An international adoption is no walk in the park. Along with a stack of paperwork as tall as I am the adoption comes with a hefty price tag, somewhere around $30,000.00. We have about $6,000 left to raise. Our fundraising efforts are ongoing and will not stop until Samuel is home with us. We appreciate all the support we have gotten so far from everyone involved. Continued support would be greatly appreciated, as Samuel will not be the last child we help.
As many of you know our daughter, Hannah, was born with Spina Bifida and is permanently affected by it. Samuel the boy we are seeking to adopt was born with Spina Bifida as well. His mother was told he would never walk, and so she gave him up — but he is starting to walk now and doing quite well. Given our experience with Spina Bifida it breaks our heart to see a child cast off because of a handicap. When we found out about Hannah’s condition the first place we turned to was Immanuel and the Lord. Through the continued love and support of our congregation Hannah has flourished and defied many doctors. We hope that Samuel will do the same once he is part of our church family.
Over the past 8 months Laura and I have been fingerprinted, blood drawn and tested, pictures taken and pretty much everything else you can think of in preparation for Samuel to come home. At this moment we are completing our Dossier, which is all the paperwork for Sam’s local government. Once these are accepted we will receive our first travel date. We can hardly wait to travel. We will meet our Son for the first time. For the past 8 months our family has surrounded ourselves with the story and pictures of Sam trying to imagine what he like in person. Samuel himself does not even know what our family and all of you guys have done for him, he soon will. We are so excited to bring Samuel home so that our Church family can show him God’s love.
Samuel will not become another worldwide statistic. Our hope as a family is that our adventure might inspire someone else to start their own adventure to help a child. Throughout this process God has worked through our family. God has a plan and it is a great one. When we were pregnant with Hannah we asked God “Why” and now all we say is “Thank You!”
