A Trip of a Lifetime

The past month has been a complete blur. On Tuesday October 27th we received a phone call asking if we would consider traveling to Africa in two days. What? No way? Well, after complete shock we said yes. At that point it was only a "maybe" until the next day. To make a very long story short, we had til the end of October to get our two court dates completed otherwise we would be postponed until early next year. After a restless night, we found out midday on Wednesday that we got the go ahead to travel on Friday. A big team of people stepped in to help. My coworkers covered my shifts at work. The care of our children here was arranged and our bags were packed. Still didn't feel real. It was so surreal to finally be at this point in our journey.  On Friday we left for Tanzania, Africa. We traveled for two days to get there and our flight time totaled to about 23 hours. Holy cow..right? On October 24th, we arrived and meet our children. There are no words that can describe that experience for us. We have looked forward to that moment for so long. Helen and Innocent welcomed us with smiles and hugs. That started our 14 day journey in Africa in getting to know each other.
We spent seven days in Arusha, Tanzania. During that time we had meetings with our lawyer, social welfare, and attended court. We also ventured out a little bit to some local restaurants. We visited Helen's orphanage and meet some of her friends. They welcomed us with dancing and singing. While we were there the country had a presidential election. The news was talking about potential riots and protests. We were obviously concerned about our safety. We prayed and prayed that our court dates would stay scheduled. God paved the way and kept the country peaceful. We attended both court dates as scheduled and the judge moved us onto the next step. The judge scheduled us for a adoption ruling of December 2nd. On December 2nd, the judge and lawyer will open our case again and hopefully put a final stamp on this adoption. We do not have to be present for this.  From that point, our lawyer will formulate the final documents to submit to the Tanzania. After court was complete we traveled to Karatu, Africa about 3 hours away to visit the children's orphanage. This day was rough. Matt was so sick that day. He had horrible vomiting and abdominal cramping. He was such a trooper. Traveling on African roads and feeling nauseous is not easy. God bless our driver Samuel. He was so patient with us and he kept apologizing that Matt was sick.  Our guess is that Matt ate some bad food at a restaurant the day before. He stayed in bed for the whole day and tried staying hydrated. So glad I took that Zofran with us. The next day he was worn out but was doing much better.
We stayed the next six days at Falco's Children's Orphanage. Here we were welcomed by loving "mama's" and 45 children. Each one of these kids are so precious. The Lord put my heart early in this visit that these kids needed shoes. Their shoes were so worn.  Matt and I are on mission to bring 70 shoes back to Africa with us in the spring.  We want to show them the love of Jesus.
We took this time to get to know the culture as much as we could. Our driver, Samuel, taught Matt and I some Swahili. We also received a couple cooking lessons. One day we left the orphanage and went on an all day safari. We saw so many animals in their natural habitat.
I learned so much while we were there. Things are a lot simpler there and I take so many things in America for granted. The biggest one being water. I turn on the facet on at home and there's a endless supply. We saw Africans lining up water barrels at the nearest water access just waiting for their turn for clean water. Tanzania has a rich culture. I hope we incorporate as much as we can when we bring Helen and Innocent home to America.  The people that we meet in this orphanage have such a love and passion for the Lord. We left in pure amazement knowing God has weaved this journey for us. As Helen said to me when we were leaving, "I'm not sure why your crying mama, your coming back to get us." Yes baby girl we are. There are several steps that have to be done before we can go back to bring them home. We don't know the exact time period. The hope is this spring. Matt and I will publicly share pictures soon.We are waiting for things to get finalized first.

We also wanted to take a minute and thank everyone. So many of you have partnered with us from day one in praying for our family...THANK YOU!!! Your generous hearts have helped make this possible. Exactly one year ago we started this journey. We were scared, but we knew exactly what the Lord wanted us to do. How could we provide all that is needed to adopt two more children? We took a BIG step of faith. We have continued to trust in the Lord. He has provided everything that has been needed. I love that the Lord has stepped in and has made the impossible possible. Whatever the Lord asks you to do just follow. The journey won't always be smooth and easy, but it's his will. Be in prayer and the Lord will give you his desires. So I challenge you to take that step that you think you can't and follow the Holy Spirits lead.
We ask for prayers for the upcoming steps, the first one the adoption ruling of  December 2nd.

Waiting on the Lord

Thank you to all our prayer warriors!!! You have been praying on our behalf and we are so grateful. Yesterday should of been our mention date-the meeting of the judge and lawyer in Tanzania to give us a court date to travel. Unfortunately, we were rescheduled to a new date later in the month. Yes we were disappointed. We have chosen not to allow Satan to keep us in a depressed state over it. That date was obviously not in God's plan. There is no way we will be able to fully understand how a third world countries court system works. We have to fully trust God and his perfect plan. Often that "plan" isn't' what we had in mind, but I know his plan is bigger and better than we can ever imagine. God will make this happen. For now we chose to wait on the Lord for his perfect timing and continue to sing his praises. We will stay strong in our faith.                 

