With God ALL Things are Possible!

A Recap from Nepal with Pictures

2011-04-09T10:20:00.000-07:00

It all started with a dream, BANAU, on January 16, 2009...

2 Years, 2 Months and 14 Days later on...

March 30, 2011, 3PM EST, Dulles Washington DC...

our son, Trek FINALLY became a United States Citizen!!!!!!

What a journey the Lord has taken us on! We have now been home for week and three days and Trek is doing wonderful!

For those of you who checked in for updates in Nepal, I apologize for not doing them. I'll try to fill you in on what we did. For starters we stayed with the PUMA girls and Mary and Fran. While there we were subject to the infamous KTM load shedding schedule, which meant we had up to 14 hours a day with NO power. This is part of the reason I didn't update.

Yup, we learned a lot on this trip. For starters....we take for granted being able to flip a switch and have lights any time of the day, use a microwave to quickly warm something up, bake something in the oven, use the computer at any time and have hot water when you feel the need to take a shower. These are just a few things that come to mind. PUMA boys and girls minus Mary and Fran. We LOVE these kids! We need to go back and spend more time with them.

Okay so I don't know how much of this you all want to read, but I want to journal as much as I can remember so I most likely will break this up into several posts. We'll see how it goes.

We began our second trip on March 6 by driving down to JFK in New York. We had dropped the girls off with our wonderful friends (who happen to have 1 child and 3 teens...bless their hearts for taking our two) the night before so we could get an early start but we forgot a couple major items and needed to see them before we left. So on our way to NY we made a pit stop in Carmel. We forgot to leave some money with Linda and Robin forgot her coffee. We finally hit the road around 9ish with everything we needed in hand...the most important being my anxiety medication and scripture verses to meditate on.

When we landed in Kathmandu Nepal on March 8th after about 35 hours of uneventful traveling (thank God) and were greeted by Padam, Mary, Fran and Trek!! It was so wonderful to be back in Nepal to see our little boy, visit our friends and hear the honking of horns in Kathmandu!

Trek was all smiles and came right to us and even rode back to the house with us from the airport and didn't cry! That just confirmed the work the Lord was doing in his little life the time we were gone.

For the first week and a half we stayed at the boys home at night, but spend our entire days with the girls. Fran happened to be heading back to the States for a well deserved break and she offered us her room at the girls house once she left, which we took her up on her offer. We were much more comfortable in her room. We were sad to see her go, but did enjoy staying there. She is still in the US and is coming to Maine the end of this month and she'll be staying with us for several days! Can't wait to see her! Mary will be coming as well in a couple months!

Once we got settled in our room our first line of business was to get Trek seen at the IOM (International Organization for Migration) this is where he had his medical check/clearance to enter the US. Because he was over two he had to have a TB test which he hated, but passed. His paperwork was sent to the US Embassy on Monday the 14th and then it was just a matter of waiting for his visa approval. I guess this is a good place to talk about his visa. Just in case any of you were wondering....I was convinced that his visa approval was going to be waiting for us at the Embassy when we landed. As a matter of fact as soon as we got settled into the house I sent an email to them letting them know we were in Nepal and gave them our in-country cell phone numbers and was sure that they were going to call us that day with approval. At the end of the day when we didn't get a call, I didn't worry too much and just figured it would come the next day or Friday at the absolute latest! Anyway I was pleased that we had his medical appointment over with and knew on Monday the 14 we would be good to go (literally)! I even called my mom and we talked about the possibility of trying to change our return tickets home so we could leave early. Well Thursday came and went with no call, Friday came and went with no call so I was pumped for Monday! Monday came and went with no call.

There were other families under us that began to get approvals while we sat there waiting. Up to this point the blog that was set up for pipeline families had been pretty 'spot on' as far as order of approvals, but for some reason once it became our turn....it all changed. I think now the Lord was teaching me again that everything is in His time. Not mine.

I tried to not worry too much and just knew that it would be there in a couple of days at the longest. Well the entire week passed and Friday the 18th came and went with no word from the Embassy. At this point, I was an emotional mess. I did not understand what was taking so long, why we continued to sit there waiting, wondered if our paperwork was missing, if maybe in was going to be an intent to deny.....I was totally 'fleshing out' (my sin nature) and not putting my faith into practice but instead I was letting the worries and what ifs fill my mind.

All I can say now is....

poor Mike.

He was so good and patient with me. He kept encouraging me to take some time to get alone with the Lord and read and pray and of course he also prayed with me all the time. He kept telling me everything would work out and to not worry. He reminded me in scripture that we are not to worry but take every thought captive. Even though at the time I probably didn't act like it, I really loved the strength he displayed and the certainty that the Lord was going to bring us through this.

I did begin to make phone calls and send emails to our attorney and someone in Washington who was working on these rebuttals/approvals to find out if they could at least tell us where our paperwork was and maybe how close they were to making a decision. I didn't get any real good feedback from anyone, so all I could do was wait. You know I've always had a bit of a problem with being patient, and thought I learned that lesson when we adopted Noelle. But the Lord showed me I hadn't learned that lesson and He was continuing to teach me.

I knew we wouldn't be getting approval over the weekend so I started looking at the calendar and knew that if we didn't get approval by Tuesday the 22nd at the latest, we would have to extend our trip. So we prayed hard over the weekend and again thought okay on Monday we'll be sure to get the approval. Yup, you guessed it. Monday came and went with no word! So with nothing left to do and having power so I could use my computer... I got on facebook and asked a couple of my friends to add this visa issue to the prayer vine at church. We knew we needed at approval the next day (Tuesday) or we were looking at more money to change our return date and being away from our girls even longer.

Tuesday, March 22 came and I decided in the night (because I couldn't sleep) that I was going to contact the Embassy to ask them some questions, like IF we got approval that day or Wed. would they be able to Trek's visa so we could leave on Monday the 28th as planned. I wanted to know if they knew where our paperwork was. I wanted to know if they would call or send an email with approval and what time of day did they make their calls.

I talked with April at the Embassy and she told me that IF we did get approval (which they didn't know anything about our case) we would need to be in country for another 8 to 10 days....which meant we would have to change our tickets. She told me she would call with approval and that if I didn't hear by 5:15PM it hadn't come. She tried to encourage me to sit back and just wait, because that was all I could do. They knew nothing. It was all up to USCIS and Washington at this point. So we tried to keep busy that day and Mary and I went to several places and did some shopping and came home around maybe 1ish or 1:30.

I was putting some of our stuff away in the room when my phone rang. I answered and it was April from the Embassy. I was not overly excited about her calling because I had spoken with her earlier and I had emailed some paperwork to her and thought she was calling about that. She asked me how I was doing and I said okay. She proceeded to say...."well, I'm calling because I have some really good news to share with you...." I began to trembled, tears started flowing as I sat in Fran's room and listened as she told me that Trek's visa was approved!!!

PRAISE THE LORD!!!!

I composed myself and then reminded her of our earlier conversation that day about us leaving on Monday the 28th at 8:30PM and wondered if there was anyway possible to get it by then to save money. She looked over our paperwork and saw that everything was there and said she would do everything in her power to have it for us before we left.... even if it meant picking it up on the way to the airport. AHHHH!

Well my kids want to eat so this is where I will end todays entry. I'll post more tomorrow about all the fun things we did while we waited for the coveted visa along with more pictures and how we got the visa.

Philip and his wife and daughter.

Fran & Mary (I can't believe I didn't take more picture of them...with Trek...ugh!) Daddy & Trek The store across the street had some soda and snacks. We visited them occasionally :)

Houses next to the girls home. A little boy Trek's age lives in the house on the right. Cute little guy (wish I had his picture too). I'm telling ya, my mind was not focused on anything but his approval over there.

Building a new wall at the girls home.

VISA APPROVAL!!

2011-03-22T03:39:00.000-07:00

Just shy of 7 months from the referral of our son....we have an approval to bring him home!!

Thank you Jesus!!

Trek loves to point at the airplanes flying over head and will get all excited and pat his chest.

Trek, buddy...less than a week and you'll be on one on your way home...finally!

Last Update State Side

2011-03-03T06:12:00.000-08:00

We are leaving for Nepal on Sunday, so this will be our last update state side.

Visa approvals continue to come in almost daily praise the Lord! We currently are 4th in line and have been waiting 12 days so far. This means we're likely to get our approval next week! Who knows, maybe his approval will come tonight....wouldn't that be wild!

Trek is doing fantastic! We Skyped him the other day. Of course we know he doesn't really understand what's happening, but Fran & Mary have been telling him Daddy and Mommy are coming to get him. He loves to look at the airplanes flying over the house and point to them while saying dada! Isn't that sweet.

So I'm going to throw out some specific prayer requests....

1. That his visa approval will be issued ASAP!
2. That the Lord will protect us while traveling and staying in Nepal and keep our girls healthy and happy while we are away.
3. That the Lord will prepare Trek's heart for the transition to come in the next week.
4. That the Lord will provide ALL we need financially before we leave.
Let me share what I mean by this....

As of right now we have $812.00 to bring with us. Out of that we know we need to pay...

$404.00 for Trek's visa
$100.00 for his medical appoint (hopefully not more)
$200.00 for our visas to enter Nepal for a month and all three exit visas
$250.00 for a rental car & gas to get us to JFK in New York

These are just the necessities that we can think of and as you can see....we're running short. This is not figuring the cost of food while over there or leaving money for our girls while we leave...nothing extra. The Lord has always provided and we are believing He'll do it again for us. This is our final sprint to the finish line. Please pray with us about these things!

So please pray with us that He will provide.

Blessings,
Mike & Tonya

PS. Once we receive Trek's approval, we'll open our blog again. Stayed tuned. Oh yeah, IF we get his approval before we leave....I'll let you know! Grace & Peace

Okay, here's the update.

2011-02-08T05:23:00.000-08:00

Well, girls, I hope I don't disappoint you with this blog update : )

Mike and I have been throwing around travel dates, airlines to travel with, and it's been so hard as to know when to leave. We had been praying we could take the girls with us and if we could this would all be so much easier. I'm tired of having my kids be on opposite sides of the globe. But we don't have enough $ and so just Mike & I are going back. We have some friends that are coming back to Maine and they will be staying with the girls the entire time we're gone.

I think most of you know how much I dislike flying. The strange thing is I can talk about going back, and I say all the time..."If I could bring the girls, I'd jump on a plane tomorrow and go over...." Well, talking is one thing, purchasing tickets is another. Last night after looking at several flying options we settled on our flight. That is why I'm feeling happy, excited and sick all at the same time. Girls, I'm just saying that once we made that final decision and I knew when I'd be flying my stomach started turning...for real...it makes me sick. My body just responds in a weird way and it's completely out of my control. It's the weirdest thing. I wish my body would stop behaving in such a manner...I mean good grief. Fear is an awful thing. Especially when we are fearing something that hasn't happened. This morning I decided it was time to dig out one of my books again. I took it with me last time we traveled to Nepal. This is one of the first entries....

When fear shapes our lives, safety becomes our god. When safety becomes our god, we worship the risk-free life. Can the safety-lover do anything great? Can the risk-averse accomplish noble deeds? for God? for others? No.

The fear-filled cannot love deeply. Love is risky.

They cannot give to the poor. Benevolence has no guarantee of return.

The fear-filled cannot dream wildly. What if their dreams sputter and fall from the sky?

The worship of safety emasculates greatness. No wonder Jesus wages such a war against fear.

So with that we are flying Qatar and are leaving on March 6 at 10:50PM from JFK and we'll have one stop in Doha. We'll arrive in Kathmandu on March 8 at 11:45AM. Our return flight....leaving KTM on March 28 and with a stop in Doha, Washington D.C., and will land in Boston on March 29 at 8:30PM. I'll start picturing this photo in my mind and listen to her words of wisdom : )....

Did a little research and wanted to share it with you.

Your chances of being involved in an aircraft accident are about 1 in 11 million. On the other hand, your chances of being killed in an automobile accident are 1 in 5000. Statistically, you are at far greater risk driving to the airport than getting on an airplane. However, the perception is that you have more control over your fate when you are in your car than as a passenger traveling on an airplane. Experience shows otherwise, considering that over 50,000 people are killed on the highways every year.”

So, Miss Tonya… I want you to know that I will be ESPECIALLY praying for you on your DRIVE TO THE AIRPORT… but once you’re seated ON the plane, my mind will be at ease, knowing that you’re safe and sound!!!!!!!!!!!!

Also, I wanted to share a mental picture with you that really helped me on my 1^st flight…I just kept envisioning the ENORMITY of the ALMIGHTY GOD compared to our teeny little plane and even our WORLD (which He holds in the palm of His hand)…. And I pictured Him gently gliding our plane along its path (which HE IS! Because He alone is in control of all weather, all gravitational forces, all EVERYTHING!!!!!) and it calmed me to just imagine His mighty hand lifting us along through the air towards our child. (kinda like this picture I’m attaching)

I think one of my biggest reasons for being a bit unsettled, besides the flying and leaving the girls again is the fact that we still don't have his visa. So this is again another step of faith for us. Some probably are wondering why we would we go before we get it. Well.....because as soon as we do get it we want to be there so we can bring him home and ticket prices are high already. If we wait and purchase within a couple of days it will be LOTS more. There is a blog for all the Nepal pipeline families and it has lists of all the families and where they all are in the process. So far everyone who received an RFE (request for further evidence) and has submitted their rebuttal has gotten their child's visa approved. Well there is one family who didn't get approval, but didn't get denied either. USCIS needs some more info from them. The lawyer and investigator team we are using has won every case to date! We are just trusting and believing Trek's will be approved once it's reviewed.

Originally we thought our rebuttal would be sent the 21 of Feb. well, the investigator got his work done quickly and our first draft of our brief has been written and it's in the hands of our attorney now. We have been told they plan to mail it out by the end of this week or first of next week. Praying for this week! Every day counts!

Once our brief leaves her office it takes about a week to get to New Delhi and then possibly another day or two to be assigned to an adjudicator for review. There are a handful of officers and most cases are being approved at day 13,17 a couple at 23 days and one as early as 8 and one at 10 days. So it's really hard to know just when we'll hear. But based on that information we are thinking we may hear something by the week of March 7th. Wouldn't it be wild if we hear before we even leave?! That's what I'm praying for!

So you can imagine all the emotions running through my body.

We got another picture of Trek the other day with a message from Mary saying that he "LOVES being silly!" Here's the picture of him soaking in the sun :) His cheeks are looking chubby! Oh, I can't wait to squeeze him and kiss him!
Keep those prayers coming!

Oh yes, one more thing. We've had people wondering if we are collecting items to bring back to the orphanage or what our plans are. It's too hard to bring items with us. While we were over there last time we saw the huge need the children's home had. If anyone wants to help them with practical needs such as clothes, shoes, a sink for the home, etc. please use the Chip In on the top left side of the blog. We need all the money by Feb. 28 so we have time to get the cash to bring with us.

Blessings!

You girls are too funny!

2011-02-07T18:03:00.000-08:00

Just so you can all sleep tonight, I can tell you we did not get his visa yet. So be praying about that still! Okay, I'll post tomorrow and get you all up to speed.

Love you....good night!

May God hold you in His hand until We can be with you

2011-02-01T05:42:00.000-08:00

I'm glad most of you are able to still follow our journey to Trek. It probably seems weird to go private just weeks before this part of the journey is over, but we felt it was the right thing to do until we have his visa in our hands. I usually don't get too many comments, so I was kind of surprised to see so many requests for invitations we got. I'm happy you're here :)

So last Saturday we had our benefit dinner and auction. We were just amazed, humbled and blessed by all those who came, baked yummies, and donated auction items and food! We could have never done it without all of you! So thank you!!!! We were so blessed to have Mike's cousin and wife do the emcee & auction for the evening. If you guys read this....you're amazing....we love you....thank you! Kathy, a sweet lady at church, offered to do all the cooking! She wanted to help take some stress off of me and thought by preparing the food and having it served would help.....it DID!!! Thank you! I talked with her on Sunday and she thinks we served about 280 people! We had families coming an hour after we started. We had to ask people to give up their tables after they finished eating to make more room for others. What a blessing. The Lord is so awesome in that He is in every detail. We had been given 60 pounds of spaghetti and had about 13 gallons of sauce and we used every last drop with none left over, but had enough to feed everyone! We ended up with about 1200 roll, bread sticks and enough salad to feed 400!!! Crazy! Okay, I know you all want to know what we raised...some of you already know but for those who don't....once all the money is in we will have raised........$6200.00!!!!! Praise God!!!!

Now you're probably wondering what does this mean for us and what's next. Good question. We had been praying for 10,000 which I know is a HUGE number, but the reason was so we could pay for the attorney, investigator, replace our travel money we needed to use to secure the A&I and bring our two girls with us to Nepal and wait there until Trek's visa is issued. Here's what we know now.....
1. The Lord abundantly blessed us with 6200.00 to work with!
2. Yesterday we mail the final pymt to our attorney. As far as we know she is PAID IN FULL!!!!!
3. We found out Sunday morning that our investigation is 100% complete and will be on our attorney's desk Tuesday morning (TODAY)!!! He had quoted us $3500.00 and he told us our investigation would only cost....$2600.00!!! Praise the Lord again!! I just have to say how blessed I am by this mans honesty and integrity. I'm just saying that he is a local Nepali and Nepal is one of the world poorest countries and he gave us a quote that we agreed upon and he rightfully could have charged us that amount, but is doing it for less. That impresses me. We wired his payment in full yesterday!!!
3. We have begun pricing tickets and with needing to pay for Trek's visa, medical appointment, our visas, Trek's plane ticket home we have just enough money almost to the penny for just two people to go. There are 4 of us. So know the conversations begin as to what two go. It's either Mike and I or Mike and Robin (our 16 year old daughter).

