Promise686

http://www.promise686.org/
This is the link to Promise 686's website.

We met with a couple today that explained a little more about the ministry of Promise 686, including the grant process. We will be surrounded by other parents who are either going through, or have already completed the adoption process. We will also have support in almost every way possible. The community has been so nice and helpful already. We will have a non-profit account set up for any donations and they will manage it for us, without any administration fees. Not only that, they offer a grant matching any donations up to $4,000. We are so incredibly blessed!!!

Promise 686 helps those who are adopting or fostering. They are part of Perimeter Church's Community Outreach, but do not only serve Perimeter members. So, if you are in the Atlanta area and plan to adopt of foster, I highly recommend you check them out.

Final Home Visit

Yay! We are almost finished with the home study process!!!

Joe ended up having to go back and redo his fingerprints. We thought it was because of his sweaty hands, but the guy there said it was because Joe works so much with his hands that the lines are hard to read. If everything is turned in by others soon and the prints are good enough, our home study should be complete by the end of next week!

We are meeting with Promise686 this weekend, hopefully. We are excited to get plugged in and also start fund-raising. God has really worked on my heart about pride. I am seeing the blessing that others get when we let them help. We both enjoy the blessing when we help others, so I don't know why it was so hard to receive. I guess I don't want anyone to feel pressured. So, if you would like to get a fund raising letter, let me know. We definitely need prayer warriors. So don't feel bad if that is what you can contribute. Prayers are very valuable!!!

The next step is to work on the dossier. I'm still not sure of what all that entails, but it looks like there are at least 2 forms we have to fill out. One of them is for immigration. We will have to get our finger prints done again, only this time in Atlanta. The cost of the form is $670 and $80 a print. It is pre-approval to be able to bring our baby back to the states with us. The other form is for the US. In their words, "This form is required for most family-based immigrants and some employment-based immigrants to show that they have adequate means of financial support and that they are not likely to become a public charge." This form looks long and complicated. But, there are LOTS of pages breaking it down. I wish they had a Turbo tax-like program for it. HA!

I guess I'll find out more once the home study is complete and we can officially start working with the adoption agency. So, Joe and I get a little break before another phase of paperwork and meetings come along. This is actually great timing, because Joe needs to focus on seminary more, and I am getting to the point of the school year, where I have a LOT of assessments and paperwork to do with my students. Even though this time of year for us teachers is crazy busy, I actually LOVE the time I have with my students. Once the assessments are done, we can slow down and enjoy each other more before they leave me and move up to another grade. It is bitter-sweet.

Interviews and then more Korean cooking!

It has been a long but good day. I stayed late at work so that we could meet with our social worker there. Since Joe also works in the same building and it is MUCH closer to the social worker than our house, we thought it would be better. So, we started at about 3:45pm. I had my interview first. I was asked questions about my childhood, schooling, my relationship with my parents then and now, my relationship with my brother then and now, my relationship with Joe's family, and what color underwear I was wearing. For those of you who were not asleep, the last one was a joke. I really can't remember what else, but there was so much that we finished a little before 5pm. Then, it was Joe's turn. We finally finished and left work at around 6pm. (If that doesn't sound late to you, remember that we get to work at 6:45am.)

Then, we got to drive home in traffic. Actually, it wasn't as bad as I was anticipating. But then again, Joe was driving. HA! I had planned on cooking another Korean dish not thinking about how much time it would take to chop everything up. I don't use a food processor and prefer to do it by hand probably because that is how my mom always does it. There is a picture of it at the top. This is called chopche. It is clear noodles with a soy sauce base and yummy veggies such as carrots, Korean spinach, onions, and green peppers. It also has some beef called bulgogi. I made the bulgogi yesterday. And yes, I did marinate it myself. I guess all of those lessons my omah(mommy) gave me stuck! And Joe is happy to enjoy the results.

So,our final home visit is Wednesday! After that, we are only waiting on Joe's fingerprints to be processed and a medical form from his doctor before our social worker can finish up all the paper.

Kimbop!

Most people I know, when talking about family driving trips, talk about fond memories of picnic lunches with sandwiches and chips or stopping at restaurants. Well, I used to look forward to stopping at a rest area and eating kimbop! I call it the Korean version of sushi. Oh, and I don't use fish or crab. I don't like seafood. Yeah, I'm not a good Korean eater in that area. BUT THANKFULLY, there are versions with ground beef, chicken, hot dogs, spam, or whatever.

