We wanted to share some exciting news with you! We have sent in an initial application to an adoption agency (Christian World Adoptions, http://www.cwa.org/)!!! We have applied to adopt siblings from Ethiopia!!!!! Based on the info we have received it should take a total of 8-11 months from today to be bringing home our children! The next step in this process will be to complete a home study and begin the INS forms necessary to complete the adoption. We are thrilled, overwhelmed, anxious, and a host of other emotions right now. Why Ethiopia? Well there are a variety of reasons including eligibility to adopt, cost, wait times, but most of all the need. According to UNICEF, one in six children die in Ethiopia before they turn five years old, and it is estimated that there are over 4.5 million orphans in Ethiopia alone!!
We are sending you this e-mail to share our news, but also to ask you to pray. We are looking for family and friends who will commit to pray with us throughout this extensive process. We know that we will not be able to go through this process alone. This is a huge step of faith for us and we will need every prayer possible along the way!!! If you would like to become a prayer partner with us, will you please reply to this e-mail and let us know? We will be setting up a Prayer Partner list, and e-mailing updates of prayer requests and praises as they become available. If you know of anyone else who has a heart for adoption or for Ethiopia that might be willing to pray for us as well, please feel free to pass the info along. God has already answered so many of our prayers and we have just started the process!
Prayer requests:
Please pray that God will continue to give us wisdom, strength, and patience throughout this process!!!
Please pray that God would prepare our hearts and home for the family He has planned for us!
Please pray for the caretakers in the orphanage in Ethiopia, and pray that God would compassionately hold our children in His arms as their heavenly father, keeping them safe and healthy while we anxiously await them.
Please pray that the home study process and paperwork would go smoothly.
Please pray for our marriage, that God would strengthen it and draw us ever closer to Himself, so that in His strength we will be able to withstand whatever struggles we are sure to face.
Talk about a great adventure!!!! Here we come! Thank you so much for your prayers, we love you and are excited to have you be a part of our family in this way!
Jeff, Meredith, and our soon to be children
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