Recent Happenings...

It has been a long time since we have updated you all, due mainly to there being nothing going on about which to update you. We have been patiently (sometimes not-so-patiently) waiting. Waiting to hear something, anything, news of our child(ren). 

Then at the beginning of January, our adoption agency sent us the file of a little boy asking us to consider adopting him. At first we were a little hesitant because all along we believed we would be adopting 2 siblings. That's what we had been approved for and were really hoping for. If we were to wait for a referral, which could take MUCH longer, it would be for 2 siblings. But the more we thought and prayed about it, the more we saw it as God putting this little boy before us and HIM asking us to consider him. The fact that our agency thought specifically of us, we believe, is no chance and not a request to be passed over because it's not the right number. What kind of excuse is that? He is a child who needs a home, a mom and dad, a brother and sister, grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles, all who love him.

 LOVE... something he's maybe never known in his short 3 years of life, or maybe never would know the rest of his life if we said "no." I'm not sure I could live that.

SO... we have sent in the paperwork requesting that he (we'll call him "A" for now, because we can't give out his information just yet) become our son! Once the request, basically our declaration of intent to adopt, is accepted by the powers that be over in BG they will send us the official referral for "A". Then we have to officially accept the referral before they invite us to travel for our first trip to meet him... maybe a couple months out yet.

This is happy news! We are excited! Thank you to those who have been faithfully praying for us in these months of silence. Please continue! We are not through this yet and still have much to wade through.

While all this over "A" was going on, we found out our agency was having to close unexpectedly and immediately due to the closure of US-Russian adoptions, which made up over 60% of their clients. They would not be able to financially afford continuing their other smaller programs. They quickly referred all the remaining clients to a new agency that was willing to take us and work with us for the remainder of our adoptions.

To make a very long explanation much shorter, this agency fiasco has set us back some financially as well as emotionally and logistically, but the Lord is in control, and He has been from the beginning. He was not at all surprised by the events of the past 2 months. He did not have to go to His "plan B." Even though from our perspective everything seems out of control, the reality is that everything is completely under control by our loving Father. He's not finished stretching our faith and our patience. It's all for our good and His glory. Somehow, He will be more glorified now than if none of this had happened. So we are learning to trust Him more.

Would you all continue to pray for us? --

1. Pray for us to not be discouraged by setbacks, but to grow in our faith and to "not grow weary in well-doing".
2. Pray for "A" as he goes about his life in the orphanage-- health, growth, protection; his 3rd birthday is in a couple weeks :) It's so much harder now that we have a face to our prayers; BTW he's pretty adorable-- sorry we can't show you his picture yet. =)
3. Pray that we will get our referral for "A" soon, as parts of the government are stalled right now, waiting for an early election as much of the current gov't just resigned. We're not sure if this will affect the adoptions.
4. Pray that we will see God's provision of financial needs due to some lost funds with our agency's closure

More updates will be coming as we know more!

For the "Least of These"= For God!

This video stirs me each time I see it. Please take the time to watch it, even if you have seen it before.

Dossier Finished!!

What a huge relief to have the dossier finished and mailed off to our agency! The Lord worked in the timing so perfectly, just as He always does. Our hearts are just filled with thankfulness for His provision and leading each step of the way. Our case worker in CA has received it, reviewed it, and said it was very well done. She also said she would be processing it to Bulgaria by Monday (30th). Now the waiting begins. Once all our documentation is translated and accepted by the Ministry of Justice, they will begin working to find the children that most closely fit our child "parameters" as set forth in our home study and approved by USCIS. Of course, we know God has already chosen them for our family and knows right where they are and everything about them. We just trust and wait for His perfect timing to bring it all together. We really have no idea how long we will wait. It could be 12-18 months, realistically. We are definitely hoping for the shorter end of that, but there is nothing definite about international adoption, except that God is in control and always working for His glory and our good.

Please pray with us that the process would go smoothly and efficiently.
Please also pray that as we wait we would grow in our faith and learn to wait patiently.

