UPDATE, MUST READ!

Change is never easy.
Waiting is hard.
Patience is a virtue.
All these sayings have never been as true as right now.

First of all change. You must be thinking what on earth could have changed. You're still waiting aren't you? Yes, we are. But in the last two weeks we have changed who we are waiting with. Sadly, we have had to say good-bye to the agency we were working with. Details aren't necessary but believe me when I tell you we agonized over this decision. However, even through the agony we knew we were making the right choice and there was a peace (after the storm and tears) that passes all understanding.

The agency we are now waiting with is Holt International and because of this we had to raise an extra $11,000.
Between, our first application, home study fees, certification fees, authentication fees, running around here and there collecting more and more documents (b/c China will not accept docs over 6 months old), medical exams, and finally dossier fee we have already paid $10,000. Now that we are switching agencies we had to pay another application fee ($300) and once we are matched with a child they will invoice us their program fee which is anywhere from $9,360 (if the child has severe special needs) to $11,360 (if the child has more minor correctable special needs). We think we will be closer to $11,000 since we are in the minor correctable special needs field. Last week when we first heard this number we about choked and for about 1.5 seconds we both panicked! BUT GOD! It's been one week since then and we are only about $1,000 away from having the program fee. WOW!!!!! Its been an intense week and I'm thankful beyond words to the people thus far who have contributed to our cause.
We have always said, we're not asking for help to raise her, just help us bring her home!
We sent out 101 support letters Tuesday and we're already having them come back to us. People never cease to amaze me. We said it in our support letter and I'll say it again. In this whole journey money has never been primary but prayer is!!! We couldn't do any of this without your prayers. THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Patience is a virtue and I am continually learning I don't have enough of it.
Once we are matched and pay our program fee we will have about 6-8 months to raise the remainder of our funds needed to travel and pick up our little girl. Our agency recommends having $10,000.00. A large portion of this will of course be airfare and depending when we travel could be much more. We are not at all freaked out by this enormous amount of money. God will provide when He needs to provide. He is never early and never late. I am so thankful for the group of friends God has put in our life to support us with ideas for fundraising and not just on the think tank side but also the execution of it all.

What you can do:
PRAY! PRAY! PRAY!
Pray for us, pray for others adopting. Pray for fund raising ideas. Pray for funds. God is in this, I have no doubt!!!
Please pray for my friends Mandy and Ray. They are leaving for the Congo today to pick up their little angels. The Congo is very unstable and there are a lot of uncertainties. Please pray for peace, comfort and wisdom for every step.
Please pray for my friend Tracy who is leaving Sunday to go to Uganda in hopes she will bring home her little angel J. She and her husband, Jason have been waiting almost 2 years and Uganda is moving so slow. Pray for all the red tape mess she is dealing with and that the right paperwork will be right where it needs to be.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!