Friday, October 31, 2008
Home Study
I just got an email from our home study agency telling us the copy is in the mail today!!! That means we can start sending out our grant applications this coming week!!! Please pray that the grants will be successful!!!
Monday, October 27, 2008
A couple new pictures
While we're waiting for adoption stuff, I figured you might want to see how big the boys are getting. Time goes by so quickly!!! Braden will be 3 at the end of Nov. & Tanner will be 1 in about 2 weeks!
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Please pray for the people of Africa & that He'll have His hands on our little one!
My heart shatters to see things like this, but we forget so quickly that people are living like this every day of their lives....Please pray!!!!
Video
http://doctorswithoutborders.org/news/issue.cfm?id=2396
(I took this article off of another family's blog that also adopted from Ethiopia)
New Report on Ethiopia's Green Famine from Sodo
Ethiopia's 'green famine' takes its toll
October 15, 2008
SODO, Ethiopia (AFP) — Okume Ochubo's tiny plot of land in southern Ethiopia is lush with waist-high maize sprouts and other crops, but she and her seven young children are struggling to feed themselves.
"We cannot survive without food aid, we collect assistance whenever it is available," she said, as two of her children jostled under the shadows of giant eucalyptus trees.
"We are praying to God for a better situation," the 40-year-old farmer added, her voice barely audible under the breeze of swaying maize leaves.
Okume is one of millions of people in the Horn of Africa nation -- a country with a long history of extreme food shortages -- who are at renewed threat of hunger as a result of failed and delayed rains.
The British charity group Oxfam announced last week that the number of Ethiopians in need of emergency food aid had risen from 4.6 to 6.4 million since June, as rising food prices and drought continued to compound the crisis.
But in Wolaytta district, some 330 kilometres (200 miles) south of Addis Ababa, and most surrounding areas, it is a crisis of a different kind.
The region is known for its diverse crop varieties, and a recent downpour of rain since August has turned the valley into a sea of green.
But the area's apparent fertility is deceptive. Rains fell at the wrong time, reserves are dwindling and 50 percent of the area's two million inhabitants are facing what aid workers have labelled a "green famine".
Prior to that, not a single rain drop fell for eight months, leaving farmers with dwindling food reserves, while plunging the entire region into one of the worst droughts it has ever seen.
"It certainly is one of the worst in Wolaytta's history, probably third to 1984 after 2003," Abraham Asha, representative of the US-based charity group Concern, told AFP.
"Had it not been for the quick response of the government and NGOs, the disaster would not have been averted," he added.
At least a million people died in the 1984 famine, with the then dictator Haile Marian Mengistu accused of concentrating scarce resources on the lengthy conflict along the border with what is now Eritrea, and the 2003 crisis left 14 million Ethiopians in need of food assistance.
The current Ethiopian government under Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has been criticized for spending too much of its budget on the military and not enough on guaranteeing the basic needs of the population.
The authorities also expelled several aid groups operating in the Ogaden region, where government troops have since last year cracked down on a rebellion, further deepening an alarming humanitarian situation there.
At the height of the drought in April, Abraham said hundreds of children in several districts suffered from stunted growth and weight deficit.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said up to 12 percent were diagnosed with acute malnutrition in the area at that time.
Experts blame numerous factors for the chronic food insecurity behind the facade of green fields in Wolaytta and the rest of southern Ethiopia.
High population density of up to 800 people per square kilometre and a system of small-holdings have always exerted huge pressure on the land.
"Resources are being exhausted and population is increasing. The region has to take drastic measures such as voluntary resettlement to curb the burden," Abraham said.
Government officials on the other hand, are banking on high yields as a cure for the problem.
"In this district, productivity is far from satisfactory. Farmers here produce only 20 quintals of yield per hectare when other nearby zones produce up to 80," district administrator Hailebirhan Zena told participants in a recent meeting.
"We are focusing on increasing yields through irrigation. It is no secret that Wolaytta lies in proximity to several rivers," he said.
Despite the number of hungry Ethiopians doubling since April and aid agencies reporting a funding shortfall of 260 million dollars (190 million euros), chronic malnutrition has stabilized in the region.
