Saturday, October 30, 2010

Prayer Please

Do you believe that prayer moves the hand of God like the Word tells us in Proverbs 21:1 "The king's heart is like a stream of water directed by the Lord; He guides it wherever He pleases"? If you do, would you please join with us in prayer that the King of kings and the Lord of lords would move His mighty hand on behalf of our son in Nepal.

We are seeking our Father daily and pleading for this mountain to be moved.
Would you be willing to ask your pastor to have your church pray collectively about this issue tomorrow? If you're a pastor would you please have your church pray about this situation? Even though we may not attend your church we are still your brother and sister in the Lord. The Bible says "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them. Matthew 18:20 Prayer is what moves the heart of God.

Pray specifically that Trek's investigation begins ASAP and that ALL the corroborating evidence is right there. That the US embassy will have NO doubts and will issue his visa!

I love the name the Lord gave us for our little boy.
Trek - to go places. Hallel - to boast about and to glory in what the Lord has done; to be clamorously foolish about your adoration of God. We are excited and look forward to going and telling anyone and everyone about what the Lord has done for this little boy.
Oh how He loves him!

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Glimmer of Hope!

I was thrilled to see a post that not one, but TWO families got a phone call yesterday from the KTM saying that their cases had been investigated and they were found "Clearly Approvable"!!!!

I am so happy about this because I had this sick feeling in my stomach that the US just planned on denying all 80 cases. Now I feel like they are probably really trying.

I CAN NOT WAIT for the phone to ring and have the caller ID have someone from N*p*l on the other end telling us we have approval!!!

Our God is able to do this! We put ALL our faith in Him and HIM alone!!

"And If Our God Is For Us"

"Then Who Could Ever Stop Us"

"And If Our God Is With Us"

"Then What Could Stand Against"

NOTHING!!!



Monday, October 25, 2010

Okay now....that was really weird!

For some reason I had a heck of a time publishing that last post. It's all in white letters so it's impossible for me to see where to put the link to the petition. So here it is. Click on the link HERE. And pass it onto everyone you know. If you haven't already read the last post "I will try to clarify what is going on with the visa"


I will try my best to clarify what is going on with the visa.

Once a family arrives in the country where their child lives, they adopt the child and they apply for their visa. Usually very easy to do.

Prior to Aug 6, 2010 when families went to Nepal to adopt they filed the appropriate paperwork and they were issued a visa to bring their child home....UNLESS there was something that stood out as being highly suspicious. In that case it would call for further investigation and the child may not be issued a visa. So basically all the children were granted a visa and the stay in Nepal was about two weeks, maybe a little more. The US had said that when they suspended there were 80 families in what they are referring to as the 'pipeline' and that they would 'finish their adoptions to completion'. Since the suspension, the US has not approved even one case yet! So now there are families that have traveled to Nepal to adopt their children before their 60 days run out. I'll explain that....Nepal has issued many travel approvals to families including our family and they have given us all 60 days to adopt our children or we run the risk of them not letting us adopt. So families are going to Nepal and adopting their children and now are stuck there because the US will not issue their children's visas!!! Ughhhh!!!! But if we all had traveled to adopt prior to Aug 6, all of our visas would have been issued!! It almost would appear that the US is lying to us (big shock) and is not completing them as promised. But instead, dragging their citizens and these precious children through the mud! Putting US families in really hard positions. Some may adopt their kids and get a denial and be forced to relinquish their parental rights and bring them back to the orphanage, or move to Nepal for two years!!!

