Gratitude

Just a quick note of gratitude to the two folks that purchased a Village Key from me yesterday in the middle of Scoobies Sub Shop while there for a working lunch. I don't know who you are- but wanted to express how encouraged I was through your willingness to A: talk to a stranger in a restaurant and B: buy something from a stranger in a restaurant. 

It was just the reminder I needed (and unfortunately often need) to not allow myself to get discouraged when I have a "slow" fundraising week because God is in control & He knows where and how every penny will come.

Have a great Day

 

Answering YOUR most common questions: Question 2

Another week has almost come to an end and I realized it is time to lay out another question for those of you on this journey with us.

Here we go: the 2nd most common question we are receiving is: Why Ethiopian adoption? Why not domestic adoption?

Answer:

   Frankly, this is a tough question for me to answer sometimes. However if you haven't noticed already, I try my best to be 100% authentic and transparent with the position of our hearts, so I'll do my best here. Although, sometimes that is difficult when not everybody seems to agree on this topic.

So the main reasons we are pursuing international adoption instead of domestic adoption:

1.) "Poor" in the United States is not really poor in the grand scheme of humanity. Orphans across the globe are simply not able to be cared for equally. Our personal desire is to serve where there is the greatest need. We are well aware of (and have been reminded a handful of times this month)  that "there are plenty of orphans here for you to adopt" and our hearts break for all the orphans & children both here and abroad! The reality is: orphans in the U.S. usually still have their own place to sleep and are not sharing a crib with another child (or two); orphans in the U.S. don't ever have to think about not getting 3 solid, well rounded nutritious meals a day. The orphan to volunteer/worker ratio in the U.S. is lower than abroad. In orphanages abroad, it would not be uncommon for bottles to have to be propped up on blankets or pillows for the babies to feed

Now- please here me on this. What I outline above is in NO WAY intended to imply that international adoption is more important than domestic adoption! We simply want to do our best to explain how our family came to the conclusion that international adoption is the best match for OUR family. Just because this is the correct match for us, doesn't mean it is the answer for you. There is great need here in the U.S. for families to become foster parents and agencies out there that will assist and equip you with whatever you need to do so!

2.) When we decided to pursue international adoption, we specifically chose Ethiopia because  we liked the idea, that through Ethiopian adoption she could have a connection to her country of birth through her home church here in Indiana. Some of you may know that as a family we attend Epic Church in Mishawaka, Indiana. Amber is a partner at the church (that's what we call staff) serving at the Director of Counseling through Epic Counseling. Anyway, Epic has partnered with a fantastic organization called Awake & Alive that is opening a school for young orphaned children in Kechene, Ethiopia. We believe this will be a long standing partnership and people from the Epic Church family will likely join Awake & Alive on trips to Kechene on an annual basis. 

So, when our little girl begins asking questions about her adoption and wants to know more about where she is from, it would be wonderful to be able to take her back to serve and love widows and children of Ethiopia through Awake & Alive. She will be able to have a connection to her country and culture of birth, while being supported by people that know and love her from her home church.

So anyway- in a "nut shell" that is why we have decided to pursue Ethiopian adoption! Keep your questions coming!

Thank You for your continued prayers and support. Oh- and if you think of it, send us your vote for what color to use for our T-shirt fundraiser later this summer! We want a color that both guys and gals would like (and be willing) to wear! 

Keep sharing the blog and the Village Key fundraising site with your friends. Together, we will bring this little angel home!

Answering YOUR most common questions: Question #1

So I thought I would start tackling the most common questions we have received over the last couple of weeks. All of them VERY good questions- just too many to write about at once!

So todays question (and one of the most popular) is: You have to raise HOW MUCH!?!?  Why is Ethiopian adoption so costly??

Answer:
   So, yes $28,00 is a lot of money, however when it is broken down, it really brings clarity as to how quickly the dollars add up.
  Here is a breakdown of most of the fees:

     Agency application fee: $250
     U.S. Adoption Agency fee: $6,200
     Home study review fee: $100
     Ethiopian "in-country" fee: $10,000
     Home study: $1,500- $2,500
     Dossier (documents) fees: $750
     Post-adoption reports: 300 (x3)= 900 (these are done at 3,6, & 12 months post adoption)
     Airfare: $1,700 each (x2 parents and 2 trips) = 6,800 **Ethiopian adoption requires 2 trips-
     1 for court & 1 to bring the child home 6 weeks later
     Lodging in Ethiopia: $400 (x2 trips)
     USCIS fee: $720
     FBI fingerprinting: $85 x2 (one set per parent)
     Entry visa: $70 x2 (one per parent)
     Child's visa: $230


There you have it!  The above costs actually total $29,560.  We have the goal of raising 28,000 as more of the minimum we need to make it happen. If we raise 28,000 I (Amber) will still have to travel alone on the first trip for court and then Josh would join me for the second trip. That would be very difficult (for many reasons) but if we need to do that we will!