Yet local residents remained pessimistic. The September harvest is thought to be enough to stave off starvation until December but unless reserves last until February, millions will be on the brink again.
"It will happen again as not enough stocks will last until then. It is even expected to be worse next year," Abraham said.
Aid organizations have warned that Ethiopia -- one of Africa's poorest countries and its second most populous -- on the brink of a major famine to that which killed millions in the 1980s.
Video
http://doctorswithoutborders.org/news/issue.cfm?id=2396
(I took this article off of another family's blog that also adopted from Ethiopia)
New Report on Ethiopia's Green Famine from Sodo
Ethiopia's 'green famine' takes its toll
October 15, 2008
SODO, Ethiopia (AFP) — Okume Ochubo's tiny plot of land in southern Ethiopia is lush with waist-high maize sprouts and other crops, but she and her seven young children are struggling to feed themselves.
"We cannot survive without food aid, we collect assistance whenever it is available," she said, as two of her children jostled under the shadows of giant eucalyptus trees.
"We are praying to God for a better situation," the 40-year-old farmer added, her voice barely audible under the breeze of swaying maize leaves.
Okume is one of millions of people in the Horn of Africa nation -- a country with a long history of extreme food shortages -- who are at renewed threat of hunger as a result of failed and delayed rains.
The British charity group Oxfam announced last week that the number of Ethiopians in need of emergency food aid had risen from 4.6 to 6.4 million since June, as rising food prices and drought continued to compound the crisis.
But in Wolaytta district, some 330 kilometres (200 miles) south of Addis Ababa, and most surrounding areas, it is a crisis of a different kind.
The region is known for its diverse crop varieties, and a recent downpour of rain since August has turned the valley into a sea of green.
But the area's apparent fertility is deceptive. Rains fell at the wrong time, reserves are dwindling and 50 percent of the area's two million inhabitants are facing what aid workers have labelled a "green famine".
Prior to that, not a single rain drop fell for eight months, leaving farmers with dwindling food reserves, while plunging the entire region into one of the worst droughts it has ever seen.
"It certainly is one of the worst in Wolaytta's history, probably third to 1984 after 2003," Abraham Asha, representative of the US-based charity group Concern, told AFP.
"Had it not been for the quick response of the government and NGOs, the disaster would not have been averted," he added.
At least a million people died in the 1984 famine, with the then dictator Haile Marian Mengistu accused of concentrating scarce resources on the lengthy conflict along the border with what is now Eritrea, and the 2003 crisis left 14 million Ethiopians in need of food assistance.
The current Ethiopian government under Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has been criticized for spending too much of its budget on the military and not enough on guaranteeing the basic needs of the population.
The authorities also expelled several aid groups operating in the Ogaden region, where government troops have since last year cracked down on a rebellion, further deepening an alarming humanitarian situation there.
At the height of the drought in April, Abraham said hundreds of children in several districts suffered from stunted growth and weight deficit.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said up to 12 percent were diagnosed with acute malnutrition in the area at that time.
Experts blame numerous factors for the chronic food insecurity behind the facade of green fields in Wolaytta and the rest of southern Ethiopia.
High population density of up to 800 people per square kilometre and a system of small-holdings have always exerted huge pressure on the land.
"Resources are being exhausted and population is increasing. The region has to take drastic measures such as voluntary resettlement to curb the burden," Abraham said.
Government officials on the other hand, are banking on high yields as a cure for the problem.
"In this district, productivity is far from satisfactory. Farmers here produce only 20 quintals of yield per hectare when other nearby zones produce up to 80," district administrator Hailebirhan Zena told participants in a recent meeting.
"We are focusing on increasing yields through irrigation. It is no secret that Wolaytta lies in proximity to several rivers," he said.
Despite the number of hungry Ethiopians doubling since April and aid agencies reporting a funding shortfall of 260 million dollars (190 million euros), chronic malnutrition has stabilized in the region.
Yet local residents remained pessimistic. The September harvest is thought to be enough to stave off starvation until December but unless reserves last until February, millions will be on the brink again.
"It will happen again as not enough stocks will last until then. It is even expected to be worse next year," Abraham said.
Aid organizations have warned that Ethiopia -- one of Africa's poorest countries and its second most populous -- on the brink of a major famine to that which killed millions in the 1980s.
