The last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind of activity. For a while, we have been working to get all our paperwork ready to send to China. Each document must go through 3 stages of becoming official: first notarization, then certification, and finally authentication. This means we’ve been making lots of trips to our bank to get the first stage completed: norarization. Gathering most of the documents was fairly quick but the process of getting approved through Immigration is the longest. Shortly before Christmas we were able to get our Immigration form submitted and we were awaiting fingerprinting. In mid-January we got our fingerprinting appointment and spent a Thursday morning in the Immigration office waiting for our turn. This was an amazing experience for me. We saw people from many different countries all waiting nervously in their best outfits for an interview for citizenship. Many had translators and assistants for the process. We saw a young married man whose wife appeared to be from China, an older gentleman from Russia or Ukraine, a young man from Mexico, and some ladies from the Middle East. It caused me to stop and think about how I’d spent all my life as an American and how I might feel waiting for my opportunity for an interview to become part of the Land of Opportunity. I thought about how I love this country but how my heart longs to know the people of the world and share the love of Jesus with them.
After submitting our fingerprints just over 2 weeks ago we were very surprised and excited to receive our Immagration approval (I-797) last Thursday! This was a huge milestone for getting closer to bringing Noelle home!! Upon looking at the form, I was suprised to see it state we were approved to adopt a Hague child. I asked what is a Hague child and found that this is the name given to children belonging to countries that have signed an agreement on laws and procedures for international adoptions. Apparently we are not just approved to adopt from China but from any Hague country. Hmmm…this does make my heart spin with possibilities.
After receiving our I-797, Sheri became a machine of adoption moving passion. Within 24 hours she had all our documentation ready, certified by the Secretary of State in Downtown KC, and mailed to our courier in Chicago. The courier will personally take all our documentation to the Chinese Consulate in Chicago and get the final step completed: authentication. We received word yesterday that she had delivered the documents to the consulate. On Monday, she is scheduled to have all our documents in the mail and headed back to KC. Once we receive them we will send them immediatately to Children’s Hope International in St. Louis so they can be logged into the US and Chinese systems. This is so exciting because this will be one of the final steps that Sheri and I are responsible for before we arrange our travel to China. Please pray with us that the process goes smoothly and that no mistakes are made.
Sheri and I have been praying continually for Noelle and all our other children that they will grow in the love and knowledge of Jesus and be called by Him to build His kingdom. We pray for you too that you will have new and fresh revelations of Jesus. Thank you so much for partnering with us on this journey.
Before Christmas we submitted applications for a couple of grants and last week we found out we were approved for a $4,000 matching grant from Legacy685 through Lifesong for Orphans(www.lifesongfororphans.org). This means that any donations we receive up to $4,000 will be matched dollar for dollar. This is so exciting because it means even a small gift can have a huge impact in bringing our beautiful girl home. If you are interested in partnering with us financially for the first time or again, please see the information below for how to donate! If you donate through LifeSong all your donations will also be tax deductible. We love you all and can’t wait to introduce you to the newest member of the family later this year….pray it happens quickly!!
- Donate Online at http://www.lifesongfororphans.org/give/donate. Select “Give to an Adoptive Family.” Complete the online form and fill in “Family Account Number” (4311) and “Family Name” (Smith) fields.
- Checks should be payable to “Lifesong for Orphans. In the memo, note “family name” and “family account number” (Smith/#4311) to assure it goes to the correct account. Please mail to Lifesong for Orphans, PO Box 40, Gridley, IL 61744.
Adopt Noelle 