"Previously there was one case wherein it was determined that the biological parents came back after a significant period of time and requested the return of the children. That information was not passed onto the Ministry or the adoption agency assisting the family. Other than this case, we have not heard reports specifically identifying fraudulent practices. We do not know if the Embassy is stating that unreliable and inconsistent documentation means fraudulent documentation. One would think that if there was evidence of a system of fraud the Embassy would have identified it." Now the US is assuming that these last 80 cases all have fraudulent paperwork. Each child is going to be required to have an investigation and if they can't find "corroboratory" evidence that the child was truly abandoned then they will either clearly deny the visa and the case will be closed or if they can't clearly deny but not clearly approve then the case is sent to the closest USCIS (United States Citizen and Immigration Services) which is in New Delhi, India. Then they will look over the file and inform the adopting parents of the missing evidence and then it's on us to find it! How crazy is that! If we can't produce the evidence then it will be denied and the case will be closed. So the chances of these last 80 children that actually have the chance to be adopted is not looking good....right now. God can change this!

I will point out the obvious....I'm sure there are some children who were taken from their parents and may not be true orphans. While that is heartbreaking this happens everywhere...not just Nepal. Most if not all these children in the 'pipeline' have been in their orphanages for at least 2 years, some much longer. So there has been time for families to search for them. Their faces have been published in the paper and they have not come forward. The bottom line is if they are not granted a visa they will live the rest of their days in an orphanage until they 'time out' and then they will live a life on the streets. For most if not all girls this means they will either be bought and sold into sex slavery or they will prostitute themselves for means of survival. The boys, a lot of them will be involved with drugs or crime for survival maybe even commit suicide. So it would be better for these that have a chance to be adopted by a family that will love them. Hopefully Nepal will do what is necessary to be in Hague compliance (international adoption regulations/guidelines) and the doors will open again so many more children will have the hope of being adopted into a loving family.

Okay back to our specific case. IF our sons visa is denied then the only way we could bring him home would be to adopt him in Nepal and live there for two years at which point the US would then issue him a visa to come home as our son. What I keep thinking about is orphans come to the US on hosting programs and we have foreign exchange students coming here all the time so I would think there would be some visa that a child could come to the US and live with us and then after two years apply for his citizenship. I don't know. If anyone has any thoughts I'd love to hear them!

We had our church pray for this situation last night and prayer is what moves the hand of God. We know that He is able to anything He wants so we are praying that He will move this last mountain!

Proverbs 21

1 The king’s heart is like a stream of water directed by the Lord;
he guides it wherever he pleases.

We have a connection with a Christian children's home where the kiddos are not available for adoption. They have told us they would do anything they could to help us in any way, so we intend to contact them and ask if our son, if need be, could live there until this visa issue is cleared up. Our plan would be to go to Nepal right way and legally adopt him, stay for as many days as we can afford and then IF his visa is not granted have him live in this home until it cleared up. OR if the Lord shows a way where we could financially do it, we could move to Nepal for the two years. We would spend those two years working in the children's home or the orphanages or both. The worse case scenario would be if we could never bring him home (which I don't think will happen) but say it does then we will have adopted him and taken him out of a godless orphanage and placed him in a Christian children's home where he will be loved, fed, clothed, given an education and will be taught the Word of God and sent out when he's old enough. He would remain our child and we would support him monthly. I really don't think the Lord worked out all these miracles to have us adopt our son and leave him in Nepal. In my heart I really believe somehow this will all work out, we just have no way of knowing the timing or how it will happen.

I hope this made it more clear and not more confusing. We are praying for a miracle! We should be home now with our son! If you have any more questions please don't hesitate to ask. I'll do my best at answering. Please send the link to everyone you know it only takes a few minutes and every name counts! We need 10,000 names to have congress look at it. If anyone feels led they can contact senators, congressman and ask them to help resolve the 80 families in the 'pipeline' adopting from Nepal. All we are asking is the US to process these last cases the same as they did prior to Aug.6.

I will attach a letter written by a lawyer that can be copy and pasted and sent to anyone you can think of.

Worth reading EVERY LINE CAREFULLY....

Essentially, USCIS made a determination to “indefinitely suspend” the processing of abandonment cases due to the reports from the U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu that the embassy staff has encountered “inconsistent and unreliable documentation” regarding the reported abandonment of Nepali children for adoption. The suspension is reportedly limited to those cases where orphan status is claimed by way of abandonment.

