Wednesday, August 03, 2011

We Are Getting So Close!

Well, some fun news to share.  Unfortunately it isn't a court date...yet:)

First of all, Derek and I want to say that we are humbled beyond words.  I feel like we have said that so many times that it could become trite, but there is no other way that we can think to express our gratitude for the selflessness that we have been drenched in!

The other day I just happened to check our Reece's Rainbow family page and when I saw the amount, I had to do a double-take.  I immediately emailed Michelle (thanks Michelle:) and she sent me a list of new donors in July.  We had some dear friends give us $600 at the beginning of July, so that large amount we knew about.  (They were going to buy a new camera and God told them otherwise.  I still can't wrap my mind around that one.)  I had not expected to see the amount rise much after that because many of our friends have already given (and really sacrificed) and I have exhausted many of my pleas for help by way of FB and our blog. 

Honestly, the asking for money part is just plain hard and I feel like we have tapped people out. We have had neighbors give us money and donated items for our yard sale and friends hold yard sales in different states (including Ivan's warrior), and a friend donate time, money, and energy to do photography sessions and then donated ALL proceeds.  Immediately before our first trip to meet Ivan, we had donations coming from people all over and some checks were $300 or more, including a ridiculous donation from some friends that were in the midst of writing their own crazy ginormous checks for their own adoption.  We had a yard sale, sold gold (haha), a big event on FB, giveaways through our blog, and a HUGE music benefit and unbelievable silent auction that so many of YOU helped with.  I have contacted Chick Fil A about a spirit night and I have a couple of things that I am working on pertaining to grants.  We are trying to sell cars...yes that is plural:)  And I am sure that there are other things that we could be doing as well.  And forgive me if I have forgotten anything that you personally may have done for our son....my brain is a bit fuzzy!:) 

Unfortunately we are still not fully funded to travel once we get our court date, which should be very soon.  So at this point the "asking" feels even harder.  And because we are not "actively fundraising" I SURE did not expect our grant amount to go up!  But I should have trusted and known that God is working even when we are not.  He has been working on people's hearts and I have had NOTHING to do with that!!! 

Derek and I were shocked, completely shocked to find out that we have a list of donors from July, whom we HAVE NEVER MET, giving amounts ranging from $10 to $715!!!  Yes you read that right.  And while I have no way of knowing who you are, I want to say thank you!!  And if that wasn't enough, just days after finding that out, our friends donated another large amount.  We are just blown away.  God is spoiling us, beyond our wildest dreams, He is showing up in ways that I could not have ever imagined.  We are so undeserving of all the support that you have shown us and we feel so blessed and loved! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

So if that wasn't enough fun for you to hear all that God is doing, I will share a couple of other things.  

We have a name for our son!!!  There are some wonderful things surrounding his name and we can't wait to share.  But that will be a separate post.  And I am so excited to say that I met with the nicest guy yesterday and he is designing shirts for us to sell for the adoption.  They are going to be AMAZING!  My awesome husband (he is so creative) came up with a REALLY REALLY cool idea that illustrates how many hands and hearts have sacrificed and given to change the life of the cutest little boy whom you have never met...thousands of miles away!  Ivan's reality, without a family, would have been transfer to a really dark place with very little chance of survival.  We have seen the truth of this and know it to be true.  He is being rescued because of the obedience of many and ultimately because we serve a really HUGE God!!!  The art (the people doing the art are awesome...be glad to share info) on these shirts will hopefully be a way to share about the mission of God and His love for orphans in a really tangible way!

I will post about Ivan's new name later this week...YAY!  And I will be taking preorders for our adoption shirts...more to come on that later too.

We have started a new chip-in on our blog (not tax deductible...RR IS!!!) because the other one ended at the end of July.  I had hoped we would be fully funded by then.  We are about $10K away from what we need and that may be on the conservative side.  We owe our agency another $5,500 and then we have all of our travel fees including flights, visas, Ivan's passport, birth certificate, medicals, lodging, travel in country, etc...  We hope to use donated and personal miles for part of our flights next time so that could change how much we need.  Also, we could be in R***** for about 7 days together OR Derek could be with me for a few days and then I would be there for close to 3 weeks.  It all depends on if we get our 10 day wait waived...pray hard!!  That is why we aren't sure about how much we still need.  Like I said we are on the conservative side and the Chip-In is set for $8K.  We will update as we get closer to our goal!

Again...thank you for giving and for your time and energy and mostly your obedience!  Our family would not have been able to answer this call to rescue our son without you!!!

4 comments:

Renee said...

I can't wait to see these shirts! Bring'em on so we can buy em!

patsy said...

love to hear such wonderful news...and can't wait to hear the name ;) and happy, happy first birthday to miss stella grace!

Ginny said...

SSSOOOOO AWESOME my friend. Praise God!!! :)

Cindi Campbell said...

I am so happy for Ivan! And you guys too. The waiting is almost over.
Blessings,
Cindi Campbell