State Department for Adoption)! Ukraine only accepts 8 dossiers from Americans each week. We were really glad to get the news, especially since this means we likely won’t have to update any of our paperwork. It’s estimated that we will be traveling to Ukraine in October and/or November.
In the meantime, things in Ukraine continue to be unstable. The following 3 paragraphs contain info we got from our adoption agency:
Due to changes in procedure, there are delays in getting passports for adopted children. The Kiev office said they expect wait times for processing passport applications to be 10 days, but some parents have reported waiting more than a month!
They are also seeing increasing timeframes for submitting dossiers [ours finally got in, woo hoo!]. Some political fighting within the SDA has slowed down the submission and review of paperwork. Ukraine has always been a volatile country to adopt from based on the close ties to the country's politics which have lacked stability.
This summer there have been more families requiring second appointments because they were not referred young, healthy children. The wait time between appointments is currently 2-4 weeks. They expect the number of children available for adoption to increase in the coming months.
So now, our original 4-6 weeks in Ukraine is expected to be closer to 6-8 weeks! Fortunately, we will probably have the choice of either staying the entire time in country (I think NO!) or taking one, 3-to-4-week trip, then one or both of us returning a month later for 1 week.
Please continue to pray for our journey. It’s all a little crazy, but we really believe God is calling us to this.
Davi started all-day kindergarten this week, so I’m anticipating being able to get a lot of preparations done before we bring our other child home. We’re thankful for how God has provided for us in ways like this and others (like supportive friends/family and financial gifts—thank you!!!).
We’ll let you know when we receive our travel date!
In the meantime, things in Ukraine continue to be unstable. The following 3 paragraphs contain info we got from our adoption agency:
Due to changes in procedure, there are delays in getting passports for adopted children. The Kiev office said they expect wait times for processing passport applications to be 10 days, but some parents have reported waiting more than a month!
They are also seeing increasing timeframes for submitting dossiers [ours finally got in, woo hoo!]. Some political fighting within the SDA has slowed down the submission and review of paperwork. Ukraine has always been a volatile country to adopt from based on the close ties to the country's politics which have lacked stability.
This summer there have been more families requiring second appointments because they were not referred young, healthy children. The wait time between appointments is currently 2-4 weeks. They expect the number of children available for adoption to increase in the coming months.
So now, our original 4-6 weeks in Ukraine is expected to be closer to 6-8 weeks! Fortunately, we will probably have the choice of either staying the entire time in country (I think NO!) or taking one, 3-to-4-week trip, then one or both of us returning a month later for 1 week.
Please continue to pray for our journey. It’s all a little crazy, but we really believe God is calling us to this.
Davi started all-day kindergarten this week, so I’m anticipating being able to get a lot of preparations done before we bring our other child home. We’re thankful for how God has provided for us in ways like this and others (like supportive friends/family and financial gifts—thank you!!!).
We’ll let you know when we receive our travel date!
Saturday, June 16, 2007
God Continues to Provide
We got a letter today from Shaohannah's Hope (a ministry of Steven Curtis Chapman--see link to the left), letting us know we qualified for a $3000 grant! We are so thrilled. We know that the people on the board at Shaohannah's Hope pray a lot about where the grant monies go. For us, this is more confirmation that this adoption is what God wants. We're still waiting to hear back regarding two other grants we applied for. Thanks to all of you who are praying for us as we continue to raise funds.
We received notice last week that Ukraine has reached their dossier quota for the quarter, so they won't be accepting any new dossiers until July. We hope that ours will be submitted soon. All of our documents have to have at least 6 months left (based on when they were completed and notarized) when they are submitted, so we're already having to update some because of this delay.
Thanks for your prayers and support!
We received notice last week that Ukraine has reached their dossier quota for the quarter, so they won't be accepting any new dossiers until July. We hope that ours will be submitted soon. All of our documents have to have at least 6 months left (based on when they were completed and notarized) when they are submitted, so we're already having to update some because of this delay.
Thanks for your prayers and support!
Monday, June 4, 2007
It's Out of Our Hands!
