Another Great Devotional

There's not really any news. We are just trying to get our dossier in order. Our facilitator found some mistakes, but they shouldn't be too difficult to have corrected. I'm getting really excited about our trip next Friday! We still have concerns that our dossier will be approved with the current home study, but we followed the path we felt directed to take by God. So I do have peace in that and I know we were obedient to the Lord's direction, so whatever the outcome, it is His will. We are putting our faith and trust in Him. We are praying hard for an approval without having to pay for another home study.

Basically, God led me to give the extra money, that we would have spent on the home study, to help the orphans when I go next week. God told me He would take care of us, if I obeyed. Maybe we will get approved and maybe not, but we have to follow the voice of the Lord. This may sound crazy to some of you. This isn't the first time that I have had a strong leading about "giving". When Chloe was sick and in the hospital we met a couple of ladies from a local church. They came to visit us and we laid hands on Chloe together. We didn't know anything about them prior to this. The Lord spoke to me and told me to give one of them $300. And no, we weren't paying them for healing miracle powers, like you see on TV!! The Holy Spirit led me to do this. I tried to ignore it because I thought maybe it was my imagination, but the Lord kept convicting my heart to do it. So Rick went to the ATM in the hospital cafeteria and got the money. The ladies didn't know what we were doing. Anyway, I made her take the money, even though she protested. She got out to the car and realized how much we had given her and called the room crying. I'm not telling this to say, "Aren't we wonderful people?" I'm ashamed to share it honestly, except that what God did for us in return was so amazing!! Later that same day, one of Rick's co-workers visited Chloe in the hospital. She gave us a check (being completely unaware of the day's earlier event) in Chloe's name for $300!! That money has since been used to benefit the orphans. My point; God looks after all His children!!! We are all the body of Christ and have a responsibility to help one another, to be loving, and giving. What may have seemed like a miracle to the lady from the church was an even bigger miracle to us! It showed us that when we follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit to give, that the Lord will give back to us! The blessing that I received from that was far greater than any of the money exchanged! You can't buy blessings like that! That was a miracle straight from the Lord!

So as I heard the voice of the Lord speak to me again; He promised that if we obey Him and give the home study money to help the orphans, then He will take care of us. I don't know if that means our home study will be approved or not. But I do know that I have a God that is bigger than the SDA, bigger than our governments, bigger than the ocean that separates us from our children, and He is watching over us, all of us!

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.’ (Jeremiah 29:11-13, NIV)


So here's the devotional...

A Victorious Christian

The Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. ROMANS 8:26

We need to rely constantly on the Holy Spirit. We need to remember that Christ dwells in us through the Holy Spirit. Our bodies are the dwelling place of the Third Person of the Trinity.
Why don't we rely on Him as we should? We don't realize how weak we are. We don't realize how strong our enemy is. We may even doubt if God is really going to help us. Or we may think we can do it all ourselves------or that we must.
But we should ask Him to do it all and to take over in our lives. We should tell Him how weak, helpless, unstable, and unreliable we are. It is important that we stand aside and let Him take over in all our choices and decisions. We know that the Holy Spirit prays for us (Romans 8:26) , and what a comfort that should be to the weakest of us.
A victorious Christian is one who, in spite of worries, inner conflicts, and tensions, is confident that God is in control and will be victorious in the end. Whatever our difficulties, whatever our circumstances, we must remember, as Corrie ten Boom used to say,"Jesus is victor!" -Author unknown

My prayer for today... Lord, help me to remember that you are in control and that I can relax and have peace in knowing that the one who has gone before me is my guide! There is nothing that is going to happen to me today that you cannot handle, as long as I submit it to you. Help me to recognize worries and anxiety as soon as they come into my mind, so I can give them straight over to you and not allow them to steal my peace and joy! Thank you for loving me just as I am and dying for me when I was yet a sinner.
In Jesus Name, Amen!

Where We Are Now

We decided after much prayer to go ahead with our home study the way that it is. I talked to two different adoption attorneys in WV that told me that independent LCSW's are authorized to conduct home studies. I just could not get peace about paying the extra money to have an agency update our home study. We made this decision after much prayer and I was led to scripture that confirmed our decision for us. We are going to put our trust in God and see what happens. There are also some issues going on with the SDA. They are saying that all of the dossier slots have been filled for 2008. In the past this did not include dossier submissions for special needs children. At this point we are waiting to see if that is still the case. We plan to try to submit our dossier when I go on my trip over there next Friday,the 11th. Please pray that they will accept our dossier and our home study.