We had been praying all along to have the opportunity to go over as a family and serve in the orphanage until his visa was approved at which time we'd come home. We think the only way Robin can be away from school for 5 weeks or so would be for her to home school the remainder of the year. She not digging that at all! She wants to go, but does not remotely like the sounds of home schooling. Noelle wants to go, but if Robin stays home, would it be easier for her to stay with her. We have some wonderful friends who have offered to stay with our girls the entire time we would be gone whether it is two weeks or five weeks.

Unless the Lord provides in a way that we are not expecting it is looking like Mike and I will be the ones returning to Nepal, just not sure as to how soon to leave and what date our return date should be. One thing is final....we are no longer 'fund-raising' for this adoption anymore. Period. The Lord has been so gracious and faithful and we feel it's time to be done. If he lays it on someones heart to do something, that is between them and the Lord.

So please be praying with Mike & I as we seek the Lord in making our travel plans.

Trek is doing great! We got another update yesterday and he is doing wonderful. We can't wait to hold him in our arms again! We are so excited to have our family complete, all living together! What a ride this has been! We are thankful and excited to see another rebuttal approved yesterday! I really believe it won't be long now! Here's praying to a speedy rebuttal and approval!

KISSES IN THE WIND (The Waiting Child's Lullabye)

I hold you in my heart and touch you in my dreams.
You are here each day with me, at least that's how it seems.

I know you wonder where we are... what's taking us so long.
But remember child, I love you so and God will keep you strong.

Now go outside and feel the breeze and let it touch your skin...
Because tonight, just as always, I blow you kisses in the wind.

May God hold you in His hand until I can be with you.
I promise you, my darling, I'm doing all that I can do.

Very soon, you'll have a family for real, not just pretend.
But for tonight, just as always, I blow you kisses in the wind.

May God wrap you in His arms and hold you very tight.
And let the angels bring the kisses that I send to you each night.

--- © Pamela Durkota, written for Josh

I'm not a fan of Dixie Chicks, but I do like this song and it seems appropriate.

HALF A WORLD AWAY
By Jill Work

A half a world away
Sometimes it seems we’re so far apart
But a half a world away
Is not too far for a journey of the heart

My little one, my bundle of joy
I’m waiting for you
My precious son, my baby boy
I know you’re waiting too

A half a world away
A child waits for a family of his own
While a half a world away
A family waits to come bring him home

My little one, my bundle of joy
I’m whispering a prayer
My precious son, my baby boy
I hope to soon be there

I hope that we
will no longer be
a half a world away.

I think he likes ice cream :)

Brain Freeze

Did you miss me?

2011-01-18T16:32:00.000-08:00

It's been weeks it seems since I've blogged. It's been busy around here and if we're friends on facebook you know why.

I am in the thick of planning a benefit dinner and auction to raise the money needed for the legal fight we are in to get Trek's visa.

I will tell you, I'd rather have a yard sale any day over this! There is a ton of work involved especially when you're doing 98% of it yourself. But I won't complain the Lord is faithful as always and He has provided all the food! We have Olive Garden providing 500 bread sticks and salads for 100 people, Angelo's is a local Italian restaurant and the are providing 60 pounds of spaghetti, Texas Roadhouse is giving us 400 rolls and their sweet butter....yum! We have another restaurant that is providing all the sauce and last but not least a small local pizza shop is going to pick up any slack in salads and or sauce!! Oh yeah, Pepsi is giving us 25 cases of soda :) So the food is looking and sounding great! We even had a group of ladies offer to prepare and serve the dinner! Yahoo!!!

So I went back and forth with some of my friends on what to 'charge' for tickets. We settled on $5.00 a ticket and children under 4 are free. Do you know how many tickets one needs to sell to raise thousands of dollars??? I mean people, friends we are trying to raise in the vicinity of $10,000.00 dollars! Oh my...that's a LOT of tickets! So far we have raised about 670.00 in tickets, which is wonderful! Many from people who live out of state and even the country but want to show their support. We love you guys and couldn't do it without you!

The auction is what I'm focusing on now. We are praying for large items to draw in the public. Also we are having a dessert table and hoping to raise lots of money there. I'm trying my best to not get too freaked out about what we need to raise and rest in the Lord and believe that He'll provide again like He has in the past. All I can do is what seems logical and leave the rest to Him. I know He is able!

So for any of you out there that has not bought tickets...it's not too late!

Now for an update on Trek's case....

We have heard that the investigation is complete and now we wait for our attorney to get all the information and wait for her to write our rebuttal. Praying that she gets it finished ahead of schedule, which happens to be Feb. 21.

Trek is doing wonderful! He looks like he is filling out. I think he's gained a little over 2 pounds! He is saying dada and mama! We were skyping him Sunday night and he was trying to rub Mike's head....so cute! As wonderful as he is being taken care of, it's so hard not being the ones to care for him! We are praying everyday that the Lord will provide so we can go over as a family in February and stay there until his visa is issued. So far every rebuttal that has been submitted has been approved thank God! Some people have asked how we could leave and not work....this is the neat thing.... the type of work Mike does allows him to do it anywhere in the world as long as he has the Internet. So as long as the Lord provides the means for us to get back over there Mike will continue to work. The other 'issue' people ask about is Robin's schooling. We would have to home school the remained of the year (I think) and she seems willing to do that or see what ideas her teachers might have. What I can tell you for certainty is... we are ready to be living together as a family the way the Lord intended us too! We think of the verse Psalms 68:6 often... "God places the lonely in families.... " I don't mean to be a broken record in saying we are so thankful for PUMA, but that is not his family. He needs to be with his daddy, mommy and two sisters who all want so desperately to be with him!

So, I'm reading another great book, Radical (taking back your faith from the America Dream) by David Platt. I liked this particular quote I just read today...

This is how God works. He puts his people in positions where they are desperate for his power, and then he shows his provision in ways that display his greatness.

We have seen this time and time again through Trek's adoption and I believe He will continue to display his greatness! Please keep praying with us and for our little boy!

A Tandem Ride With God

2010-12-29T05:48:00.000-08:00

I used to think of God as my observer, my judge, keeping track of the things I did wrong, so as to know whether I merited heaven or hell when I die. He was out there, sort of like a president. I recognized His picture when I saw it, but I didn't really know Him.

But later on, when I met Jesus, it seemed as though life was rather like a bike, but it was a tandem bike, and I noticed that Jesus was in the back helping me pedal. I didn't know just when it was He suggested we change, but life has not been the same since I took the back-seat to Jesus, my Lord. He makes life exciting. When I had control, I thought I knew the way. It was rather boring, but predictable. It was the shortest distance between two points.

But when He took the lead, He knew delightful long cuts, up mountains, and through rocky places and at break-through speeds; it was all I could do to hang on! Even though it often looked like madness, He said, "Pedal!" I was worried and anxious and asked, "Where are you taking me?" He laughed and didn't answer and I started to learn to trust. I forgot my boring life and entered into adventure. And when I'd say, "I'm scared", He'd lean back and touch my hand.

He took me to people with gifts that I needed, gifts of healing, acceptance and joy. They gave me their gifts to take on my journey, our journey, my Lord's and mine. And we were off again. He said, "Give the gifts away; they're extra baggage, too much weight." So I did, to the people we met, and I found in giving I received, and still our burden was light.

I did not trust Him, at first, in control of my life. I thought He'd wreck it, but He knows bike secrets, knows how to make it bend to take sharp corners, jump to clear high rocks, fly to shorten scary passages. And I am learning to shut up and pedal in the strangest places, and I'm beginning to enjoy the view and the cool breeze on my face with my delightful constant companion, Jesus.

And when I'm sure I just can't do any more, He just smiles and says... "Pedal."

(Author unknown)

I'm thrilled to share with you that the money has come in for us to secure the investigator and lawyer. This does not mean we have all the money needed. We still have a LOT to raise!

I do want to clarify one thing. The dinner and auction is NOT tonight, it's January 29 @ 5PM.

Now that Christmas is over, I am beginning to work on collecting items for the auction and dessert table. So, if you're reading this and have a business or have something you'd like to donate or if you want to make some sweets for the dessert table please contact me at tonya@mpdcad.com.

Would you please pray for something else? We know God is in control of all that is going on and we totally believe He'll provide every penny needed to pay the lawyer and investigator. He's provided all along, why would be doubt it this time? Something that we have been talking about and praying about is this....somehow the Lord making a way for us to be able to leave the beginning of February and stay in Nepal until we are able to bring Trek home. The Lord would have to work out the details of course, but if Mike could somehow do his 'regular' job from over there and we are able to continue to pay our bills, he could work the times they have electricity and the times they are without it, we could work/teach/play with the children and didi's (care takers of the orphanage). It would be like a short term missions trip for a month or two serving in an orphanage! There is so much that needs to be done there and with wanting Trek in our custody as soon as possible this would just be an awesome thing to do. Would you please pray about this with us.

Please continue to spread the news about the petition! If you haven't taken a minute to sign it please do it now. Click HERE to sign.

To make a donation click HERE.

Fighting the US Government to bring Trek home

2010-12-26T03:58:00.000-08:00

Orrington family fights to bring Nepalese child home

BANGOR DAILY NEWS PHOTO BY KEVIN BENNETT
“I’m excited about it,” said 16 year-old Robin Davis (left) at her Orrington home on Friday. “I’ve wanted a sibling forever, and I’ve always wanted a little brother.” To the right is her 4-year-old sister, Noelle, who was adopted from China.
12/24/10 07:50 pm Updated: 12/25/10 01:44 pm
By Nok-Noi Ricker
BDN Staff

ORRINGTON, Maine — Trek was 5 days old when Katmandu, Nepal, police found him abandoned on the streets of the Asian country’s capital city. He has lived for two years in an orphanage with little food and no toys while waiting to be taken into someone’s home and heart.

“He’s only 17 pounds,” said Tonya Davis, who, along with her husband, Mike, has fallen in love with the youngster. “He’s this little peanut.”

The Orrington couple feel a calling from God to spread their love to children in dire need and adopted Trek earlier this month with hopes to have him home for Christmas. But U.S. government red tape is preventing the child from getting a visa.

“Back on Aug. 6 the U.S. suspended adoptions with Nepal,” Tonya Davis said. “They did it because they believe the paperwork Nepal was providing is fraudulent.”

The government of Nepal issued the Davises their referral letter on Aug. 1 approving their match with Trek, just beating the U.S. moratorium.

The good news is that those already matched with a child are in the pipeline and their paperwork will continue to be processed, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website states.

“There [are] about 80 pipeline families and we’re one of them, the only one in Maine,” Tonya Davis said.

New adoptions have been suspended for abandoned children in Nepal because “the Department of State has concluded that the documentation presented for children reported abandoned in Nepal is unreliable,” the USCIS website states.

The U.S. is not alone in suspending adoptions from Nepal. Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom recently suspended adoptions based on similar concerns, the website says.

The State Department sent a team of investigators to Nepal in August to review the 80 adoptions in the pipeline and found nothing fraudulent, but even so it still is requiring adoptive families to jump through very expensive hoops, Mike Davis said. The pipeline families are now required to hire a private investigator in Nepal to look for the parents who abandoned their children, as well as a U.S. lawyer to process all the paperwork, he said.

The lawyer and investigator are expected to cost about $10,000, and that’s money the Davises don’t have.

Add to that the fact that a clock is ticking away toward a deadline.

“We have 87 days,” Tonya Davis said.

“Our countdown started on Dec. 3,” the day their adoption paperwork for Trek was completed, her husband said. “They are asking for the impossible.”

“What kills me is these children have been adopted by U.S. citizens and it’s the U.S. that is denying the visas,” Tonya Davis said.

People at the orphanage named the 5-day-old boy police gave them two years ago Pratik. The Davises have renamed him Trek Pratik Davis.

The Orrington couple have a 16-year-old daughter, Robin, and adopted their second daughter, Noelle, from China in January 2008. Robin said she has always wanted siblings and is excited to have a little brother to share her life with.

Tonya and Mike Davis left for Nepal on Thanksgiving Day and spent three weeks in the country trying to get everything done in order to bring Trek home. They returned on Dec. 16 empty-handed.

“I believe it will happen,” Tonya Davis said.

“We are committed to him no matter what,” Mike Davis said. “He’s our son.”

The couple met a couple of U.S. missionaries online when they first started doing research into a Nepal adoption two years ago. The missionaries have taken their adopted son into their home to await his visa.

“He’s safe,” Tonya Davis said. “We could not have left if he had to go back to that orphanage.”

When the couple first met their son, he was malnourished and had burns on his face from being out in the sun all day long, every day. Those burns since have healed.

The couple keep in contact with Trek and their missionary friends through the Internet telephone service Skype.

Presents for their 2-year-old son are under the Christmas tree and a stocking has been hung for him, even though they don’t know when he will get to open them.

“We’re still praying for a Christmas miracle,” Tonya Davis said.

“Someone high up in Washington could sign the paperwork and he could be home by New Year’s,” her husband said.

The Davises are holding a benefit dinner and silent auction to raise money at 5 p.m. Jan. 29 at Calvary Chapel in Orrington.

Those interested in more information about Trek Davis’ adoption process can check out Tonya Davis’ blog, www.ifwehavefaithofamustardseed.blogspot.com.

Tonya Davis said people also could support their family and other pipeline families by signing an online petition that is sent directly to U.S. senators and members of the House of Representatives. So far, 10,491 petition letters have been sent, she said.

The petition can be found online at petition2congress.com/3867/bring-stranded-nepali-adoptees-home-now.

If you want to make a donation click
HERE

Would you also PLEASE re-post this on your blogs & facebook!

Please Help Bring Our Son Home!

2010-12-24T12:01:00.000-08:00

PLEASE Re-post on your blogs and facebook!!!

To donate click HERE

Benefit Dinner & Silent Auction

2010-12-22T09:40:00.000-08:00

to bring home Trek Davis from Nepal.
Calvary Chapel Orrington
January 29, 2010
Time to be announced.

Our son is stuck in Nepal because the United States won't issue his visa.
The US is adding additional burden to families by requiring us to hire an attorney and private investigator. These are added costs that we never expected to have to pay. It's going to be $7500.00 and the investigator will be either $2500.00 or $3500.00.

Time is against us right now. We have 87 days to send in a rebuttal to the United States Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) in New Delhi. The clock started ticking on Dec 3.

The most urgent need for next week is the 2500.00 3500.00 to hire the investigator. Plus we will need to pay at least 500.00 to 1000.00 to retain the lawyer.

It sounds like the lawyer will allow us the month to try and raise the additional money needed. So please pray with us that the Lord will bring in about 4000.00 or more in just a few days so we can get started.

Keep the dinner and auction in prayer. Pray that business will donate all that's needed and that lots will come! We are going to try our best to get the local news to do a short interview with us announce the dinner. Please pray! I honestly don't want to move to Nepal for two years if it's not 100% necessary. I feel like we need to continue to fight for Trek!

Here's a signature on the new petition that I thought I'd share. It pretty much tells it like it is. Please re-post on your blogs, facebook, twitter along with the petition link and the new blog with all the children waiting.

She's stuck in Nepal and it's getting cold there. Orphanage is subsisting on porridge and lentils. My daughter flew there and signed the adoption papers two months ago, but the U.S. Embassy still hasn't produced a visa for the toddler, and so the little one can't enter the U.S. SO frustrating. There are 56 American families stuck in this red tape tragedy. Go to this website to see PHOTOS of the little kids, and then click on the link there and PLEASE sign the petition. http://theywaitnepal.blogspot.com/

Forward this to everyone you knows so they will sign and forward it too. We're hoping for 10,000 signatures by the end of the week. Maybe President Obama will grant the children humanitarian relief status and issue visas for them all. At this point, it's too late to the kids to be home for Christmas or Chanukkah, but maybe we could aim to have them all home by the New Year??????

When you read the petition, you'll know what the whole story is, but essentially, the Nepal Government had declared that all these kids are "orphans available for international adoption"; but the U.S. Embassy and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security wanted to make sure that the children really were orphans so they took about four months to investigate all the kids' orphanage records, and then on December 15, 2010, both Departments declared that NO FRAUD, and NO CHILD TRAFFICKING was found in ANY of their investigations. Thank Goodness!!

But then they said that they want each of the adoptive parents to produce evidence confirming that NO FRAUD and NO CHILD TRAFFICKING has taken place and they've given the adoptive parents 87 days to produce that evidence. Without the confirming evidence, the Embassy will issue a denial to EVER produce a visa. So the new parents have to hire Nepali lawyers and Nepali private investigators (which costs thousands of dollars) to try and track down some police officer or passerby who found the newborn lying on the side of the road two or three years ago. It's a nightmare of frustration because Nepal, like any other third-world country, is more interested in the basic human needs of feeding and caring for the foundlings than in creating official reports and filing them in triplicate so that some U.S. official can be satisfied with a Western idea of proper papertrails years later. None of the adoptive families speaks the Nepali language, and most of them are back in the U.S., desperate to get their new children home. After paying all the normal costs of international adoptions, these investigations are draining the families terribly. Some are selling their homes rather than abandon their children. They've met the children, bonded with them, fallen in love with them, and just want to get them home to proper feeding, medical care, and LOVING FAMILIES.

My daughter has been pursuing this adoption for three years now. I was so hoping my Mom would get to meet the little girl, but, at 99 years of age, my Mom passed this August. But, my 99-year old mother-in-law is still with us and so we can still have FOUR generations of our family together, if only that toddler's visa would come through in time for Great-Grandma Mollie to meet her.

http://theywaitnepal.blogspot.com/

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

They Wait

Petition

I'm adding a new Chip In button to help with the legal fight we now find ourselves in.

Correction

2010-12-21T10:35:00.000-08:00

I misunderstood something and need to correct it. I guess if we want to move to Nepal and start a business it would cost 25,000.00. This is NOT our intent. So disregard that. My brain is shutting down, so that's it for now.

