Hi!
So if you missed our announcement, we are adopting from South Korea!There is so much that went into this decision.
As probably all of you know I am adopted myself. It is one of the first things I inform people about me. It is part of my identity.
All of my life I have known I was adopted (hard to hide since I did not look like the rest of my family). This has been an open discussion all of my life.
I was adopted into a family that had 3 boys, the oldest being disabled. Our family was definitely unique, it was a family made for compassion. I always felt wanted and a Johnson.
I was recently asked in a seminar that I attended on adoption "what did your parents do to make you feel so special?". My reply was that my parents always shown me from a young age examples in the Bible of characters that were adopted and became great ambassadors for God. Moses, Joseph and my favorite, Jesus. I felt a bond to these characters and at the same time found myself honored to be in this club of great responsibility.
God knew I could be great.
I am here to tell you, I am living proof God takes care of even the "least of these". He has been with me being born into uncertain circumstances to a mother that had to make a very hard choice.
He watched me as I went to an orphanage and had to cry until there was no more noise.
He gave me a woman to be my foster caregiver for 2 months until I was adopted.
He placed me in a home with 3 older brothers that love me fiercely and gave me a sense of family identity.
He held me when I turned 7 when I realized the woman who held me in her womb decided she no longer could care for me and I cried about being abandoned. He watched as my mom and dad held me and cried with me over my feelings of loss.
He carried me through awkward years of being different and gave me a husband that loves me and holds me when I have those same feelings of loss at times.
He celebrated as I gave birth to 3 of my own children and the joy I have in raising them (I could not have imagined the love).
And now, I know he will carry me as I journey to send my DNA in and adds me to a registry for birth family and to know as much about my genetics as possible. To pull my original adoption file and as I plan to go back to Korea to the place I was abandoned.
He blessed me with a husband who knows that the adoption wasn't a matter of how but when. Who quietly smiled at me when I told him he was getting old and I submitted our application to adopt. God held my hand as I nervously watched a social worker walk through our house and ask us very personal questions.
He holds me as I am moved by the compassionate people who want to adopt children too.
He shows favor upon me when the program manager saw our file, and was moved by our home study, took it upon herself to call the adoption agency on approval for a baby girl that had medical needs that she knew we would love her through.
And now, as we face a great deal of money due faster than we expected, I know He will provide. It is crystal clear to me that God has been the Father to me that has never left.
We have already been humbled.
This process strips you down and makes you feel naked and lets strangers inspect every aspect of your life. From every penny you owe and how you spend the pennies you do have, making your dearest friends write what they think are your weaknesses, the social worker asking you intense questions about your childhood and question your philosophy on rearing children, a 600 question psych eval to asking people to give of their own pennies to help you.
It has made me a tender person.
It has made me realize I am not as bullet proof as I thought I was.
It has been a form of therapy for Dave and I. We discuss things we never had imagined needing to discuss. We are closer for it.
So since I am already stripped down, let me humble myself a little more and ask all of you some favors.
First and foremost PRAY. Pray for our daughter waiting for us, that her medical, emotional and physical needs are met. Lift us up in your prayers through this paperwork laden process.
If you can do more than pray (which I am so so grateful if you are able). We have some great opportunities to assist in the cost of the adoption.
I want to be as transparent as possible through this. Adoption is expensive but so worth it (I mean my parent's put in a pretty penny for me and look! I am a healthy adult, just ask the psychologist) Through watching Aaron and Sarah's adoption with Luke, I saw community, church, friends and family get closer and glorify God in the process of raising money.
So let's glorify God y'all!
Things we have paid for: Application to adopt: 350, Homestudy: 3500, Psych eval (yeah we passed! phew!): 440, legal documents: 350, Adoption education: 80
Things we need to pay for in an extremely short amount of time since we got matched with the most adorable 8 month old girl(we legally can't share pictures on any public forum, but believe me the cuteness is strong)
USCIS: 945; WACAP fees: 13,200: Foreign Agency Fee: 14,500(going all to Holt and South Korea). Dossier fee: 640; Travel facilitation fee: 800 and post placement fees (not sure why this is due so soon but it is) 1,040; Yes, so that is a total 31,125.
