Working hard at waiting.

          It is August, this summer has flown by. In our last post we shared that we finally completed our home study! Praise the Lord! With completing our home study we were able to move to the next step in the process. We were officially accepted into the India program with WACAP, which has a very reputable India program. This seemed like a dream. We were finally in the process officially. So we signed our contracts with them and paid the first agency fee. (that one stung the old bank account for sure.)  We then completed our documents needed to get registered with the Central Adoption Resource Authority, CARA. This is a major approval where India states you are eligible to adopt from their country. The normal timeline for CARA approval ranges from 4-6 weeks, however there have been major transitions in CARA and now the timelines have increased. We were registered for CARA on June 13th and now we wait every day to receive notification that we have been approved.  
After the approval we can begin looking at referral files for children, and then when we find the boy God designed our family for we will begin pursuing our son to bring him home. Here is a wonderful infographic one of my fellow adoptive mammas shared. It is the most gratifying feeling, being able to mark off boxes in this chart. 

We've been asked many questions along the way, especially how long till you get to go to bring him home? In short we have no idea. We pray it will be soon. We also know that many amazing prayer warriors are along side us, we know God calls us to help the orphan and for now that is what we rest in. 

An other question we receive quit frequently is the cost of our adoption. We have had some added expenses with having to complete several parts of our home study a second time due to the lightening damage to our home, and the number required to bring each kiddo home is different. Currently, to complete all foreseeable expenses, we need about $22,000. We have been applying for grants, selling assets and saving like crazy to meet this goal. 
This number is the line that many Christians pull out when adoption is raised. The amount needed to bring these kiddos home often seems unattainable. We totally understand. I have cried and worried over this number more times that I'd like to admit in this process. With every step of progress we make there are fees and its scary. Stepping out in faith is scary at times and when we started this process we thought we would be able to cover all expenses. But God has humbled us to show his glory through this process. I share this to encourage others by showing God provides and we will trust him to provide while serving him through the wait. 


On one night, while crying out in prayer for the next phase of funding needed once we are matched, a beautiful friend text randomly and offered a generous match fund for us. I could not believe this. She could not have known the timing of her text to me was an answer to prayer. This is just one example of how blessed we are to be surrounded by brothers and sister in Christ who understand the power of the Gospel and been such a help and encouragement in our journey.  

For our ongoing fundraising efforts, we currently have a GoFundme established for anyone who would be willing to pair with us in fundraising to bring Isaiah home, and are in the planning stages of several fundraisers that we will be holding over the next several months.  We are so grateful for all of you who have stood behind us through this journey so far.  We still have a long way to go, but we wouldn't be near as far as we are if it weren't for your help and support.  We ask that you please continue to pray for us, that God will be glorified through this process and others will be encouraged to reflect the Gospel through adoption.