Isaiah 40: 31 But they that wait for upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Psalm 27:14 Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

Romans 12:12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 

Check this video out (my prayer to the Lord): While I Wait

To our sweet children Helen and Innocent-we will not give up on your both. The devil will not stop this journey that the Lord placed us on. One day soon we will show you God's unconditional love and mercy. Hold on just a little longer, we are coming soon! 

Until then, our prayer is that God will continue to keep you safe and well. 

GOD doing only what GOD can do.....

About a month ago we were in a position were we knew we would need to do more fundraising. We tossed ideas around then started planning a trivia night/silent auction. In the beginning we thought we would be lucky to have five tables show up.  Seemed like everyone interested had other plans. For those that know me well, I was freaking out!! I was and am finding it challenging to keep up with my family and extra shifts at work. Again, I found myself trying to do this on my own. The Holy Spirit was working on my heart. I had to surrender the whole event over to the Lord. I prayed asking for him to guide me and to strategically piece it all together only the way he could. Matthew 7:7 states, 
"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."  

One door after another door was opened and God provided the people to help and to attend the event. The night turned out better than we could of expected. We had a total of 15 tables attend, which was about 140 people. All of which, had extremely generous and giving hearts. God stepped in and SHOWED OFF in a BIG WAY! We raised $5,700 that night!!! Besides bringing tears of joy and gratitude to my eyes, that money means that we are nearly fully funded for this adoption. We have about $2,000 left. God's faithfulness has been through this entire journey. On paper there was no way that we could of pulled all this off to adopt two children. We have had front row seats to watch only what God can do. This opportunity has grown our faith tremendously and realize what it means to fully trust in God's plan. When God calls us to do something and we step out in obedience and faith, He provides every need. 

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness, so that Christ's power may rest on me." 2 Corinthians 12:9

"And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him" Hebrews 11:6

We now wait on the Lord to put the pieces together to bring those precious children home to us. 

The Journey Continues

After saying yes to the referral we found ourselves realizing we needed more funds. We have decided to do a trivia night/silent auction. The event will be on July 18, 2015, next weekend. Details below. We were told that we shouldn't schedule any fundraisers in August in case our travel dates get bumped up. We know summer is a crazy time for everyone, but will you consider joining us? There is still time to sign up or donate an item for the silent auction. We also plan on having more of our fundraising shirts there in case you missed out on previous orders.

In the past weeks we have been showered with God's faithfulness. We applied for seven adoption grants total. We were denied on six of them because sufficient funds were not available to give us a grant. I did my best not to get discouraged by being told six times "no". Hours and hours have been spent filling out forms and essays all in effort to help close the gap. I kept telling God, you must have other plans.  Last Saturday we received our last grant letter. And guess what??? We were awarded a $1,500 grant. WOW!! Took our breath away. God continues to soften people's hearts for our story. Over the past couple days we were given several "anonymous" donations. We cannot say thank you enough for joining with us in helping bring our son and daughter home. Every contribution helps whether big or small. We have loved hearing about our new children from the Tanzanian mission trip (a group of youth and adults from our church went to the same orphanage our children are from a couple weeks ago). We have been told they are being well taken care of in the orphanage and their basic needs are being meet. They tell us that Innocent's big eyes will melt your heart and Helen's smile will light up the room. Kendra, Mason, and Brady are so excited. We have been prepping the bedrooms which adds to the excitement. 

The lawyer in Tanzania is preparing our paperwork for the adoption. After that's complete he will mail it to us to sign and then we will  send it back. For the next couple weeks, there won't be much movement other than the paperwork trail. 

We ask that you partner with us in prayer over the next days, weeks, and months. 

In particular asking:

 ~The process of getting Helen and Innocent will continue to move forward. 

 ~Continued safety and health for Helen and Innocent

 ~God to continue to provide the financial means to help bring them home

 ~Our family as we adjust to adding two more children. 

THE DAY IS HERE!!! BIG NEWS!!!!