I made this from scratch today. It took about 2 hours for all of the work. I feel more empathy for my mom, because she used to make more than twice as much. The longest part is preparing each individual part for the inside, including seasoning the rice. I generally don't put as much ingredients, but it just tastes slim without the extra stuff. I think my mom would be proud. : )

I found a great website with the process broken down

http://www.adoptkorea.com/

This website breaks the entire process down in a detailed manner. If you want to know more specifically what paperwork and other things we have to do, just check it out. : )

God is Faithful

Talk about last minute!! I called the doctor yesterday a couple of times and my medical paperwork still wasn't complete. That was the last piece of paperwork we needed to turn in for both our application and our home study. Well, the receptionist calls me at 4:55 to tell my it is finally ready. She faxed it to me just a few minutes before the social worker arrived. Joe and I have both been (and still are) dealing with nausea since Friday night, but felt okay during our first home visit. After she left, we laid down and fell asleep at 9am. Praise God! It was the first night since we got sick that we slept all through the night.

I'm not sure if Joe and I ate something bad or what, but we can't shake the nausea. I felt great this morning, but it came back when I took the kids (my students) to recess. We walked a lot and I think it really wore me out.

Here is another praise. . .
I have been praying about what I can do this summer to earn some extra money for the adoption and getting the house ready for a baby. I thought about all sorts of things from tutoring, to working at Camp-All-American with Jr. Camp, to working as a cashier somewhere. I also knew that I would have to work on curriculum stuff for my grade level. I had actually thought and prayed about maybe seeing if I could do some things for the school and get paid. Well, when I was meeting with my principal this morning, she offered me a job doing something for the school over the summer!! I really needed a good reminder of his faithfulness.

So, next week we have our individual meetings with the social worker and another home visit. Then, she gets our home study together!! We get a little break from paperwork before another round starts. Hopefully, this stomach thing gets better so we can enjoy it.

Spring Break

We had so many wonderful plans this week. But I guess God had other plans for us. We did get maybe half of the things we wanted to do for the adoption stuff done, but not everything. We took 2 out of the 4 courses we need to take. We are in the middle of the 3rd one right now. It has 20 chapters and seems to be taking us about 30 minutes each chapter. So, we are doing it a few chapters at a time. The information we are getting is great! Some of it is redundant, but they really make us think about what we are getting ourselves into. It is also making us realize more of what "we have been adopted into God's kingdom" means. We are seeing more of God's role through this process and how He helps us with this adjustment. Coming from a worldly mind to a kingdom mind is not a one-time transition. We often believe lies or go back to our former ways out of comfort or habit. God is so patient with us. One of the suggestions they give to adoptive parents to help form a bond is to take the child places to where they would want to cling to us. Doesn't God do that to us? Another one is that once we get the child, to take time for us to bond with our child without others. Isn't that what our "honeymoon" stage is like when we first come to faith? We are warned not to force our child to be at a certain developmental stage, but to wait for the child to feel comfortable and slowly guide them. God is patient with us and doesn't force us. He often waits until we let go and hold on to him. There is so much more!

We have our first home meeting tomorrow. We got sick Friday night and are still feeling a bit wheezy. We were forced to pretty much do nothing but rest and sleep all day yesterday. When we tried to do a chapter, we felt even sicker and decided to hold off on any more. So, today, we are slowly doing what we can to organize and later cleanse the house of bacteria so no one else gets sick. My medical forms are taking a while too. I went in last Monday and have stopped by several times this week for one reason or another. The final issue is that the lab lost my urine sample and so I had to give another one and wait for it to come back. That is the final piece of paperwork we have to turn in as part of our application. It is a bit frustrating because it should have been done earlier this week. But God knows what is going on and I guess there is a reason. Maybe to make me more patient. . .

After our home meeting, we have individual interviews and then another home meeting. The plan, so far, is to have all that done within the next week or two. Then, we can get plugged in with Promise686 and start raising support. That has been another frustrating thing because any money donated so far is on standby until we get this non-profit account set up. Until then, all expenses are coming out of our not-so-big savings account. Every time we turn around, there is another unexpected expense, including Joe's seminary classes. But God is providing.

Please continue to pray for the things listed below. I am battling fear and anxiousness. I know that God has a plan and will not fail us. I just need to hold on to it and stop looking at our present circumstances.