As many of you may have seen, I have been super busy sewing scarves getting ready for the craft fair that took place this past Saturday. I made a little over 100 scarves just for this craft fair as I was unsure of how many I would sell. Well we had a very successful day, selling 49 scarves at $25 a piece!! We also had someone offer us a spot at another craft fair later this month for free since we are fundraising for our adoption! My sister is also doing a craft fair in a few weeks and is going to sell my scarves too. So far we have sold 139 of my scarves and over 40 of Courtney's scarves! Amazing!!
I heard a quote on the radio the other day that made me laugh because it really rang true to me, they said "When it's God's will, it's God's bill!" I couldn't agree more right now that God is totally paying this bill and it just confirms that we are in His will. We've received additional donations that have completely knocked our socks off and we know that God will bless each and every person that has supported us through prayer, finances, and encouragement! Thank you all!
So the process is moving right along...we received our Home Study approval on March 27th and were able to send our dossier to our agency's home office on April 3rd! They have received it and approved it and will be sending it to the Philippines THIS WEEK!!! Last week we were also able to send in our I-800A to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). This is our application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country. (Hague Convention - protection of children in respect to inter-country adoption) We received notice today that they have received and accepted our application!
What's next? Well, a lot of waiting...but first we will have to go get fingerprinted by USCIS for our application. Then we wait for the approval of the I-800A and meanwhile we've been told it can take between 2-4 months for our dossier to be approved by the Philippines and officially get placed on the list of approved families. Once on the list, they are estimating 12-18 months until we receive a referral of a child. We are believing God that our time frames will be much shorter than expected! If you would like to pray with us please be praying for a quick approval and a speedy referral of the perfect child for us in God's perfect timing!
Habakkuk 2:3 - But these things I plan won't happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, be patient! For it will surely take place. It will not be late by a single day.