Home Sweet Home...but for how long?

2010-12-21T08:32:00.000-08:00

When fear shapes our lives, safety becomes our god. when safety becomes our god, we worship the risk-free life. Can the safety-lover do anything great? Can the risk-averse accomplish noble deeds? for God? for others? No.

The fear-filled cannot love deeply. Love is risky.

They cannot give to the poor. Benevolence has no guarantee of return.

The fear-filled cannot dream wildly. What if their dreams sputter and fall from the sky?

The worship of safety emasculates greatness. No wonder Jesus wages such a war against fear.

{Jesus} said to them, "Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? Behold My hand and My feet, that it is I Myself. Luke 24:38-39

The LORD spoke his word to Abram in a vision: "Abram, don't be afraid. I will defend you, and I will give you a great reward." Genesis 15:1

"Am I a God near at hand", says the LORD, "and not a God afar off?" Jeremiah 23:23

It is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. Philippians 2:13

Update on orphanage. Out of the $3600.00 that was given for the children at the orphanage, we were only able to get our hands on $1200.00 while we were there. Leaving $2400.00 left to be spent on them. We took care of the needs of the baby room and purchased food, bought emergency lighting for when they don't have electricity. $500.00 was used to give to a different children's home that was in need of blankets. We also brought Maya, Trek and the orphan girl to the hospital for their checkups.

We will be going back soon and will be reassessing the needs. We plan to purchase shoes and jackets for all the children (something very needed). We know they have a huge need there, but at this point do not feel comfortable with giving cash to them. So if anyone wanted to give to help the children still can do so by contacting us (the Chip In has expired). We are looking forward to going back and blessing them in the name and love of Jesus!

Okay now that, that is out of the way let me update you on Trek and what is happening. First of all, he is doing wonderful! I know we have said it a hundred times, but we are soo thankful for PUMA and Mary and Fran and Padam and just the group of believers there! Trek is happy and getting into a good daily routine, for his playtime, eating great, napping and he sleeps great at night. Praise the Lord for a strong little man! So he's doing wonderful and we miss him terrible! We can't wait to have him in our care, which brings me to the update on his visa.

Still don't have the visa. We (group of parents & supporters) continue to send letters, make phone calls, try to get local and national attention to this issue, but still have not seen anything happen on a government level. Very frustrating! So we will continue this fight, but in the meantime we need to work towards our RFE (request for evidence). We were issued our RFE on Dec 3 (our adoption day) and have 87 days to send in a rebuttal. Up to now we had not gotten a lawyer because of two reasons....1. we truly believed that the Lord would intervene before we got to this point, 2. we don't have the money...again another reason we believed the Lord would work this out before we got to this point. But here we are and we are faced with some major decisions to make. We did contact a lawyer and she is working with lots of other Nepal families...and seems to be having success. She sent us a very encouraging email letting us know how she could help us and it was refreshing to read because of her optimism. I called the office to get the fees and about lost it. I guess I shouldn't have been shocked, but I've never needed a lawyer for anything and had no idea what kind of fees we'd be looking at. I have no idea who reads this and you may read this and think we're crazy and that her fees are fair and inexpensive....and you may be right, but we don't have a 'rainy day' account, we don't have retirement money being set aside, we don't have stocks and so on. We live week to week and that's just where the Lord has us right now and we will choose to be happy and rest in Him. So the lawyer is asking for a $6000.00 retainer. $250.00 for that is for our initial meeting to find out who to use for an investigator(an additional expense) and what our next steps would be. She needs the money ASAP! I told the office lady that we would love to have her work on our case, but we don't have the money. She said if we couldn't get the money then our only option would be to move to Nepal for the two years required. At that point we would pull our case and live in Nepal for the two years and then come home on a 'family visa' vs. 'orphan visa'. So as you can imagine my mind is racing wondering what we are suppose to do. My choice would be to not have to move, but we are willing to do whatever the Lord leads us. But if we were to move, there is still a ton that would have to happen to make that possible! We can't just leave when we have bills and things to take care of here. To work in Nepal one would have to purchase a working visa of some sort and that is $25,000.00 so if we don't have 6 thousand, how do we find 25 thousand??? Anyway...that's what is going on with the visa issue. We still pray for the Lords intervention and that we get word that the US government will just issue these and let these children come home.

God is good all the time! All the time, God is good!

Goodbye Nepal

2010-12-13T18:15:00.000-08:00

Are you tied up in knots? "Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7). Strong verb there. Cast. Not place, lay or occasionally offer. Peter enlisted the same verb Gospel writers used to describe the way Jesus treated demons. He cast them out. An authoritative hand on the collar, another on the belt, and a "Don't come back". Do the same with your fears. Get serious with them. Immediately cast them upon God.

Worry is an option, not an assignment. God can lead you into a worry-free world. Be quick to pray. Focus less on the problems ahead and more on the victories behind. Do your part, and God will do His. He will guard your heart with His peace....a peace that passes understanding.

Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. Psalm 30:5

We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair....For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory...For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:8, 17-18

You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts You. Isaiah 26:3

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31

Please keep us in prayer today. It will be a hard day for us. We are leaving the hotel soon and will be bringing Trek to his temporary home. We are sad to have to leave him, but thankful the Lord has placed such wonderful people in our lives and Treks lives to help us through this. Please keep our travels in prayer as well. It's gonna be a long journey home!

We have loved our time here in Nepal. The Lord has been with us.

Goodbye for now Nepal. We WILL be back!

Last Full Day In Nepal

2010-12-13T03:07:00.000-08:00

Feed your fears, and your faith will starve.

Feed you faith, and your fears will.

Jesus could have calmed your storm long ago. But He hasn't. Does He want to teach you a lesson? Could that lesson read something like this: "Storms are not an option, but fear is"?

God has recorded His accomplishments in Scripture. His Resume includes Red Sea opening. Lions' mouths closing. Goliath topplings. Lazarus raisings. Storm stillings and strollings.

His lesson is clear. He's the commander of every storm.

The LORD's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. Isaiah 59:1

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

Today was our last full day in Nepal. We met up with Mary and Fran and hit the streets to load them up on necessary items for Trek and Maya. That kept us busy until about 3PM. Now we are back at the hotel gearing up to pack his stuff to bring over in the morning and of course get our stuff packed up for the long trip home. As you can imagine we have mixed emotions with leaving. We can't wait to get home and see our girls and friends and family, but it's so hard leaving our son here. We are so thankful for the PUMA family. Honestly if they couldn't take care of him one of us would be staying. I could NEVER put a child back into an orphanage!

I know that doesn't sound like an exciting day, but that's about all we did. I did take pictures today for your viewing enjoyment. Note....the picture are all backwards. Not sure how to get them in order. I guess start with the pictures from the end of the day and work your way to the beginning.

The one who HATED the elevator when we first got him, now likes it!

Wanted to get a nice picture of him outside the hotel. Guess not.

Maya enjoying her pineapple pizza.

Maya loved her balloon. She kept whacking me on the head with it :)

Trek with father Christmas. Nope, didn't like that either.

The children waiting patiently for Mary and Fran to find the two missing wheels on Maya's stroller.

Maya wanted to be held by Mike all day.

Trek in the taxi.

Sunday In Nepal

2010-12-12T17:38:00.000-08:00

I don't have a lot of time to journal this morning because this is our last full day here and there is lots to be done.

Yesterday we pretty much hung out with the girls at the house. Which every day Trek does better and better. Praising the Lord for that. We took him, Maya and another baby from the orphanage to see the doctor. Trek HATED the doctor. I thought she was really nice and was excellent with the kids, but he would tell you different. She said his lungs were clear, no ear infection and he is tiny for his age, but with good food he'll gain quickly. He's been malnourished. He weights 17.6 lbs and is 31 inches short :). Maya looks in good health too! He and Maya will be put on de-worm meds in a few days. Sounds like about all the children that come from an orphanage get them from the water.

The baby we took, we thought might have CP. She's 18 months and has never stood. Her head is the normal size for an 18 month old, but her body is the size of a 6-7 month old. The doctor said it was from not eating enough. She said unless they start feeding her more or she can be moved to a different home or someone adopts her.....
So be praying for her!

Oh yeah, we also visited some ancient place where the King lived like a couple hundred years ago. It was neat to see, but so sad....there are so many people that come here and worship gods/idols. I was able to share with Sumitra that it did break my heart because those idols and gods can't help them. I shared with her that there is only ONE LIVING GOD....JESUS! They think the cows are gods.....

He's the God of this City, Country!

Here are some pictures from our day.

What Happened To Friday?

2010-12-11T17:08:00.000-08:00

Strangely, I have no idea. Right now it's Sunday morning and yesterday it was Trek's second birthday. We feel blessed to have been able to celebrate with him, and we believe he'll be home for his third! We started our day with breakfast here at the hotel and then headed over to the PUMA home and went to church with them. Again we were blessed to worship with them. Doug was asked to speak about 5 minutes before they got there, so it was a blessing having him share. We understood everything...cause it was in English! Doug & Jen are adopting M and she will be staying with Trek until the visas are issued.

After church we headed back to the house and had tuna sandwiches and cheese. Then it was time for the birthday party! Mike and Mary and two of the girls went to pick up 30 pizza's and a cake to feed 80! Mary opened in prayer, praying for the Doug & Jen and Mike & I and our little ones that we have to leave here for a season. She asked all the children/teens to keep us in prayer and to set a good example for them :) Each child was able to have two slices of pizza..... this is why we had lunch first. After we ate and cleaned up from the pizza the children put on a presentation for us. Oh my. It was beautiful. They sang several songs in English, had two special solos, and did a cardboard testimony. I don't think there was a dry eye in that room.
I will do my best to somehow upload videos to share. I'll get Mike on that.

After we finished with the presentation the kids sang Happy Birthday to Trek and we had cake. It was YUMMY! They had a German bakery make it. Yummo! Trek LOVED it!!

In all we had a wonderful, blessed day. One we will never forget. We took lots of video and pictures so I'll be done typing and just share pictures (we'll work on videos. If we're friends on facebook some will be there).

And therefore will the Lord wait, that He may be gracious unto you, and therefore will He be exalted, that He may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is God of judgment: blessed are all that wait for Him. Isaiah 30:18
We will wait. We will pray. We will have faith. We will believe. We will have hope.
We will have peace. We will do all these things with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Doug speaking, Padam translating.

This is the building that PUMA is either renting or has purchased. It is being used for church services and for Pastors that come to Nepal to teach the ministers here. I think I heard someone say they might start a Bible college here as well. They are still working on finishing it. Maybe CC Bangor should send a team here to help :) I know Mike would come!

Philip, Padam, M, a local chicken farmer and of course Trek.

Philip trying to get Trek to go to him.

Fran Didi

The girls home where Trek will be staying.

PIZZA!!

These photos are out of order. Sorry. He didn't scream tonight....as much. :)

Thursday In Nepal

2010-12-09T22:31:00.000-08:00

Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6

Know that the Lord, He is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Psalm 100:3

He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him. Proverbs 30:5

We need to hear that God is still in control. We need to hear that it's not over until he says so. We need to hear that life's mishaps and tragedies are not a reason to bail out. They are simply a reason to sit tight.

Corrie ten Boom used to say, "When the train goes through a tunnel and the world gets dark, do you jump out? Of course not. You sit still and trust the engineer to get you through."

Next time you're disappointed, don't panic. Don't jump out. Don't give up. Just be patient and let God remind you he's still in control.

It ain't over till it's over.

Even though it looks very much like we will be coming home without Trek in our arms, we are still praying believing that God will move this mountain. If he chooses not to right now, it must mean He has an even greater plan. That does not mean this is easy...let me assure you it's NOT. I don't want to leave my baby here. I want him home with us. But God is good and we choose to have faith that He will work this all out in his perfect time. His perfect time and ours may not be the same.

It's 12:30 noon in Nepal right now. Trek has been napping and still is. Once he wakes up we are heading over to the girls house for another visit. He did so good yesterday. Every day that we are there he opens up a little more to them. So guess what???? There is another Christian couple over here in the same boat we are and they have adopted a beautiful little girl only about 5 months older than Trek and she will also be staying with M & F!! So the little guy will have someone is own age to play with :)

I think Mike is a little concerned about Trek hanging with 30 girls all the time, but M & F assured us that he would be hanging out with the guys and the boys home :)

Here are some pictures from yesterday....

Journeying In The Company Of The Holy Spirit

2010-12-08T22:07:00.000-08:00

Machhapuchhre Mountain

Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. Colossians 3:16-17

Strengthen yourselves so that you will live here on earth doing what God wants, not the evil things people want. 1 Peter 4:2

Our offering to God is this: We are the sweet smell of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are being lost. 2 Corinthians 2:15

You will never face the future without God's help. You have a travel companion.

When you place your faith in Christ, Christ places his Spirit before, behind, and within you. Not a strange spirit, but the same Spirit: the parakletos. As Jesus sends you into new seasons, he sends his counselor to go with you.

God never sends you out alone. Are you on the eve of change? Do you find yourself looking into a new chapter? Is the foliage of your world showing signs of a new season? Heaven's message for you is clear: when everything else changes, God's presence never does. You journey in the company of the Holy Spirit.

Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name you are Mine.

Isaiah 43:1

As many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father." Romans 8:14-15

Not much happened yesterday and we didn't take any pictures! Sorry! We spent the afternoon visiting with the Trek's new aunties :) He did much better over there today. We believe and are trusting God is going to put a peace in his little heart about staying with them until the appointed time for him to come home. We know he'll be loved by all the girls there!

Right now it's something like 12 noon over here on Thursday and I'm hanging out in the hotel with Trek. He had another bath which he HATES!!! He cried so hard he fell asleep and he's been sleeping ever since. One of our Christian connections picked Mike up on his motorcycle and took him shopping for 50+ coats, shoes, blankets, etc. They went to Themal (sp?) looking for better quality items and to hopefully find a deal. Please pray the Lord blesses their efforts and keeps him safe on these crazy streets!

We are planning to go visit the home later this afternoon with some other Christian friends we have made. I'm expecting a wonderful evening of fellowship!

Please continue to pray the the Lords perfect will to be done.

Blessings from Nepal!

I'm back. Mike just made it back safely from his shopping adventure. Sounds like he found some good stuff and good deals. I found a couple new pictures on the camera so here they are...

So, yeah he loves ripping paper :)

A New Day

2010-12-07T19:43:00.000-08:00

Just want to give you all a quick update. Really not much has happened since we got word about our RFE. We stayed at the hotel till about 1:30 and then went to the Foreign Ministry today to pick up his travel document, which is good for one year. It's his one way ticket home. This is not the same things as his visa. We will be taking him to the doctor on Friday at 4 for his check up. This is required by Nepal for children under 2 (I think). He'll have to see one of two US appointed doctors before he can enter the US. That comes after we get his visa.

After we left there we went straight to our friends home and visited with them. The Lord really is giving us a peace about him staying with them while we wait this out. They are precious sisters in the Lord and are so blessed that the Lord put them in our path. Trek will be in great hands! And I know he'll be loved. He'll have two special "aunties" and about 30 plus "sisters".

We made contact with the police department through our friend and are hopeful to get some information about Trek's abandonment. Please be praying about this. We also have plans to contact our lawyer here and put an add in the paper and possibly TV asking for his birth mother to come forward so we can bring him home. This would be the best, easiest way to resolve this. We realize this is very unlikely, but we want to at least make an effort. This may help when we send in a rebuttal.

Our plans today are to go shopping for the children at the orphanage. We are buying all of them a coat, shoes, and blanket. Also we will be praying that the director will give us more specific info on his case. Again, please keep this in prayer.

Thank you to everyone who has tried making contact with Senator, Congressmen, etc. We're not sure how much they can help us, but it's worth trying. We did make a connection with someone in DC that may help us. Praying about this as well. It sounds promising. We are going to make contact with them tomorrow. Praying about this as well. So much to be praying about!

Last evening we finally met a Christian couple also adopting and had dinner with them. It was a blessing to fellowship with them. I love how when you are with other believers even though you may not know each other very well, there is a connection there and you feel like family (cause they are). Please be praying for them as they just got word yesterday that their file has been sent to ND.

Okay, so now that we are in this place with his adoption be feel it might be best to make our blog private. I know it's a pain to have to put in a password, but we think it's best. We still hope you will all follow along with us and be praying. Not exactly sure how this will work, but we'll do our best to figure it out so you all can follow along. I guess since I'm not sure how it will work maybe anyone who wants to follow along should email me their 'email address' and then I think I send you an invitation to read. We'll give it a try and see how it works. We'll also talk to other families in this situation and get their advice. Okay, I'll leave you will some pictures. We have a busy day ahead so I'm signing off. Please pray for the Lord to guide our steps and for our health. Mike and I both are not feeling the best....colds, allergies and Trek has a pretty bad cold himself. Love you all!

Here's a devotion to share with you. I don't read my 'Grace Mail' everyday but did yesterday and it was a blessing. Thought I'd share.
"After leaving Marah . . . . " Exodus 15:27

Marah means bitter. This was a place of bitter waters where God tested the Israelites. They had traveled three days into the desert after the miraculous deliverance from Egypt and the crossing of the Red Sea, and they were out of water. They arrive at Marah thirsty and in need so they bend down to drink, and the water is bitter! They begin grumbling and complaining, and then God changes the bitter water to sweet water. After being refreshed at Marah, they traveled to Elim.

"After leaving Marah, the Israelites traveled on to the oasis of Elim, where they found twelve springs and seventy palm trees. They camped there beside the water."

Do you know that Elim is only two hours from Marah? Isn't that a kick? Do you see how purposeful that test was at Marah? God could easily have said, "Moses, just go on another two hours, and you will find twelve springs and seventy date palms – shade, dates, and nourishment!" But, the Lord didn't do that. Instead, He said, "No, there's going to be a test first."

