The letter of intent has been submitted to CEJAI (Brazil's Central Authority), along with photos of our family and house. We are waiting a couple of minor details to completely finalize the home study. We have appointments tomorrow to get passports renewed/obtained so that whenever we get to the end and need to travel we will be good to go!
Biggest prayers right now: wisdom in keeping focused without distraction on the next step forward. Patience as we wait in between steps in the process. Kindness and gentleness toward each other as both Erica and I are more emotionally vulnerable at the moment than our previous baseline of "normal." Most of all, for L, M, L, & R, that God's Divine Provision would sustain and uphold them and they would find a good home, be that with us (joy of joys!) or elsewhere (God's will be done!). And finally, for Nesira, Gracie, and Eden as they think deep thoughts about orphans and siblings and all kinds of things with which little ones shouldn't be burdened. May they find comfort in Jesus and grow in their faith as they walk the adoption journey with us.
So, a financial update. Our initial estimate for this process was about $45,000 for 1 kid, plus maybe $5,000 more for each kid, so we are looking at a total faith budget of $60,000. Through the generous support of friends and family through our Piece of the Puzzle fundraiser, we raised $10,000+ which have paid for the entire home study, half of our agency fees, and a good chunk of bureaucratic red tape with applications for various things. Our next big task is submitting grants and applying for those through the multiple agencies that run non-profit organization committed to the cause of helping orphans find forever homes through adoption. We are optimistic that God will provide much of our remaining funds through that.
However, there is still more that we can do as well. Therefore, we have decided on another fundraiser. For our Hobby Horses for Hope Fundraiser, the Blaschke family will hand craft and donate a hobby horse to a local children's home as a gift for every $100 we raise from now through Easter. These horses were designed by Erica from scratch. They are entirely her pattern, originally made as a project for Gracie's 3rd birthday. They are sewn well and made of durable construction (the girls have had and used theirs for 4+ years now). Instead of just trying to sell them, we thought that a good way to give back to the community would be to receive donations and to then contribute completed hobby horses to a child in need in our local area. Our goal is to raise $3,000 through this fundraiser (so ... that would mean 30 kids get a new hobby horse this year!) Pictures of some the horses are included throughout this post.
Thank you for supporting us!
Click here to contribute through PayPal. You can also contribute directly to Erica or I in person. If you have a confirmed PayPal account with a checking account linked there are no fees for contributing that way. There is a processing fee if you use a credit or debit card. Thanks again!
Biggest prayers right now: wisdom in keeping focused without distraction on the next step forward. Patience as we wait in between steps in the process. Kindness and gentleness toward each other as both Erica and I are more emotionally vulnerable at the moment than our previous baseline of "normal." Most of all, for L, M, L, & R, that God's Divine Provision would sustain and uphold them and they would find a good home, be that with us (joy of joys!) or elsewhere (God's will be done!). And finally, for Nesira, Gracie, and Eden as they think deep thoughts about orphans and siblings and all kinds of things with which little ones shouldn't be burdened. May they find comfort in Jesus and grow in their faith as they walk the adoption journey with us.
However, there is still more that we can do as well. Therefore, we have decided on another fundraiser. For our Hobby Horses for Hope Fundraiser, the Blaschke family will hand craft and donate a hobby horse to a local children's home as a gift for every $100 we raise from now through Easter. These horses were designed by Erica from scratch. They are entirely her pattern, originally made as a project for Gracie's 3rd birthday. They are sewn well and made of durable construction (the girls have had and used theirs for 4+ years now). Instead of just trying to sell them, we thought that a good way to give back to the community would be to receive donations and to then contribute completed hobby horses to a child in need in our local area. Our goal is to raise $3,000 through this fundraiser (so ... that would mean 30 kids get a new hobby horse this year!) Pictures of some the horses are included throughout this post.
Thank you for supporting us! Click here to contribute through PayPal. You can also contribute directly to Erica or I in person. If you have a confirmed PayPal account with a checking account linked there are no fees for contributing that way. There is a processing fee if you use a credit or debit card. Thanks again!
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