Perhaps you have seen this video before. If so, I anticipate that you will feel the urge to watch it again. If not, you must watch this brief film. It puts into words and pictures how we feel about adoption and explains why we have pressed on over the last two years.
Like I said, it sums up the passion behind what we're doing. We currently have about $10, 500 left to raise before we leave for Europe at some point this summer. This includes an interest-free adoption loan of $5,000 (which we prefer not to take, but are thankful for this provision.) To us, it is a big mountain to climb. However, we serve a God who says through faith we can move mountains. So, we are trusting that God in His might will throw this mountain out of the way of our progress. We believe this because we know that God loves orphans more than we ever could and it is His will that these children be loved and cared for.
So, we submit our plans to God in faith and we trust in Him for provision. What are our plans? Well, we will continue to operate the etsy store and sell our remaining jarred items as well as prints, bibs and more. You can visit the store and support us here. We also plan to try to sell many of these items at farmer's markets and community sales. Second, we are planning an event that will include garage sales in multiple locations on the same day. The idea is that friends, family or adoption supporters will host a yard sale---big or small---to raise the remaining funds. We are working on sales in Hobart and Valparaiso, but would love to see sales across the region, state, and even the country. If a sale like this is something you might consider hosting, please let me know by commenting on this blog or emailing me at derekchirch@comcast.net. Third, we will probably host a couple of nights at local fast food restaurants where a percentage of profits will go towards the adoptions. Fourth, we will pray for donations and grants to help us. Finally, we will continue to pour as much money into our adoption account as we can over the next couple of months. Most of you know that we work in non-profit ministry, so we are by no means wealthy (by the American standard, at least). But, I think it is important to share that we give a large percentage of our income towards this adoption each month. It is not much, but we want to do everything we can do if we are asking for others to come alongside us.
At this point, it appears we should have all paperwork completed this week. We will get everything notarized and sent to Indianapolis for the apostille process. Meanwhile, our facilitator is already translating our home study and other paperwork we have emailed to her. Once things come back in a week or so, we will send everything overseas. It will likely be a month or less until we are given a travel date. That date could be a couple of weeks away or a month or more away. So, optimistically, we could be leaving in the third week of June. Conservatively, we could leave in early July. Either way, we finally see a light at the end of the tunnel. There is a lot of money to raise and our paperwork needs to move smoothly, but we prayerfully trust the Lord that His timing is perfect here. Thank you all for your prayers, encouragement and giving! We've almost completed the journey!
Then the real journey of becoming a family starts. :)