Maybe two hours from the test you're in right now, the Lord has bountiful blessings in store for you. Don't fail the test! Actually, God's testing is not meant to show you up; it's meant to show you off. It might only be "two hours" before you'll encounter significant blessing. Just around the corner from Marah was Elim with twelve springs – one for each of the tribes of Israel. There were seventy palms, and those palms speak of rightness, fruitfulness, and maturity.

Right around the corner from our most difficult times can be significant blessing. Don't give up! That's God's special word for you today – Don't give up!

Sad Day

2010-12-06T03:50:00.000-08:00

We were having a good day up till this afternoon. We went out to visit the orphanage and Trek didn't want anything to do with anyone there....he's already attaching so well to us! Makes my heart glad :) We bought some more things for the kids today along with fresh fruit and they were very happy and blessed. We found out that all 51 children need shoes and coats, so we'll be busy doing that this week along with lots of other stuff.

So then we went to visit Mary Ellen and Fran and it was a wonderful visit! I really love them already and they have such a willing heart to do and help in any way with Trek. We all have been praying for a miracle and it could still happen, but when we got back to the hotel today we were contacted by New Delhi and they have not approved his visa and now the burden of proof falls on us. We now must prove that he is an orphan under US definition. So unless the Lord acts and someone in a high government position changes this for everyone then Trek will not be coming home with us in December. It's been a very emotional afternoon for Mike and I. We are so in love with this little boy and he is our son now and we can't imagine not having him with us.

This is the only picture we took today. Trek was napping when we got word that ND did not approve his visa.

I don't know what to say other than the Word of God doesn't change, His love for us and Trek doesn't change and we have to believe He has a plan. I'll be honest, I can't imagine what it is or how any of this is good for us or Trek, but that's not for me to question. We will be meeting with our local friend here and see if he can help us in our search for evidence. Please pray we find all that we need and that the local people will tell the US officials everything they need to know. We have something like 84 days to submit our evidence. At that point they will send out official so verify everything.

Well, I guess that's all I have for you tonight. I'll try to post pictures later although with all that happened we didn't take much. Please keep us in prayer because all this is so hard.

The count down is on..... 10 days till we're home! We are missing our girls terrible! Now we'll be missing our son terrible! We are so thankful he'll be cared for by Christian women who will love him and who love the Lord!

Goodnight from Nepal

Back at the hotel

2010-12-05T01:17:00.000-08:00

Good Afternoon from Nepal! Time for an update. Yesterday we left the hotel pretty early to head over to the PUMA home. It was our full intent to say there the remainder of the trip (about week and two days), but I'm embarrassed to admit I'm a spleeny, spoiled girl. You know, probably most of us Americans are. Things aren't perfect in the US, but we have a very comfortable life style. Much different than millions all over the world. So our friend Padam picked us up and helped to get us settled in our new room and then later in the day gave a nice tour of the area. They (PUMA) really do have nice facilities there and a very nice home. The plan was to say on the third floor,(which we did for one night) ,and there is a huge balcony where Trek was able to run around and play with his ball. That evening his wife made us dinner and it was really tasty.

So you're probably wondering if the house is so great why'd you leave. Why do I feel like I have to explain to all of you...I have no idea, but for my own 'records' I'll list a few. One, they (most of KTM), only have electricity for six hours a day and they split that up between the morning and evening hours. Hotels have back up generator so we have it all the time. We didn't have access to the computer (email) or our majicJack phone while we were there and we need to be able to check to see if we hear from the Embassy and also we want to be in regular touch with our girls. Second...I like having a regular bathroom. Although they had lots of room outside for Trek to play, he didn't have much room inside.

Anyway, you all don't need to know EVERY reason :) Bottom line I told Mike I'd be much more comfortable being in a hotel with the baby...and being the sweet husband that he is, he brought me back. So now you all get updates, doesn't that make you happy!

Looking from the bedroom at the PUMA home.

Looking down from the balcony at the 'court yard'.

On the balcony by our room.

This morning getting dressed. It was chilly!

Around 5AM, Trek was awake and feeling hungry.

We went to church yesterday morning and it was wonderful! We didn't understand a thing anyone said, but we did recognize them singing How Great Thou Art. The worship was very emotional for both of us (teary). It's hard to describe but to be in the middle of a room filled mostly teens who were truly worshiping the Lord was a beautiful to witness and to hear them singing in their native tongue....BEAUTIFUL! Also I got emotional just seeing all the boys/young men and wondering how this trip is going to end....will Trek be coming home with us or will he be staying here and if so for how long? It tough people, really tough. We want to badly to bring our little boy home and I'm just so upset with our government! I just have to keep reminding myself daily, sometimes hourly that the Lord does have a plan and I have to believe it's a great plan. I can't keep typing about this or I'll get all emotional again. Just please keep praying! So this is what happened yesterday...now on to today.

We went to the Foreign Affairs office and applied for his travel documents. They are good for a year I think. We applied today and will get it on Tuesday. Later in the week we are taking him to the doctors for a check up. Not the one that the US Embassy tells us to go to for his medical check up...we'll do that once the visa is issued. But the little guy hasn't been seen in a while I would guess and he does have a pretty bad cold so we'll have him looked at. After we filed for the travel document we went to the Civil Mall! It felt like home again :) Not that I go shopping all the time, but it was nice to go into a 'normal' store and pick up Trek a couple of things.

So this is at the Foreign Affairs office with tons of guys just staring at us white Americans with a child from Nepal. The guy closest to the car on the left here was even looking at the documents while they were being filled out. Can you say WEIRD!

The guys checking out the food while we wait for Sumitra.

In the office.

Trek LOVES dogs!! He's going around the room saying 'cukoor' that is dog in Nepali. Wicked cute! We'll have to video tape him saying that.

The rest of the day we are just hanging out here playing and tomorrow we'll be going back to the orphanage to bring them some more stuff!

Hope you enjoy the pictures.

I was going to put jeans on the little man this morning, but they are slightly big. These are 2T.

Adoption Day!

2010-12-03T07:44:00.001-08:00

After two years of waiting and wondering how the Lord was going to add a son to our family....He did it! Today was the official 'hand over' ceremony of our son. He is now no longer an orphan, but the son of Mike and Tonya! We are in LOVE with him!

So, let me share briefly how the day went. There is sooo much to share, but I didn't get any sleep last night so I'm running on fumes. We started off our day with another wonderful breakfast at the hotel. Today we choose to sit out side with the birds. They were happy when we left so they could have a little bite to eat.

We did some more shopping for the orphanage today. We spent 240.00 on food. That was an experience. So yesterday we did some shopping for the babies and went to the same store. We used our debit card and it went through with no problems, today however...it didn't want to work. Americans can not go into a little local store and spend over two hundred dollars and not draw attention to themselves....which I don't like. I don't want any attention. Anyhow, so when we went to pay...you guessed it....it didn't work. I stayed at the store with all the bags of groceries with all the local people staring at me while Mike went to the bank to exchange money. This really wouldn't have been a big deal, and really wasn't except it took him at least thirty minutes to do this all the while people are coming in off the street to stare at the American lady with all the food. Not fun. Thankfully Mike made it back, we paid, loaded everything into the trunk and we were on our way.

At 11:30 we made our way back to the orphanage to pick up Trek and say our goodbyes. There is a ton to share about this visit, but I'm just to sleepy to get it out tonight, so hang tight and we'll fill you in. I will tell you two things to be praying about and something to praise the Lord about. 1. They love us and are so thankful for all we (YOU) are doing to help them. They said no other family has helped in this way or taken such interest in them. We told them we love them along with all our Christian friends and family. We shared with them that it's all about Jesus and that's why they see love through us. More about that later. 2. We asked them if we could come back to the orphanage at ANYTIME now or in the future and help with practical needs but with the stipulation that we can teach the children the Bible and share Jesus with them. With no hesitation they said YES! The Lord is given us an open door...what an opportunity! So be praying... 3. There is a precious little 1 1/2 year old girl who has some sort of handicap with her legs. She seems to be growing all but her legs and feet. They are tiny like an infants. They don't have the money to have her seen by doctors....till now. Thanks to everyone who has helped so far we will be taking her to see an American doctor. We'll have her examined next week and once we know that the problem is we will pray the Lord provides so we can get her the help she needs. There is so much more to share later!

We left with Trek and went to the 'hand over' ceremony and all went smoothly. We met another US family adopting a little girl. There file is also in Delhi, so please be praying for them as well that they would be issued a visa without delay. Trek was sober the entire day. No smiles, no crying...nothing. Until we got to the hotel. Once we got settled he began to play and we had a wonderful evening with him! Lots of smiles, laughing, playing...it was great! We are so blessed and honored to be his parents! He is just a beautiful boy and I'm so excited I can share his picture with all of you!! Please keep praying about his visa! The Lord knows and we are trying to not let the enemy steel our joy buy worrying about all the what ifs. God is good...all the time! All the time, God is good!

We leave tomorrow for the PUMA home at 9AM and will have church with them....can't wait!

Okay, I'm signing off. I'm so tired and Mike and Trek are both asleep and I'm a bit jealous. :)

One more thing. The Lord has brought in around 2200.00 in the last couple of days. I'm not 100% sure on the amount, cause our Chip In still shows 0 over here. Some have asked if we still need $ or are we all set. The answer is we still can use $ especially with this little girls special needs. There is so much this place needs that we can't do too much. IF that happened, we'd go find another orphanage....they are everywhere.

God bless you all! Good night from Nepal!

PS. More pictures for tomorrow....just don't have the energy to post tonight.

Another Amazing Day

2010-12-02T07:10:00.000-08:00

Today was wonderful! We started our day with another nice breakfast in the hotel restaurant. We then headed out to begin the shopping for the orphanage. We want to thank all of you who have given....they will be so blessed! So, we hired our first taxi guy to take us to a nearby market and we bought around 200.00 worth of baby items. We purchased 6 blankets, hats, socks, cloth diapers, baby soap, lotion, toy, plastic bin, toilet paper.

We didn't have long back at the hotel when we got a call that we were to be down stairs to head to the orphanage for another visit. We had a wonderful time with Trek and all the babies again today. The older children were in school. The didi's were very thankful for all the things we brought them! We got our first real smiles and giggles today! He seems to be acting more comfortable each time we are with him. Oh yeah, we also ordered fuel to be delivered. That made them very happy.

Imprinting

Once we left there it was off to the attorneys office. That was quite a ride. I wasn't sure what to expect with our meeting, but we had a great time with them. It was a husband and wife team. They have been to the US 18 times and have been to Maine once. They were super friendly and bought us momos, coffee and tea for lunch.... it was delicious!! We shared with them our plan in the event that we don't get his visa by mid December and they were totally fine with it.

Back to the hotel to freshen up and then it was off to Thamel for dinner with three other American adoptive families. We ate at Roadhouse Cafe. The pizza was yummo! The ride home was horrible. I got so nervous at one point I thought I was going to throw up. So Thamel is this area with very narrow streets and tons of shops. People everywhere!!! Mike was offered hash marijuana and people were trying to get me to buy jewelry. So anyway we found this taxi guy and I offered him 200 rupees to take us back...nope he wasn't going to do it for less than 300...so fine, we agreed to the 300. We hop in and he takes off on all these side roads. At first it seemed normal cause it looked like the streets we had been on for dinner. But as he drove further and further away it the streets were less crowded and not many stores or lights. The road was more like a sidewalk rather than a street. Needless to say I was feeling very uncomfortable. I began asking him...so how much longer to get to the hotel....ummm....so where are the big main streets. Finally after what seemed like forever we made it to a normal street. We had a single mom riding with us and she was having that same not so pleasant feeling. She whispered to me that she was happy she wasn't alone.

Now we are back in the hotel. Mike is once again snoozing while I try to get you all up to speed on what's happening. I really am wanting something sweet like ice cream and I thought he was fixing to get me some, but it's not looking like I'm getting anything tonight.

Tomorrow is adoption day!! We meet in the lobby at 11ish and head to the orphanage to pick up Trek and head to the Ministry of Women to sign the papers and make everything official!! We've been waiting almost two years for this day! After that's over we will head back here to spend some alone time with him. I plan on giving him a bath right away. I expect there to be some major screaming...I would try to wait, but the little dude needs one ASAP!! We'll be sure to take video and pictures. I'm sure I don't need to remind you, but please don't stop praying for his visa to be issued ASAP! We want so badly to bring our little boy home for Christmas! I'll leave you with another great devotional reading from today.

Biographies of bold disciples begin with chapters of honest terror. Fear of death. Fear of failure. Fear of loneliness. Fear of a wasted life. Fear of failing to know God.

Faith begins when you see God on the mountain and you are in the valley and you know that you're too weak to make the climb. You see what you need...you see what you have..and what you have isn't enough to accomplish anything.

Moses had a sea in front and an enemy behind. The Israelites could swim or they could fight. But neither option was enough.

The Jerusalem church knew that they had no hope of getting Paul our of prison. They had Christians who would fight, but too few. They didn't need muscle. They needed a miracle.

Faith that begins with fear will end up nearer the Father.

God is the One who makes everything agree with what he decides and wants. Ephesians 1:11

Our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name. Psalm 33:21

Leave all your worries with him, because He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7

Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. Mark 11:24

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. John 15:7

Goodnight from Nepal!

Another Amazing Day/ Door of Opportunity

2010-12-01T04:13:00.000-08:00

And the King will say, 'I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!'

Matthew 25:40 NLT

Mike and I just came back from spending time at Trek's orphanage. It's hard to put into words what we just experienced. This is why James 1:27 tell us (commands us) to go visit the orphan. Until you have gone and spent time in an orphanage it's just hard to really 'get' the need. I will do my best to try to communicate what we believe the Lord is putting on our hearts, just keep in mind that I'm a pretty simple gal and not very articulate.

Simply put....the orphanage is desperate need of basic items, people to come and show them love, spend time with them and most importantly share the love of Jesus! They don't have any faith in anything, anyone because they don't know who to trust. Of course we know it's Jesus, but you just can't walk into a place/situation like this and just tell them how great Jesus is and how much He loves them and expect them to believe. Actions speak volumes!! We are to be His hands and feet.

The Sunday before we came here we had our church pray about our trip, our son and his visa and also put it out there that if anyone wanted to send money with us we would make sure we bought food that the children needed. So out of a church of about 1200 we had 6 people who gave a total of 300.00 for food. We are so thankful for the 300, but now that we have had a chance to visit and can really see the need for ourselves, we see that they are also in desperate need of practical things as well. For instance in the babies room there are about 10 - 12 little ones and they only have about 5 blankets. Last night it was pretty cold and a window is broken and they had to pile the kids together and try to keep them all warm under just a few blankets. All the little kids have colds and runny noses and no tissues. They have run out of fuel to cook rice/food for the children and will have to wait until someone sends money until they can buy more. The need is HUGE! Mike and I have some money we can use of our own along with the 300, but we just want to put it out there that we will be here for two more weeks and IF anyone feels led to help we have set up another 'Chip In' and whatever is donated we will use to buy items/food and help as much as we can....doing it all in the name of Jesus!

We truly believe the Lord is opening a door to share His love with them. What better way could there be to begin building trust then to help in their time of need...."Doing it to the least of these....which is doing it to the Lord."

We are here now and have been given an open door and have a liberty to act on this need.

There are about 50 to 60 children residing in the orphanage and the age range is 1 year to 17.

Blessings from Nepal!

Oh Happy Day!

2010-11-29T04:16:00.000-08:00

We started our morning off with a wonderful breakfast in the hotel restaurant. The food is very good here. I came thinking I was going to loose a few pounds...ummm, not so sure that's going to happen. We met with Padam (PUMA CC) and just spent some time visiting with him. He was sweet and brought us a case of drinking water. He took us to the local supermarket to buy some snacks/candy for the children at the orphanage. Then it was off to Top Of The World a local business operated by an American who now lives in Kathmandu. He and his wife have a team that makes and sells frozen foods (pizza, potato nuggets, Nepali "Aalu Chop", Mountain Man Trekker's Fuel (Granola, Museli, Trail Mix, Granola Bars, Fruit Bars, Dehydrated Fruit, Rasilo Juice ( Pineapple...AMAZING, best I ever had, Jomson Apple, Nepali "Suntala" (orange), Coffee Accessories & Gift Items (Nepali Coffee and MANY, MANY more) . Check out the website. The place smelled amazing! And the pineapple was fabulous!

Then we were off to see a pet toy manufacturing business run by Padam. They make toys for cats and dogs from 100% lamb wool and they ship them to NJ to sell. It's a group of beautiful Nepali women who work there. Because Nepal is so poor and work is hard to find these ladies husbands are working in Saudi Arabia and so they work here to help with money. Some of them work in a building, it's exposed to the elements but does have a roof and there are others who sit on the grass under the hot sun hand stitching these toys together. I don't have the website right now, but once I get it I will share it with you and you can all buy your pets a Christmas present! Okay, I've been given the website! Click HERE to visit a Cheerful Pet.

Once we were finished there it was off to see the PUMA home. We saw where the boys and girls live and met with some of the other PUMA staff who we fell in love with right away! We plan to stay here at the hotel until Saturday morning and then head over to the PUMA house for church and plan to stay with them until it's time to head home. We are blessed to have met them! Sweet brothers and sisters in the Lord!

