Dear Family and Friends,
We wanted to write and inform you of our progress with the adoption and there is quite a lot of exciting news to share. We have completed our home study, fingerprinting, and necessary clearances. That means as of last week we were officially placed on the referral list. While the adoption agency cannot say with certainty when we will receive our referral, it may be as soon as July, which would put the completion of the adoption in the fall. It is difficult to express how excited we are about the prospect of traveling in October or November to Ethiopia and meeting our son or daughter.
While our central focus during this process has been preparing our home and hearts for our new child, we have also spent a good deal of time trying to collect information and record our process so that we might serve as a resource for others who may choose to adopt in the future. Finances are a large part of this process and it has been our hope to be transparent in this area in order to be an encouragement to others that may be thinking about adopting but are overwhelmed by the high cost. It saddens us to think that finances would come between an orphan and a loving home.
While we are limited in our finances, we have seen the generosity of family and friends as they partner with us. As a family we are continuing to save, but we also have a number of fundraisers planned for the summer, including a multi-family yard sale and a benefit concert with Songs of Water. Currently, we will need to raise another $10,500 (this includes final travel to Ethiopia.) While the sum seems overwhelming, and at times too great to meet, we are humbled and encouraged by the ways God has provided, often through those reading this letter, and are certain that money will not stand in the way of a child receiving a family.
If you would like to help us with the cost of bringing our child home, you can go to our blog at www.thestoryofafamily.blogspot.com and donate online or send a check made out to “The Abba Fund” to our home and we will make sure it gets where it needs to go:
Thank you so much for your interest and support through this process.
Blessings,
Sarah, John and Emma Pell
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