It has been a bit of a mad house over here as we were collecting documents that need to be in Ukraine before our review date of Feb. 22nd. The huge pile of documents is our "Dossier" and includes 22 items that the Ukraine government will be reviewing from State Police Clearance Letters to Homeland Security Fingerprints. It also will include our 2011 taxes, proof of how big our house (photos required), blood test, psychological test, our marriage license and about 15 more items!
Everything must be gathered, notarized and then apostilled (stamped at the State Capitol as official) so if I haven't called, texted, FB or answered my door it is because we are doing all this along with running our household and still doing "life"! We thought we might never see this day, but our dossier is DONE...complete...finished! The scanned documents are off to Ukraine for translation, and we have completed a major hurdle in our journey to adopt this little boy.
The deadline is fast approaching, and we are in prayer that the Lord's will be done. Fundraising has been tremendously fruitful, and we have been able to contribute as well. But this is where the rubber hits the road. Where we have to make gains in what we have accumulated to bring him home, and take a step beyond fundraising. We have a short window left to raise the needed funds. Our travel date is expected some time in April, and well before then we will need to make remaining payments to the adoption agency, for foreign fees, and for travel and lodging.
Today, I am boldly asking that anyone able to make a direct donation to Redline United please do so. 100% of that donation goes directly to the adoption fund, and it is completely tax deductible. Every little bit helps, so please don't think your contribution won't matter. Recently, a group of individuals was able to raise over $40,000 dollars for a woman in need...one single dollar bill at a time. Imagine that...friends asking friends to give $1. All over the country. Some sent an encouraging note, some just put a dollar in an envelope and sent it off. I share that story to illustrate the impact that even $1 can make. So please, if you are able, consider making a donation that will change the course of this little boy's life forever. No amount is too small.
For those detail oriented people, here is a VERY rough approximation of how things will unfold from here. A special thanks to the Radzinski family from Utah (also adopting from Ukraine through Stork) for ironing out the timeline!
February 22nd: Ukraine Government reviews our Dossier (AKA: huge package detailing every aspect of our lives past, present and future)
March 22nd:(approx):Ukraine is done with our file and grants us approval and a travel date!
April 22nd(approx): We go to Ukraine for our first required visit (2-4 weeks...we know how long once we are there!)
May 13th(approx): Home to the USA for the 10-day "cooling off period", required by Ukraine
May 22nd(approx): Back to the Ukraine to complete final paperwork and get Ruslan! (2 weeks)
June 5th (approx): Home to the USA with Ruslan, we will finally be together as a family! This is 20 days before his 10th birthday...and we definitely plan to celebrate!
It takes a village, there is no doubt, and we are so grateful to the many, many people that have become part of ours! Words will never be enough to say thank you, but we pray the joy in the heart of a little boy who comes home forever will encourage you and illustrate for you the amazing things that our possible with the Lord, and a community of individuals willing to rally together to make a difference. It's go time! It's so close we can almost feel Ruslan in our arms. And we are in awe at the tremendous ways the Lord's presence and provision have been evident in this journey so far. To God be the glory, and may His will be done!
