On July 11th, our facilitator told us that our dossier (paperwork) has been translated and submitted to the Ukrainian authorities!!!! If there are no problems with it, this begins the countdown (which for other families has typically been ~ 8 weeks) until the first appointment in Kiev!!! Based on info from others ahead of us in the process, it seems we should hear something from the Ukainian authorities after about 5 - 6 weeks from submission of dossier (for us that will be ~middle August). Once we hear back, we fasten our seatbelts because then the appointment in Kiev for most others was just 2 1/2 weeks after the news!! Not a long time to get it all together. This is all assuming, of course, that our documents meet the approval of the authorities.:) If these dates work out, we hope to travel the first week of September. In my perfect world we would already be there, right now, and back in time for school to start!;) As Weejen said, though, "since when does our timing line up with God's timing?" OK...well....hardly ever. :-) But I'd rather have the timing of the One who created the Universe than my limited understanding!
There are several families there now adopting and making us jealous- wishing we were there with them! Ha! But we are happy to have their experience going before us and making lists so we know what to bring (and what not to bring) and what to do (and not do:).
Please pray for us in this process because there are still many hurdles to overcome. Please also pray for the Williams and Rettger families who are wading through difficulties in various stages of the adoption process.
Regarding fundraising, we still have to raise about $12,000. An amazing friend offered the services of her husband who has had much experience fundraising. He not only has much experience fundraising, but he actually likes it! He not only replied to us in just one day, but helped update and condense our support letter and gave us several tips. Two friends who have also adopted internationally within the past 5 years both said that their primary route of fundraising was their support letter. Although we have emailed our support letter to several people and have it on our blog we realized that there are many people on our Christmas card list who we left hanging! When we sent our last Christmas letter we had not yet located our missing son! Only two weeks after Christmas, we found him! So although we are in contact with some of our Christmas card friends and family by facebook or email, there are several who probably have NO IDEA we found our son and are attempting to bring him home!
Thanks for reading our update and for your support whether by prayer, encouragement, interest, finances or all of the above.
