We received word that our boys were very happy and excited to learn that we are adopting them.  They received the books, blankets and clothing that we sent.  We were told that they had tears of joy, which is such a relief and encouragement to us!  We also received three new pictures of them and wish we could post them here, but the rules prohibit that.  Stop by the house; we’ll be happy to show you the pictures – they’re very beautiful young children and we can’t wait to get them home.

On Friday, Randy spoke with Homeland Security.  They informed us that we are approved!!! Next, we will receive all the paperwork from them, finalize our dossier, and send it off to the State Department and the Embassy of Ethiopia in Washington, DC.  After that, it goes to Ethiopia for processing.  This is a major milestone and we thank God for all He’s done to bring us this far.  We trust Him for the next steps, financial resources, timing in Ethiopian courts, etc.  Please pray for all these next steps and join us in our thanks.

Just a note, we had to legally change Sary-Jo’s first name (to Sary-Jo, oddly enough) in order to get clearance from Homeland Security.  Her birth certificate lists her as Sarah Josefina, but no other document in existence uses that name for her.  Now she’s legally Sary-Jo so all her documents are in agreement.

After prayerful consideration, we are continuing with the adoption as planned.  We were concerned that the agency might not allow us to proceeed with my job loss.  However, they are very supportive and we appreciate it.  We believe God is asking us to trust Him in a new way and see where He leads.  We know many other people losing their job – none are losing their kids as a result.  We consider the boys as members of our family – not future members of the family.  We still need to bring them home.

Please continue to pray for Randy in his search for a new job.  WRECO is very supportive of him finishing a current project.  Unfortunately, the economy – and especially the housing market – has fallen so far that drastic actions are in order.

Our Home Study is approved!  It was completed by our social worker, then submitted to and approved by the agency’s committee.  So we’re on to the next step, which is completing our dossier and preparing for travel.  The travel will not happen for some time – it will be months, but it’s impossible to predict how many months at this time.  This Thursday, we travel to Yakima to submit our I-600A and get fingerprinted by Homeland Security.  This is how we get the forms that allow us to bring the kids back into the US.  Pray that we will have an eye for detail because any details we miss might be caught overseas and cause major delays.

We are busy compiling all the documents for our dossier.  The exciting news is that we essentially have everything that’s in our control done!!!  Our homestudy should come back next week.  After we receive that we can drive to the Customs & Immigration Service (CIS) office in Yakima to file our request to bring children back into the US.  We have an appointment on March 12.

Last night we noticed an error on Randy’s State Patrol clearance so that will need to be redone.  They used the wrong birthdate on their search and we’re glad we caught the error early.

Continue to pray for the boys’ physical and spiritual health, and that they will adapt to American life quickly.  We have to admit we’re a bit nervous about the trip home as our kids have no life experience to compare to 24 hours of air travel.  So pray for us too, please.

God worked in our hearts and led us to “select” two brothers to join our family.  They’re 6 and 8 years old (or maybe 7 and 9 – nobody is certain).  We’ve seen pictures, read their bios, prayed (and prayed and prayed).  Then we saw video!  They are adorable and we enjoyed seeing them interact with the other children, widows and visitors.  Of course, a lot can happen with the courts and so forth, but we’re pretty sure they will be in our home before the year is out.  They’ve already got a home in our hearts and we pray over their beds all the time – now we can pray their names. 

We’ve got to say that having the responsibility to select was almost more than we could handle.  We want them all!!!  With time and prayer, God impressed upon our hearts that He wants us to have these boys in our family.  We could not have made the decision without time spent with Him.

Please pray for:

• Sary-Jo’s birth certificate to arrive quickly from Puerto Rico
• The boys (“F” and “B”) to learn some English and that they will adapt to a major culture shift
• Our work in the dossier – that it would be assembled properly and accepted rapidly

We finished our part of the homestudy, which included three informative meetings with our Social Worker.  Now she will write up her study and send us a draft to proof-read next Monday.  Next, we’re putting the finishing touches on our dossier, which will make its way to Ethiopia after it’s validated by the US State Department.  We’re waiting for a couple things (such as a certified copy of Sary-Jo’s birth certificate), we’ve got a few things to write (for example, a letter to Ethiopian officials explaining why we’d like to adopt Ethiopian children), and we need to put some documents together with notarization.

We plan to finish our online adoption training this weekend!  Also, please pray for clarity and God’s guidance as we consider which of the “waiting” children to bring into our home as our kids.  The burden of decision is more on us than we anticipated and, on our own, we don’t feel like we’re up to the task of choosing.  We desire to be obedient and to be led to the kids God already picked out.

Our first visit with the Social Worker is Wednesday, Feb. 4, in the evening.  Those praying for us, please pray for honest and open discussion that will equip us to better parent the kids God will be placing in our care.