Okay after we visited with them we made our way back to the hotel through the C r A z Y traffic to switch rooms and get some things ready for our second visit with Trek. When we got to the orphanage today we were taken upstairs to the baby balcony and there were about 8 or 9 little babies in cribs and sitting on the ground. Trek was in a crib with 4 other little ones. They are all so precious! We brought snacks with us and broke off pieces for the babies and as soon as they saw the food all the little hands were reaching for a bite. It was fun seeing Trek with his little friends and I think it made it a little easier on him when I took him out of the crib. I got to change his diaper :) We were then taken to a room down stairs for our visit. He cried at first but I whispered a prayer in his ear and kissed him and he settled down. I got him to eat cheerios (gotta love those things). They make bonding with children much easier :) I washed his face and put oil on his skin (his cheeks are so chapped). You know it's hard sometimes to put in words how we are feeling, but it was a sweet hour and a half with him. When it was time to leave I put him down and he started to cry and reach for me!! That made my day! I can see that he is getting comfortable with us and it was also good for the facilitator to see. On our way back to the hotel we stopped at the store again and picked up a few more toys for our visit tomorrow. The plan is still to take full custody of him on Friday....I can't wait!!! Keep praying for him as he bonds with us. It will be hard for him to leave his didi's. They have cared for him since he was five days old. Also keep praying for his visa. We still haven't heard anything yet.

Now we are back at the hotel. Mike is snoozing on the bed while I try to update all of you :) Oh one other thing to add. The reason you have not seen Mike with Trek, is because he hasn't held him yet. We are going to try to get him to hold him tomorrow, but Trek does seem nervous with all this and he has been cared for by women. So we are doing what we feel we need to do while we are being observed. Once we get to the hotel things will be more normal. But we will try again tomorrow.

(we still can't post pictures, but come Friday we'll post lots)

So while we're sitting in our room looking at our messages we hear a knock at the door. Before we had a chance to open it, the house keeping lady opened it and asked if we were okay and happy with the room. LOL! Good thing we weren't getting dressed or using the bathroom or something.

Another devotional from today...

We expect Jesus to come in the form of peaceful hymns or Easter Sunday or quiet retreats. We expect to find Him in morning devotionals, church suppers, and meditation. We never expect to see Him in a bear market, pink slip, lawsuit, forecloser, or war. We never expect to see Him in a storm. But it is in storms that He does His finest work, for it is in storms that he has our keenest attention.

We cannot go where God is not. Look over your shoulder; that's God following you. Look into the storm; that's Christ coming toward you.
Matthew 28:20 "I am with you always..."

Luke 8:50 "Don't be afraid. Just have faith..."

Isaiah 59:19 "When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him."

Nehemiah 4:14 "Don't be afraid...Remember the Lord, who is great and powerful. Fight for ...your sons and daughters, your wives, and your homes."

Namaste From Kathmandu!

2010-11-27T19:57:00.000-08:00

We made it safely to Nepal last night. All the flights were comfortable and we're so excited to be here! We slept great last night, had a nice breakfast this morning and are now waiting for our facilitator to pick us up and take us to visit Trek!!!!

American Airlines/Gulf Air

We just found out that we can see Trek this morning!!!
Okay so the driving/traffic here is INSANE!! A person has to have nerves of steel! I normally do not, but God is giving me the strength I need to not freak out. His orphanage is about a twenty to thirty minute ride from the hotel.

Once we got there we were taken into the office of the director and met his wife (we think). She said hi and smiled and said we could talk later and go spend some time with the baby. We were taken into another building and we went to a room upstairs and spent about 30 minutes with him.

He was crying really hard before we even saw him, so when we came in a took him that didn't make things any easier on him. Poor little guy. We were told it was his nap time.

So he's perfect!!! He looked better than what we expected. His skin is very dry but other than that he seemed good. We brought several toys with us and he held the little turtle the longest.
He didn't have socks or shoes on and the little coat he was wearing seemed big, so I put some pj's on him and wrapped him up in a blanket. We just stopped talking to him and swayed back and forth while whispering prayers in his ear...along with lots of kisses. Finally he fell asleep and I had to give him back to the nanny. Mike held off on holding him today because Trek was so overwhelmed. He plans to hold him tomorrow. We were told we would get full custody of him on Friday....I can't wait!!!

Here's my baby sleeping in my arms!
Praying for the Lord to move this ginormous mountain! It seems so huge and unmovable to us, but we KNOW HE is able! We know He has a perfect plan for Trek. He Knows what he can handle and what he can't.

This is a devotional I read this morning...
For fear of doing the wrong thing for God, some do nothing for God.
For fear of making the wrong kingdom decision, some make no kingdom decision.
For fear of messing up, some will miss out.
But you don't have to. Your God is a good God.
He lavished you with strenghts in this life and a promise of the next. Go out on a limb; he won't let you fall. Take a big risk; he won't let you fail. He invites you to dream of the day you feel his hand on your shoulder and his eyes on your face. "Well done," he will say, "good and faithful servant."

Exodus 15:11
Are there any gods like you, Lord?
There are no gods like you.
You are wonderfully holy,
amazingly powerful,
a worker of miracles!

Keep praying that the Lord will move this mountain and that we'll be able to bring him home with us in December!
Blessing from Nepal!

Look Out Nepal, Here We Come!

2010-11-24T07:34:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is the big day we've been waiting for, we are leaving for Nepal! We are leaving in faith anticipating the God of the Universe to blow us and everyone else away with how He is going to bring Trek home! He has a plan and I can't wait to see what He's gonna do!

We heard from our adoption agency that our official adoption day looks like it's going to be Dec. 3 or maybe a couple days after. We will be able to see him everyday until we take full custody of him. We will do our best to post updates here or on facebook....not sure what one will work.

So, I'll leave you with a special email that was sent to me by one of my sweet friends (that I don't see nearly enough). She knows my anxiety around leaving my girls at home and flying. She is also an adoptive mom of five beautiful kids so she understands this whole process....from every angel.

Did a little research and wanted to share it with you.

“Your chances of being involved in an aircraft accident are about 1 in 11 million. On the other hand, your chances of being killed in an automobile accident are 1 in 5000. Statistically, you are at far greater risk driving to the airport than getting on an airplane. However, the perception is that you have more control over your fate when you are in your car than as a passenger traveling on an airplane. Experience shows otherwise, considering that over 50,000 people are killed on the highways every year.”

Anyway, hearing you talk about your worries yesterday really make my heart go out to you because I’ve struggled so much with anxiety over the years. I AM PRAYING FOR YOU!!!!! ((((((((((((hug)))))))))))) Leave it to God. HE’S GOT IT COVERED!

Love, Chantelle

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Trek,

Daddy and Momma are coming to get you!

Question

2010-11-11T06:14:00.000-08:00

Okay friends as you might guess we have so much on our minds right now. Thank you all for all the encouraging words and prayers! It's comforting to know we have so many people lifting our son & our family to the Father in prayer.

We believe the Lord is going to bring Trek home and we are looking at flights and trying to figure this all out. We have the very real possibility that one or both of us might have to stay in Nepal longer than we... had planned which is going to raise the adoption costs. So far the Lord has provided every penny we've needed and we trust He'll continue to do so.

Our biggest hang up is airfare right at the moment. We've made contact with a Christian children home and they have offered to let us stay with them at no cost and even eat there with them...if we can tolerate it :). So this is a huge blessing and will save almost a thousand dollars. Right now we have 5555.00 for our travel expenses and our tickets alone are looking like 3100.00 to get Mike and I there and home and it looks like we need to plan for about another 1000.00 for Trek's one way ticket home. Trek's visa will be 400.00 and he'll have a medical exam and other fees that need to be paid while we're there. So you can see that even staying somewhere for free our expenses are adding up fast.

I guess what I'm asking/thinking (which I don't know anything about this stuff) is would anyone have sky miles they might want to donate to this big adventure? Like I said I don't know much about how that works. I just remember when we went to China we met someone who traveled with their friend and they paid next to nothing because she had sky miles. It's been a thought I've had kicking around for weeks and so I decided I'd mention it. I don't know if the Lord put that thought there for the purpose of asking or if it's just me. And we're assuming sky miles are transferable...again, not sure if this is correct.

If you have any thoughts you can post here or email me privately at tonya@mpdcad.com

Isn't this the cutest little head you've seen? :)

Keep praying scripture over this little guy! To read the scripture see the post below this one. God bless you guys!

Praying Scripture Over Trek & This Adoption

2010-11-10T11:54:00.000-08:00

I don't know about you, but sometimes when I pray about the same thing over and over and over and over and over again....it gets hard. So today I decided I needed to pray scripture over our son and this situation. You can never go wrong praying the Word of God.

I thought I would post some verses I found. If you read this and the Lord brings a scripture to mind please share it with me!

I know yesterdays news was a total bummer, but I'm thanking God that it was not the final decision! I'm soooo thankful for all of our friends who care and are praying with us, for us, for Trek and who offered encouraging words to us. You are all a huge blessing to me!

When I go back and revisit all that has taken place in the last couple of years and how the Lord has done such amazing things I just can't believe He won't finish what He started. You know it was Him who lead us to Nepal, it was Him who provide 30,000.00 for this adoption, it was Him who made our dossier arrive and be delivered just three days before the cut off. It was Him who blessed us with a referral of a son just after seven months of waiting, it was Him who KNEW that 5 days after we were matched the US would suspend adoptions.

I can't believe He would do all these amazing things to pull the rug out from underneath us and say "fooled ya this isn't my plan". We don't serve a God like that. He is the one who created adoption, He loves the fatherless more than we ever could, this entire adoption is His story. I believe He'll complete it!

Please don't stop praying! We need to keep bringing this little one before the Lord daily, as often as we think of him. He's the most precious little boy I've laid eyes on.

Doesn't he have beautiful eyes!

Okay, so here are a few verses that I am praying.

These are verses about the love our Father has for orphans and his promises he makes to them.

Psalm 68:5 “A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, Is God in His holy habitation. God sets the solitary in families; He brings out those who are bound into prosperity; But the rebellious dwell in dry land.”

Psalm 10:17-18 “LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will prepare their heart; You will cause your ear to hear, To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, That the man of earth may oppress no more.”

Psalm 10:14 A Psalm of confidence in God’s triumph over evil. “But you have seen, for You observe trouble and grief, to repay it by your hand. The helpless commits himself to You; You are the helper of the fatherless.”

John 14:18 “I will not leave you orphans, I will come to you.”

Heb 4:16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Prayer toward the government officials that are in control of this situation.

Exodus 22:22 “You shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child. If you afflict them in any way, and they cry at all to Me, I will surely hear their cry; and My wrath will become hot, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.”

Psalm 50:15 Call on Me in the day of trouble. I will deliver you and you shall glorify Me.

Isaiah 65:24 And it shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.

Jeremiah 33:3 Call to Me, and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things you know not.

Matthew 7:7-11 Ask and it shall be given you, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you. For everyone who asks received, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. If you, being evil, know who to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father, who is in Heaven, give good things to those who ask Him?

Matthew 21:22 And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.

John 14:13 And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

John 15:7 If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, you shall ask what you will and it shall be done to you.

1 John 3:22 And whatever we ask, we receive from Him because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.

1 John 5:14-15 This is the confidence we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

A Decision in Our Case

2010-11-09T17:03:00.000-08:00

Mr. and Mrs. Davis,

Unfortunately, your case has been determined to be not clearly approvable here at the U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu. As a result, it has been forwarded to USCIS in New Delhi for further review. Please find the decision letter attached.

Adoption Unit

Consular Section

American Embassy

Kathmandu, Nepal

Tel: 977-1-4007200

Please note the current Adoption Alert for Nepal: http://adoption.state.gov/news/nepal.html

My thoughts....

now that I'm thinking straight and not letting my emotions get the best of me.

Psalm 44:6-8
I do not trust in my bow, my sword does not bring me victory; but you give us victory over our enemies, you put our adversaries to shame. In God we make our boast all day long, and we will praise your name forever

Isaiah 26:3
You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.

John 16:33
"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him who have been called according to his purpose.

1 Corinthians 15:57
But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 6:10-17
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

2 Thessalonians 3:3
But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.

1 John 4:4
You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

Trek,
The Lord is with you!
HE LOVES YOU!
He has a plan for you and I don't believe it's to live in an orphanage for the rest of your life!
We will do everything we can to bring you home!
YOU are LOVED!
You are being prayed for!
We will be there as soon as we can buddy!
Once we get you, we won't let you go!
The Lord has a plan to rescue you!
I pray you rest in the arms of Jesus tonight and have sweet dreams.
Daddy and Mommy love you so much!!!!!

Updated Pictures of Our Son

2010-11-06T10:54:00.001-07:00

We made contact with a mom a few days ago that happens to be in N*p*l right now and whose child lives in the same orphanage as our little boy. She was able to visit with him and take a few picture for us, which was such a huge blessing! Up till now we didn't really know what he looked like because we had only been given one small picture of him at about 2 months of age.

So if this mom is reading this post...Thank you so much for these pictures! We will treasure them!

As happy as we are to get these pictures it broke my heart to see my little boy in this condition. This mom told me all the kids are neglected and they look malnourished.

We want so badly to hold our little boy and to feed him, clothe him and begin to tell him about how much Jesus love him and has a plan for his life!

PLEASE don't stop praying for him. We heard that the investigation has been completed and they are now trying to make a decision. Please pray they give him clear approval and that we can leave SOON to bring him home!

His name... Trek Hallel P

Trek means to make a long difficult journey (this adoption has been long and difficult, but the Lord has provided!)

Hallel means 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

We believe this entire adoption has been orchestrated by the Lord and HE will get all the praise and glory for what only HE can do!

Believing for a miracle...again.

Keep praying friends!

Woke Up To This Email...

2010-11-03T03:26:00.000-07:00

Ms. Davis,

We have begun your investigation and anticipate having a decision shortly. We will contact you with a decision soon.

PLEASE keep praying with us!!

You might be adoptiong from Nepal if...

2010-11-01T05:21:00.001-07:00

...you were expecting for over 3 years before hearing, "It's a girl/boy".
...you know that I-600 & I-171 aren't highways.
...you've "paid for" 3 citizenships, but never brought anyone into the U.S.
...you know that "the pipeline" has nothing to do with oil.
...your homestudy is followed by a number (i.e. #2 or #3 or #4).
...you've been fingerprinted four times, but never committed a crime.
...you own new clothing in 3 little sizes for all 4 seasons (because you don't know when or how big).
...you received an extension but your hair is still the same length.
...when you talk about the fear of being stranded, you're not talking about car trouble.
...you have your senators and representatives on speed dial.
...you know the difference between an RFE and a NOID.
...when you hear the words; Bird, April, Lincoln and Clay, you don't think about a flying creature, a month, a president or kindergarten art.
...you look forward to emails from complete strangers more than your own family
...AND you have the most beautiful child in the world.

Don't stop praying! We are believing to hear good news from a distant land this week!

Prayer Please

2010-10-30T16:40:00.000-07:00

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!

Glimmer of Hope!

2010-10-27T14:39:00.000-07:00

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!!!

Okay now....that was really weird!

2010-10-25T06:01:00.000-07:00

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.

2010-10-25T05:34:00.000-07:00

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!

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

2010-10-22T06:35:00.000-07:00

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!!

Trusting in Advance

2010-10-19T13:27:00.000-07:00

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!

Praying for widsom

2010-10-13T10:27:00.001-07:00

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!

Please Sign Petition

2010-10-12T09:32:00.000-07:00

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.

Kick Off!!

2010-09-15T12:20:00.000-07:00

September 2010 has now become

ORPHAN’S RANSOM OFFICIAL KICK OFF CAMPAIGN
MONTH!

We are so pleased to announce that Orphan’s Ransom (501c3 nonprofit
organization) is up, running and ready to begin sharing its mission with Christian
fellowships, churches, and organizations. We are praying for ongoing,
monthly sponsorships to be used to award adoption grants that will allow
Christian families to welcome children of God into their families and church
communities, without the costs holding them back.

Unfortunately so many individuals feel that their contributions do not make a difference
because they don’t have a lot to give. Let me be clear in telling you,
that is a lie straight from the enemy! Our family has personally seen how many
people - all giving a little - created a miracle adoption and fully funded our adoption of our little boy from Nepal.
It was this miracle that birthed Orphan's Ransom!

I am writing today with hope that you will prayerfully consider becoming
one of Orphan Ransoms "First 500!" With 500 sponsors all giving a $10 a
week/$40 a month contribution, we can begin giving our first grant/grants in
November 2010. November is National Adoption Awareness Month, and it would be
amazing to award our first grant winners on Adoption Sunday, which is
November 7th this year. If together, we can find 500 Christians willing to hear
God’s heart for the orphan, and willing to be obedient in His call to be part
of this mission beginning Oct. 1, then together, we will bring many
children into their forever families in just one year! YOU, will be
helping these individual children become FREE from the bondage of the ransom
adoption expenses have placed on their lives. YOU will be bringing them into a
loving, Christian home, where they can feel and learn about the love of
God, and the safety of His guidance in their lives.

When you become a monthly supporter in this mission, you will get to see
and hear about real people, real families and real childrens lives you have
changed. All I ask is that you PRAYERFULLY consider what role you may play.
Is God asking you to sponsor these children? Is He asking you to forward
this on to other Christians you know, or actually tell them about it
yourself? If you want more information please visit the website at:
www.OrphansRansom.org or you can also call me any time at 207-825-3511.

Be part of God’s miracles in today’s world. They are going on
all around us, and God uses regular people like you and me to be His hands
and feet if you will only let Him.
Orphan's Ransom board members are not qualified to receive grants.
We want to make that clear. We are just very blessed to be a part of what God has built.
Please join us and watch what God will do.

If you want to become one of our "First 500" email us a message at

info@orphansransom.com and put in the subject line...First 500!

At that point we'll send you a sponsor form and you'll be on our mailing list!

In His love,

Tonya & Mike Davis

22 Days Later

2010-08-25T05:07:00.000-07:00

Twenty-two days have passed since we got our surprise referral and saw our little boys face for the first time!

We are humbled and blessed at how the Lord has provided the last $7000.00 so we could accept his referral. I had posted that we were matched and what we needed and asked our friends and family to pray with us the the Lord would provide. In a matter of days we had two thousand! Being down to the day that we needed to send in our money and not having the last five thousand we prayed the Lord would somehow provide. That afternoon I got an email from a sweet gal in PA. Here's what she sent....