For the past month we've been thinking we were nearly finished with our paperwork, but we ran into snag after snag that prolonged the process. We got our last document notarized and apostilled last Tuesday.
Finished. Finally. Phew!
We overnighted our complete documents (a.k.a. dossier) to our family coordinator, expecting her to take a few days to examine them and call for any corrections from us. However, on Wednesday afternoon, we got an email stating: I am happy to report that I received your dossier today...it looks perfect. I will now send it on to Yuri in Ukraine for translation and submission. She Fed-Exed our documents to Ukraine that evening. Woo hoo!
We expect it to take about a month for our dossier to be translated and submitted. We think we'll be going to Ukraine around October, but that's just a guess. We're just so glad to have all the documents out of our safe!
As we wait to travel, we're also waiting to see how God is going to provide for this adoption financially. We've paid roughly $4000 of the estimated $27,000 and are waiting to hear back regarding some adoption grants we've applied for. We're so grateful that God is raising up people to build assistance programs so that more orphans can be rescued. Click our links to Shaohannah's Hope and Hadassah's Hope to check out a couple.
We have sent out letters of request to help with this adoption. Thank you so much to those of you who have contributed. For many people, it may seem strange that we're asking for financial help with this adoption. This might seem like a plea to help us build our family, but this is not at all about that.
We believe that adoption is on God’s heart. The Bible describes God as the Father to the fatherless, explains that He delights in setting the lonely in families, and has much to say about caring for orphans. We chose to adopt from Ukraine because of the lack of Christian influence in that country. Not only do we have the opportunity to provide a child with a loving family, but we also get the privilege of helping her understand God’s plans and purposes for her life.
If anyone is interested in partnering with us financially in this mission, please contact us. We can let you know about different tax-deductible options. The plight of the approximately 100 million orphans is larger than any of us can handle on our own, and we hope that many will play a part in helping save this life and others.
Finished. Finally. Phew!
We overnighted our complete documents (a.k.a. dossier) to our family coordinator, expecting her to take a few days to examine them and call for any corrections from us. However, on Wednesday afternoon, we got an email stating: I am happy to report that I received your dossier today...it looks perfect. I will now send it on to Yuri in Ukraine for translation and submission. She Fed-Exed our documents to Ukraine that evening. Woo hoo!
We expect it to take about a month for our dossier to be translated and submitted. We think we'll be going to Ukraine around October, but that's just a guess. We're just so glad to have all the documents out of our safe!
As we wait to travel, we're also waiting to see how God is going to provide for this adoption financially. We've paid roughly $4000 of the estimated $27,000 and are waiting to hear back regarding some adoption grants we've applied for. We're so grateful that God is raising up people to build assistance programs so that more orphans can be rescued. Click our links to Shaohannah's Hope and Hadassah's Hope to check out a couple.
We have sent out letters of request to help with this adoption. Thank you so much to those of you who have contributed. For many people, it may seem strange that we're asking for financial help with this adoption. This might seem like a plea to help us build our family, but this is not at all about that.
We believe that adoption is on God’s heart. The Bible describes God as the Father to the fatherless, explains that He delights in setting the lonely in families, and has much to say about caring for orphans. We chose to adopt from Ukraine because of the lack of Christian influence in that country. Not only do we have the opportunity to provide a child with a loving family, but we also get the privilege of helping her understand God’s plans and purposes for her life.
If anyone is interested in partnering with us financially in this mission, please contact us. We can let you know about different tax-deductible options. The plight of the approximately 100 million orphans is larger than any of us can handle on our own, and we hope that many will play a part in helping save this life and others.
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Forms, Forms, Everywhere There's Forms!
OK, so we thought we were done with forms! As it turns out there's one left that we need! The agency we used to do our home study just renewed their license with the state. We're waiting to see if that's ready to go on Monday, the 14th over in Lincoln. If it is, we hope to have all our forms FINALLY done! Please pray for the whole paper-chase situation. Just when we get ready to cross the finish line, it keeps moving!
