OUR FAMILY PHOTO BOOK FOR BENJAMIN

In case any families are viewing this blog and have questions about the family photo book, here is the text from our book.  Our book had the text in English and Benjamin's language.  We had ours done thru VistaPrint.

TRANSLATION FOR OUR PHOTO BOOK FOR KOSTAS

Pg. 1

This is your family!

Pg. 2

Dad and mom.

Pg. 3

Your sister Abigail.  She is 18 years old.

Pg.4

Your brother Stephen.  He is 16 years of age.

Pg.5

Your other sister, Lydia.  She is 13 years old.

Pg.6

Your other brother Jonah.  He is 5 years old.

Pg. 7

Your dog Tucker.  He is very sweet and fun!

Pg. 8

In your home.

Pg.9

In your backyard to play in

Pg.10

Your bed.  You and Jonah will share in this bedroom.

Pg. 11

This is where we eat their meals together.

Pg. 12

This is where you will be playing and having fun!

Pg. 13

The kids are ready to go to school for the day.

Pgs.14-18 were just photos of our family

Pg. 19

We love you Kostas are so excited for you to be in our family!

FROM USA WITH LOVE

We are so excited!  Today we will be mailing this care package to Benjamin.  After speaking with Silva last week, she mentioned to us some things that might be nice for Benjamin to have from us.  So we are sending some toy vehicles, water bottles, a book, cloths he can cuddle with at bedtime (just like Jonah does), artwork by Jonah, and a photo book about our family.  

Benjamin gets to finally "meet" us!  I hope he likes how we look, hee hee.   I wish I could see his face when he gets to open his care package.

We did get a confirmation email from USCIS that our I800 has been received and is being processed.  I hope all goes OK with that and that we get a speedy response.  As soon as we get that approval, we are another step closer to getting our court date!

  

IF YOU DON'T WANT TO DO SOMETHING, THEN DON'T READ THIS BOOK!

In the fall of 2014, the book Orphan Justice by Johnny Carr was recommended to me to read.  Little did I know this book would change my life!

This book really caused me to think beyond just sending money or praying to support the cause of the orphan.  It made me examine my life and see if there was more I could be doing.  

Financially supporting orphans or praying for orphans is not a bad thing.  For some of us, that is what we are able to do.  But for many of us, if we were really honest with ourselves, we could be doing more.  We could step out onto the front line and ADOPT.  

I felt God leading me to give this book to Andrew to read, but I also felt God was directing me to not mention anything about how the book had moved me.  God was calling me to simply pray for Andrew's wisdom as he read the book.  I waited as Andrew read through the book.  I kept my mouth shut which is always hard for me to do.  When Andrew finished the book, he shared with me the same thoughts and feelings I was having.  He was feeling God was calling our family to adopt another child. 

Isn't that amazing?  God working through each of separately but bringing us to the same place!

So if you have a chance, please read this book.  But be careful: It may encourage you to do something- are you ready for that?

IF NOT FOR YOU

Those were the words spoken by Silva during our talk over Skype last week.  She was saying that if we were not adopting Benjamin, he would soon be moving to a mental institution.  

I am not writing about this statement from Silva because I am bragging about what we are doing.  Instead this statement humbles me and shows me what a privilege we have in being able to be part of the precious little boy's life.

To think what God has orchestrated in order for our lives here in a small town in Wisconsin and the life of Benjamin in eastern Europe to intersect is amazing.  It can only be a God thing!

Benjamin has no idea how much his life is about to change.  He has no idea that a change was going to happen whether he was adopted or not.  The reality is that around age 5 or 6 most of the orphans are transferred to a mental institution if they are not adopted.  

In Benjamin's understanding, he will see his adoption into our family as a loss of his nice little life in the orphanage, even though it may lack in many areas, because that is all he has ever known.  Hopefully over time, he will learn to love being part of a family more than being part of an orphanage.  

But it will be an adjustment for him (and us). But certainly his adjustment to us will be far nicer of an experience than if he would have to go to an institution.  How can a mental institution be a nice place for a child?  I find it hard to believe any aspect of that type of living would be nice.

So what am I trying to say?  I am trying to plead what we as Christians have the opportunity, privilege and RESPONSBILITY to do.  We have to stand in this gap and keep these precious children from being at the mercy of the system of whatever country they are living in.  We have to offer to be their families.  We have to offer to be their friends and support them in prayer so that families do come forward for them.  

If not for US...God is asking all of us to step up and do something for these little ones.

I pray for God's strength and courage for our family as we face this awesome task He has asked of us.  I am scared and anxious about how much work and adjustment it will be.  I am excited and hopeful of how beautiful it will be to watch our lives combine with Benjamin's.  I can't wait to love this precious little boy in person.

God called us to Benjamin, and God set apart Benjamin for us.  What a beautiful task God has set before us.  May we not forget the awesomeness of God's perfect plan.

I800 MAILED

I800 and its many accompanying forms and attachments has been overnited to USCIS in Lewisville, TX!  It is guaranteed to arrive by tomorrow at noon.

Here's hoping I filled everything out right and submitted everything I was suppose to.

BENJAMIN!

Now that we have accepted the referral, I think it is time to stop using the screen name Ryan.  

From now on, this wonderful little boy is going to be called by his name, Benjamin.  We can't share his middle name yet, but it will be the name given to him at birth.  We are doing this because we want to respect his heritage and history.  

Benjamin has lived a lot of life without us (almost 6 years, he has been in the orphanage since birth), but we are getting closer and closer for his life to begin with us!

We are so excited!  Thank you and praise to the Lord for bringing Benjamin to our family.  

WE FORMALLY ACCEPTED THE REFERRAL!

The past few days there has been much activity with our adoption process.  It is so nice to be doing something again instead of just waiting.

We accepted the referral.  We received translated medical records for Ryan.  Silva and Cathy have been very busy helping us!

Next steps:  

Hopefully file the I800 next week sometime.
Silva will visit with Ryan next week so we can learn more about Ryan.
Skype meeting with Silva.
Send a photo book of our family to the orphanage so Ryan can start learning about his new family!

We are so grateful the Lord has helped us get to this point.  We really feel like is going to happen!

Thank you to everyone who has prayed for us!