THE DAY IS HERE!!!! After much thought and prayer, Matt and I are excited to announce we have accepted a referral for two beautiful children. WHAT!!?!! Yes it's true!! They are siblings. The girl who the orphanage calls "Helen" is nine years old and a little boy "Innocent" who just turned four years old will be a wonderful addition to our family. Per our agency we are not allowed to post their pictures publicly at this time for their protection. They are so cute!! We would love to show you pictures in person if you would like to see them. We feel honored to provide these sweet children a forever home.  Kendra is so excited to have a new sister and Brady can't wait to share bunk beds with his new brother. Mason said, "That's cool!, I hope we can spend Christmas with them." From the sounds of it we might have them home by Christmas. Things are moving fast!!! Our agency hopes for our first trip to happen in September and the second trip sometime by the end of the year. Obviously things can change at any time. But there is one thing we know for sure...God is faithful! Friends, family, and complete strangers have blessed us with prayer and giving hearts. We continue to see people wear our shirts and make awareness of adoption and our journey. We are so humbled. Just a short six weeks ago, people from all ages and backgrounds came together to participate in our 5K. Last weekend despite the rainy weather on Saturday we were able to raise $1500 from our benefit garage sale. BIG THANK YOU for everyone who has gotten us to this point!!! We have paid more in the past six months than we could have ever imagined. We want to be very transparent. So what's left?? The travel cost for two trips expecting to be about $12,000.00. That total is airfare twice for us, once for the children, and hotel accommodations. We have come so far and know that God will provide for us to get these precious children. We have applied for several adoption grants also. So far, we have been denied by two of those organizations because sufficient funds were not available.  The past two days its been on my heart, "What if 200 people gave $20.00?" That's $4,000 dollars. Are you up for the challenge? If a larger donation is on your heart there is a way to make it tax deductible too, Just ask!! Matt and I will be continuing to pray that God place on our hearts what our next fundraising route should be.

Making Progress

We verbally received our USCIS approval on Tuesday May 5th. What a huge relief!! Tears of pure joy! The UCIS caseworker wasn't pleasant by any means so I'm so glad that part is done. We got the official approval letter in the mail on Friday. Looks like our dossier (big packet of "official" documents) will go over to Tanzania, Africa this week. Wrote out a large check to the adoption agency today for the next step in our journey. Guess what??? God has provided every penny needed so far! Still a ways to go but we are confident that the remainder of the money will come as well.
Yesterday was Mothers Day. I was showered with homemade gifts, kind words, and extra hugs and kisses from my three children. My heart still yearns for our child (ren) in Tanzania at the Falco Children's Village. We want you to know that you have a mommy and daddy that already love you so much! That one day soon you will no longer be a orphan(s). You will have a mommy and daddy to tuck you in at night and three siblings to call yours. Whether one or two children God has them picked and knows their precious name. We continue to pray for God to protect you and let you know you are loved. Patiently waiting for our referral to come in the coming weeks or months.

Taken  December 2014, when this journey started. 

Faith and Sacrifice

From the time the Lord called us to adopt my flesh was flooded with: How can we afford this? How can we provide for possibly two more children-emotionally, spiritually, and physically? Already this journey has grown my faith in amazing ways. And the Lord spoke so clearly and gently to my heart, and his answer was.."No, you are not strong enough to do this, but I AM, and I will give you every bit of strength you need every step of the way." Peter 5:7 it says, "Casting all you care upon Him, for he cares for you." God gives us permission to come boldly, to cast our cares on him. I wonder how many other opportunities and blessing that I have missed out on in my life because I just talked myself out of them. I am boldly stepping out on faith knowing that God wants to do something great in my life.
I knew there would be things we had to sacrifice so we could be the best stewards of the money the Lord has given us. Gym membership-cancelled. Eating out-forget about it. Extra projects-nope. Vacation to Florida-cancelled. The Lord provided me the opportunity to work extra over the past several months. As difficult as that is for Matt and the kids we made the decision for me to work extra. This past Sunday I got rid of my treadmill. Its just a treadmill right? Well...since getting rid of it I took a hard look at my heart. Why was I so attached to "stuff"? Our child(ren) that we are adopting sacrifice alot more than a treadmill. Alot of the children have been through so much physically and emotionally. I've always had a mother and father who have loved me and never abandoned me. My belly has never been so hungry knowing my next meal isn't anytime soon. I have made the decision to make these sacrifices with joy. Joy in knowing this is what God wants us to do.
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope" Romans 15:13
This means me being diligent in prayer, relentless in my resolve, unwavering in faith, and determined to stand firmly on God's Word and His promises. I chose today to remain steadfast and never give up in obedience to my Lord.

We had a GREAT turn out for the Love 2 Run 4 Love 5K on April 18th. What an amazing sea of people supporting adoption.  We were able to raise over $5,000 to help bring our child(ren) home. What a complete blessing!! Big thank you to all the sponsors, volunteers, and participants who helped make the event such a big success. We applied to several grants and hope to hear back from them soon. God is continuing to provide for each step. Great is his faithfulness! So what's next?? We got our biometrics done a little bit over 3 weeks ago. We are now waiting for USCIS to process our paperwork.  We are literally a piece of paper sitting on someone's desk, waiting for that stamp of approval to continue.