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Guess What?
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security sent us a letter today. In the opening paragraph it says, "It has been determined that you are able to furnish proper care to an orphan or orphans as defined by Section 101 (b)(1)(F) of the Immigration and Nationality Act." Some of you may be thinking..."Yeah, that applies to Gina...but how'd Dave get by?" Hey, I'm just thankful Gina's normal and we'll just leave it at that! So...
Tonight we get all our paperwork notarized and hopefully tomorrow head over to Lincoln to get them certifiied by the Secretary of State. From there is a short certified insured mail hop to Virginia to our adoption agency followed by a trans-Atlantic airmail to Kiev, Ukraine for translation!
As I write, we are in the process of preparing for her arrival. What has been our guest bedroom is rapidly becoming a pink wonderland. The bed frame is assembled awaiting a mattress, wallpaper is stripped, the holes spackled, and the paint is moments from coat one.
Tonight we get all our paperwork notarized and hopefully tomorrow head over to Lincoln to get them certifiied by the Secretary of State. From there is a short certified insured mail hop to Virginia to our adoption agency followed by a trans-Atlantic airmail to Kiev, Ukraine for translation!
As I write, we are in the process of preparing for her arrival. What has been our guest bedroom is rapidly becoming a pink wonderland. The bed frame is assembled awaiting a mattress, wallpaper is stripped, the holes spackled, and the paint is moments from coat one.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Fingerprinted!
Last week we headed to the Department of Homeland Security and were fingerprinted! Once we get our approval from the federal government, we should be a few days away from sending paperwork on to our adoption agency who will send it on to Ukraine to be translated.
So, we're nearing the end of the "paper pregnancy" and will soon be in a holding pattern awaiting our appointment date to head overseas to spend 5 luxurious weeks in Eastern Europe trying to figure out how to say things like:
- Where's the bathroom?
- Are these vegetables from Chernobyl (this is apparently a problem due to the radiation issues from the disaster years back)?
- Where's the closest internet cafe (gotta be able to check email, right?)?
We're not sure exactly how long we'll have to wait for the appointment date, but are hoping it will be sometime in the summer, possibly early fall. Ukraine just pulled back the number of children they will adopt to families in the U.S. to 580 . That coupled with the reality that documents from the U.S. can only be submitted on Mondays with a maximum of 8 for our whole country.
Lastly, we would appreciate your prayers for a couple grants we have applied for. We should know the outcome of one of them in early May. We could definitely use these as we still have to come up with/raise about $23K!
So, we're nearing the end of the "paper pregnancy" and will soon be in a holding pattern awaiting our appointment date to head overseas to spend 5 luxurious weeks in Eastern Europe trying to figure out how to say things like:
- Where's the bathroom?
- Are these vegetables from Chernobyl (this is apparently a problem due to the radiation issues from the disaster years back)?
- Where's the closest internet cafe (gotta be able to check email, right?)?
We're not sure exactly how long we'll have to wait for the appointment date, but are hoping it will be sometime in the summer, possibly early fall. Ukraine just pulled back the number of children they will adopt to families in the U.S. to 580 . That coupled with the reality that documents from the U.S. can only be submitted on Mondays with a maximum of 8 for our whole country.
Lastly, we would appreciate your prayers for a couple grants we have applied for. We should know the outcome of one of them in early May. We could definitely use these as we still have to come up with/raise about $23K!
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Re-Do!
If you ever adopt, please contact us first so we can help you with one of the most maddening pieces: Dealing with a doctor and the form that needs to be filled out correctly! Finally, after THREE WEEKS of dealing with the doctors office, we have our forms completed and the home study is officially ready to be sent off to the powers that be. Neither of us would have thought this would have been so much of a rat-race, but this little stage of the race is finally over!
Now we'll be engaged in the waiting game with the Department of Homeland Security waiting for fingerprints and finalization allowing us to bring a child back from foreign soil to enable them to be a US citizen. Who knows how long that will take, but thankfully we have a field office here in Omaha. Please pray for us to be patient as we wait on God's timing. Once the form is in hand, the rest of the documents should be able to be sent fairly quickly to Ukraine for translation. Once they have the documents we're unsure about a couple things: how long before we head over and how the heck we're going to pay for this! But, we'll keep you posted!