This is troubling in so many different ways:


1. The reported reasons for suspending abandonment cases are inconsistent and unreliable documentation. We are not sure what this means as there have not been reports of falsified documentation or evidence of fraud on the part of governmental officials or orphanage staff.

Previously there was one case wherein it was determined that the biological parents came back after a significant period of time and requested the return of the children. That information was not passed onto the Ministry or the adoption agency assisting the family. Other than this case, we have not heard reports specifically identifying fraudulent practices. We do not know if the Embassy is stating that unreliable and inconsistent documentation means fraudulent documentation. One would think that if there was evidence of a system of fraud the Embassy would have identified it.

The obvious point here is that even if there was one or more cases wherein the I-604 investigation revealed fraudulent documentation, that is not a reason to “close the window” on the filing of other abandonment cases. It is fairly common that there is a presumption with Embassy staff that anyone applying for a visa to the USA is being fraudulent. That is common in employment visa application and tourist visa applications. For this reason you see that it is very difficult for a person to receive a tourist visa to come to the USA for a visit. The officers at the Embassy believe that the person will not return to their home country and will over stay their visit into the USA.

Regardless of this pre-judgment that visa applications are fraudulent U.S. Embassies around the world continue to accept the filing of visa applications. Furthermore, regardless of actual findings of fraud on visa applications the Embassies continue to receive and process visa applications. USCIS/DOS has not “closed the window” to those applications as they have now done in Nepal for visa applications for abandoned children.

The bottom line here is that the U.S. Embassy has pre-judged all abandonment cases as being fraudulent. This is fundamentally wrong. The system is in place for all visa applications, including I-600 petitions for abandonment cases, that if the documentation does not appear to be valid on its face that an I-604 investigation can take place. Based on the investigation the officer can either approve or deny the visa. Here the U.S. Embassy has pre-judged each I-600 petition wherein orphan status is claimed due to abandonment by refusing to process new abandonment cases. These new cases are not even provided the opportunity to be investigated. Again, prejudgment is fundamentally and legally wrong.

2. USCIS/DOS has a statutory duty to process I-600 petitions. By categorically suspending the filing of I-600 petitions for abandonment cases they are affectively violating their statutory duty to process the petition.
The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), Section 201 (b) sets forth the categories by which orphan classification is obtained. According to the INA, a child must meet the following two conditions in order to be considered an orphan:


A. The child must have no parents; or


B. The child has a sole or surviving parent who is unable to care for the child and has, in writing, irrevocably released the child for emigration and adoption.
In general, a child would be considered to have no parents if both parents are determined to have died, disappeared, deserted, abandoned or have been lost or separated from the child. Abandonment requires that the birth parents give up all parental rights, obligations and claims to the child, as well as all control over and possession of the child.
By electing to suspend the filing of I-600 petitions for “abandonment” cases the Embassy has effectively changed the statute by removing it from the beneficiary class.
An obvious question is can the Nepali children fall within one of the other statutory beneficiary classes of orphan status? Desertion by parents means that the parents have willfully forsaken their child and have refused to carry out their parental rights and obligations, and that; as a result, the child has become a ward of a competent authority in accordance with the laws of Nepal. Separation is virtually identical to desertion. Here there is the involuntary severance of the child from his or her parents by action of a competent authority for good cause. Disappearance is when both parents have unaccountably and inexplicably passed out of the child’s life, their whereabouts are unknown; there is no reasonable hope of their reappearance; and there has been a reasonable effort to locate them as determined by competent authority in Nepal.
What will the Embassy do when presented with an I-600 filing for a child whose orphan status is derived from one of the other statutory listed classes such as disappearance, separation, death, or desertion? We are trying to find this out.

