Our Adoption Journey

On August 1, 2010, our 12th year Anniversary, the Lord compelled us to pray about His Will. He burdened our hearts to follow Him in another adoption. We prayed much for a few days, as we had heard God's call before and recognized what He was telling us to do. We began the process of paperwork to begin the adoption.

We started with applying to a homestudy agent (Homestudy Fees: $1500). We were blessed with the services of Adoption Support Services of Florida. Lori Fraas, LCSW, was very thorough and very quick in getting the homestudy completed. In order to obtain the homestudy report, numerous papers had to be filed, applied for, filled out and notarized, and chased after. State and local Background checks, Doctor's physicals, Reference letters, Personal history reports, birth certificates, marriage certificates, and several other documents.

In the meantime, we applied for the I600A Immigration Pre-Approval (Permission to pursue adopting abroad) ~$875. We actually jumped the gun on this and had to re-do it as we answered a few of the questions wrongly...eagar, I guess... :) Since we weren't sure where we would be adopting from, we had not known specifications that are according to the country.

We prayed more and the Lord lead us to the Democratic Republic of Congo. Why? ......Why not? He loves all children, no matter their race or demographic location. Besides, the compelling statistics cannot be ignored...children are dying in this country. God has lead us, as Christians, to love beyond boundaries.

The next steps we took were to apply to our Agency (Application Fee: $250). We chose to use the same agency that we used with Joshua's Adoption. Why? Because they were wonderful! They put a personal touch on the Journey that makes you feel as if they are a part of your family.

We began filling out yet another boat load of paperwork called the Dossier, including: Re-applying for the I600A and wait for the approval I171H in the mail approx. 2 months, gather passports, homestudy report, State Criminal clearances, Marriage and Birth Certificates (originals), Full copy of State Adoption Laws (34 pages), passport size photos, Medical letter stating we are in good health, free from HIV and TB and all communicable diseases on Doctor's letterhead and all documents to be notarized...

We had our fingerprints done in Jacksonville (4-5 hour trip one way, 20 min. appt., then 4-5 hour trip back home). We completed each of these steps and were "paper ready" by the end of October 2010. We had to mail all originals to our agency with one complete photocopy and our Agency & Translation Fees ($2300).

We then began the waiting game. We began the child referral process. This is the time when you just wait for a brief bio of a child and you accept or deny them (of course, to deny a child would be impossible). Since we requested a boy age 0-12 months, the wait could be up to 9 months for a referral. It is very hard to determine when a baby will be in need...and many people request infants.

It is now February 23rd, and we are still waiting. However, as of yesturday, we were #2 on the wait list. Progress!!!

I know you must be thinking, well they should have so many children since they are dying...you'd think, right? No. It is very hard to get the word out to villages, where it is so dangerous... Lives would be at risk if staff were to go into the villages. Word of the adoption services travels only through word of mouth from family to family. And, many never hear of this option, especially since many are dying and live in seclusion away from society.

The children must also go through a medical screening and have no diseases. The majority of the children have lost one or both parents to AIDS, TB, or Malaria.

Please pray for us as we wait for the child that the Lord has specifically chosen for our family.

What's next? We will accept a referral. At that time the Country Program Fees (Country, court, and lawyer fees) are due along with post-placement fees for follow-up paperwork($9500). We will also pay monthly orphan care of $150/mo. for Isaiah. We will need to assemble paperwork for our travel visas, a tribunal letter, and file an I600 (Permission to Adopt Abroad). We will need to begin immunizations for Yellow Fever, Hep B, Hep A, Anti-malaria drug, Typhoid, Tetanus-Diptheria booster, and a few others... We must study up on the travel updates and risk levels.

DRC is one of the most dangerous countries in the world. There are Militant Drug groups that go around to villages killing, raping, and beating people. There are robberies and kidnappings that occur in cities. We will travel to Kinshasa in DRC (flight cost: ~$4,000 each, unless you have a very large # of flyer miles-162,000 each- that you'd like to donate :). Once we accept the referral, our travel will be within 3-4 months. We will be taking many gifts for the orphanage, staff members and children. We will have many fees while in Country (~$2-3,000, for accomodations, VISA appt., driver, medical screening before departure, food, etc...). Our travel time will be from 7-14 days. The flights are approx. 36 hours one way.

We will then return home with Isaiah Micah Simmons! What a celebration that will be! To be found faithful to our Lord is worth every sacrifice that will be made.

How can we afford this? We really can't. But God can. And He is faithful to supply all our needs according to His riches in glory. He will lay on the right hearts at the right time, our need. They will be faithful to His call to invest in kingdom treasures. And we will all be blessed by His provision.

I will update you as time draws closer. Thank you for praying for us through this Journey of Faith! May God Bless You!!!