Is This Our First Hurdle?

G'day, G'day,

Even though my post title is 'Is This Our First Hurdle?' I realize that we have already jumped over many hurdles - and for that I am so thankful, the difference with this hurdle is that we are not really sure how we are going to jump this one. Allow me to explain:

Now that we have finished the Home Study, next on the to-do list is apply to the U.S government to adopt internationally, complete paperwork for the Dossier and send it in to our agency and pay an Agency fee. Too easy lemon squeezy? Well, aside from the mountain of paperwork each step involves a payment. The application to the U.S government - $890. The Dossier - $1,400 and the Agency fee - $8,400. Bam! Oh yeah, which is a total of $10,690. Now the reality of the $40,000 cost of the adoption is starting to hit home.

The amazing news is that from the t-shirt fundraiser, our JustLove coffee fundraiser, a couple of local markets that I sold things at and some very generous people we already have $4,510 of that. So, all we need is $6,180 to jump over our first real hurdle on this journey. We are not able to move ahead with anything without this money.Will you help us? No donation is too small. Believe me, every little bit counts and slowly chips away the $40,000.

I am also in the middle of writing a number of grant applications, so as soon as I get the Home Study document in my little hand I will be off out of the gate in this area.

You are all so kind to read this and share the journey with us. We are so thankful for the many words of encouragement and excitement that come our way. We are thankful to our God who is able to do more than we could ever imagine.

If you would like to make a contribution to our adoption fund, copy and paste into your browser:
http://smallworldadoption.com/faq-2/payment-2/
In the Description line, write: 'For the children to be adopted by the Clausing family'.

Till next time,

Taryn (& Cam)

It's a New Year!

This little South Australian loves snow, so the sight of it out our window this week just adds that little bit of excitement in my life (it’s the small things). You need to understand that I grew up with the view of the ocean – never snow! We were beach kids, not snow kids. I had never even touched snow until a Christmas in Wisconsin two years ago. That little ball of excitement I have when I see snow is a very similar feeling to what we now have with the Home Study behind us. On December 12^th we had our Social Worker come and spend around four hours in our home to complete the Home Study. This was four hours filled with questions and more information about what we can expect. Now we are just waiting on the Home Study document to be sent to us. Once we receive this we can apply to the U.S government to adopt and also begin getting our Lesotho Dossier together. We have been advised that the total time or Dossier preparation could take 5-7 months. So…we keep putting one foot in front of the other.

We were given the book ‘Adopted for Life’ by Russell D. Moore for Christmas. This is the third adoption book I have read since beginning the process. There is an ‘education and training’ component to our Home Study which has been super helpful in thinking through some areas that we had not really thought about before. Moore discusses the need for family relationships and quotes one of my favourite authors, Wendell Berry. Berry notes:

A family necessarily begins to come apart if it gives its children entirely to the care of the school or the police, and its old people entirely to the care of the health industry. Nobody can deny the value of good care even away from home to people who have become helplessly ill or crippled or, in our present circumstances, the value of good daytime care for the children of single parents who have to work. Nevertheless, it is the purpose of the family to stay together, And like a community, a family doesn’t just stay together out of sentiment. It is certainly more apt to stay together if the various members need one another or are in some practical way dependent on one another. It’s probably worth the risk to say that families need to have useful work for their children and old people, little jobs that the other members are glad to have done.

Families are valuable to the individual, to the orphan and to society. We all have our own family culture and no matter how much we can say how crazy our family is we all know that protective feeling that arises when someone speaks ill of our family. Everyone needs protecting. Everyone needs a family. Thank God that his desire is to put everyone in a family.

So, I think about our adoption a lot. I think about how our household will change. I think about how my car rides will change. I think about how our family will change. But, sometimes it really hits me. In order for this to happen we need $40,000. Now that comes like a smack in the face sometimes – it is the reality. I know once I have the Home Study document I can start testing my grant writing skills, but I am also reminded that this is going to have to be a community effort. We need you to seriously consider helping us. Even if it is small or maybe you can stretch a little and give a lot. We humble ourselves and ask for you to support our family.

Anyone (no matter what country you live in :-)) can go directly to http://smallworldadoption.com/faq-2/payment-2/ and in the description write ‘for the children to be adopted by the Clausing family’.

For the many ways that so many have helped already, we are thankful. And for the many ways that we will be supported going forward, we are thankful.

Thank you for traveling this road with us.

Until next time…

Taryn (& Cam)