Proud of their medals!

Feel honored to join this group of children. 5th year going strong!

The Douglas Family cheering on the runners!

Melissa, Matt, and I ran the whole time together. THANKS for being my cheerleaders.

Me and my little buddy!

Still one of my favorite pictures! Praying before the run. 

And their off!!

Our Family!!! 

These are all the families who have benefited from this run in previous runs!

That same day at church, Kendra and I were baptized during the evening service. Kendra officially accepted Jesus into her life and what better way for me to finally be obedient to baptism but with my daughter. 

A joyous day of celebration! 

Making Progress & Loving Others Abundantly

Our fundraiser shirts are done. If anyone wants one or missed out on the first order we will be placing a second order in about a month. Just let us know what style and size of shirt and we will add you to the growing list. They turned out great! So excited to see others sharing our story and God's word with others. God is continuing to provide for us. Friends, family, and coworkers are continuing to shower us with love by prayers and giving generously. We received a big praise yesterday, our homestudy is officially finished. Praise the Lord! It will be placed in the mail today and headed towards our adoption agency in Washington state.  One step closer. As far as what's next? We are soon to find out. I know there is some immigration forms to be done and then all the documents will be sent over to Tanzania for approval.

God has put on my heart this week to love others intentionally and abundantly.

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
1 John 4:7-8

The Planning is Underway.

After a very productive meeting on Saturday, we are preparing for our next two fundraisers. God has blessed Matt and I with a "team" of people that are passionate about adoption and bringing our child (ren) home.  The next fundraiser will be a garage sale on April 3rd and 4th. In a few weeks we will be asking for people to donate their unwanted items. More details coming soon. One man's junk is another man's treasure, right? Two weeks after that, on April 18th will be a 5K in Union. The Strickland Family has organized a 5K Walk/Run for the past five years to benefit local Franklin County residents who are adopting. We are honored that they have chosen us to receive the proceeds of the race this year. The title of the race is:

For now save the date of the race and expect the registration forms to come out shortly. We are currently seeking corporate sponsors for this race, if interested contact me. This is a great way for a business to promote and expose their product/services to the Franklin County area. 

Feeling Blessed

Today I am closing out the first order of our fundraising shirts.  My initial goal was to sell 50, well God had other plans. We sold 82 adult shirts and 10 children's shirts. Wow!!! To God be the glory! If there seems to be more interest in purchasing additional shirts we will place another order in the future. We have also received several generous donations over the past couple weeks. We are humbled by everyones giving and loving hearts. THANK YOU!!!
We completed our home study last week. It wasn't to bad. Glad to have another step done.  We are now waiting for the social worker to formulate that interview into a document. We expect to wait a couple weeks before this is completed. Once completed,our adoption agency will submit that and some other vital documents to Tanzania. Hopefully once reviewed we will get a referral for a child to adopt. Fingers crossed!

FIRST FUNDRAISER

Here's our first fundraiser. Designer Threads in Washington was so kind to help bring our vision to life.  Love doing business with local companies!  I think this displays our mission for this adoption process very well. Selling shirts for $15.00. Collecting orders over the next week, then will place our group order.  I expect to do another order, but wanted to get these out so we had them for upcoming fundraisers.
We also set up an account with Citizens Bank to accept donations.  The account is For Benefit of "Bliss Family Adoption". Donations can be accepted through all locations:  New Haven, Gerald, Washington, and Pacific.

The news is out!!

So it's Facebook official. We are adopting!! Yes, I questioned God so many times, but its something we are being lead to do. Just as soon as I made that facebook post my phone rang. Guess who it was? The social worker to schedule two homestudy visits.... Yahoo!!! Both visits are scheduled for next week. We feel really blessed by all the friends and family members who have been our cheerleaders over the past month.

Big Changes Are Coming....

About a month and a half ago, the Lord was knocking hard at my heart.  I tried to ignore this intense feeling and it only became more intense.  After much prayer and thought, Matt and I will be expanding our family through adoption. We feel that we are called to adopt in an orphanage in Tanzania, Africa.  We understand that there are lots of kids in the United States that need homes, but for some reason we are lead to this particular orphanage.  We are going to step out on faith and follow his lead.

Adoption is a long and expensive process but we are confident God goes before us and is with us in all of it. Over the past couple months, we have been drowning in paperwork and will hopefully will get our homestudy completed this month.  We are pursuing one child or a two person sibling group. We will listen to the Lords calling on what direction to go. Somehow he will provide what we need. After all, he already knows our child or children by name.

Tanzania's Flag