Manna

Just like God's provision for his children in the wilderness is His provision for us. Last week we had $75 in FedEx charges and a check came in the mail for $75. This week we had $100 in Kinkos charges and $100 came in the mail. Just enough for today. You know that verse we often quote about God knowing our need... That is what i am talking about! We will trust and obey each step of the way. God will provide, and we will celebrate His name!

(I think i know why FedEx/Kinkos merged... very smart investors :)

Our papers will be carried by a man in a brown uniform to the door of our adoption coordinator. After that she does what ever she does and we wait and do not worry. When our kids get to the orphanage (i have heard they are not there yet) they will have smaller stack of papers gathered for them, we will be called, introduced via email and will then know what the Father already knows; their names! That is when we send the $8000 per child in country fees and the stop and go process in Haiti begins. Then, on a day already appointed by the Lord, we will bring the newest little Bergstedt's home to our forever family.

A Big Smile and A Big Pile of Papers

Here it is.

Our completed dossier and 8 copies. Now, how do we mail this?

Kinko's here we come.

Our papers made it back from Chicago Friday afternoon. That beautiful seal that we paid $25 per document was not there! I was shocked and quite confused. I emailed our adoption rep and asked what's up. She called right way and said to check for a plain old rubber stamp on the notary page. Walla! There it was, a boring old round stamp. $25 each for a plain old stamp. Who cares! It is there and we are ready to complete our Dossier. By morning we will be ready to make 8 copies of every page, collate, clip, and mail our package. Then it is done, all but the money. We will then just wait, pray and send thousands of dollars over the next several months.

Next Step

Thank you for all the re notary work! Our papers are on a FedEx plane on the way to Chicago! They will get a pretty seal and be returned to us ASAP. Then 8 copies of everything and a big FedEx envelope to the agency to be checked and then sent to Haiti. Should have bought stock in FedEx. :)

On the home front, Beth is taking steps and climbing on every thing. Anna is learning letters and excelling in back yard swinging and head stands. The basement is waiting for me to paint the trim and then carpet and more trim.

Our papers are on the way back to Helena!

Thank you everyone for re doing your letters! Hope all is well this time. Should know by Thurs or Friday.

Two Week Update

In the last two weeks we have finished gathering our paperwork, sent it to Helena to be authenticated, sent it to the French translator and submitted our follow up information for the Shaohannah's Hope grant. We got our authentication packet back and found 9 of the 12 Notary's had not done it right. We are now in the process of giving letters back to the friends and professionals who wrote them so they can get them fixed. Arhh. I hate this part because it causes an inconvenience for other people.

Our expenses have been $375 for translation, $200 for authentication, $244 for blood tests for HIV etc.

Next week the girls and Mommy are going to the farm to see all the baby cows while Joel works on the bathroom and basement remodeling projects. Anna's dance recital is Monday night so we will leave Tuesday morning. We are looking forward to fun time with Grandma and Grandpa, Kelly and Suzie and the animals.

Not for Us

We got a phone call Friday telling us that the Hatian government has determined that Wandley and his half brother (with whom he lived until 2yrs old when they both entered the orphanage) would not be split up. This was, in our opinion, great news for Wandley. We want him to be with his brother and discovered that a confusing mix-up when interring the orphanage is the reason they were not together. The end of the foggy and long story is that our referral was revoked and we will not be adopting Wandley.
Strange that it feels like a sad loss when we are so happy for him. It is our desire that siblings stay together and now they get to. We would have done everything we could to help the boys have a relationship, but now they will be true brothers for life. I just wish we could give him a hug and bless him on his way to his new family. Maybe he will still be there when we go to visit.
As for the process for us, we will hear in 3 or 4 weeks about new kids entering the orphanage. We know God already knows our kids and is caring for them and for us.

This Week's Update

Here is an exciting story: One of our family members, who lives in Alaska, was shopping in a JC Penney store and met a man working there who was from Haiti. He shared with them the state of the nation of Haiti and the next time they went to their mail box they found our letter telling of our adoption from Haiti. Cool.

Well, this week we were approved for the local grant we applied for last week. They are sending $1000 to Faithful Charities Foundation in our name. We also received $200 in the mail. That is a weekly total of $1200. That makes our total thus far $2320. We have also put in a request to send our $16,000 in two payments. That would give us an extra month or so. We are excited each day to see what God is doing!

Beth Had a Birthday

I can not believe it has already been a year. Beth was 4 days old when we brought her home from the hospital: healthy and beautiful.

And look at her now! Still healthy and more beautiful.