What's in our Dossier -- Part 3

Here we are with the last of our dossier! Okay, it isn't quite the last because we are still awaiting our I-171H form and need to be invited to Omaha for the finger printing appointment for that form to be issued. But this is the last of the bulk mailings we have for the dossier. Included in this mailing were:

• 10 passport size pictures of each adopting parent
• 2 Employment and Educational History Forms
• 2 copies of our home study agency license
• 2 copies of our home study agency non-profit certificate: the 501(C)3
• 2 copies of our home study social worker’s license or credentials
• 2 photocopies of the photo ID/signature page of our passport for each applicant
• 2 sets (12 in each set) of photographs of our home and exterior views from our home.

The home study just needs 2 sections rewritten, but should be on it's way to our agency by now. And thanks to donations by friends and family, that $300 we were waiting on for the Home Study Review Fee ($600 total) has been sent to our agency. God just showed up and dropped these gifts in our lap. Thanks to those of you who have answered the call and served us! We are completely humbled by His provision through your support!

With the dossier almost done, we are trying to raise funds for the Completion of Documents Fee. This fee is $4000 and you can see our ticker at the top of our blog on where we are. We keep receiving little checks here and there and the ticker is creeping forward. Wow! Yes, even a little bit helps! Please be in prayer for these finances. I am still praying that we can remain debt free through 2009. If we can accomplish this phase of fundraising, we will move onto phase 2 which will be an additional $7000 that will be due in January as our paperwork goes overseas!

We hope to hear of news of referrals going out for families on the waiting list. Our agency is confident that the families going before us should be receiving news of their children soon!

Anxious

Philippians 4:6
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

This week I’ve been worrying about how we’re going to handle the finances of our adoption. Yes, we know we probably won’t be able to raise all the cash we need to bring our daughter home, but I was hoping to split the total cost into thirds: Raise 10K from family/friends, Spend 10K of our own/loan, and receive 10K in grants (which are hard to come by). Wishful thinking, I know.

Our home study is still being reviewed by our agency and it seems to be taking a long time. They said it would take about a week, but we’re past 2 already. I called the agency to see if the financing is holding us up and they insist it is not. They know full well that we’re trying to raise money this year. I’ve been so concerned over the $4K Completion of Documents Fee that won’t be too far off on the calendar that this $600 fee due now for the Home Study Review totally slipped my mind. Thus, came my worries.

So, I’ve been disappointed all week and we’ve talked about just going to the bank and starting the home equity loan 3 months before what we had hoped and planned. But my prayers were answered in the form of multiple donations that arrived this week. While it doesn’t add up to the total we’ll need, we're over half way there to the $600. God totally amazed me. Just when I was about to take things back into my grimy little hands, He reigns down and reminds us that He is in control and He will be faithful to complete the dream that He gave us in the first place. He told me through 3 generous families that He will provide for us. I'm not going to the bank any time soon and I'm not anxious about it in the least!

We’re still praying about the remaining $300 due now and the $4K that will be due at end November or December. But I’ll package those worries in a beautifully wrapped box and place it at the foot of the Cross. I can’t handle it but God can!

I’m basking in His goodness and it feels great!

What's in our Dossier -- Part 2

Here we are again with another milestone -- the second shipment of paperwork to our agency! This is the second of three mailings we’ll complete and it is comprised of Certified Documents. We had to provide:

· 2 copies of birth certificates for both Jay and I
· 2 copies of birth certificates for both boys
· 2 copies of our marriage license

These all had to be certified copies, not photocopies, and with recent issue dates stamped on them so that they don’t “expire” before being sent to Nepal. This isn’t really a huge feat in and of itself, but the cost of ordering multiple copies of all this stuff added up. Your gifts and donations helped cover these expenses and help keep us debt free to date!

You may recall that in our first mailing last month, we were missing 2 key Notarized Documents for our dossier. Thankfully the first document has now arrived and was also included in today’s shipment. That included:

· 2 copies of our Nebraska State background check for both Jay and I

Our home study is done too! We've seen the rough draft and our agency should be approving it this week. Then we can have that notarized and added to our dossier as well.

Next we move onto section 3 of 3. I have most of these documents done but am waiting to receive Jay's renewed passport. We also expect to be invited (yes, you read that correctly) to Omaha to have our fingerprints taken for our Federal file. When those are taken, we will be issued our I-171H form and we’ll be done with the dossier! We hope these final things will be received within 4 to 6 weeks.

Urgent Prayer Request
Friends you may have read this on Facebook. When our paperwork is done, we will owe the next payment to our agency. The amount due will be $4000. Right now, we have a commitment from a family member to cover a quarter of that cost. Would you please join us in prayer that we will continue to receive financial support from friends and family who have received our support letter? I truly believe that with God’s provision, we can finish 2009 without taking on any loans. Please pray specifically for the $3000 that we’ll need in the next 6 weeks or so.

Shortly following that, there will be an even larger payment due to Nepal as our paperwork goes overseas in December or January. But we’ll take things one step at a time.

If you would like to be a part of the journey, donations are being accepted at our agency! Please mail a check payable to La Vida International along with a note stating it is for the Jay & Brooke Collins adoption from Nepal to:

La Vida International

150 S. Warner Rd. Ste. 144

King of Prussia, PA 19406

Thank you for your continued support! More updates to come as we finish this final section of our dossier.