We've Only Just Begun!

Exciting Times!
Hello family, friends and blog lurkers! We have exciting news to share with everyone…

We have decided to follow God’s plan to build our family by adopting our child from Russia! Truth be told, Kar has always felt led to adopt but the whole idea has been too overwhelming, scary, frustrating and nerve wracking for her to do much more than “wish.” In October 2005, however, God began to work in her heart and transform her mind. She slowly began to realize that when God has a plan it’s best NOT to try and avoid it!!

Fast forward two years to October 2007 and the creation of our blog! Yes, this means we have finally applied to an agency and have officially been accepted. Let the fun begin!

We hope you are all as excited as we are, and that you’ll join us through the laughter, the tears, the good times and bad as we take embark on this journey of faith to finding our child in Russia!

Why Russia?
Here are a few stats we ran across while researching adoption:

More than 700,000 orphans are living in 2,000 state-run orphanages. Of those, 95% have a living parent either unable or unwilling to care for them. Sadly, that doesn't include the estimated 2 million to 4 million homeless orphans living on the streets and in railway stations…

Of those who are not adopted and leave the orphanage between the ages of 16 and 18:
α 50 percent of the girls become prostitutes
α 40 percent of the children become addicted to drugs or alcohol
α 40 percent commit crimes
α 10 percent commit suicide

As if that weren’t bad enough...
α Just 1 in 10 former Russian orphans becomes a functional member of society.
α 132,500 children are abandoned to the state in Russia every year, up from roughly 67,000 in 1992.
α Nearly 4,640 Russian orphans were adopted by Americans in 2005, down from a record 5,865 in 2004.
α 13 out of every 100 children adopted by Russians are eventually returned to the orphanage.
α 40 million children in the former Soviet Union are living in poverty.

Sources: Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation, the Commission for Children at Risk, Human Rights Watch, European Children's Trust, Rosstat Agency

Why US??!!
Well, if you combine…

α our desire to start a family and
α our desire to follow God’s will for our lives
with
α the stats above AND
α with Psalm 41-1: “Blessed is he who considers the helpless”

…you have pretty good insight to how God has been speaking to our hearts!

How Can You Help?
Our estimated costs for adoption (and it’s a good idea to sit down now, if you aren’t already!) will be close to $40,000. That’s right…F-O-R-T-Y-T-H-O-U-S-A-N-D-D-O-L-L-A-R-S! Unfortunately that is not a typo! Yes, this amount is overwhelming and very scary to think about. However, we know that our expenses are well worth investing in the life of the precious child God has selected for us.

To make our adoption possible, we will need to seek grants and loans and other forms of help. Kar has already started working a part-time, mainly telecommuting, job at our church and we are working together as a team to get creative (yet LEGAL!) with our finances. We are willing to do what we need to bring our child home, but honestly we may not be able to do this completely on our own.

For anyone who feels led to help….We would like to invite you, our family and friends, our brothers and sisters in Christ, to also invest in our child’s future. We understand and appreciate that everyone’s situations are different, and people may be able to assist us in many different areas. Here are just a few ideas to keep in mind…

Prayer Requests
We have an immediate and on-going request for prayers. In your daily prayers please lift up requests for the health of our child, for the resources we need to make this adoption possible, for financial provisions, and for patience. Also, please also keep our child’s birth family in your prayers. Rejoice in the fact that his/her mother chose life for this precious little one, and pray that she is comforted knowing this baby will soon be in our loving home.

Financial Provision
Financial gifts of any amount is more than what we currently have and less that we will have to take a loan out for. Any – we stress any - token of generosity is greatly appreciated and valued. As such, we have set up a separate bank account to cover our adoption expenses. If you would like to make a contribution to our child’s future, please email us.

We understand that people may not be able to make a monetary donation at this time but would still like to help. If that is you, perhaps you can hold a garage sale or sell your unwanted items on E-Bay, and donate your proceeds to us.

Airline miles may be donated as well. We will need to make two trips to Russia, which is where a lot of the expenses stem from. Our 1st trip will be approximately 5-7 days, and our 2nd trip could be up to 21 days. Not only will we need to get from the US to Moscow, there is a chance we will need to do a lot of in country traveling as well. Russia is a HUGE country and our agency currently works in 6 regions. Our in country travel requirements will depend on the region we are assigned to.

Please stop by from time to time to catch up on our progress. We would also love to hear from you, so please also say hello or leave us words of encouragement when you check in!

Blessings to you all,
Normand & Kar