OK.....so I'm going to explain our entire situation and then you let me know what you want to do.

Yesterday, I called you, checked my mail (no mail), drove to Sams Club while talking to you, came home, got my mail. And got M's check in the mail from his retirement that we had to cash out on to help us along financially. We originally were going to use it to pay off a credit card and use the rest to help us get over the hump until M starts his new job. Is this also God's perfect timing for this check. I find it odd, that we have been waiting for this check for about 3 months and we would happen to get it the same day that you get your referral. Had we gotten it a few weeks ago, we would've done the above plan with nothing left over.

Maybe we only need the amount to get us until M starts making his new salary which leaves $5,000 if we do not pay off our credit card. When we started our grant, I wanted to eventually start an interest free loan that we could give to families as well. Is this God's way of forcing us into starting it now??? M and I both prayed about it last night and this is what we want to offer to you.....an interest free loan that you can pay back as it's convenient to pay back. Right now we need that money - but maybe in another 2 months we won't and we can continue this idea for the next family who might need it (which I already know of another family planning to travel in about 4 months).

Well....let me know what you would like to do. Maybe you can get more gifts rather than a loan offer....but M and I agree that if the option is to pay off our credit card or help you get your little boy.....we choose choice B.

I'm prayerful that other people can step up and help too!!!!

Looking forward to hearing from you and again we're sooooooooooooooooooooooo incredibly excited about your great news!!!!!!
Hope you have a great day!!!

Love,

Isn't that amazing?! We were just so blessed and humbled that this sweet family (who we've never met in person) would offer that money with the option to pay back as we were able! We prayed and decided to accept the offer because we needed that $5000.00 asap. We had no doubt the Lord would provide we just didn't know His time frame and if it would be through Mike's job or His church all gathering around and helping to rescue and orphan.

Last year we had several yard sales in order to help raise money for the adoption so I thought why not have another one. We went through the house and found things we were willing to sell(anything not nailed down) in order to help bring our son home.
A few of our friends donated some items as well and between two yard sales and individuals just giving we raised all but $350.00! Then last Sunday morning a gal at church came up to me and asked if we were the family adopting that needed to raise x numbers of dollars by a certain time. I told her yes and shared what the Lord has done in the past two plus weeks and she wanted to know how much we had left....which was 350.00. That evening before the evening service she wrote out a check for 350.00! I was thanking her and gave her a hug and she kinda giggled and said how she felt blessed to be able to help and that she had the easy part....we had to raise him :)

Mike and I are just amazed that withing 10 days of this couple offering 5000.00 the Lord provided the full 5000.00 for us to pay them back!! Isn't that just amazing? We are so thankful that this couple heard the sweet soft voice of the Holy Spirit prompting them to offer that money and that they were obedient (not always easy in our flesh, especially sending money to a family you never met and nothing in writing)!
I just love how the Lord used them to bless our family and then turned right around and blessed them for their obedience and provided the full amount of money so we could send it right back to them! A M A Z I N G !!!!

On Monday I called her to tell her we were mailing them the 5000.00 and her church who had blessed us with a travel grant was mailing us our grant money the same day!

Now we begin to prepare for travel. We have NO IDEA when that might be. We know there are some things that need to take place in the other country, but we choose to not worry and rest in the Lord that He will work all things out. We could travel anywhere from a month from now to 12 months from now. We are PRAYING we can have him home for the holidays! HE IS ABLE to make it happen if it's His will. Once we get the call we'll need to leave asap probably within 4 days! Our girls will stay with our close friends in NC while we go get their brother.

So although we have raised all the adoption expenses we still have people offering donations to help with any misc. costs that we might encounter. So this weekend we are having our final yard sale/bake sale. Any money raised will be put in an account in case of an emergency (having to stay more than two weeks when we go get him). Also one of my adoption blog/fb friends, Jeanette, has a business, Thirty-One and has offered to do a fundraiser to help us out this any additional expenses we have. The plan is to start the online party early in Sept. More details to come soon!

I just want to thank all of you who have prayed, given items to the yard sale, and selflessly donated to help rescue our little boy! We love you and pray the Lord blesses you! {{{hugs}}}

I was reading this morning and just love these verses in Psalm 22

vs.5 You heard the their cries for help and saved them. They put their trust in you and were never disappointed.

vs. 22 Then I will declare the wonder of your name to my brothers and sisters. I will praise you amoung all your people.

vs. 23 Praise the Lord....Honor Him...Show Him reverence

vs. 24 For he has not ignored the suffering of the needy. He has not turned and walked away. He has listened to their cries for help.

vs. 26 The poor will eat and be satisfied. All who seek the Lord will praise Him. Their hearts will rejoice with everlasting joy.

vs. 28 For the LORD is King!

vs. 30 Future generations will also serve Him. Our children will hear about the wonders of the Lord.

vs. 31 His righteous acts will be told to those yet unborn. They will hear about everything He has done.

Update & Shopping To Help Bring JP Home!

2010-08-12T12:34:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we finally got our "hard" copy of our referral! Boy waiting over a week was a long time! We signed the acceptance letter and sent it right back to our adoption agency...they got it this morning! It's been scanned and emailed to Nepal! Now we wait for our travel approval, which I hope come's FAST!!! As sad as we are that the United States has suspended adoptions from Nepal we are hoping it will speed up TA's. I suppose it could go either way.

Okay so this is what's happening....it's amazing! There is this sweet lady who last Dec. heard of us trying to raise the 9200.00 so we could send our dossier to Nepal and get that last 2009 slot. Well, she started an adoption grant ministry at her church in PA. and they contacted us and asked if we wanted to fill out an application....which we did....and got approved for a 5000.00 travel grant!

She asked for me to contact her and let her know when we got our referral...which we did. She started asking questions about the finances and anyway long story short, she and her husband have offered to "front" any money that we are lacking to make sure we are able to accept his referral!!! Isn't that crazy! We still can't believe all this is happening. We needed to raise the final $7,000.00 and now we are down to needing...$1793.00!!!

We've had some people donate some really nice things to help with the expenses. One lady gave us a diamond wedding band and a coach purse. If you or someone you know is interested in buying either of these and helping with this adoption than make an offer and pay using PayPal with the Chip In below.

JP's Ransom

2010-08-09T05:28:00.000-07:00

It's a BOY!!!!

2010-08-02T14:00:00.001-07:00

We are thrilled to announce that we have been matched with a precious 19 month old little boy!
As much as we would LOVE to share pictures of him we have been asked not to....until he is officially a Davis :)

We are so EXCITED and will share more later!

Thank you Jesus for this gift!!!

Orphan's Ransom!

2010-06-15T09:53:00.000-07:00

Well last time I blogged I was introducing Orphan's Ransom to you. Today I'll telling you that we have made HUGE strides and we are now 'up & running'!!! The only thing we're waiting on is setting up our merchant's account so people can sign up to be a monthly supporter and have it automatically taken out of their account each month...if they choose to support that way. For right now it's the old fashion way....send a check each month :) All donations are tax deductible.

I want to clear up one question that several people have asked me about. We DO NOT take any money from this ministry to help with our own personal adoption costs...P E R I O D! Any person serving on the board of Orphan's Ransom DOES NOT qualify to apply for a grant! That would wreak of a conflict of interest. The Lord has been so good in providing all we've needed and He'll continue to as we need it. This ministry is to help OTHERS!

So would YOU pray about becoming a monthly supporter and help pay the Ransom for many lives? Would you pass around the website/blog...tell everyone you know about us. You can also check us out on facebook!

Being a non-profit is new territory for us but with the Lord help and a lawyer....I trust great things are going to happen! Please keep Orphan's Ransom in your prayers. Pray that churches, pastor, business, individuals heart would be soften and open to supporting. Adoption is a big deal to the Lord and we've all been adopted and had our ransom paid...let's join together and pay many ransoms!

You'll see our button at the top of the blog with the code...grab it and pass it along!

Blessings!

Introducing Orphan's Ransom!

2010-05-03T09:11:00.000-07:00

The Children Pray...
O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever? How long will you look the other way?
Psalm 123:1 (NLT)

The Lord's Reply...
My mercy and justice are coming soon. My salvation is on the way. My strong arm will bring justice to the nations. All distant lands will look to me and wait in hope for my powerful arm.
Isaiah 51:5 (NLT)

Our Call...
“Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes not only me but also my Father who sent me.”
Mark 9:37

I must admit I was disappointed to not be able to attend the Orphan's summit this past weekend and I know many did go and were blessed and challenged! I can't wait to hear more about it! I wanted to go because my heart is heavy for orphans and families wanting to adopt. The Lord has placed a vision in my heart and I was hoping to attend but not going does not change the fact that the Lord has placed a burden on my heart and I'm excited to share with you what's happening!

As many of you know we started our Nepal adoption journey with no money but we knew the Lord had told us it was time to begin the process again. We have learned that when the Lord tells us to do something....we do it. Obedience and faith is important to Him. Through this adoption we have had to fund-raise, share the need with others, apply for grants and through all of it the Lord had continued to remind me that when people give they are not helping Mike and I they are helping this little boy(s) from Nepal. In all actuality they are helping to pay his Ransom to be set free and placed into a family who will love them and teach them about Jesus and His love for them and that He has a plan for them!

As I think about a Ransom being paid for orphaned children I can't help but remember there was a time when all of us were orphans. And just like we pay a ransom to free a child, a ransom was paid for me and you so we would no longer be orphans. That ransom was the blood of Jesus!

Are you a child of the King? Have you been adopted by God the Father? If your answer is yes than a Ransom was paid for your life so you would be set free!

Do you know there are 147 Million orphans in this world without the love of a father or mother. They need and want to be adopted into a family! A Ransom needs to be paid to set them free.

Can I share with you what the Bible tells us about orphans.

1.God calls Himself the Father of the fatherless.

·       Psalm 68:5, “A father of the fatherless and a judge for the widows, is God in His holy habitation.”

2.God considers spiritual service the purest when His people are taking care of orphans. (and) A religion that does not care for orphans is no religion at all.

·       James 1:27, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress.”

3.God’s people are commanded to care for orphans. To see an orphan afflicted, and to turn a deaf ear, is sin, even rebellion.

·       Exodus 22:22, “You shall not afflict any widow or orphan.”

·       Isaiah 1:17, “Learn to do good; seek justice, reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, plead for the widow.”

·       Isaiah 1:23, “Your rulers are rebellious, and companions of thieves; everyone loves bribes, and follows after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless.”

4.We can be the hands and love of Christ Himself by providing practical care.

·       Deuteronomy 10:18, “He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the alien by giving him food and clothing.”

·       Psalm 10:14, “But You, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to You; You are the helper of the fatherless.”

·       Matthew 18:5, “Whoever receives a child in My name, receives Me.”

·       Matthew 25: 45, “Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of the least of these, you did it unto Me.”

5.Orphans are to be taken care of with the same honor and provision as a Pastor or Priest.

·       Deuteronomy 14:28-30, “The Levite (priest), because he has not portion or inheritance among you, and the alien, the orphan and the widow who are in your town, shall come and eat and be satisfied, in order that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.”

6.A portion of all that we possess is sacred and belongs to the orphan.

·       Deuteronomy 26:12-14, “You shall say before the Lord your God, ‘I have removed the sacred portion from my house, and also have given it to the Levite and the alien, the orphan and the widow, according to all Your commandments which You have commanded me; I have not transgressed or forgotten any of Your commandments.”
**taken from Tom Davis's blog**

Orphan's Ransom is a non profit ministry that wants to link arms with Christian dads and moms who are answering the call of adoption but do need help with paying the ransom that has been placed on the life of their child. Our thought at Orphan's Ransom is that if every adopted child of God was doing something it would eliminate the cost of adoption for all families! Wouldn't that be wild!

Orphan's Ransom is parachurch non profit organization. We operate solely on monthly donations.

Orphan's Ransom is a no-strings attached ministry meaning you do not need to attend a specific church, you do not need to pay back any money the list could go on...trust me. The only requirements that need to be met are...

1. You and your spouse must be born again Christians.
2. You must have an approved home study.

Orphan's Ransom wants to help any adoption....

international
domestic
private
using a facilitator
foster care
basically if you're adopting and you have a financial need we want to help you!

Orphan's Ransom grants are available to any family in any state!

How this is going to work...

We are looking for at least 200 churches, business or individuals to commit 25.00 a week/100.00 a month or 500 to commit to 10.00 a week/40.00 a month.That would be 20,000.00 a month! Obviously the more sponsors we have the more Ransoms that can be paid! Every dollar helps! All donations will be tax deductible.

So that's what the Lord has put on my heart and I'm excited to see what's going to happen! Really I'm praying Orphan's Ransom will be much more than a grant ministry but we have to start somewhere. We are filing our paperwork right away!!! More details to come!

Would you please pray and ask the Lord how he would want to use you in the life of a child?

If you want more information or want to be involved you can call Tonya at 207-825-3511. Be looking for Orphan's Ransom on Facebook soon!

" ... Once our eyes are opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do. God who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls knows that we know, and holds us responsible to act ..." -- Proverbs 24:12
Blessings!

I don't like having this private! I find I never get on or look at anyone elses. So I'm back. Hoping to post something soon.

2010-04-02T14:50:00.000-07:00

Have a blessed Resurrection Sunday!!
The price of our adoption pales in comparison to the price HE paid for me!

One more note.....I hear there is movement in Nepal!!! Those who got referrals in September now have travel approval! Praise the Lord for this! I know many of us have been agreeing in prayer for this!

A statement I hear a LOT....."if I had the money"

2010-02-25T07:27:00.000-08:00

This gal answers this question perfectly in my opinion!

Take a few minutes and read her post. Pray and ask the Lord to challenge you. I know that most of us don't like being challenged...especially by the God of this universe but it can be a good thing.

Psalm 139:23 & 24 says, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

I am convinced that God's heart is for orphan! Pray and ask yourself...What am I doing for the "least of these"?

Matthew 25:39 & 40 "When did we ever see you sick or in prison (living in an orphanage on the street, without a family is a prison) and visit you? And the King will say, I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!"

Words in bold are my thoughts.

Click HERE to read this post.

The Call of Christ!

2010-02-24T07:23:00.000-08:00

Will We Be One Of The 180?

2010-02-22T06:27:00.000-08:00

So since the last post we did get word from our adoption agency and there does appear to be some movement in Nepal. Here's what they said...

Dear Nepal Waiting families,

Much information regarding Nepal's intercountry adoption program has been disseminated recently. We have been in constant contact with our representative in Nepal to fully understand and provide accurate information to you. Recently, several official announcements were made by the Nepal Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare (http://www.mowcsw.gov.np/). The Ministry has decided to delay for a few months accepting new applications for 2010 while they continue the matching process for the dossiers submitted in 2009. They report that they received 534 dossiers (world wide) in 2009. They expect to be able to match approximately 180 children with adoptive families very soon. The Ministry is planning to continue the matching process through March and the number of referrals will be based on the availability of children within the age/gender parameters set by the adoptive parent's application....

There was more to the letter but this is what I was excited to read! I am praying along with the Harrell's that because we are requesting boys up to age 3 we might be part of the 180! Wouldn't that be wild!!!

This morning I woke up to a wonderful email! Mike and I have applied for a couple adoption grants and this morning we got word that we had been awarded the full amount of $5000.00 from one of them!!! We are still waiting to hear from the other one. The Lord has been so faithful to provide all we've needed so far! The money has not come early and it's not ever been late....it's always been right on time! Which makes a person wonder IF perhaps we are one of the 180 and just maybe we'll get our referral soon!

Thank you Jesus for blessing this adoption! May You get all the praise and be glorified throughout this entire journey!

Could there be some movement in Nepal?

2010-02-04T11:02:00.000-08:00

So for some unknown reason I can never find any up to date news about adoptions in Nepal. I do however have a friend who is also adopting from Nepal and she is able to find some! Good to know you Elissa! She had some interesting news to share on her blog today and thought I'd go ahead and copy and paste some of it.

"There are two bits of news coming from official sources today that I may as well report, although I'm still taking them with a grain of salt.

First, Nepal has announced that they will accept the alotted 10 dossiers per agency from April through July of this year.

The timing is interesting in light of what the US Embassy is reporting, that Nepal has told them that they plan to process all 2009 dossiers (that's us) by March of this year. The Embassy adds that they are doubtful that such a large number of matches could be made in such a short period of time, but it proves consistent with the rumors that have been circulating. I'm not sure that makes it any more likely to be true-- an untrue statement that is often repeated is still not true. However, I would be happy if they even started back on the 2009 matches in March and finished them by the following March. So my expectations are rather low, but perhaps more realistic.

I have resisted the temptation to even predict when our referral will arrive, mostly based upon the fact that there is practically zero data on which to base a prediction (unlike China where there were at least monthly referrals that could be counted on). But based on this post from our family blog yesterday, I'd say there's a good chance that we will get a referral this summer and be home with Little Bro in the Fall. But please realize that is based purely on what would be the most ironic timing for me-- not on reality whatsoever, so please don't take it to the bank."

Now see! Wasn't that a nice little glimmer of hope! So we continue to pray the Lord moves mountains and Nepal adoptions will get moving! To read exactly what Elissa posted click here.

Jiang Xiao Hong Has A Family!

2010-01-22T15:26:00.000-08:00

Many of you have been getting the word out about Jiang Xiao Hong and many of you have expressed an interest in adopting her. It is with great relief that we can let you all know that she has found her family! Thanks to all of you that spread the word of her need. She may never know just how many people worked so hard to help her. And thanks to all of you that expressed an interest in adopting her. There are many more children who need homes. Some about to age out and others with special needs. Please keep them in your prayers also.