3. Is the real reason USCIS/DOS is suspending the processing of abandonment cases due to the fact that our Embassy has insufficient resources to investigate each case? If so, then make a request for additional staffing. Do not categorically deny abandonment cases.
The various agencies working in Nepal are in consultation with each other in an effort to find a solution to the problem. We have requested that all efforts be made in Nepal to locate the birth parent or parents of the children in order to obtain lawful, irrevocable releases in writing. Of course this will be difficult. Discussions have included the possibility of legal action and congressional help in requiring USCIS/DOS to perform their statutory duties.
It is difficult to estimate how long it will take to find a solution to the current crisis in Nepal or whether a crisis will be found.

There are so many children in Nepal that are in need of permanent families and it is sad to see that USCIS/DOS has taken a position to deny these children, without the processing of the I-600 petitions, the chance of a family.


One more thing to share ;0) those who know me well should NOT be surprised at all.

We have given our little guy a different name which we feel is more fitting....we love it! So if you hate it please keep your comments to yourself :0)

His name will be...

Trek Hallel P. Davis

We can't share his legal name yet.

Trek is because....we love it! And no it's not one of Sarah Palins kids names (although I like them). Her son's names are Track and Trig.

The meaning of Hallel is "to praise, to make a show or rave about, to glory in or boast upon, to be clamorously foolish about your adoration of God!"

Psalm 44:8 In God we boast all day long, and praise your name forever. Selah

This ENTIRE adoption had been all the Lords doing! He has moved so many mountains and provided every penny we've needed. We fully intend to tell anyone and everyone all that the Lord has done! This whole adoption testimony is a testimony of HIM and what He is able to do!
We are praying once again that He see's fit to move this last HUGE mountain and do what no one else is able!
To HIM be all praise and glory!!!

Whatever the outcome we love Him just the same!
He is still AMAZING!


Friday, October 22, 2010

God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform. ~ William Cowper

Do not be afraid, for I am with you;
I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west.

Isaiah 43:5




Last night we really believed the Lord was showing us clearly what our next move should be. We have taken a few days to pray about purchasing tickets or waiting until we had the clear approval for his visa.

The thought process I was having was....we should just fly over there now and adopt him in faith believing his visa will be issued before we need to come home. So we began crunching numbers and after paying all our necessary fees being able to stay for only 12 nights we would have nine dollars left over. Yeah I know what you're thinking that is not enough extra money when you're traveling internationally....are you crazy!!! And yes, yes we are crazy sometimes. I was just trying to figure out if that was having reckless faith (what we had when the Lord first called us to adopt him) or just being stupid and not using the brain God gave us.

So then I thought well if we have enough faith to travel before he gets his visa believing it will be issued in time....isn't it just as much faith to wait until we get the approval even if we pass the 60 day deadline that N*p*l gave us and trust they will still allow us to adopt him and pray the Lord provides a little more money to put in the bank in the event we might run into an unexpected cost or emergency (like would if our dinner is like 10 extra bucks??).

What to do????

Last night we 'met' another family, one of the 80 in the 'pipeline' and she and I talk for a long time last night. It was a wonderful conversation and she mentioned to me some things that I believe were from the Lord (thanks Jen). She and her hubby are Christians so it was refreshing connecting with someone who serves the Lord and literally is in the same place we are.

I will add that all day yesterday we were in contact with our travel agent working on pricing tickets and so on....we even had her put a travel itinerary on hold for us until Friday at 6PM.

Anyway...after hanging up, Mike and I talked some more. We felt like the Lord was clearly telling us what to do in the morning. This was the plan for today....

We have a connection through our church (I won't go into details).... but we most likely would have a home that our son could live at while we wait for his visa approval. So our plan was to contact our friends in N*p*l and make sure that they were willing to help in this capacity and once we heard from them we would book/purchase our tickets and head over to adopt our son before the 60 day window. That way he would be legally our son! At that point IF we still didn't have his approval for a visa we would have to leave him with this wonderful group of people and wait until this mess get's straightened out then Mike would fly back over and bring him home.