I know.
Let's all take a moment of silence about this amount.
Costs needed after the courts in both countries have processed the adoption approval:
Traveling twice to Korea: 7-8000, Hotel: 2-3000
This also does not include medical needs we may encounter after we bring her home.
I might have convulsed a little and shed a tear when I was presented with the fees (but she had already shown me our little girl's file so I was defenseless)
What we have started to do:
I have filled out grants, (my sister in law, Sarah has facilitated most of it. BTW, she really is amazing)
We have cut costs. (my husband has cut back on his lunches out, my boys don't get the prepackaged chips, its pretzels all day,,, probably should have been doing that all along; and boy since we have cut back, have I realized how much waste we have in our lives. That's a whole blog post in itself. I have tried to cut our grocery bill, etc...)
We are looking into selling t shirts (awesome ones related to this awesome adoption) and other product fundraiser items to buy.
We have a set up a site where you can donate, http://adopttogether.org/schuttbaby (it is a 501(c)(3) so you can write off your donation!)
Any other ideas you have, we would love to hear!
We will add a ticker to show how much we have raised to final goal. And I will keep you updated on any grants we are offered and from whom, if allowed.
What we hope from this adoption:
We give an orphan a home and forever family.
My children learn that we are blessed beyond measure and this offers them a tangible example of God's adoption example that he displays for us in His word.
Our church and local congregation is brought together through prayer and support.
Our community, it will open up ways of discussion about God.
That we may educate, encourage and uplift people about the adoption process. If it mean we stir other hearts towards adoption or in the least be supportive of the idea.
My mom and dad saw this encouragement from my Aunt Evelyn
We are already seeing great love and are encouraged.
My Brother Aaron and family came as soon as they heard we were submitting our application to install the hardwood floor in our house that we had saved and bought a year and a half ago. Dave and I did not have the time to install it. It was being stored in Oliver's room and figured that the social worker may frown on 600 sq feet of lumber in the babie's room. My mom and dad and Dave's mom came over and we all knocked it out in one weekend. That not only was so helpful for safety and overall house renovation but it helped calm my nerves about the homestudy visits.
My sister in law(Sarah Johnson) through this whole process has helped me with paperwork, abbreviations, getting in contact with other adoption groups, heard me bawl my eyes out, laughed with me, listened to me vent, and is now helping me fill out paperwork. She texts me at 10 at night with fundraising ideas I have to tell her to shut it down and go to sleep. (sometimes I think she may steal my baby when she comes home) Thank you for trailblazing the way so that my adoption can seem seamless.
My Mom (who cries every time the adoption is brought up) and Dad who as always, a steady stream of cheering us on through all of this.
All the people I have asked for a referral from. I understand it is not easy to write a letter under a time period and on top of it, get it notarized. Especially when I needed some within days of my request, you are truly awesome friends.
To the people who we have used for their connections to help us with paperwork (Scott, btw we think your job is so cool). Those who have given me medical advice and the courage to face the unknown obstacles that they may include, you are invaluable to me.
My close girlfriend group who are "on call" for anything we need and are even helping me with suggestions of what English name to give our child. You are my circle, my village, without our group texts, I would be lost.
Those who have given me the kindest words already and cheering us on, our hearts have been filled.
We truly feel blessed in the process. General wait for a match or referral is 6-12 months and even longer when you request a girl.
This is such an uplifting time in our lives and I pray that you will feel just as encouraged and a part of her life as I have felt the privilege of meeting people who have told me they were at the airport when I came home. Or prayed for me and my parents when they were going through the process.
It gives me great honor to have this responsibility as an ambassador of God's love. We will keep you posted on our steps as we traverse this exciting adoption.
Let's bring our girl home!
No comments:
Post a Comment