Dear friends and Family,
it has been a while since we have posted, but so much has happened. your prayers have been much appreciated as we continue to move through this process. We discovered just how tedious home study completion was as it took us several months to acquire the much needed documentation and education requirements needed for its completion.
Illien International has officially accepted us as an adopting family, as has the orphanage they work with in India. Our social worker has sent the final draft of the home study to Illien for their final review. After this, we wait for a referral and complete our foreign dossier' while we wait. At this time the adoption governing body in India is reviewing its policies on international adoption, in light of things that occurred in Haiti after the earthquake and hurricane there. We do not know how long this will take. We have been told that things can continue in anticipation of them finishing that review. But India time is not United States time so we must wait for God to work things out there in his awesome timing.
In the meantime, Ben and I will begin navigating the immigration systems of both the US and India with the help of Illien and Project Hopeful. Project Hopeful is an amazing non profit that helps families adopting HIV + orphans obtain the special visa that is required to bring home an HIV+ child. Most of the documentation we rounded up for our home study can also be used for our dossier', so minus our fingerprinting and FBI clearance (which neither of us should have a problem with) we are confirmed for takeoff!!!!
Ben and I both feel like our baby girl is born, we can feel her. We do not know her face,age,or where she is.....but we feel she is alive and waiting. We have begun the hardest part of this process and that is FUNDRAISING!!!!
Our total expenses will be $23,000 give or take. With our completed home study we are now eligible to apply for grants and scholarships, as well as inquire about low interest adoption loans. A large portion of the grants are not available to us because of our income (regardless of gross income, I don't know many couples in their late 30's who have $23,000 at their disposal). So with the help of some awesome companies and groups we have begun to start that journey.
We are selling handmade beaded necklaces, that not only will help fund our adoption, but will help to support a tribe of women in Uganda who make them and use their growing business as a way to support themselves and their families. Most of these women are HIV+ or have AIDS and have been banished from their former communities to fend for themselves. Through 147 million orphans, we are able to purchase these gorgeous necklaces wholesale and sell them as a fundraiser. I have a set, and get a compliment every time i leave the house with them on. No two pieces are alike, as each bead is hand crafted by these women and then strung into a one of a kind necklace. We will be selling these for $25 a piece. We are working with zazoo.com and purchased wholesale T-shirts that we designed and will sell for $20 a piece. They are awesome! We also have a beautiful brown shirt from 147million orphans that encourages adoption support and was generously donated to us by another family who adopted from India, and no longer needed them for fundraising.
I have purchased a table at our Women's ministry expo, and we have a couple of other ideas up our sleeves to get the funds we need to bring our Mary-Sue home.
After a year of trying different variations and ideas in our minds, we have chosen the name Mary-Susan Rene Nelson (after my grandmother and Ben's only sister Susan Rene Nelson who passed away way too soon from ovarian cancer 6 years ago). She will be called Mary-Sue and I love it! Susan was a second mama to Ben while growing up. He was born the day after her 9th birthday, and Ben's mom says she thought he was a present for her. They had a very very special and close relationship and we wanted to honor her life and love of children. Now that we have a name, you can hear the words Mary-Sue spoken frequently in this house. We even bought her a dress the other day and it is hanging in the closet of her soon to be bedroom!
Having a name is helping the kids to grow excited and have something to hang on to as we wait. It is hard for Ben and I to remain patient, so we know it is even harder for them.
Ben and I ask for your continued prayers as we anxiously wait for our official referral and start the task of fundraising. Please keep our families and children in your prayers as it is sometimes hard to sacrifice time and money for a child they cant yet see, touch, or hear.
We also ask for your prayers for several of our extended family members who are battling serious health issues. Our nephew Garrick is battling a debilitating neuro muscular disease, and was recently hospitalized for several weeks because of it. My Dad is battling some health issues that are very difficult for our family to digest, and Ben and I want to ask that you pray for Gods healing mercy and grace to be present in those situations.
We serve an amazing God, and without his encouragement and holy-spirit we truly could not have made it this far. Hopefully the next time I post, I will have word about a referral. Until then, Team Nelson (our shirts have this across the back ) wishes you and yours the best and thanks you for lifting our family up.
Please pass this blog on to any and everyone you know! We want as many people we can get to be praying and supporting our journey. We want one day to be able to read Mary-Sue the comments you left on this blog, and show her all the places on the map that she had people praying for her.
We love you all,
Ben, Kasey, Shelby, Landy, and Carter Nelson
