So, I'm going to upload everything to the portal one more time tomorrow to be approved. Once we get the ok, we'll be able to send it down. As soon as we get our signed home study in the mail, we will send it off with our USCIS Orphan Petition. And that's it guys - that will be about 98% of our paper work that we have to complete. No more paper work! That should be its own little party! haha!
Now, that's all the good news. ;) The bad news is our second big payment will be due when we submit our Dossier to be state sealed; and we're not quite there yet. But I'm not worrying about it. I know God will provide at the perfect time. We do have one more fundraiser going on with Ordinary Hero. When KC and I found this fundraising site, we thought we'd just sign up and get a little bit extra to help with expenses. Then, I get an email 2 weeks ago explaining about the July grant contest. I had no idea that they did things like that! So, if you have a chance, please swing by and check it out. That grant money would really help as we are THAT much closer to bringing Effie home. Head over to www.ordinaryherostore.org and be sure to select Sandra Collins under the affiliate name when you check out. :)
This part is happening a lot faster than we expected! We (sadly) thought it would still be a month or two before we were at this point. Now that we're already here, we're SUPER stoked, but at the same time wondering how it's going to happen. God has already done tremendous things for our family, so I know that He'll pull us through this one. It may be at the absolute last minute, but I know He'll do it.
It's weird to be in this place of peace. Not worrying and tearing my hair out trying to come up with money at each and every turn. I can seriously say, that I'm not worrying. It'll happen. One way or another, it will happen.
Please say a prayer for us as we will also be sending out a few grant applications. We could only apply for a handful, but that is better than nothing. Please continue to keep us in your prayers and we prepare to start perhaps the hardest part of this process: the waitlist. At least during the madness of the paper chase we had something to keep us occupied. Once you're on the waitlist, there's not much you can do but, well, wait. But I know the wait is well worth it. As far as the timeline goes, I've mentioned it before, but it's completely up in the air. Right now, we're told the wait could be up to 11 months. So we could have almost one year of waiting ahead of us. It won't be easy. So please, keep our family in your prayers.
I'll continue to keep you all updated even in the hiatus that is to come. My resolution was to post at least once a month - I'll be sure to stick with that. :)
-Sandia
we applied for a handful of grants, too, and God provided exactly how we needed. i trust He will do the same for you. when it's all behind you, the paperwork feels like a distant memory. i promise. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Kim! We know He'll give us just what we need. It's surreal to think after 10 months we're nearing the end of the paperwork!
DeleteI love reading your updates on life now that you're home. It's real - not sugar coated. :). Life's not always that way and it's nice to read someone who can be honest and say 'It's tough, man is it tough, but it's darn well worth it!'. :)