China Orphanage Mission Trip meeting....

To anyone interested in working in an orphanage in Chaoyang, Liaoning, China this July, there will be an informational meeting next Sunday, January 11, at 3:00 pm. It will be held at Living Word Fellowship. This will be the team's third trip back to the orphanage, and we are anxious to get planning. The trip is directed under Visiting Orphans. Any questions, feel free to Email me!.

Financing Adoption....

One of the frequent comments I get regarding international adoption is “I hear it’s really expensive,” to which I answer “Our girls are priceless!” Seriously though, unless you’re independently wealthy, which we are not (we’re both teachers), it does take some financial planning. There are many variables in the cost of adoption, with the largest factor being the country you choose. The bulk of the cost comes in the travel, which some countries require two visits, some one, and some the child is brought to you. The length of the visit can be anywhere from five days to three weeks. Some require both parents come, and some one, so you can see where the variances come in. Adoption agency fees vary from agency to agency. Some want the bulk of the money up front, but our agency had a beginning, middle, and final payment. Other fees along the way are such things as US government adoption requirements, notaries, doctor visits, homestudy fees, translation fees, etc. I say all this not to scare you away from adoption, but when you are looking for agencies, find out ahead of time what their fee schedule is and what is included through their agency, and what is paid outside of them, so that you’re not caught off guard by hidden fees.

So how are families able to come up with the money for adoption? The following is a list of ideas of tried and true ways the families on this site have come up with, and some others that we have seen families use. You will be amazed at how supportive the people and communities around you can be:

*garage sales….ask people around you to donate items, and to make things easier on you, don’t price items. Just ask for donations towards the cause. One of the families here raised over $4,000 this way!
*raffles
*bake sales
car wash
*frequent flyer miles….others can donate them to you also
*one year interest free credit card which you can pay off when you get your tax rebate the following year (see list on right regarding the adoption tax credit)
*many grants available, especially for special needs children (again, see list on right)
*send out donation letters
*host a dinner evening featuring food and entertainment based on the country you’re adopting from
*your agency may have a fund set up where friends/family can donate directly to you and have it be tax deductible. AWAA called it the Eternal Family Adoption Assistance Program, but many agencies have a similar program.
*do you or someone you know have a “home party” business? My parents sell jewelry and hosted a party with profits towards our adoption. A photographer offered to host a family photo session day for the same reason.
*Home equity loan

This in no way is an inclusive list. For more ideas, Google “adoption fundraiser” and you will come across many creative ideas. If you think of something to be added to our list, please give us your ideas. Also, if you are in the process of adopting and would like to let our audience know of any fundraiser you are having, let us know too and we will try and get the word out for you.

Consider Adoption

I ran across a post with this exact title, on a blog of a family whom we have met through the adoption world. She is n amazing woman of God who writes beautifully about orphans and adoption. I am going to request permission from her to share her blog with all of you. For the time being, here is a video that she shared with all of us today. I pray that it encourages each of you who is considering adoption. 

The Process #1

Although the process is very different for each adoption route there are a few things that are similar. The most similar part of any adoption process is the homestudy. Every process will include communication between you and an agency or lawyer. You will also be required to have background checks and finally fingerprinting. 

A social worker is who completes the homestudy step of the adoption process. In some cases your adoption agency will provide one for you. If you have a choice though, do not be afraid to use a reputable social worker if you can get an appointment sooner or if it might save you some money.

For our homestudies we used Dru Groves from A Center for Adoption Services. She was an incredible social worker. She not only competed our homestudies in a timely manner she was always there if we had a question or concern. 

We we were very nervous before Dru arrived in our home the first time. We cleaned corners of our house that we never think of. I even got out the paint and touched up nicks in the wall! Since I knew that Dru would be between three homes that night I invited her to eat dinner with us. When we sat down our youngest son (at the time) grabbed Dru's plate and dished her up some food. It was so cute how intent he was to be helpful. She said, "wow, that was SO nice, your family just passed the homestudy!" He got a BIG smile, we all laughed and the nervousness just went out the window. 