My mom sent me this devotional a few days ago. I thought it was very appropriate for our situation, international adoption in general, and all of our daily lives.

God Values Faith

How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them. Psalms 139:17

How happy would a parent be if his child constantly questioned him whether his needs would be met? The parent would feel frustrated and sad, perhaps even angry that the child did not trust him.
The Bible has scores of references telling us how much it pleases God for us to trust Him for every need. The Roman soldier expressed great faith when he told Jesus just to "say the word" and his servant would be healed. Jesus told His disciples, "Look at the birds...they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?" (Matthew 6:26)
God values our trust in Him above every other character quality. And how do we develop trust? By spending time in God's presence, through prayer, worship, and reading His Word. We develop it also as we step out in faith, and discover He really can be trusted. Are you trusting Him for every need in your life?
Written by Billy Graham

Home Study, Post Placement Update

I haven't updated in a few days because we went to NC for Easter. Before I left the new home study agency sent me a packet of materials. One of the documents that we were supposed to sign and return was a post placement agreement. We didn't sign it because the country we are adopting from does not require post placement visits. Not to mention the cost of the post placement visits are going to cost us around $3,600. So I called West VA Dept. of Health and Human Resources and asked if we are required by WV to complete the 6 post placement visits within the first 6 months after returning home with the girls. I talked to the director over policy and she said, "no, not at all". She told me that the country that we adopt from sets the standards for post placement visits since the children are adopted abroad. I looked up the Title 78 that had been referenced in the agreement and it was for foster placements. It had nothing to do with international adoption. The post placement visits are for after foster children have been placed with an adoptive family BEFORE the adoption is finalized. Our adoption will be finalized abroad and the country we are adopting from sets the standard for post placement visits, according to the director of policy. The country we are adopting from requires post placement reports that are to be filled out by the adoptive parents.

So, basically I refused to sign the agreement and the social worker had the director (that I spoke to) write her a letter stating that the post placement requirements are set by the country where the children are being adopted from. But then she conveniently had her to add "unless the adoption agency or country requires post placements, then they are necessary". The letter was then forwarded to the home study agencies licensing specialist for review.

So I am waiting to see if they are going to come back and require us to do the post placements. I personally have a BIG issue with the state giving the individual adoption/home study agency the authority to require post placement visits. What is the point of creating legislation for agencies to follow if they are going to be allowed to make their own rules anyway?

As it is right now, she is planning on coming out this Friday & Saturday and will not require post placement visits, unless licensing tells her that they are required. I will not be paying for post placement visits unless someone shows me the state legislation requiring or authorizing them to do so. I'd rather take my chances on submitting our home study like it is, with a social worker's license, than pay $3,600 for post placement visits that are not mandated by the country we are adopting from or the state of WV! It's not right!

I emailed the Ukrainian Embassy to the United States to find out if we are required to have our home study backed by a child placing/adoption agency or if the social worker's license will suffice, since she works as an independent. They have a direct email for adoption information. Hopefully they will get back to me soon with an answer. I just found this web-site. I wish I had known about it a month ago. I was looking at the U.S. embassy to Ukraine and it basically said the same thing as the state dept. web-site. I think this will be a more accurate source. They should be able to call the SDA and get answers!

This is all such a money racket! All you want to do is give two children a chance in life and it is made near impossible to get anything accomplished!

We are still waiting on our 2nd set of state background checks. Our original social worker is going to call tomorrow to ask them what is going on.

Well, that's about it. Still messing with the home study issue. Trying not to get ripped off.

On a more positive note; we had a wonderful Easter. I got to spend time with my nephew and that was awesome! He's always a lot of fun! We played with bubbles and airplanes. We missed Chloe terribly, but are so grateful that she was safe in Heaven celebrating Easter with our risen Savior! Easter has never been more real or meant more to me than it did this year. We are so blessed to be adopted into God's family through Christ!

Update & Prayer Request

The special needs foster agency is not going to be able to help us, as I anticipated. I talked to our new social worker today (with the more expensive agency) and she is going to come out on March 28th to meet us and "update" our home study. Today when I spoke to her, she was already working on entering our home study info into their agency format. She said that she will have it completed in time for our trip on April 11th. However, after I told her that it had to be apostilled, before we could submit it to the SDA, she seemed less confident.

I would LOVE to have our dossier submitted on our trip, but it's all in God's hands and He has the perfect timing already worked out. Even it we don't get it submitted on our trip, we are still moving ahead quickly and the paperwork is finally coming to an end! I am still thanking & praising God that we received our I-171h (immigration approval)!!

