Adoption Update: A New Direction
Hi friends! It's hard to believe it's been SIX MONTHS since our last update!! Where has the time gone?!
We have had many people ask us how our adoption is going over the past few months. Unfortunately, there really hasn't been much progress until recently. From Nov-March, we continued selling bits and pieces around our home to help with our adoption fund. We officially reached our goal of saving $10,000 towards our adoption!! I am amazed and blown away to think that all those $1 and $2 sales added up BIG time! (Side note: approx $2k of these funds were used in paying for our home study.)
For the past six weeks or so, we've been prayerfully considering the direction for our adoption to take. Our "agency," COMPACT Family Services, has not had a single case since we signed on with them last March, and we began wondering if we needed to look elsewhere. :( They have sent us a few adoption situations from another agency, but that agency has had some significant legal issues that made us uncomfortable with going that direction.
About a month ago, we began looking at two different agencies. The Lord had already given me specific direction about where to look and I felt confident in which agency we should pick...but I said nothing to Caleb about it. I showed him the information about both agencies, we talked pro's and con's...and he said, "I just feel like it's *that* one" (aka the exact one I had had the leading towards!). It has been such a joy through this journey to see God specifically show each of us His path and give us confirmation!
So...here's the update:
Tomorrow (Monday), we will mail in our initial paperwork to Zoe's House, an adoption agency based in Kansas City (and affiliated with the International House of Prayer, for those who may be familiar with it). We are SO excited about pursuing this next step and hopefully contracting with Zoe's House soon. We especially love that ZH is so committed to making sure expectant mamas receive the love and respectful support they deserve through the adoption process. <3 nbsp="" p="">
With this new step comes more financial hurdles. Zoe's House is a not-for-profit agency that is committed to making adoption affordable, with each adoption being partly funded by outside donors and supporters. That being said, they still have expenses--taking care of expectant mama's, employees to pay, utilities, etc.
So what does that mean for us? Well, the long and short of it is, our adoption is going to cost more than we expected. Our agency fees will be $17,500, and there will be some other fees on top of that (lawyer, expectant mama expenses, etc). They estimate the total to be $20,000-$36,800.
I know this number is big, but we are choosing to believe that our God is bigger! Once our agency paperwork is approved, we will be applying for several grants that will hopefully nudge us closer to our goal. I (Rebekah) plan to make some things to sell this summer and Selah has a fun idea for some things to sell as well. We are excited to see what miracles God will do!
We have had many people ask us how our adoption is going over the past few months. Unfortunately, there really hasn't been much progress until recently. From Nov-March, we continued selling bits and pieces around our home to help with our adoption fund. We officially reached our goal of saving $10,000 towards our adoption!! I am amazed and blown away to think that all those $1 and $2 sales added up BIG time! (Side note: approx $2k of these funds were used in paying for our home study.)
For the past six weeks or so, we've been prayerfully considering the direction for our adoption to take. Our "agency," COMPACT Family Services, has not had a single case since we signed on with them last March, and we began wondering if we needed to look elsewhere. :( They have sent us a few adoption situations from another agency, but that agency has had some significant legal issues that made us uncomfortable with going that direction.
About a month ago, we began looking at two different agencies. The Lord had already given me specific direction about where to look and I felt confident in which agency we should pick...but I said nothing to Caleb about it. I showed him the information about both agencies, we talked pro's and con's...and he said, "I just feel like it's *that* one" (aka the exact one I had had the leading towards!). It has been such a joy through this journey to see God specifically show each of us His path and give us confirmation!
So...here's the update:
Tomorrow (Monday), we will mail in our initial paperwork to Zoe's House, an adoption agency based in Kansas City (and affiliated with the International House of Prayer, for those who may be familiar with it). We are SO excited about pursuing this next step and hopefully contracting with Zoe's House soon. We especially love that ZH is so committed to making sure expectant mamas receive the love and respectful support they deserve through the adoption process. <3 nbsp="" p="">
With this new step comes more financial hurdles. Zoe's House is a not-for-profit agency that is committed to making adoption affordable, with each adoption being partly funded by outside donors and supporters. That being said, they still have expenses--taking care of expectant mama's, employees to pay, utilities, etc.
So what does that mean for us? Well, the long and short of it is, our adoption is going to cost more than we expected. Our agency fees will be $17,500, and there will be some other fees on top of that (lawyer, expectant mama expenses, etc). They estimate the total to be $20,000-$36,800.
I know this number is big, but we are choosing to believe that our God is bigger! Once our agency paperwork is approved, we will be applying for several grants that will hopefully nudge us closer to our goal. I (Rebekah) plan to make some things to sell this summer and Selah has a fun idea for some things to sell as well. We are excited to see what miracles God will do!
Love that Selah is joining in too! Excited for what God is up to!
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