Homestudy update

It is 6am and I'm on my way to Austin. My mom is driving and Hudson is zonked our in his car seat (the reason for leaving so early)

I am going to get the update for our homestudy apostilled. I will then immediately fedex it to a sweet family in Utah who have agreed to hand carry it to the embassy in Gianna's country.

Some friends have asked what's next since we lost Gertie to domestic adoption and how could this affect out fundraising needs?

Gertie was in a different region than Gianna which would have significantly increased our costs. If there is a child available in Gianna's orphanage who we are approved to adopt, going through the process with that child will be significantly less expensive.

This brings me to why we are updating our homestudy. Gianna's country prefers the special needs we are approved for to be specifically listed on our homestudy. We had not discussed many with our social worker because we thought we were going to be adopting Gertie with Gianna. So we have a small update in hand. I am taking it to Austin because its delayed arrival is causing a slight delay in the process.

What happens now? The Utah family will hand carry our papers to the embassy where they will be translated. (It's only one page so hopefully this will be quick). Once they are translated they will be submitted to Gianna's government. Shortly after submittal someone will check on Gianna. (We only know about Gertie because another family happened to be at her orphanage and their facilitator inquired). Then any files for children (whose special needs we are approved for) who are available in Gianna's orphanage/city will be sent to us.

It is very hard for us to be "up in the air" like this. We want to be good stewards with the money that The Lord has provided, and also be sensitive to whatever direction we might be sent in even if it makes no sense to us. We have considered only adopting Gianna. We do not know how sick she is and attachment would be much easier. We do know that we were not put here on earth to have "easy" lives and are up to the challenge that we are called to because we are called. But what is the calling??

For funds we could easily be fully funded if we adopt two kids from the same orphanage. We have two (possibly three) fundraisers left and they could easily provide what we need. In our very human minds, we can see this working and are pretty comfortable.
If we are called to a different region to adopt, it's a little more scary. It is more time consuming and more costly. Oh and more stressful.
So many children are waiting. Many are facing imminent transfer to adult mental institutions. Thinking about them can be overwhelming. So many beautiful children with so much potential.

Will you pray with us as we make these decisions? We do not have to decide before we leave, but it can be helpful if we do.

Peace,
Michele