Your homestudy is just a reflection of you. It is the story of facts about your present, information about your past and dreams of your future. Dru did look through our home, but not to give us a white glove test. She made comments in our homestudy about where our future child's room was in accordance to the bathroom. It cracked me up! Nothing about the fresh paint on the walls or how immaculate the top back corner of the kitchen cabinet was! I suppose since she never pulled out a step ladder to climb up there that she did not known. 

For China we were required to meet with our social worker a minimum of four separate times. We were able to bunch two times together so it really only took two weekends. Both my husband and myself had to write a biography. That was the weirdest thing for me to think about doing. Once I got started though it came pretty easy. It is a simple story of your life. 

Communicating with our agencies was harder for me than with our social worker. I wanted to keep a nice balance of calling when I needed to but not overwhelming them. With a lawyer just the cost of communication would help balance this. I learned very quickly that I should probably take a few minutes to read the information that they had just sent me and not just glance over it before calling. Almost ALL my questions could be answered in their paperwork. Some times it was not though and you should call them! Don't sit around worrying about a question. Your agency is there to help you and they cannot fix things that they do not know about. Just remember that you are on the same team. It can be very easy to try and find someone to blame when things are not going smoothly. Just continue to trust in God's timing and perfect plan for building your family. He is the one ultimately in control. 

Our social worker did a background check on us and our older sons in our home. I do not know what the age cut off was but they were both over the age of 14 when we had them done. It was a simple form that we filled out and mailed to her with permission to look for information on us. There was another process in the China and Vietnam adoption paperwork that called for a letter of a clear record. I had to go to the local police station to get this. It cost us $25 each and was a simple statement. It is not the same as a background check that your social worker does but is an adoption step of some adoption processes. 

Our fingerprinting was done in Yakima for our first adoption. It was the easiest part of our entire adoption! They were very efficient and polite. For our second adoption we had to go to Seattle with appointments. It took forever (did I say forever? I meant to say for stinking ever!) I would MUCH rather spend the day riding in car than sitting in a loud building with more people than should be allowed in such a small space. We made out Yakima trip a date time and enjoyed dream building our family along the way.

That is a few of the common steps of the process in a large nutshell. You will hear words like dossier and many acronyms thrown around. Don't stress out too much about them. We will try to explain them along the way but if we don't please don't hesitate to contact us and ask! In my next process post I will explain a bit about notaries, apostles and certifications. 

ESPN Adoption Video

International Adoption information

Below is a list of various Countries that are accepting applications for adoption and basic wait times and travel information. Keep in mind that it can vary from agency to agency and that this is very basic. None of the information is set in stone and you should be sure to check with your agency on exact time frames and rules.

Ethiopia
Married couples and single women may apply
2-7 months for referral with some children available immediately upon completion of Dossier
One week stay - only 1 parent must travel
9-12 average months from start to finish

China
28-32 months for referral of non special needs child
Shorter time frames for couples adopting special needs children
2 weeks spent in China to complete adoption
Married Couples may apply

Rwanda
1-6 months for a referral

Russia
8-12 months from completion of paperwork to referral
2 trips needed to complete adoption
Both parents must travel
First trip approximately 1 week
Second trip 14-21 days
2-4 months between trips
Married couples and Single women can apply

Ukraine
2-4 referrals to choose from once in country
Sometimes 2 trips is required to complete adoption
Usually spend 4-6 weeks in country
Approximately 15 months to complete an adoption

Kazakhstan
Couples and single females may apply
More then one referral to chose from once in country
2 trips required
3-4 weeks in country on first trip
5-7 days during second trip

Columbia
18 months to referral from completion of documents
both parents must travel but one may return home after 1 week in country
4-6 week stay in country

The Beginning!

In an effort to share our enthusiasm for adoption and other orphan ministries, we are starting this blog. We pray that it is a source of inspiration and encouragement as you consider or walk out the calling you have for the orphans of this world. Our first event will be on November 16, 2008 2:00 pm at Living Word Fellowship in Oak Harbor, WA. It will be an Adoption Awareness Seminar. We will have guest speakers and various agency information available. We look forward to seeing you all there!