There's another piece of stress that hit the radar recently. We learned a couple weeks ago that at the start of the year, Ukraine had decided to adopt 1,000 children to the USA in 2007. This has changed to 580. Apparently they change things quite a bit, but that kind of news just adds fuel to the fire of our impatience!
So, this week we will apply for a grant to help pay for this whole deal! Please pray that God gives us favor and that He grants us funds to help pay for this faith endeavor.
Now we'll be engaged in the waiting game with the Department of Homeland Security waiting for fingerprints and finalization allowing us to bring a child back from foreign soil to enable them to be a US citizen. Who knows how long that will take, but thankfully we have a field office here in Omaha. Please pray for us to be patient as we wait on God's timing. Once the form is in hand, the rest of the documents should be able to be sent fairly quickly to Ukraine for translation. Once they have the documents we're unsure about a couple things: how long before we head over and how the heck we're going to pay for this! But, we'll keep you posted!
There's another piece of stress that hit the radar recently. We learned a couple weeks ago that at the start of the year, Ukraine had decided to adopt 1,000 children to the USA in 2007. This has changed to 580. Apparently they change things quite a bit, but that kind of news just adds fuel to the fire of our impatience!
So, this week we will apply for a grant to help pay for this whole deal! Please pray that God gives us favor and that He grants us funds to help pay for this faith endeavor.
Saturday, March 3, 2007
Another Form Bites the Dust
Today marks the day we start dancing with the Department of Homeland Security because we submitted our application to bring a child back from foreign soil! We're told this form of bureacracy can take 30-90 days! We can hardly wait...but apparently we'll have to!
If you're reading this blog you obviously care about us and this will come as great news...neither Gina or I have HIV, Syphillis, or Hepatitis B! Surprise...:-)! Here's an interesting fact...most Americans are not immunized against Hep. B! If you're 21 and under or in the medical field, you probably are. Neither of us are and for a mere $800 Alegent Health will take care of that immunization for both of us! We did find a couple places that take care of it cheaper...but for one of them you have to go through an STD test...I won't go into the details of that, but I went through one unecessarily (this happened in the early stages of the adoption process) and I vowed never to do it again...EVER! So, we'll be praying about the option of immunizing ourselves, but that's not super high on the priority list right now.
One last piece of news...hopefully our home study will be approved in the next couple weeks so we can finalize a major piece of the puzzle and also apply for grants. We're also still waiting on Gina's passport, but once we get that highly prized piece of ID in we will be able to put together a large portion of our dossier (our legal representation of us to the Ukrainian government). Everything has to be notarized and we're thankful to have a friend who's a notary! From there it's on to the state offices to get them state certified! After the cerification we'll ship off all the forms to our adoption agency, they'll send them to Ukraine for translation, and then they'll be submitted to the national government there. Not sure how long all that will take, but it sounds like a lot of red tape so we're praying for an expedited process!
We're both excited to get to the point where the paperwork is done and we wait on the invitation to head overseas to meet our new little girl!
If you're reading this blog you obviously care about us and this will come as great news...neither Gina or I have HIV, Syphillis, or Hepatitis B! Surprise...:-)! Here's an interesting fact...most Americans are not immunized against Hep. B! If you're 21 and under or in the medical field, you probably are. Neither of us are and for a mere $800 Alegent Health will take care of that immunization for both of us! We did find a couple places that take care of it cheaper...but for one of them you have to go through an STD test...I won't go into the details of that, but I went through one unecessarily (this happened in the early stages of the adoption process) and I vowed never to do it again...EVER! So, we'll be praying about the option of immunizing ourselves, but that's not super high on the priority list right now.