Bottom line is though, that Nadia is scheduled for transfer in July so every day, much less week, is counting against her being transferred.

Also, we are still waiting on our state background check to come back for the second time. The first notary expired on March 18,2008, so it was basically expired when I got it.

So just be praying that they will send our state background check in time for it to be aspotilled and returned to me before I leave April 11th. And also that our home study will be completed, apostilled, and returned to me before April 11th. Thanks!!

Also, I have a prayer request for a infant girl that just had heart surgery. I'm not sure if I can disclose her name, but God knows who she is. She has not been doing well after her heart surgery. They are having to use a pace maker because without it, her heart beats spardically. She also has not been able to be taken off of the respirator. One of her lungs has a defect that will require later surgery, and her good lung is starting to collapse. They are keeping a check on her for pneumonia. Please keep this little baby girl in your prayers and ask God to heal her lungs and heart. Also, please pray for the family that has been waiting to adopt her domestically.

Thank you for all of your prayers!

Great News, Bad News, Another Lesson Begins

The great news is that we received our I-171h today! They told us 6 to 8 weeks and it would have been 5 weeks tomorrow.

The bad news is that the special needs child placing agency that was supposed to take over our home study is now saying that they may not be able to help us. Apparently, she thought that we live in Charleston instead of Charles Town. Now they are saying that they are only licensed in region 1 of WV, which does not include our county. She is going to check with the licensing department to see if they can help us this one time.

I looked up the WV application for Child Placing Agency License, and sure enough you have to list the counties that you are going to work in. I cannot imagine that they will help us now. It seems to me that a STATE license should cover the STATE, not just certain counties. But who knows?

I am really sick by this since I could have had our home study taken care of last Saturday, even though it would have cost us A LOT more money. At this point, I am just fed up and want it done.

I don't really know what we are going to do now. I emailed the other agency to see if she can come out this Saturday.

He's an On Time God!

Just as we thought that we were going to have to go with the new VERY expensive agency tomorrow, our original social worker called and told me that the agency that works with special needs foster children agreed to work with us!

We are working the details out next week, as it was almost 5:00 when the answer was given. We're not sure of the cost involved yet, but the newest agency told our social worker that it would be a small fraction of the cost that the other agency was going to charge. The newest agency said that they would do everything possible to help us get this worked out within the next two weeks. Praise God!

They will meet us and make sure that all of the state and Hague requirements have been met. We just completed our parent training requirements for the Haugue Convention, so that's taken care of.

So, praise God for that HUGE answered prayer!!! Thank you all for your prayers!!! It's funny how God often chooses to work things out at the last minute. I think He's trying to get my attention to have patience and trust in Him more. lol All of the worrying, griping, and stressing that I have done, and here God comes the day before we are getting ready to go with another agency, and spend a crazy amount of money to get it done, with an answer to our prayer. He's probably thinking, "And let that be a lesson to you." lol

Lesson learned, thank you God! Hopefully, I won't need another lesson for a little while! lol And if I do, hopefully I'll handle it with more trust and peace in the Lord. It's hard, when you so badly want to get the children out of there and it seems like things are going wrong and stacking up against "your" plan. But I just have to remember that God has His own plan and sometimes I need to get out of His way!!

I am so thankful that we have a patient God that loves us in our state of humanness.
He must have a sense of humor as He watches us meddle and try to fix what we think is going wrong.

Home Study Visit Planned for Saturday!

We didn't hear anything from our original social worker today, so I guess there was nothing positive to report from her end. I've given her until Friday to get a solution.

I heard back from the other home study agency and she is able to come out this Saturday!! Thank the Lord!!! Thank you all for praying!!! We have planned for her to come out on Saturday, but she is aware that we are giving our original social worker until Friday to find a solution. The main reason we are giving her until Friday is because of the expense.

So, more than likely on Saturday and Sunday, we will have our new social worker coming in and "updating" our home study. She said she can have it completed it 2 weeks as long as we get our file back from our original social worker. If not, she will have to run our child abuse clearance reports again. I don't believe that it will be an issue.

We are still waiting to see if immigration is going to approve us off of the original home study. That could potentially be another set back. It's been one month since USCIS received our home study. Our notice said we should receive our I-171h within 6 to 8 weeks from the receipt of the home study. So we should have either an approval or rejection within the next 2 to four weeks. I'm praying that it will be an approval, closer to 2 weeks so that we can get our dossier submitted before my trip in April. We were hoping to be able to hand deliver it to the SDA, when I go next month, but right now it's not looking so good for the home team. However, we're praying for a miracle!! It's in God's hands!