New/LAST Goal ~ Trip #2

Pam ~ We have just one more financial goal to achieve on this crazy adoption journey we have been on.  It has been pretty amazing to see how God has provided for each of our financial "goals".  And now we are eager to see how He will provide again :-).

I want to again mention that we are estimating how much money we will need for each of these trips.  The cost will vary depending on what time of year we travel, if we are bringing home one or two children, how long we stay in Ethiopia, etc.  I have taken the estimates that our agency has given us and estimated on the high side in each area.  I would rather have a little money left over at the end to put toward buying donations for the orphanages in Ethiopia :-), than to not have the money we need to purchase our tickets.

Here is the estimated break-down of costs for Trip #2.

Airfare (2 adults) ~ varies ~ $4,000
In-Country Travel Package (2 adults) ~ varies ~ $2,000 estimate (as with our first trip, this amount will cover our housing, transportation, food, etc. for the time we are in Ethiopia)
Visas (2 adults) ~ $40
Airfare (2 children) ~ varies ~ $2,000
Visas/Embassy Fee (2 children) ~ $808

This brings the our new financial goal to a total of $8,848.

God has already provided over $30,000 towards our adoption via donations from friends/family, fundraisers, overtime pay, and a lot of scrimping and saving on our part :-), and we are confident in His ability to provide this last amount!!!!!!

We honestly never thought that we would still be waiting for our referral.  We officially started this journey via the "paper-chasing" part of the adoption 1 year, 10 months, 3 weeks, and 5 days ago.  That's a long time!!!  We have been on the official waiting list for 1 year, 4 months, and 4 days.  That's a long time to be waiting for a special phone call.

Thank you for all of your prayers and encouraging words!!!!  They are what is getting us through this waiting!!!!!

New Goal - Trip #1

Pam ~ As I so very calmly explained in my last post {insert sarcasm} we have met our referral goal of $9,785!!!!  I still am in shock that God provided the full referral amount in just over 3 months time!!!  Who are we to ever doubt His provision for His children?!?!?!

I have updated our thermometer with our new goal ~ Travel Expenses for Trip #1.  As a reminder, we will be traveling to Ethiopia TWICE before the adoption is finalized.  The first trip will be to meet our children and attend Court, and the second trip will be to attend Embassy and bring our children home {I can't wait for this trip!!!!!}.

This new goal amount has to be estimated because there are variables that can and probably will change.  Specifically, the cost of airfare varies almost monthly and since we don't know when we will be traveling, we have to estimate how much we will be needing.  Here is the breakdown of costs.

Airfare (2 adults) ~ varies ~ $4,000 estimate
In-Country Travel Package (2 adults) ~ varies ~ $2,500 estimate (this will include our housing, transportation, food, etc. for the time we are in Ethiopia)
Visas (2 adults) ~ $40

This brings the total of our new goal to $6,540.  After our referral goal amount of $9,785, this doesn't seem so daunting :-).  God is going to provide and we are excited to see how He will do that.

We are still in the waiting period of our adoption journey.  We have been officially waiting for 3 months, 2 weeks, and 2 days.  The uncertainty is hard.  Will we get a surprise phone call this next week with a referral for our two children (that surprise call has happened to other families that we personally know), or will we continue to wait for many more months?  Only God knows, and we want to be faithful in this time of waiting.  We will continue to work hard, fund raise where we can, and marvel in the greatness of our God.  Thank you for all of your prayers, and please keep them coming!!!!  We couldn't do this without YOUR prayer and support!!!!!

New Goal

Pam ~ Thanks to so many of you who have helped us reach our "Dossier" goal, we now have a new thermometer and a new goal to reach.  Our next financial goal will be saving the money we need in order to accept a referral.  A referral is when our agency will call us with the names, ages, and photos of two siblings who are within our age request and available for adoption.  We will have one week to review their files and choose whether to accept or decline the referral.  When we choose to accept a referral we will have the following fees due:

3rd Installment of Program Fee ~ $1500
Post Adoption Administrative Fee ~ $385
1/2 International Program Fee ~ $3750 times 2 children ~ $7500
International Specialist Consultation ~ varies ~ $400 estimate

That brings our new goal to a total of $9785.  Again, this is our largest goal yet, but God has already provided just under $15,000 towards our adoption and we are confident that He will continue to provide the money exactly when we need it!!!  Please continue to pray for us as we move on to the next step (the waiting period) of our adoption journey!!!