One last piece of news...hopefully our home study will be approved in the next couple weeks so we can finalize a major piece of the puzzle and also apply for grants. We're also still waiting on Gina's passport, but once we get that highly prized piece of ID in we will be able to put together a large portion of our dossier (our legal representation of us to the Ukrainian government). Everything has to be notarized and we're thankful to have a friend who's a notary! From there it's on to the state offices to get them state certified! After the cerification we'll ship off all the forms to our adoption agency, they'll send them to Ukraine for translation, and then they'll be submitted to the national government there. Not sure how long all that will take, but it sounds like a lot of red tape so we're praying for an expedited process!
We're both excited to get to the point where the paperwork is done and we wait on the invitation to head overseas to meet our new little girl!
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
We Beat the Snow!
Yesterday, February 12th, marked the day we finished up the home study! That's a major piece of the adoption and now we just have to wait for our social worker to write it up which should take between 2-3 weeks. There was a major winter storm on its way yesterday and we made it under the wire!
Something cool happened while we were out this past weekend leading a retreat in New Mexico. A couple weeks ago, I had mentioned to our friend on staff that when we're done with our adoption I'd like to get an adoption fund going at our church for people who would like to adopt. Apparently he thought that was the dumbest idea he'd ever heard because he mentioned to the church that he was going to get that fund going so WE could benefit from it too! So, needless to say, we're pretty pumped about that. It's very cool to see God providing!
Once the home study is complete we can apply for some possible grants and finish up our dossier (our legal representation of us to the Ukrainian government). Everything has to be notarized and then certified by the Secretary of State in Nebraska. So, there's plenty left to do. Hey, we even get to go to the doctor again and get tested for HIV, syphillis, and hepatitis B!
Please join us in praying for our little girl who's over in Ukraine somewhere. I find myself often praying for the process and the financing while missing praying for her to find favor with her care-givers, that she would get enough to eat, grow into a healthy little girl, and for her to attach to us when we finally meet face-to-face. We'd greatly appreciate your prayers as God brings that to your mind.
Something cool happened while we were out this past weekend leading a retreat in New Mexico. A couple weeks ago, I had mentioned to our friend on staff that when we're done with our adoption I'd like to get an adoption fund going at our church for people who would like to adopt. Apparently he thought that was the dumbest idea he'd ever heard because he mentioned to the church that he was going to get that fund going so WE could benefit from it too! So, needless to say, we're pretty pumped about that. It's very cool to see God providing!
Once the home study is complete we can apply for some possible grants and finish up our dossier (our legal representation of us to the Ukrainian government). Everything has to be notarized and then certified by the Secretary of State in Nebraska. So, there's plenty left to do. Hey, we even get to go to the doctor again and get tested for HIV, syphillis, and hepatitis B!
Please join us in praying for our little girl who's over in Ukraine somewhere. I find myself often praying for the process and the financing while missing praying for her to find favor with her care-givers, that she would get enough to eat, grow into a healthy little girl, and for her to attach to us when we finally meet face-to-face. We'd greatly appreciate your prayers as God brings that to your mind.
Monday, January 22, 2007
Coordination Station
This afternoon we got a call from our family coordinator from our adoption agency! Not only is she our family coordinator, but she's also the program director for Ukraine. So, needless to say, we're very happy with that connection! We spent about 40 minutes on the phone getting info about the upcoming process and getting some of our basic questions answered. Let me tell you...this lady is SHARP! That call made it just a bit more exciting because it's another step in the process. Things like that just seem to make it all feel more real...kind of puts some meat on the bones, if you know what I mean.
So, tomorrow we will be contacting our family coordinator to choose our representative that we'll work with in Ukraine. I guess that's when the official "paperwork pregnancy" begins! All that official paperwork we'll start gathering is called a dossier and it's our official presentation of our family to the Ukrainian government (hey, paper can only reveal so much...if they only knew just how jacked up the Hollands are!) Once all that is squared away and certified by the state, it's sent on to the Ukrainian government to be translated. Apparently once it's translated and on file with the government over there, it could be all done in 6 months (although our coordinator thought that might be a generous time frame). Whatever the case, we'll keep praying for just the right time and just the right child.
