It's been awhile since I posted. Seems like life has been extremely busy the last couple of weeks and other things just HAD to be done. We had our first homestudy appointment today. It went well! I wasn't too nervous as we have done this before, but still, a little bit...We had a homestudy done about 8 years ago with this same social worker and it turned out to be really pretty comfortable and no big deal. Hopefully it will only take about a month and a half or so to get this part of the process done. That is good, and after that it is all about getting paperwork apostilled by the State and immigration papers filed and approved and stuff like that. Once that part is done...it might not be long before we could get a date to travel! Maybe it isn't actually that far away...like it seems. In a "typical" adoption from Eastern Europe, it is after all that is done that you wait to get a referral of a child. That can last sometimes up to 9 months or so. Since we already have children identified....it could be alot shorter. Which brings me to my next subject! Fundraising....
We have got to get busy fundraising to bring these girls home!! We only have a few short months to raise more than 25 thousand dollars and that is terrifying!!! It is of such great magnitude...getting these little ones home! They both have medical issues that need to be addressed, that is a given. But aside from that, they are living in an orphanage with many other children, in a country that seriously does not value their worth as a person, a human being, a child of God. They are not being held and loved. They are not getting adequate nutrition. I have serious reason to believe that these two little ones, that Lord willing we will soon call ours, are living on broth and milk from a bottle. They are both over a year old!! Most likely they are not taken outside for fresh air and stimulation. I pray that they are not just laying in their cribs alone for most of the day!!
I understand that this must be difficult to read for most people, but it is something that must be shared! These things are happening in the world we live in!!! We are so spoiled here the good ol' U.S.A. We have no idea what life is like for people outside of this country's safe borders! And it is so easy to ignore what is not right in front of our face!! This is something that the Lord has laid so deeply on my heart and I feel an urgent need to share it!
I also want to mention what happens to a child with Down syndrome who is not adopted from the orphanage before they are 4 or 5 years old. At around that age, these little ones are transferred to mental institutions to live out the rest of their lives... Life is not so great in the orphanage, but it gets alot worse after that. As a matter of fact, many children who are transferred will not survive that first year in an institution. And many will not live past the age of 10. This is the reality...
I will be listing some fundraisers on this blog and hope and pray that someone will be moved to do something. Whether it is help us raise money to get our girls home or to consider adopting a child themselves...

Click here to see what life is like in an Eastern Europe mental institution:
http://http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1kbayAdlgg