Psalms 46:10 "Be still, and know that I am God."
This is the passage I keep reading in my head over & over again!
I received an email from our case worker about a week ago with the answer to my question of "How much do we owe just to send our dossier out to Ethiopia?". His response.... $11,100.00.
This is a little discouraging. Apparently we need to send in the international fees before our agency will send out our dossier which is $7,000.00. For some reason I thought I read somewhere in our paperwork that that didn't have to be sent until a referral was made, but I was wrong! I filled out grant applications, but can't send them out until we have our hard copy of our home study to send along with them. Needless to say, all is at a stand still right now. It's hard for me to look at our paperwork knowing that it's pretty much all set, but we can't do anything with it until we find $11, 100 somewhere.... Unfortunately our money tree in our backyard ran out a long time ago!
Please pray that God will provide!!! & for my patience as well!!!
I received an email from our case worker about a week ago with the answer to my question of "How much do we owe just to send our dossier out to Ethiopia?". His response.... $11,100.00.
This is a little discouraging. Apparently we need to send in the international fees before our agency will send out our dossier which is $7,000.00. For some reason I thought I read somewhere in our paperwork that that didn't have to be sent until a referral was made, but I was wrong! I filled out grant applications, but can't send them out until we have our hard copy of our home study to send along with them. Needless to say, all is at a stand still right now. It's hard for me to look at our paperwork knowing that it's pretty much all set, but we can't do anything with it until we find $11, 100 somewhere.... Unfortunately our money tree in our backyard ran out a long time ago!
Please pray that God will provide!!! & for my patience as well!!!
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Home Study Completed
Well, I was able to talk to our social worker yesterday for almost a 1/2 hour. Our home study is complete! & better yet... We passed!!!
We're now into the waiting game. Our social worker's supervisor is correcting & notarizing our home study, then sending it off to immigrations. We have to complete our I-600A & send it in to immigrations as well. We then have to wait for a date for our fingerprinting. While waiting for our fingerprinting, our dossier is pretty much ready to send to D.C. for authentication. When we get the certified copy of our home study we can start applying for grants. We still need about $4,000 to complete everything I've listed above. Please pray for patience as we wait on all of this, & also that God will provide the $ we need to further our process.....
One step closer to our new little one!!!!!
We're now into the waiting game. Our social worker's supervisor is correcting & notarizing our home study, then sending it off to immigrations. We have to complete our I-600A & send it in to immigrations as well. We then have to wait for a date for our fingerprinting. While waiting for our fingerprinting, our dossier is pretty much ready to send to D.C. for authentication. When we get the certified copy of our home study we can start applying for grants. We still need about $4,000 to complete everything I've listed above. Please pray for patience as we wait on all of this, & also that God will provide the $ we need to further our process.....
One step closer to our new little one!!!!!
Monday, October 6, 2008
God is AWESOME!!!!
Just wanted to share what a wonderful day it has been!
I went to check the mail this morning, and found an envelope with $582.00 in it marked "Adoption Fund". I have no idea who it was from. I do know they had to have slipped it into our mailbox personally because it wasn't stamped or addressed. I also got an email from our Home Study Agency telling us that we weren't required to do their training because we're doing enough with our Adoption Agency. The lady let me know that we could drop $300 off of our total because that's how much they charged us for their training. So God provided almost $900.00 for our new little one just in 1 day! He's GREAT!!!!!
P.S. If you're reading this, & you're the person who dropped off the money in the mail....
THANK YOU!!!!! Thank you sooo much for allowing God to use you in this way!!!
I went to check the mail this morning, and found an envelope with $582.00 in it marked "Adoption Fund". I have no idea who it was from. I do know they had to have slipped it into our mailbox personally because it wasn't stamped or addressed. I also got an email from our Home Study Agency telling us that we weren't required to do their training because we're doing enough with our Adoption Agency. The lady let me know that we could drop $300 off of our total because that's how much they charged us for their training. So God provided almost $900.00 for our new little one just in 1 day! He's GREAT!!!!!
P.S. If you're reading this, & you're the person who dropped off the money in the mail....
THANK YOU!!!!! Thank you sooo much for allowing God to use you in this way!!!
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