Referral 1 that we received on August 1st is A GIRL! Since we cannot use her full name, we will be referring to her as "C" on here and Facebook. She is 2 1/2 years old and we are so in love. We stare at her picture every single day. We think about her and wonder what she is doing at any given moment. We talk about her often. We dream about bringing her home. We pray for her.
On the same day we accepted C's referral, we also found out there was another case that would be ready soon and they wanted to give us a referral for that child just as soon as the file was complete.
We waited. And waited. Five weeks later...
On September 11th around 2:00 pm, M (our agency rep) calls me. She tells me that the file for the child they had planned on referring to us is still not ready, but another file for a child we had not heard anything about is complete and she wants to know if we would like to consider this other child. I am sure she knew my answer before she even asked. :)
She tells me the story of this 2 year old girl, whose story is unique but just as heartbreaking as C's. We will refer to her as "E" until we are legally allowed to give her name.
We first heard about E on 9/11 and officially signed the acceptance paperwork last Friday, 9/13, at our agency's Huntsville location. We accepted C's referral via e-mail and by scanning in acceptance paperwork, so this was different. We sat across from M (our agency rep) as we went over information about E. We talked about the risks involved with this referral that are different than with C. (We could lose her... and we really need your prayers that God's will be done!!! Whether He wants her to become a Richardson or whether He has different plans for her, we just NEED to know His will wins in this situation.) We agreed that despite the risks, we wanted to pursue her. Then we got to see her picture.
Our hearts melted as they did when we saw C's picture. We are so in love. We stare at her picture every single day. We think about her and wonder what she is doing at any given moment. We dream about bringing her home. We pray for her.
So what's next? We have to go through two rounds of court. C has been in round one for about 2 weeks and E should be submitted for round one this week. We should pass both courts relatively quickly, within about 4 months. After this, the U.S. Embassy in DRC does an investigation to ensure the girls are orphans before they issue their visas. This process has been taking upwards of 6 months! We are praying and hoping this changes, as many families are being delayed significantly in bringing their adoptive sons and daughters home as a result of this relatively new requirement. After their visas are issued, we will be heading to the DRC to get them.
Currently we are about to be preparing our dossier. A dossier is a collection of papers specifically needed for an adoption, with each country having different requirements. THANKFULLY, the DRC dossier requirements are not as extensive as most other countries. When we submit it in about 6 weeks, we have a pretty big payment due that is going to drain our adoption and personal savings back down to zero and will leave us with an additional $2,000 to come up with. But I am not worried. I know that God is going to provide, as He always has and always will. We are having another adoption fundraiser yard sale next month at Brett's parent's house, and I am praying that it is at least as successful as our first one was last summer.
In other news, tonight we got our new online store up and running!! We are hand-making some really cool bracelets and we also have about $1,800 worth of t-shirts we are selling. We also will be expanding the store by the end of this week to be including some great artwork. If you are interested in buying something from us to help us reach our next goal, please click on the "He{art} for Adoption Online Store" tab that is at the top in orange. Or just click here :)
We are going to be putting together a "Loving You Home" scrapbook for our girls. In it we want to put pictures of you all wearing the t-shirts and bracelets, so please e-mail us a picture of you wearing your item(s)!!! It is also our hope that wearing your shirt or putting on your bracelet prompts you to pray for our girls. Lastly, please enjoy the products, knowing that your purchase of them is getting us one step closer to the completion of this adoption of our two Congolese princesses!
If you cannot help us bring C and E home financially but you are wanting to support our journey, please consider praying and even fasting for our girls. I cannot express to you how much I KNOW your prayers make a difference. Please pray that we have favor in court and with the U.S. Embassy. Please pray that our girls receive the physical, emotional, and spiritual nourishment that they need between now and when we go to pick them up. The enemy hates all of us. He also hates adoption and he will do whatever he can to try to keep C and E hopeless and oppressed.
For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. (Eph. 6:12)
Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom. 8:35-39)
Love y'all so much! Yes I pray for favor and God's will. But also peace in this time for the girls and y'all!
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