Moving forward!

Thanks for everyone's prayers, encouragement, and advice. We really have appreciated it and taken it all to heart. Well, after a lot of prayer and research, we have decided on a new agency, CAH. We called several agencies and talked to tons of references from each and felt the best about one, local North Carolina agency. The agency that was recommended for us by CWA, Nightlight, was very friendly and helpful but just didn't have a lot of experience in Kaz adoptions. We feel good about this new agency, although we will need to re-do some of our paperwork over the next couple of weeks. We'll keep everyone posted on what's next in this adventure we have embarked upon!

Any recommendations?

Thanks for all the supportive comments already. It really is encouraging. The agency that is being recommended to us to transfer to is Nighlight Christian Adoptions. Does anyone know anything about them? Recommend them or not?

Thanks again!

Need prayer more than ever right now

Well, I have yet again another prayer request. Our adoption agency called us two days again and said that they were shutting down the Kazakhstan program due to problems with their in-country partners. Long story short, we are pretty devastated and confused. We have a couple decisions to make soon. Our agency has kind of made a deal with another agency to take our the cases of those who were in the process, but we don't know anything about this agency or what additional costs there might be yet. They also said to expect a longer time frame if we do go with them. Our other option is to get whatever money back we can and go back to square one. We do still feel like God wants us to adopt. We aren't sure what we are exactly supposed to do right now though. Please pray that we receive direction and guidance over the next few days as we need to make a decision fairly quickly.
We are trusting in God's plan and timing and really just want to do what He wants us to do (but we were really excited to get a baby this summer so it is hard). Thanks for your support and I'll keep everyone posted.

FBI Clearance Came In! Hooray!

The FBI clearance came in a couple of days ago! Thanks for your prayers. We have had a couple of other paperwork problems but most all should be resolved soon. We did have to request a letter from the medical board of NC saying that our doctor is in good standing. We are praying that the letter comes tomorrow in the mail. Then, all we have to do is send the rest of our documents to the NC Secretary of State to get apostilled. I am praying that we can have all the dossier done and to the adoption agency by next Monday. I should hear back tomorrow from one of the ladies at the adoption agency on whether or not we have to redo anything else. Please pray that everything is okay!

The top picture is of some of our documents that are already apostilled and the other picture is me working on more paperwork :). I am trying to document some pictures of the experience, mostly for our baby who will one day want to know the story of how she got home. I won't have those growing belly maternity pics but this is kind of like an equivalent I guess :)

Thanks for partnering in this with us! You all are such a blessing!

Family of God

Thanks for all the support from everyone! Your emails and words of encouragement have meant a lot. It is so comforting to know that we aren't alone in this journey but that there are others that we know and even those that we don't who are willing to petition the Lord on our behalf. How humbling and wonderful!

By the way, Robby called the FBI on Friday and the lady he talked to was very nice and acted as if she was going to try and get things rolling. So, hopefully we will hear something soon.

Thanks again!

Please Pray!

Hi everyone!

Still no word on the FBI clearance and we have hit a few more bumps as well! Several of our 30+ documents are nearing "expiration" now that things have been delayed with the FBI. Also, our social worker is having to get a letter from her licensing board since her license is expiring in a few months and we don't know how long that will take either. Please pray that we will receive our other documents quickly so that we will not have to redo all the others. I have been stressing out but trying to remind myself that God is in control of everything. He is taking care of our baby even though we are not there to protect or care for her.

Thanks so much for your prayers!

Merry Christmas!

Hello! I am writing to ask you all to please pray for our paperwork as we have come to a little roadblock. I have been waiting for the last few weeks for our FBI background check to arrive and have yet to see it. I was told it should be here within two weeks and it has already been over 3 weeks now. Please pray that we will receive it soon as it is the last document needed for our dossier. The next step will be for us to scan and email all our documents to our case manager to review before we send them all to be apostilled. After that, it's time for it to be translated into Russian and then sent to the Kazakhstan Embassy! I am praying that God would bless our paperwork and all those whose hands it passes through. Thanks for all your prayers! We appreciate it so much!

Above is a picture of Kazakh Christmas stockings :)

FYI

As Kazakhstan was once part of the Russian Federation, many similarities still exist and sadly the state of orphans is one of those. Here is a quote from a great book that I have called, Successful Adoption: A Guide for Christian Families.

"There are more than four million orphans and homeless children in Russia. Officially, there are 700,000 orphans living in 2,000 state-run orphanages. Statistics show that only one out of ten Russian orphans become functional members of society. The others are lost to drugs, crime, and suicide." -Ascent Russian Orphan Aid Foundation 2005

I feel like if more people knew statistics like this, then they might also feel compelled to adopt.

USCIS Approval Received!

We received approval from the US government yesterday to adopt from Kazakhstan! We are really excited that it got processed so quickly. You are amazing, God!

Born In My Heart

I read an article a while ago about how one adoptive mother noted one difference in adopting a baby opposed to carrying a biological baby. She stated that when she was pregnant with her first child, her growing belly and the baby's movements reminded her and her husband that a baby was on the way. Then when they adopted their second child, that physical reminder wasn't present. She talked about how her husband bought her a special necklace that represented the baby that was going to be theirs and how it was a physical reminder when they looked at it.