Helping a Friend

One thing I have found so encouraging on this journey of adoption is making contact with other like-minded moms and dads who have a love for God and for orphans and are stepping out in faith to redeem one child like Christ has redeemed us. One family that I have been corresponding with through email has received their written referral and travel dates for their first trip to BG to meet their new son Benjamin who is 5 years old. They still need $4,000 before they travel at the end of July-- that's just 18 days away. Here is the link to their blog-- http://blessingseternal.blogspot.com/ , and here is a link to their family profile page on AdoptTogether-- http://adopttogether.org/bringbenhome/ (non-profit org. for tax-deductible donations). 

Would you please consider visiting these pages and opening your hearts and pockets to help this family with the fees they still need to pay and are trusting the Lord to provide?

"When Love Takes You In"

 I found these lyrics to a song while searching for songs and poems about adoption. I had never heard the song before, but the words are moving--

I know you’ve heard the stories
But they all sound too good to be true
You’ve heard about a place called home
But there doesn’t seem to be one for you
So one more night you cry yourself to sleep
And drift off to a distant dream 

Where love takes you in and everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart
When love takes you home and says you belong here
The loneliness ends and a new life begins
When love takes you in 

And somewhere while you’re sleeping
Someone else is dreaming too
Counting down the days until
They hold you close and say I love you
And like the rain that falls into the sea
In a moment what has been is lost in what will be

When love takes you in everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart 

And this love will never let you go
There is nothing that could ever
cause this love to lose its hold 

When love takes you in everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart
When love takes you home and says you belong here
The loneliness ends and a new life begins
When love takes you in it takes you in for good
When love takes you in

-- Steven Curtis Chapman

Just a quick update on our progress-- The Lord provided the rest of the money we needed in order to turn in our stack of documents (dossier)!! We are making one change to the age parameters we set before sending it in, and have to get the last 2 documents apostilled, then it will all be ready!

 We are so excited. =) Please continue to pray for us through this process, for the paperwork aspect to go smoothly as it has to this point, and for our children who only God knows at this point (for their health and safety and for God to be preparing their hearts to be adopted into our family).

Father of the Fatherless and Protector of Widows

This past Saturday the 26th, we along with several volunteers from our church had the privilege of ministering to 2 widows in our community who needed some help on their houses. We were partnering with Lifesong for Orphans and Both Hands Foundation (one hand for the orphan, one hand for the widow) as a way to raise money for our adoption expenses while serving these widows. Our volunteers sent out sponsorship letters to their friends and family, similar to a charity golf event or 5K run. All the donations are tax-deductible and go to Lifesong for our account there. Then we found these 2 widows who needed help. It's a living out of James 1 :27, "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction...".

Project #1-- Grandma Sugar... her porch and stairs were old and in desperate need of replacement. Her family wouldn't even go out onto the porch because it was unsafe. Here are the "before" pictures:

taken April 2nd

We are thankful for the 7 men who took this project and ran with it (who had the knowledge and skills to complete it too). Here are some pictures during all the work:

tearing it down

Grandma Sugar was entertained by watching it all

ready to go to the dump!

new stairs and railing

They worked all morning and all afternoon, and here's the final result:

It turned out great, and Grandma Sugar loves it!

Project #2-- Helena needed her basement cleaned out and insulation installed in the rafters to keep her main floor warmer. The rest of us who volunteered went to help with this project since it did not really require any skills. =)

the basement

the rafters that needed insulation

1 load to the dump in this trailer...

sorting through it all at the dump

6 loads to the dump in this truck!

Although we didn't clean out the entire basement, we were able to clean out 6 truckloads and 1 trailer full as well as insulating underneath her entire main floor!

one of the cleared out areas

the insulation!

me and Helena

If you would like to be apart of this great project that blessed these widows and is raising funds to help us bring our kids home from BG, you can click on the yellow "donate" button on the right sidebar, or visit our project page at http://www.bothhandsfoundation.org/tim-cindy-abbott.aspx , or you can mail a check with "preference Abbott adoption #2708" in the memo line to:

Lifesong for Orphans

PO Box 40/ 202 N. Ford St.

Gridley, IL 61744

All donations are tax-deductible.

"Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation. God settles the solitary in a home." Psalm 68:5-6a