the one with the fundraising

as I've said before...we don't want to ask for money.  but this process is very expensive. and we know God will provide all we need...but it might be through you that He does that. we know so many people out there might have a heart for orphans, but not know quite how to help... 

there are big organizations, and I have donated to them before.  there are some good ones, but I always wonder how the money is used and I'd like to be more connected, invested.  I love donating when I know it's going to help someone follow God's plan!

some fund raisers involve buying something and the person who is raising money gets a tiny portion of the price.  I always feel like my money would be put to better use if I just gave the $20 to the family instead of buying a t-shirt that will sit in my closet and they only get $5.

 but that's just me.

 I think everyone is different.  I want to just donate, but some people want some thing in return for their "donation".  and that's ok, that is why there are so many options!

so, because everyone is different, we will be having some different fundraisers.


we have decided our first fundraiser will be purely donation based.  it is fairly simple and something that we will do for a long time...

the puzzle fundraiser.

how this works is that we have this beautiful 500 piece puzzle of a pagoda and plumb blossoms...

and for a $10 donation, you can be a piece of the puzzle that brings our sweet girl home to us. we will write your name on the back of a puzzle piece and start building it.  I will give updated pictures as we build so we can have a visual of how far we've come. Then when it's complete we will frame it in a double sided frame so we can see all the names on the back and remember all the wonderful support we have received from friends and family.  then we will hang the finished puzzle in our home so we can have that reminder always! if we build the whole puzzle that is $5,000!  (the price of two plane tickets to China)

you can donate by cash or check, in person or by mail, as well as you can use paypal to give us a "personal gift" to my email address (chikkadea at gmail dot com).  you can buy one piece or many. but anything helps us towards our goal!  If fund raisers aren't for you, don't worry...you can help just by praying for us and our journey....  it is hard!  but sooooo worth it!  and we thank each and every one of you for your love and support! so please, pray and ask God if you are meant to be a part of our puzzle.

we will have more fundraising opportunities to come...so stay tuned!!

the one with the home study

hi!  we had such a busy week here last week!  first we received an amazing update on our girl!  she looks so big in the new pictures and we even got a video!  I can't share them just yet since we haven't gotten our approval from China for her yet...but soon, I hope!  but we now know the other pictures we had were older because she looks so grown up!  we also learned some great news about her upbringing; for at least some of the last 7 years it is believed she was fostered through love without boundaries.  that is contradictory to what the initial report we got said, but all the pictures and the video was done by them, so I am inclined to believe they have been involved.  this is great news as it means she was probably well cared for!

so, next, we had our first home study visit last week!  FINALLY!  I feel like we should be past this point by now so it has been frustrating feeling like we are moving so slowly.  I keep having to remind myself....God's timing, not mine...

I was so nervous thought, wanting the house and the kids to just be perfect, I know they say not to worry about that, but I was ....but the visit went great! our social worker has adopted from China too so she has been in our shoes which I think is great. she also lived there for 4 years!  I think she will provide some great insights as we go along.  our next visits are not going to follow as quickly as I hoped either, our social worker is just too booked ... God's timing, not mine...but if you think about it please pray her schedule opens up and we can move the visits up :)

UPDATE: I had meant to post this yesterday but got distracted...today I got a call that the social worker had a cancellation and we are moving our visits up...we will be done with the home study by Thanksgiving!!! Praise the Lord!

the one with orphans

november is national adoption month....today was orphan sunday...

the church we go to did not even mention it!  and there are several adoptive families!  I was very disappointed.

I have so much I want to say but  she says it better...so does she.

my heart is aching today for my girl.

she is alone, abandoned, without a family. God has called us to be his hands and feet...all that stands in the way is several thousand miles...and lots of red tape!  I am so disheartened with how far we still have til we can even think about going to get our sweet daughter.

one of the hurdles we have is paying for this process.

as stated in the blogs above...maybe you aren't the one to bring a child home...maybe you are to be the pocketbook to others who are the hands and feet.  for years we have supported ministries we felt God leading us to, because that is something we could do for them at that time.

so, I encourage you to see if you are being asked to help support an orphan, and if helping us bring our girl home is one way God is nudging you, we would be so grateful.

I don't want to ask for money, but I know God has a plan and that HE will provide...maybe through you.

we will be conducting some fundraisers over the next few months. pray. see what God is asking from you and if you feel led, please consider helping us make a difference for one.