Dick and Cheryl Graham

URGENT!!! This precious girl NEEDS a family ASAP!!

2010-01-21T08:12:00.000-08:00

Jiang Xiao Hong - Girl - Asia - April 7, 1996 - Healthy PDF Print E-mail
Wednesday, 20 January 2010 00:00

JXH is a beautiful girl with delicate features and a shy smile. She will turn 14 on April 7, and on that day will no longer be eligible to have a mom, and dad of her own. She remembers well what it is like to be loved by a family. Upon the death of her birth parents, she was sent to live at the orphanage since there were no other family members to take her in. This was in 2006, so her memories of those days remain strong. Her adjustment to life in the orphanage has been smooth; she is a very likable girl who makes friends easily and follows directions well. JXH has no health issues. She is polite and kind, and shows respect to others. She is liked by her teachers and is a hard worker. She enjoys cartoons for fun, and loves to jump rope. This is her only chance for a family. A couple who are already DTC would be preferred, but if you are willing to work very, very hard you can make this happen even if you are just beginning the process. You must decide now...she is waiting, and time is quickly slipping away.

Bringing Hope to Children

Bringing Hope to Children is the humanitarian work of IAAP
405 James Blvd. 423-658-1559
Signal Mountain, TN 37377 208-692-8805 (fax)

What Faith Can Do!

2010-01-19T08:39:00.000-08:00

Read the post below!

Three Teens Find Families in ONE Week!

2010-01-19T07:34:00.000-08:00

Irina
Jason & Patty

Alexander
Seldon & Shannon

Kristina
Jon & Linda

I'm so excited about how the Lord is moving in our little church up here in Maine! He's put adoption and the love of caring for orphans on a lot of hearts!

These three precious teens that I posted on my blog and facebook last week all have families pursuing them! All from Calvary Chapel in Bangor (Orrington really)!
I LOVE how the Lord is moving in so many families to answer the call to adopt!

An update with Kristina...Jon and Linda just heard about Kristina a day or two ago. They thought the Lord may be calling them to adopt her, but didn't have the 750.00 needed to apply to USCIS. They needed the money today and put the need out to all their friends and by 10:00 this morning the Lord provided all the money needed! So now they will apply for their I171H and begin the adoption process! Kristina turns 16 tomorrow! One more day would have been too late! Praise you Jesus for moving on hearts!
Money can never be an excuse to not obey the Lords calling to adopt!

Over three years ago when we started our adoption of Noelle from China I began attending the church's adoption and orphan care ministry. I enjoyed going but at that time we were the only family adopting internationally.
Domestic adoption is so important too, but at the time really wanted to connect with others that were adopting over seas. I began to pray that the Lord would begin to call more families to adopt over seas. Now I can think of two who have children home from Ethiopia one family leaving in less than two weeks to adopt from Ethiopia and now three more all this week have made a decision to adopt teens from the Ukraine! What a blessing!

Please pray for Irina, Alexander and Kristina that the Lord will begin to prepare their hearts to meet their new families!

FAMILY URGENTLY NEEDED: TWO WEEKS LEFT FOR HER TO BE ADOPTED!

2010-01-15T07:45:00.000-08:00

See the post below for more information or just click here.

URGENT NEED!!!! REPOST ON YOUR BLOGS PLEASE!!!

2010-01-14T10:13:00.000-08:00

I have been asked again to share about an urgent need for a young lady about to "time/age" out of an orphanage!

I'm going to just copy and paste the information that was given to me. PLEASE PRAY AND PASS ALONG!

I'm forwarding this to you because I wonder if (yet again!) you might share this need. This girl has till next month to find a family or she's a homeless 16 year old, and I know that is not what God wants to see happen. So I think if we can get the word out, and be praying, God can use this as a means to get her connected to her parents!

Sorry to bother you with this question - we have a girl who is turning 16 in February, Kristina.

We are trying to find a family for her. A family who would like to adopt her needs to

submit their application to USCIS before Kristina will turn 16.

There are just couple weeks left. May I ask you to possibly ask people in your church?

May be there is a family who would like to give this girl a hope.

She has been in US on hosting program and any interested family could contact the family

who hosted Kristina, they likes her a lot.

Here is what they say:

Teal Renzema <tkrenzema@yahoo.com>, one of families hosted her said: Krystyna is a very sweet girl, any family would be blessed to have her (I wish we could :)) . She is affectionate, cheerful, and extremely helpful (she always wants to keep everyone happy). Honestly there did not seem to be anything that we did that she didn't enjoy except maybe being around too many adults that she didn't know. The first night she was here she subtly cuddled up to me. She isn't extremely outgoing, she is almost shy but handles everything with a sweet smile. She told me that she wants to learn different languages and be a translator when she grows up. Most of the time she was here we played video games and "talked" on a translating website. I am so sad to see her second host family does not have funds to adopt her….

Thank you very much.

Larissa Koedyker

Russia Consultant/Ukraine program Coordinator

Adoption Associates Inc.

(616) 667-0921

(616) 667-9730 (fax)

e-mail: lkoedyker@adoptionassociates.net

Praise Report & Two Cuties who need a family!

2010-01-13T13:05:00.000-08:00

Thank you for praying for Irina and Alexander! They both now have families pursuing their adoptions! I just happen to have the privilege of attending church with them!! Thank you Lord for moving on hearts! Please keep both families in your prayers as they answer the Lords call and begin their adoption journeys!

These two cuties are a siblings and are currently waiting for a forever family in Ukraine. If you're interested in learning more about them contact Adoption Associates!

LESYA
DOB: May, 2001

KOLYA

DOB: January, 2000

Kolya sings in the school choir. He also likes to put puzzles together and to make hand-made items.
Kolya is a good-hearted and sincere person, he never offends other children. Kolya is very fond of his younger sister Lesya.

One important difference between Lesya and Kolya and other orphans in Ukraine is that Lesya and Kolya do not live in a regular Ukrainian orphanage and thus does not have any behavioral features that life in an orphanage entails. The private Christian Children Center where Lesya and Kolya live consists of foster families who individually raise children in a family setting. Lesya and Kolya attend regular school, sports and cultural clubs just like an average child would in Ukraine. Lesya and Kolya attend church regularly and takes part in church activities.

Another difference is that a family interested in adopting Lesya and Kolya can come to Ukraine and spend time with Lesya and Kolya openly. Also all sorts of other communication is allowed– exchange of letters, packages, phone calls, skype, etc… so that Lesya and Kolya on one hand and potential adopting family on the other establish emotional contacts prior to commencement of adoption process in Ukraine.

The Story of the Ring!

2010-01-10T10:32:00.000-08:00

The story of the Ring

“Reckless faith is stunning. It is the stuff stories are told about years later. God is calling us to give to others recklessly because that is his nature. He could have atoned for our sins many other ways, or just kept accepting our livestock on the altar, but he demonstrated the ultimate in reckless giving when he offered his body for us.

The story of Joel is just one among millions of stories about how God responds to someone's cry each day. He is doing more than fetching what we ask; he is orchestrating events that are multipurpose. He is blessing the receiver, the provider, the asker, the observer, the second-hand hearer; he is big and alive and dynamic and involved. He is a God who captivates me. He is wilder than I can contain, and my understanding of him, while growing each day, only allows me to see a fraction of his total existence.” - Beth Guckenberger

Grab a cup of coffee or tea and settle in to read an amazing story that involves many people who want to live a life of reckless faith for their Lord. How the Lord can take something bad that happens in our lives and turn them into good if we allow him.

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

What I'm about to share is just one example of how the Lord has provided for our adoption of our boys in Nepal (I will be speaking of boys...plural because that is what we are asking the Lord for). How God moved a Huge mountain! We set out on this adoption journey not having one penny to put towards it. But knew without a shadow of a doubt that the Lord called us to go to Nepal. After much prayer we said , yes Lord, we will begin to take steps of faith in this direction and as you provide we'll move forward at your pace, and in your timing.

There is a whole lot to the story up to this particular point as to how the Lord provided (15,000.00 plus), but for today I want to focus on the last 2000.00 that was needed.

Nepal only allows 10 families per agency to submit dossiers each year. 2009 is the first year Nepal is accepting dossiers after having their doors closed for a number of years. We prayed that the Lord would allow for our paperwork to be submitted this year (2009). On November 16 we finally had our dossier ready for Nepal but still did not have the 9200.00 needed to send it. So there it sat on our counter for weeks. I guess we kinda assumed it wasn't the Lords will to be part of the 2009 quota and tried to deal with it by just not really talking about it. We figured when it was time we'd know.

On December fourth I was at a friends house decorating an adoption float for the Christmas parade being held on December 5. Mike called me that afternoon and said we had gotten an email from our adoption agency saying that all 10 slots had been filled for the year, but a family withdrew their application and wanted to know if we would like that last slot. They said they would have to have the dossier in Nepal by December 20 in order to have it translated and registered with the ministry by the end of the year. The fourth was a Friday the fifth Saturday, sixth Sunday so we were looking at Monday the seventh before we could talk with anyone from the adoption agency. By the time I got home Friday the agency was closed. I did however email them Friday evening to let them know that we would LOVE to have that slot, but we didn't have any of the money, but if they would “hold” it for us we were going to pray and get others to pray with us and see if it would be the Lords will to provide that money. I prayed that evening and asked the Lord what a reasonable “cut off” date would be to collect the money and still be able get our dossier to Nepal in time. I believe he gave me the fifteenth. A neat side note...we were unable to work with a Christian agency this time so this was going to be a neat way for them to witness the Lord at work!

It was Monday, December 7 at 7 AM that I felt lead to email my entire contact list and tell them of the situation that had come up and ask them to pray with us for a miracle and if they wanted to help here's how. Faith is not a feeling it's a choice and we hung onto Matthew 17:20 as a promise from the Lord. “I assure you, even if you had faith as small as a mustard seed you could say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there', and IT would move. NOTHING is impossible with God!” $9,200.00 was our mountain and we were praying and trusting He was going to move it!

Fast forward to Monday, December 14. The Lord had miraculously provided $7,200.00 and we only needed $2,000.00 more by 5:00 PM, December 15. At this point I felt worn out and really tired. Each day was filled by prayer and checking emails and the mail box and phone calls to see how the Lord was moving on hearts to step up and help with the rescue of these orphans that just happened to also be our children. It was hard to focus on anything else. I told Mike we need to pray that the Lord finishes this work TODAY! Let's pray and believe that by the end of the day before we lay our heads on our pillows that every penny needed will be provided!

So we prayed!

I decided to post “updates” on my facebook throughout the day of how the Lord was providing. My first post was at 8 AM...

It’s feeding the hungry Serving the poor It’s telling the orphan You’re not forgotten anymore" Take time and listen to this song! I'll post the lyrics in the comment below.

UPDATE2000.00*** is all that's left.....by TOMORROW!!! Please pray with us that the Lord provides it all today!

Second post...

Someone we don't know just blessed us with 350.00! That takes it from 2000.00 down to 1650.00! Thank you Jesus!

Third post...

OUR NOON UPDATE WE NEED 1450.00!!!**
200.00 just came in the mail!
Thank you Jesus! We're getting there!

Fourth post...

UPDATE
It is so amazing to see brothers and sisters in the Lord from all over the country, most of whom we don't even know, helping to bring these little guys home! With everyone helping any way they can we're getting close! Right now we are down to 1150.00!!!! What will the Lord do tonight??? Who might He use ...to help rescue an orphan???
If you want to help visit our blog and use the Chip In.
Keep praying!

We don't have a regular answering machine so our phone just blinks and beeps when I go to use it to let me know we have a message or messages. I don't check them often because most of the time there for my teenage daughter. Well I was stick of the blinking and beeping so decided to take a minute and listen to the messages. Well we had 10 messages! I began to listen and they were all from the same person wanting to talk to Robin. When I got to the last message it was from this lady and she had called on Sunday wanting to talk to me. So I called her. That turned out to me the beginning of an amazing story that only the Lord could orchestrate!! Remember this quote from the beginning? He is doing more than fetching what we ask; he is orchestrating events that are multipurpose. He is blessing the receiver, the provider, the asker, the observer, the second-hand hearer; he is big and alive and dynamic and involved. This is where it gets good!

This lady asked me how close we were to meeting our goal. I told her 1150.00. I don't remember her exact words, but got the impression that if she had the money she would have given it to us. She said she believed the Holy Spirit had gently whispered in her ear that she could give us her diamond ring to help bring these boys home. She went on to tell me there was a story behind the ring.

Without going to deep into the details she began to tell me how her dad and mom were married but when she was a teenager she came home to find her mom had been committed to a mental institution. Dad was gone. I believe serving in the Navy in another state. A couple years passed and her dad showed up with divorce papers in one hand and another woman on his other hand and she was wearing a ring. He had come home for a divorce and I'm assuming introduce this new soon to be wife to his children.

Through a series of circumstances later when her dad passed away this step mom let her have this ring he had given her. She took it because it was the only thing she had from her dad....a link to him. She shared with me how it was a love/hate relationship with it. She loved it because it was a link to her dad and it was a beautiful ring, but hated it because it represented the destruction of her family.

She shared how many times when looking at the ring she wanted to throw it in the Atlantic Ocean. Because when she looked at it, it brought pain. She felt like the Holy Spirit whispered something to the effect like you can take something that represents pain and turn it into something that can bring joy! And that's exactly what she did!

We had arranged to meet the next morning and I would bring it to a jewelry store that my friend works at and have it cleaned and then I would be on a mission that day to sell it!

This conversation took place while Mike was walking out the door to go to church for band practice. So he knew nothing about what was going on :)

I had posted all my other update so I thought why wouldn't I post this one so here's the update...

Fifth post @ 6:10 PM

*Update**

Someone is giving us a half carat diamond ring to sell and put towards
the 1150.00!!!!! Sooo if you're looking for a ring and want to make a
donation let me know! I'm going to sell it tomorrow.

It wasn't a couple minutes and another lady contacted me asking me if I could give her more details about the ring. I couldn't because I hadn't seen it. All I knew was it was a half carat. She emailed me again telling me she knew someone who was looking to purchase a ring that night or the next day. He was going to be at her house at eight and wanted to know if I could get the ring by then.

So I call the lady back with the ring and we decide to meet so I would have the ring to show him.

I pick it up, drive back home and call the other lady and let her know I have the ring. She asked I if I would mind bringing it to her house for him to look at. She felt bad asking me to get out again, but I told her it was no problem...it was for the boys and I was on a mission. I believed the Lord had a plan for this ring and I couldn't wait to see what it was!

Are you with me still?

So I show up at her house with the ring and she begins to share a story behind the man looking to purchase a ring. It involved her son.

Her son was married and his wife left him. He later met a young lady and fell in love and was going to propose to her and of course needed a ring. Well because he had gone through this divorce he really didn't have a lot of money for a diamond. Somehow (the Lord) he connected with another young man who also had gone through a divorce. Same thing happened...his wife left him. When she left he got the ring. Apparently it was a beautiful ring that he had custom built for her. Anyhow he knew this other guy wanted a ring and somehow they connected and he saw this diamond ring and loved it and wanted to buy it for his fiancee.

Well when the man with the ring heard he had gone through the same thing he had gone through he didn't want any money for the ring. He wanted to bless this guy with the diamond. He wanted to take something that brought him pain and turn it into something beautiful.

The guy that was looking to buy a ring that night was they guy who had given his diamond to this other man!

I knew listening to all this that the Holy Spirit was telling me don't set a price on this ring and let him have it for whatever he offers. And that's what I was prepared to do. I was not one bit worried about how much he would offer. At this point I was just really excited that he had met a wonderful young woman who he wanted to be his wife and I wanted him to have this ring if it was what he wanted.

At this point it's about eight o clock and he shows up to the house. I'm sitting there with our friend and some of her family (just listening and taking it all in) and she does all the introductions and quickly fills him in on why I'm there.

This guy was beaming when he came in and heard about all this. So he said, “do you have the ring?” I pass him the ring and he looks it over while smiling and says “this is the one”. At this point I jump in and tell him not to feel obligated or pressured. Not to be sucked into all the emotion and stories. I knew that Lord had given me that ring and I was confident it would sell. So NO pressure. He said I don't feel pressure or obligated. He told me he had been praying for a while and that very day had a conversation with the Lord that went something like....how do I pick a ring from so many...would you please bring me the ring. So there he was sitting in this house holding a diamond ring. He said this was the ring and even if it wasn't the style or size or whatever they had maybe planned on getting he knew his fiancee would be blessed by the stories behind the ring.

At this point no amount of money had been mentioned. He told me he had a set amount of money he had allocated for the ring. I told him whatever he wanted to give towards the adoption was fine. He said he had $800.00!!! I was floored! I didn't know what he would offer but I didn't think it would be $800.00. NOW I'm freaking out in a good way! I at this point begin to tell them the story about praying for the last 2000.00 by the end of the day and that we had two strangers tell us they were going to give us money towards the adoption. One for 100.00 the other 200.00.

So if you take 1150.00 and subtract 300.00 that leaves 850.00! So we were only lacking 50.00!!! To me that was as good as if the whole amount came in! When he heard this he tells me his sister had adopted like 4 times and loves adoption and tells me that he had 852.00 in his checking account and he wanted to give me 850.00! I said no, you don't need to give me any more money and he responds with a smile and says I know I don't need too, I want to!

A M A Z I N G!

Before I leave another person that was present during this whole thing walks by me and puts cash in my hand!

I get in the car and have this special time with just me and my Father!!! I'm screaming, crying, laughing....I just couldn't believe what had just happened. And I was going home to Mike that knew none of this. He didn't even know someone had given a ring! So I tried to compose myself so I could tell him the entire story from the beginning to end. With the Lords help I was able (another miracle :)

After I got through the story we decided to count what we had in our hands not count money from strangers that we didn't have. We were at 1843.00....we were only lacking 157.00.