So this morning I woke up early on a mission but wanted to start my day by sending a dear friend (one of my prayer warriors) a message letting her know what we were doing and share with her the good news that we finally had a plan!
No kidding as I was a sentence in my email I was interrupted with a ding that I had just received an email. I decided to stop mid sentence, for that matter mid word, and look to see who was it. It was the embassy in Kathmandu! They told us that finally they have in writing (we have a copy) that the government will extend the 60 days to 120 days! This means we now have until Feb. 4, 2011 to adopt him, not Dec 4. So what about my great plans for the day???? Now what??

This really is good news but also sad to think we may have to wait a couple more months before we hold our baby boy that we love so much already!

We did pray last night in bed before we rolled over to sleep that if we weren't suppose to make these travel plans for some unknown reason that He would clearly show us. I can be thick sometimes, but I'm thinking this is a sign :0) So today we hold off on booking plan tickets and do some housework instead. I was so excited to think that in 5 short weeks we would see our son's face and be able to hold him!

We are still praying of course that this whole visa situation will clear up ASAP and all 80 families will get approval and we can bring all our children home! So don't stop praying!!!
Prayer is what moves the heart of God!!

So for today, I can rest and not stress out about making all these travel plans and rest that the Lord has this all under His control.
Believing for a birthday/Christmas miracle (we prayer for a Christmas miracle last year and He answered it....remember)!!!! We want nothing more than to have our son home before his second birthday or at least before Christmas.

He is able!!

Keep praying!!




Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Trusting in Advance

A person who lives in faith must proceed on incomplete evidence, trusting in advance what will only make sense in reverse.
~ Philip Yancey

We have contacted the Embassy in N*p*l, our son's investigation has not begun. We have been told that those families who have filed their I 604 and have received travel approval will be prioritized ahead of families who have not received this. My question is.....how many families are we talking about....10 families or like 50 families?

We prayed and did feel led to go ahead and pay the money N*p*l was asking for. We did this because throughout this entire adoption we have not known what the next step would look like, we made a commitment to the Lord in the beginning that as He opened doors we would walk through as He provided. This is the next step. Why should we start doubting Him now after ALL He has done? We can't. It's not an option.

I will be contacting the US Embassy two to three times a week to see if they have started the investigation. In the meantime we are pricing tickets and plan to leave mid to late November to make sure he is adopted and in our custody before the 60 day cut off (December 4).

I know I sound like a broken record, but please pray the Lord will show Himself strong on behalf of this little orphan boy! Pray that we will be led by the Holy Spirit when making decisions.

Please take a few minutes and 'sign' this petition....every signature counts!



Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Praying for widsom

Today could have been an AMAZING day....and still may be, but we're unsure still.
Let me explain....today our adoption agency called telling us they received our 'Final Decision on Adoption'. This is N*p*l telling us we have 60 days to come and complete our adoption. If this suspension hadn't taken place we'd most likely being leaving in a few days to head to N*p*l to bring our son home!!

We are unsure of what to do because as far as we know our case hasn't been investigated. We are being asked to send the final 7200.00 and to make arrangements to come, but what if the US doesn't clear our son for a visa? Although I really believe in my heart that everything will be okay and that the Lord fully intends on completing this adoption for HIS glory and testimony!

So we are praying James 1:5 asking for wisdom from the Lord. Do we send the money? Do we travel before we hear word about our investigation? Do we wait till we get closer to the 60 day mark? Do we potentially go beyond the 60 days and hope that they will still honor this match and let us adopt?

Please pray for us as we need to make some serious decisions in the next few days. Please pray that by the end of this week or even TODAY we'll hear word from about our investigation! And that the word will be....APPROVED!

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Please Sign Petition

If you are a US citizen, please sign this petition to Congress, urging them to expedite visas for the remaining families. You can also send an email directly through this site to your local representatives with a further option to send a letter.