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Adoption update

We have finally gotten our fingerprinting done... perhaps I should back up. Here's the process for US so far in New Hampshire for international adoption:

1. Decide that we will adopt from Africa on our return from Africa May 2005...
2. Group meeting at Bethany Christian Services...
3. Survive first months of Family Practice residency...
4. Submit our application to Bethany Christian for home assessment in November 2005...
5. Application on hold until we decided which state we'll be living in...
5. Find a place to live that is bigger than a closet...
6. Decide which state to live in...
7. Move in to new place in NH in February 2006...
8. Rush through home assesment (several visits to our case worker's office and a visit to our home)...
9. Attend the mandatory NH 8 hour seminar on adoption/attachment issues/etc...
10. Get all the details together - recommendation letters to home assesment agency AND to adoption agency, medical exams and tests, visit police station, etc. etc. etc. etc... (list never ends)
11. Submit I600A for pre-approval for orphan (May 2006)
12. Wait for home assesment to be complete... find out later that immigration is waiting for the home assesment before inviting us to get fingerprinted...
13. Home assessment done June 9, 2006.
14. Oh, by the way, "yes, please send our home assessment to immigration!"
15. One month later, no word from immigration yet. Case worker agrees to call the magic inside line. Immigration never received the home assessment. New home assesment faxed in.
16. Dossier sent to Liberia by Acres of Hope - yay! (hope everything's completed correctly!)
17. Received fingerprinting appointment July 22, 2006.
18. Fingerprinted in Machester July 25, 2006 (after 30 hours of work keeping ICU patients alive, no sleep).
19. NOW... waiting for I600A approval.

20. NEXT: the second we receive I600A approval, phone call to Acres of Hope "we're approved!"
21. Referral from Acres of Hope.
22. Prayer and fasting - is this child/children to whom God is calling us?
23. Accept referral.
24. Wait for child's visa and passport.
25. Travel to Liberia.
26. Jump through all the hoops in Liberia.
27. Fly home with God's latest addition to our family.
28. Work through attachment issues and learn how to parents and a family that brings glory to God.

What you can do to help:
1. PRAY, PRAY, PRAY - God has clearly called us to this even though we feel poorly equipped.
2. Contribute international receipes for our recipe book fundraiser.
3. Collect American Airlines miles for us (we're working on how to enable people to donate AA miles to us).

Comments

Amanda said…
prayin' lots. :) Turkish recipe on its way.
10:43 PM
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