So, with all that said, thanks for continuing to check back and remembering us in your prayers! I'll keep posting stuff when something new/exciting happens for us in the process.
One last piece...over on the links part I've put a link to our adoption agency (at least I'll try so if it's not there...ignore this last part!). There's some info on Ukraine there if you're interested. Later!
So, tomorrow we will be contacting our family coordinator to choose our representative that we'll work with in Ukraine. I guess that's when the official "paperwork pregnancy" begins! All that official paperwork we'll start gathering is called a dossier and it's our official presentation of our family to the Ukrainian government (hey, paper can only reveal so much...if they only knew just how jacked up the Hollands are!) Once all that is squared away and certified by the state, it's sent on to the Ukrainian government to be translated. Apparently once it's translated and on file with the government over there, it could be all done in 6 months (although our coordinator thought that might be a generous time frame). Whatever the case, we'll keep praying for just the right time and just the right child.
So, with all that said, thanks for continuing to check back and remembering us in your prayers! I'll keep posting stuff when something new/exciting happens for us in the process.
One last piece...over on the links part I've put a link to our adoption agency (at least I'll try so if it's not there...ignore this last part!). There's some info on Ukraine there if you're interested. Later!
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Milestones
Well, this week marked some more exciting times towards the completion of our adoption process. Lots of paperwork, lots of waiting, lots of stuff to try to keep track of!
Tuesday, we finished up some initial paperwork and sent it on. We also made our first payment to our adoption agency. Sending that big chunk of dough made the whole thing feel real, that's for sure! Later that day, we shot down to the post office and turned in all our paperwork for Gina and Davi's passports. In just under 6 weeks or so, we should have the documents ready to be a family of legal international travelers!
Next week, we have our first meeting with the social worker to take steps to finish our home study. Hopefully this won't take too long since we have a fairly flexible schedule that allows us to schedule meetings during the day (we all know pastors only work on Sundays anyway, right?).
Please continue to pray for us as we continue down this path. It's uncharted territory for us, but we're confident this is where God is leading and we want, more than anything, to be right in the center of His will. Thanks!
Tuesday, we finished up some initial paperwork and sent it on. We also made our first payment to our adoption agency. Sending that big chunk of dough made the whole thing feel real, that's for sure! Later that day, we shot down to the post office and turned in all our paperwork for Gina and Davi's passports. In just under 6 weeks or so, we should have the documents ready to be a family of legal international travelers!
Next week, we have our first meeting with the social worker to take steps to finish our home study. Hopefully this won't take too long since we have a fairly flexible schedule that allows us to schedule meetings during the day (we all know pastors only work on Sundays anyway, right?).
Please continue to pray for us as we continue down this path. It's uncharted territory for us, but we're confident this is where God is leading and we want, more than anything, to be right in the center of His will. Thanks!
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
We're Accepted
This morning around 11 a.m. we got word from America World Adoption Agency that we've been approved for adoption! So, pretty soon we should hear from our contact there and see what the next step looks like with them.
The forms are coming in for our home study. As soon as all those are in we'll be doing the first of 5 meetings with our social worker. The process is supposed to take anywhere from 1-2 months. We were hoping to be done by the end of this month, but looks like that will take a little longer than expected. But, since our schedules are pretty flexible, maybe it will be a little quicker than most.
As soon as the home study is done we should be able to apply for grants. This will be huge because the cost for a little one from Ukraine is anywhere from 25-35K! So, please join us in praying for that major issue. We're praying that God would allow us to adopt with no debt.
The forms are coming in for our home study. As soon as all those are in we'll be doing the first of 5 meetings with our social worker. The process is supposed to take anywhere from 1-2 months. We were hoping to be done by the end of this month, but looks like that will take a little longer than expected. But, since our schedules are pretty flexible, maybe it will be a little quicker than most.
As soon as the home study is done we should be able to apply for grants. This will be huge because the cost for a little one from Ukraine is anywhere from 25-35K! So, please join us in praying for that major issue. We're praying that God would allow us to adopt with no debt.
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