Sixth post on facebook...

*UPDATE**
COUNTING THE MONEY IN HAND WE ONLY LACKING 157.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THANK YOU JESUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It wasn't probably 30 seconds and someone from our church IM me and said they would be honored to give the last 157.00 and they would give it to me first thing in the morning!

My last post...

CAN'T STOP PRAISING GOD!!!! The mountain HAS BEEN MOVED!!!!!! THANK YOU JESUS!!!!!

Isn't our Father AMAZING! I am still in awe! God has so far used 33 families most of whom we don't know to help us in our mission to rescue our sons from the bondage of being orphans! What an amazing God we serve!

We needed 9200.00 and 9200.00 came in. No more, no less. And again....right on time!

There is even more to this incredible story, but I think I'll end the story here for now.

Would you join us in praising the Lord for providing this miracle!

At this point we are praying for the Lord to set the right people in place in Nepal to get these adoptions moving! Also praying if it's the Lords will that we would be referred two boys! That the Lord will continue to provide all that's needed to bring them home.

Now we wait for our referral and then we travel to bring them home!

Alexander NEEDS a home!

2010-01-08T15:49:00.000-08:00

Alexander, born December 1994, lives in a Christian Children's center in Eastern Europe and has lived there since August 2006. He is very kind and sensitive boy. Alexander loves nature, fishing, and camping. He enjoys riding a bicycle and takes... very good care of his bicycle, spends hours repairing it.

Call 616.667.0921 for additional information on Alexander or Adoption Associates, Inc.'s Waiting Children programs.

Irina wants to be adopted!

2010-01-07T17:31:00.000-08:00

Meet Irina, a 15 year old young lady living in a Christian center in Ukraine.

She has been an orphan for three years and wants to be adopted so badly!

In Ukraine once you turn 16 you are no long eligible to be adopted.

Irina loves writing, has taken painting lessons for 3 years, and is learning to ski.

I know the Lord knows where her family is and will be faithful to bring them together.

Please pray for her and spread the word about this young lady!

For more information on Irina contact Adoption Associates and look under the International program.

Larissa is the contact for her. A link to her email in right on their page.

Adoption Associates does have additional photos for any family interested.

She's a doll!

Please help spread the word about her need for a family.

2010-01-01T19:40:00.000-08:00

H A P P Y
N E W
Y E A R !

Merry CHRISTmas & Reckless Faith!

2009-12-29T13:48:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!!!

I pray you all had a blessed Christmas with your families celebrating the birth of our Savior Jesus! We had a wonderful, quiet day at home with our girls. After the girls had their gifts Mike and I sat on the couch wondering if next year we'll have two boys home! We may have just had our last Christmas together as a family of four! Wouldn't that be wild!!

Looking back I would say 2009 has been the hardest year ever (financially) for our family. But the Lord has been so faithful to take care of all our needs (bills, food, clothes, adoption expenses to date)! It has been a year of miracles for our family! Thank you Jesus!

We are quickly approaching the one year anniversary of the dream the Lord gave Mike calling us to go to Nepal and bring home at least one, maybe two sons! I remember when we announced what we were going to do we had some of our closest family and friends look at us as though we had lost our minds. I guess I can understand why they felt that way initially considering where we were financially, but after we shared how the Lord had been speaking to both of us through His Word I really thought their hearts would change. I was hoping they would be as excited with us as we were about this God sized adventure we were about to embark on... again! But some were not and even prayed our eyes would be opened and see that this was not the time to be doing this and that doors would close.

Mark 8:33 comes to mind...."You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God's" Sometimes God calls us to do things that make no sense to others.... or us for that matter. He calls us to have RECKLESS FAITH...be reckless for Him! He see's the big picture...we only see what's right in front of us. Praise the Lord we listened to Him and PRAISE THE LORD he didn't close doors.... He opened them up wide!!! And He moved financial mountains for us!!!

Do you know that ANYTHING is possible with God? While I was reading this morning in Mark I came across the story about Jesus healing a boy who was possessed by an evil spirit. The man who had the son had brought the boy to the disciples but they were unable to heal him so he then took his son to Jesus. The father said to Jesus "Do something IF you can." "What do you mean if I can?" Jesus asked. "ANYTHING is possible if a person believes." That's what faith is. That is what we have tried to practice all year. It's not easy and I'm glad it's not an emotion that you feel, because I would have been in big trouble! Faith is a choice we make....and will continue to make. You see this adoption story is not over yet! We are only half way there! Another verse in Mark 9...verse 37 "Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalfwelcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes not only me but also my Father who sent me.” Don't you love that verse?! OK one more over in Mark 10 verse 14 &15 "Let the children come to me. Don't stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I assure you, anyone who doesn't have their kind of faith will never get into the Kingdom of God."

I do want to say we did have several friends who gathered around us in support, excitement and prayer and that meant so much to us! We love you so much! But we still had those doubters which by the way we love too! My head is still spinning from all the miracles that have taken place this year! Most recently the 9200.00 which I'm sure you all know about by now..but don't forget the TV either! I'm very excited to share the stories of how the Lord provided the 9200.00 but need to check with a couple people before I do :) Maybe that will be my first 2010 post!

As we head into 2010 we face a lot of the same trials we faced in 2009. Work is still very slow for Mike and we continue to pray and ask the Lord to provide all the work needed to pay our bills and provide for the adoption, finish the boys bedroom...you know how the list goes on. Faith and not worrying had been hard for me in the past and sometimes is still hard. They are those things that I need to give to the Lord daily! I will say all that has taken place this year has built my faith immeasurably!
I am reading a book right now called Crazy Love OVERWHELMED BY A RELENTLESS GOD by Francis Chan. He gives the definition for worry...not Webster's but how the Lord looks at worrying.
"Worry implies that we don't quite trust that God is big enough, powerful enough, or loving enough to take care of what's happening in our lives."
We know this is not true! Our Father who created us loves us more than we can comprehend! Can you imagine loving someone so much that you would sacrifice your only son so others could escape eternal death? I cannot, yet that's what God did for you and me! We know He is BIG enough, POWERFUL enough, and LOVING enough to take care of what's happening in our lives.... He LOVES us!

So we head into 2010 expecting that the Lord has good things in store for you and our family!

Here's what we are praying for and thanking the Lord for ....

Thanking him for bringing the Nelson's and their new daughter home safely!
Continue to pray for them and her as they begin to bond as a family.

Pray for Amy and Brian as they are in China now and have their new son Rhett! Pray for Brian's leg/hip as it's giving him lots of pain. Pray for healing! You can check out their blog here.

My Friend Amy and her hubby as they prepare to travel to ET to bring home their new daughter!

Mike to get lots of work so we can pay these bills and get out of debt!

That the Lord will continue to show Himself strong in this adoption and that He will provide all we need to bring these boys home!

Pray for two boys!

The Lord will move mountains and put into place those that need to be there to get adoptions moving in Nepal!

And safety to those traveling to bring home their children.

More people would have reckless faith and step out and do something radical for the Lord this year! Maybe even adopt!!!

Please take time to watch the video below about Reckless Faith!

I love you!

Have a wonderful New Year! I'll be back Jan 1, 2010 unless Jesus comes to take us/me home! Wouldn't that be sweet if He came for His waiting church!!!

Are you ready?

If not...... GET READY....HE'S COMING SOON!

Come Lord Jesus Come!!!

The book is READY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-12-18T03:54:00.000-08:00

This is from my friend Kim's "The Christmas Miracle" blog....READ & buy a book! We are honored to be one of the adoption stories in the book (Noelle's adoption story)!!!

"I have had one too many cups of tea tonight and I entered my bedroom with the laptop determined to have these stories up and ready to go by morning. It is now 12:58 am and I did it!!! After much prayer and consideration it seems the very best way to approach this for the time being is to use Chip In.

Do you see the little box to the right of this post?

That link will take you to PayPal. Donate $10.00 or more and then send an e-mail to oneheartworld@gmail.com telling us that the donation has been made. We will then send you an e-mail with the electronic book as an attachment. You can either read it from your computer or print it out. Your choice! We will also send you an invitation to a private blog where we will share details of each family as they proceed with their adoptions. You will be able to see how each penny is spent and witness the miracles for yourself. There are many ways to get e-books up and running and we may change the way we do this in the future. For the sake of time and the fact that this is called The Christmas Miracle Project and Christmas is in SEVEN days this seems the fastest way to get these stories to you. Our goal is to fund at least three adoptions. We know that God's vision is so much bigger than ours so we open ourselves up for endless miracles. Lets envision lots and lots of children snuggled safely in their bed with the love a family surrounding them........

No more hunger.

No more loneliness.

No more waiting.

Please help spread the word far and wide!

Be a part of the Miracle!

With Facebook, Twitter, E-Mail and blogs this will be easy. EASY! I love to break a big number down so it doesn't seem scary so here is how that looks....$90,000(scary)....that is the approximate cost of three adoptions. When we ask for a $10.00 donation that comes out to be 9000 people OR 900 people giving $100.00 each OR 90 people giving $1000.00 each. All of a sudden it's not so scary is it? I told you it's easy! When we see $90,000, we think we can't do it, we can't help, we can't make a difference. But when we see $10.00 we think..."I can do that." With less than some people spend at Starbucks in a week you can be part of changing the direction of a child's life.

And not just one life but many lives.

Let's not wait around for a miracle, let's BE the miracle.

The stories are profoundly moving and I have cried through each one, including my own. I am honored that each family that shared in this was willing to invite us into their world so we could be inspired by them.

I think this is going to be the best Christmas EVER!

Thank you in advance for you kindness, your open heart and your generosity.

With Love"

“The eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those who love Him.”

2009-12-17T09:26:00.000-08:00

Don't you love being in the house of the Lord worshiping with your brothers and sisters!

It's been a long time since I when to church on a Wednesday night. Mike began going again back a few months ago, but for me it seems like so much work to get out at night in the cold with a little one. But I went last night I'm so glad I did!

We had a guest speaker Harry Pressley from Calvary Chapel Bellmawr. What a blessing to hear him share last night. He was was reading from 1 Corinthians 12. He was teaching about the many spiritual gifts. There are so many gifts the Lord can give us. He of course mentioned the gift of faith and miracles.

These are two gifts we saw first hand this past week and a half! I can't begin to tell you how much of a blessing it was for us to have so many of you praying believing in faith that the Lord was going to provide all that was needed to take this next step! It's our prayer that the Lord is glorified in all of this!

I was talking to a new friend of mine, Kimberly, and she and I were talking about all the trials we've faced this year. For us it's been a financial. She was suggesting that perhaps the Lord has allowed this year of financial struggling for our family just for the purpose of this last week to take place.

If Mike's work had been booming and he had twice the work he normally has. We would still be adopting and when that 9200.00 was needed we could have just written out a check and mailed it. Which would have been fine, but he allowed us to be in this vulnerable place and put us in a position to ask our brothers and sisters to join us in prayer and to provide this huge amount of money in a short period of time. Through this so many people Christians and non- Christians alike have heard this testimony of God faithfulness! It's our prayer that this adoption testimony ,which is not over yet, will cause people's faith to grow! More importantly show them that when the Lord tells us to do something....even when it makes no sense....it's our job, obligation to respond with a yes Lord! A verse that I love is “The eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those who love Him.” (2 Chron. 16:9) Isn't that a sweet promise from our Lord!

Back to last night. Not only did we love what he was teaching and It felt so relevant to all that's taken place these past few days, but he mentioned how he gets the privilege to travel oversees to teach.

He mentioned that he's been to Nepal several times!

This is a country that needs the Lord desperately! He was sharing how there are so many idols there. I believe I heard they have more idols then people....what a sad picture. He was sharing about how he witnessed goats being killed as an offering to gods. He also mentioned something that I wasn't aware of. Apparently there are a lot of moneys over there and the people think they are gods. He was in the streets and witnessed a young child being caught by a money and being beat up and all these people just standing there doing nothing! Can you even imagine! He didn't just stand there he intervened and tried to help this child. Later after church we were introduced to him and he shared a little more about that story. Apparently he could have been stoned because he did that. Praise the Lord he wasn't! This world we live in is such a mess all I can say is COME LORD JESUS COME!!!

It was neat being able to ask him questions about Nepal. There is a Calvary Chapel team of pastors going to Nepal next year. Wouldn't that be a hoot to be able to travel with them and of course my other new friend, Elissa, who is also adopting a little guy from Nepal. She and her hubby have a few months on us though. I believe their dossier was sent in September....but you NEVER know maybe the Lord will still allow us to travel together!

On another note I have a few more prayer requests to add to the list from a few days ago.

We have a friends who leave today to travel to Ethiopia to bring home their new daughter! They will arrive home on Christmas day! They have three biological children and now will have three adopted! Pray for their children at home and for there new daughter as she enters her new home. She's about 12-13 years old so it may be a little harder to adjust to her new life, but she couldn't be adopted by better parents and she'll have great brothers and sisters!

I have another friend who is traveling to China in just 9 days I think to bring home her new little boy Rhett! Pray for the Lord to begin working in his little heart for all the changes that he's about to have. Help her and her hubby to have a clear mind and be able to focus on packing and doing everything that needs to be done before they leave. They leave the day after Christmas!

We know another family who is welcoming home their 5^th adopted child today! Be praying for the Pratt family and this new little girl!

And last but not least my dear friend Amy and her husband. They just passed court and are now the proud parents of a three year old little girl from Ethiopia! They have also adopted once before and they now have two little girls the same age! Kinda like twins! Pray for them to have a clear mind and have peace as they begin to make their travel plans!

I just LOVE adoption and all that the Lord is doing!

Father bless all these children that are coming home and the millions more who are waiting for a daddy and mommy! And bless these families who are about to travel and welcome these little ones home! In Jesus name we pray....AMEN!

Questions have been asked....What's next?

2009-12-16T08:09:00.000-08:00

My plan wasn't to talk about money so soon after the Lord provided so much for this adoption, but I've had some questions as to what the rest of our expenses will look like and if we have the rest of the money needed.

The answer is we do not have the money for the remainder of our expenses. We will continue to pray that the Lord will provide and we believe He will! I decided I would share with you what the break down looks like and what we've paid for so far and what we are looking at for the remainder of this adoption.

Nepal Adoption Fees Disclosure

Adoption Fees Payable to FHSA (our adoption agency) based on adoption services for one child.

Application Fee 250.00 PAID

Initial Professional Service Fee 2950.00 (Due with signed client contract at which time a Program Coordinator will contact you to assist with the dossier) PAID

I600-A fingerprints for Homeland Security 830.00 PAID
Adoption Learning Partners 150.00 PAID

Home Study & Post Adoption Report Fees

Home Study and 3 Post Adoption Reports

The total for all of these fees are 800.00 we've paid 400.00 still owe 400.00.

Due with Dossier submission:

Second Professional Service Fee 2500.00 PAID

Mailing and Wire Transfer Fee 200.00 PAID

Initial Country Administration Fee 2500.00 PAID

Gov't Processing & Monitoring Fee 3000.00 PAID

Humanitarian Aid (Orphan's Voice) 1000.00 PAID

The above 5 items made up the 9200.00 that was needed to get our dossier to Nepal! We are praising the Lord for providing that need!

Due with Referral Acceptance:

Country Administration Balance 2000.00

Orphanage Donation 5000.00

(will be doubled if we get two boys)

Adoption Fees Payable to:

Child's Paperwork Fees

Medical 40.00

Visa 400.00

These fees are payable at our Embassy appointment in Nepal. We will need to hand carry these fees with us to Nepal (these will be doubles if we get two boys)

Out of Pocket Travel Expenses:

Airfare 2000.00 - 7000.00

not sure for child maybe 250.00 or more

Meals - Approx. 25.00 per day per adult 300.00 - 600.00

Hotel avg. 12 nights at 95.00 per night 1140.00 (we plan to stay at a children's home! Of course we'll give them something, but it should save on this expense)

Facilitator Tip 100.00

Nanny Tip 100.00

Orphanage Director Tip 50.00

Driver Tip 30.00

Estimated Travel Expenses 3970.00 - 9270.00

Estimated Total Adoption Cost - $24,710 - $32,140.00

When the Lord first began to speak to us about adopting from Nepal Mike was so excited and I'll admit wasn't. I was excited about the thoughts of adopting again but my heart wanted to go back to China! We had talked about going back and adopting another little girl around the age of 4 so I was a little taken back when Nepal came into the picture.

I couldn't deny that the Lord gave Mike this word (BANAU) but I wasn't convinced that we were supposed to adopt from Nepal. We prayed and began to explore Nepal adoptions to see if there would be a closed door. I was looking for one. We qualified on every level....we only had two children, we only had girls but when I looked at the cost and saw 30,000.00 as an average I thought....there's the closed door! Now we can use AWAA again and go back to China!

I remember sitting in the living room with Mike and told him how much it would cost and said something like....well I guess that closes the door on Nepal huh?

His response was something like this....Well Tonya we have 0 money so if the Lord is calling us to adopt He is able to provide the 10,000.00 or more needed for a domestic, 20,000.00 or more needed for a China adoption and He is able to provide 30,000.00 or more for a Nepal adoption....so NO this is not a closed door!

So many of you know how the story goes, but after MUCH PRAYER we said YES LORD and began to take small steps in faith. Believing if this is what the Lord called us to do He would be faithful to complete it!

It has been AMAZING to watch the Lord provide all we've needed for each step we've taken! The money hasn't been in our hand early, but it's been there right on time for the next step. I'll be honest it's nice to know you have the money needed ahead of time, but so far that's not how the Lord has chosen to work. We're excited to see the rest of HIS story unfold!

By the way I'm VERY EXCITED about adopting from Nepal and I'm thrilled that I'll be a mommy to I pray TWO little boys!!

We updated our Chip In button and it will stay there until December 31, 2010 or until we know when we'll be getting our boys.