I thought that was special, so I did some researching online for something cheap that could be that for us and found this lady who makes necklaces specifically for adoptions from different countries. I tried to take a picture of the one I bought but couldn't get a clear picture so I took one from her website (DosBesitos off etsy.com). My pendant is a map of Kaz on the front and says "Born In My Heart" on the back. It is a good reminder of where God is leading us and that we have to trust Him in this process.

The Process From Here

Good news! Our home study has been completed and sent off to the US gov. for approval. We should hear something back within 30 days if we are accepted as adoptive parents. The next step once we receive the approval letter (also known as the I-171H form) is to collect the 30+ documents needed for our dossier to send to Kazakhstan. All of the documents must be notarized, apostilled, and then translated into Russian (which is the national business language, Kazakh is the official language). After our documents reach Kazakhstan, the agency has told us we should receive a Letter of Invitation to travel to Kazakhstan to meet our child about 3-4 months later and then the actual travel is usually a couple of weeks after that.

We will travel for the first trip which will last approximately 3-4 weeks. During that time, we will meet our baby and spend a mandatory 14 day bonding period with her. After that, we will hopefully go to court to finalize the adoption a few days later. At that time, most families return home for a mandatory two week post-court wait and then one parent will fly back to pick up the child. We are praying that I (Emily) will be able to stay in country with the baby during that time and continue the bonding process until I can take her home.

Well, that's the process from here in a nutshell. Thank you all for praying!

This is a picture from a blog of another family who adopted from Kazakhstan from their time at the orphanage. Here is the address of their blog: www.jacgray.blogspot.com

Aren't they all so cute!?!

Home Study Visit #2

So, we had our second and last home study visit today. Woo hoo! Getting the home study finished is like making it through the first trimester. Next step is to get approval back from the US government saying that we are approved to be adoptive parents. Hopefully, we will receive that over the next 4-5 weeks. Second trimester, here we come!

A Little About Kazakhstan

• Full name: Republic of Kazakhstan
• Population: 15.5 million (UN, 2008)
• Capital: Astana
• Largest city: Almaty
• Area: 2.7 million sq km (1 million sq miles)
• Major languages: Kazakh, Russian
• Major religions: Islam, Christianity
• Life expectancy: 62 years (men), 72 years (women) (UN)
• Monetary unit: 1 Kazakh tenge = 100 tiyn
• Main exports: Oil, uranium, ferrous and nonferrous metals, machinery, chemicals, grain, wool, meat, coal
• GNI per capita: US $5,060 (World Bank, 2007)

The Kazakhs, for whom the country is named, constitute about 46% of the population (compared to 32% in 1970). Russians, who came to live in large numbers during the Soviet period, constitute 35%, Ukrainians, 5%, and ethnic Germans, 3%; the remaining 11% consists of smaller numbers of other European and Asian peoples. The culture and food reflect this and most people are bilingual in Kazakh and Russian or another language.

The educational and health-care systems, developed under the USSR, follows Soviet model, although some changes were introduced since independence in 1991. Restrictions on religion, for example, have been relaxed. The traditional Kazakh was nomadic and pastoral, but today their way of life and cultural expressions show strong Russian influences.

Kazakhstan, a land of nomadic mystical culture is expressed in oral epics, legends, ritual songs, and from the 19th century, in a written literature strongly influenced by Russian traditions. Today most Kazakhs are rural dwellers, but a few remain shepherds and in former traditional work roles. Racially of Mongolian descent and Muslim tradition, they give the impression of classic Mongol warriors when mounted on horseback and garbed in their native clothing. Their way of life, the least Islamized of any of the Central Asian Turks, is richly infused with customs, painting a tapestry of an ancient Asian culture with Soviet suppression and influence. Kazakhstan's economy is still closely tied to Russia's, but Kazakhstan is promoting investment to improve their social conditions. Infant mortality rate is 64 per 1000 births as compared to Russia's 25/1000.

Life is hard in Kazakhstan. Poverty is still widespread and Kazakhstan continues to face major economic challenges, particularly with unemployment and inflation. At the same time, an elite group of people have grown very rich since independence through privatization and other business deals which opposition figures allege to have been corrupt.

Kazakhstan Adoption Video

This link is to a video that one family put together of when they adopted their daughter from Kazakhstan. It is a sweet video and gives some insight into the culture as well. I think you will have to copy and paste it into the top.

http://eventidefields.com/video/journey_to_jemima.mov


By the way, our fingerprints were accepted by the government! Yay! Thanks God!

First Home Study Visit ...kind of

Tonight we had a skype video visit with our social worker who is doing our home study. It is considered our first visit even though it is via video. Our second visit will be at the house next week. We are excited to be checking things off the list!

Fingerprinting

Hello!

We went to Charlotte yesterday to get fingerprinted with Rob and Emily (Robby's parents). They had to be fingerprinted too since we are living in their house while we are building ours. The US government requires that adoptive parents and anyone over 18 yrs old be fingerprinted at an immigration office so that the FBI can run background checks on us. Please pray that all our prints will be accepted. Sometimes they get denied if they aren't clear enough and you have to go back and do them over again. We should know in about a week if ours were excepted. One step closer to our baby girl!

Welcome!

Welcome!

Thanks for joining with us on our journey to adopt our daughter from Kazakhstan!