Saturday, February 21, 2009

Because Inquiring Minds Want to Know...

Here's the information I received from our agency about the Ghana adoption process. It truly seems like a walk in the park compared to our previous expectations. We've actually been checking into several agencies and talking with some Ghana parents for several weeks now.

I can assure you this beautiful girl did not just fall into our laps overnight. We've had her picture for a while and have been praying about her. As you can imagine, we were feeling a little skiddish to commit to anything, but once we made the decision to move forward with her things came together quickly and it felt like a huge weight had been lifted.

  1. Obtain required paperwork for dossier...1-3 months
  2. Upon receipt of dossier, Ghana Team begins to prepare documents for court...2 – 4 weeks
  3. Once documents are completed, attorney files papers in court...2 – 4 weeks
  4. Once the court grants the adoption the court documents need to be recorded by Registrar...1 - 4 weeks
  5. Child’s passport is applied for and obtained...up to 4 weeks
  6. Receive court documents to file with the I600 USCIS application at the U.S. Embassy in Accra or families home state...1 – 3 months
  7. When I600 is approved by the US Embassy they will forward the file to the U.S. Consulate in Accra. Agency applies for the visa and goes to the visa interview...1 – 4 weeks
  8. At end of visa interview the U.S. Consulate will inform agency of the date visa will be ready for pick up...1 – 2 weeks
  9. Travel time!

Truly our biggest obstacle now is financial. This is a total leap of faith and we are trusting completely for God to work this out. We have several fundraisers in the works and are also praying to find favor with some grant sources. We are in the process of updating our homestudy and we need to get our I-171H approval changed to Ghana.

So, there you have it...the ball is rolling and we are praying this precious girl home.

Praise be to the LORD,
the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
Amen and Amen.
Psalm 41:13

14 comments:

Kristi said...

What agency are you working with? Congratulations - your daughter is beautiful!

Kathy Cassel said...

Woohoo. Looks like she should be home by Christmas!

Salzwedel Family said...

We are working with Lois at Life's Vision International.

Beth said...

I'll be following your journey closely! This is so exciting!! :o)

MOM said...

PRAYING HER HOME. MAY GOD PRICK PEOPLES HEARTS TO GIVE TO BRING THIS PRECIOUS SOUL HOME TO A LOVING CHRISTIAN HOME. GOD YOU KNOW THEIR HEARTS NOW I ASK FOR YOU TO SUPPLY THEIR FINANCIAL NEEDS. YOU ARE AN AWESOME LORD AND SAVIOR AND WE THANK YOU AHEAD OF TIME FOR WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO DO TO SAVE ANOTHER CHILD. THANK YOU JESUS.

Michelle said...

Praying her home with you my sweet friend.

The Gang's Momma! said...

So excited for you! So happy to hear about the details, and a general time line.

Out of curiosity, and for maybe! future reference, where are you looking for adoption grants? Have you seen the list of resources at No Hands But Ours? We only researched what was out there for our particular situation, a mistake we later learned. Too short sighted for as quickly as we needed the funding.

Praying for financial favor and floodgates to open over your home!

Tracy said...

Hi Stephanie!
I will definitely be praying for you to find the financial resources you need. Out of curiosity, where exactly are you in this process?

Hugs,
Tracy

mlg said...

She is beautiful, wishing you the best of luck with all that lies ahead!

cathy.troy said...

It is so amazing how different countries can do things so differently!! And what a peace God gives when we step out and trust Him! Love you.

Mary said...

The Divine Miss M is absolutely beautiful. She has that "I'm a sweetheart" look in her eyes. I am so happy for your family. Praise God for leading you here!

Laurel said...

Let's see ... do I share the good or the bad first ...

I hope that you are aware that that timeline has MANY variables. Right now, there are many families that have been waiting MONTHS for their passports to be processed. NOT wanting to discourage you, but wanting you to have realistic expectations. When we started the process, we were told we'd have the kids home in 4-5 months ... it took 9.

Now, for the good news on the FAITH walk ... when God says JUMP, and we JUMP ... He can and will provide for our needs. When we said YES to adopting 3 from Ghana, we had NO idea how He was going to come up with the finances. A month after us JUMPING and saying YES ... an anonymous donor gave $15,000 to our church, for our adoption. WOW!!! God IS able, and He wants to not only provide for our needs, but also to BLESS us with abundantly more than we ask.

So ... praying with you as you STEP OUT in FAITH.

Many blessings,

Laurel
mama of 13

Annie said...

This IS easy comparatively! Yahoo!

Kristina said...

Praying and standing firmly in the trenchs with you for God's supply!