There are financially a large range of items that will need covered~ take a look at our list and see if you could "adopt" one of the items for us!

Blessings!
Amber

Keep checking back for  the next question/answer post about this journey we are on. The next question we will tackle is "Why Ethiopian Adoption? Why not domestic adoption?"

*note*
the above financial information is gathered from the agency we will be using to adopt our little girl once we have the funds. The agency is Celebrate Children International (CCI). We share it here strictly for informational purposes and in no way intend to portray ownership of the above information. Thanks!
   

Your courage asks me, "what am I made of?"

Hopefully this will bring a little perspective to your day. This song is simply beautiful and has been running through my head over the last couple of days. (It is worth waiting through the 10 second commercial at the beginning that YouTube puts on there.)

My heart breaks a little when I think about our little girl and the uncertainty that lies before her in her life journey leading up to the moment that she becomes an orphan. Mommy and Daddy are working hard to raise the money to come find you my little angel, when I get discouraged I sing a part of this song to myself:  "Your courage asks me, what am I afraid of- Your courage asks me, what am I made of- and what I know of love."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lt_WpluguwE


I don't yet know who all is helping us this week- but thank you.

Thank you for a great 1st week!

So tonight brings to the close of our first official week of fundraising for our little one to come home from Ethiopia!

We have updated the thermometer to reflect our fundraising up through today. This includes Village Key sales, personal cash donations and PayPal donations from the blog. We simply want to take a moment to THANK YOU all for getting us off to a fantastic start! We are humbled by everyone's kinds words, encouragement and prayers (and of course your donations as well!)

On a personal note: 

This week has been a bit of an emotional roller-coaster. I (Amber) have experienced gitty excitement, gratitude and amazement at the amount collected in our first week. While at the same time battling fear regarding the total we will need. I can be a bit of a "control freak"..... not exactly a shocker for most of you  HA! Anyway- I have discovered that I will DAILY have to surrender this process to God and not attempt to white knuckle grip on to it. Our family is God's to begin with, everything is in His timing and I am learning quite a lesson here in trust. As our good friend Erica says- I am being "stretched"  :)

To our team of family and friends who are lifting us up in prayer: Keep on praying! Your support is sincerely invaluable.

To recap where we are in fundraising & how you can help:
     1.) Purchase a Village Key to get discounts all over town here:
        http://thevillagekey.com/rohde
        or you can purchase your key directly from Josh & Amber.

     2.) Donate gently used books to out "books into cash" fundraiser.

     3.) You may make a contribution via the PayPal "donate" button on the right hand side of
           this blog



Much Love

Awesome Day & A GIVEAWAY!

I am overwhelmed with excitement on this beautiful Monday!

Two major reasons for this:

1.) It is our wonderful, amazing, handsome, smart super cool son’s birthday today! Noah turns 2 today! And- what is even more amazing is that we have made it 2 whole years without him needing stitches or a cast! HAHA  Those of you that have met active little fella know this IS reason  to celebrate!

2.) We are ECSTATIC to announce that we have the privilege to partner with VILLAGE KEY !!! We are the very first fundraising effort partnering with Village Key and cannot believe the generosity of this AMAZING company in inviting us to partner with them to raise funds to bring home our child from Ethiopia.

If you have not heard of Village Key yet, you have got to check it out. It is the hottest business concept to hit the Michiana area in quite a while!  You have to check it out and get more information here: http://thevillagekey.com/rohde  Basically- instead of buying one “Daily Deal” like other companies that sell a discounted daily deal. You buy a plastic key (that goes on your keychain) that “unlocks” daily deals with shops, restaurants, golf courses etc and you get to use it for an entire year, as many times as you want!! The amazing part is that the key is only $20 and ALL of the participating shops are in our community!

I know that many of you in the South Bend/ Mishawaka/ Granger area are going to be picking one of these up anyway, so we would love it if you would simply make your purchase through our fundraising page! When you do, we get 50% (ten bucks!) of the cost of the key put into our adoption fundraising account!  Even if you don’t live in the Michiana area please share this with those you know who live here!

*Buy a key!

*Tell all your friends about Village Key!

*Share the link to our Village Key fundraising page on your facebook/ twitter/ whatever social media you use page so that all of your friends buy theirs AND help a good cause!

** When you buy your Village Key you must purchase it through our fundraising page in order for us to get the proceeds! Purchase here:  http://thevillagekey.com/rohde/

They say, “It takes a village to raise a child” We are taking this literally- purchase a key to the village to help us bring home our child!

The Giveaway!

Share this fundraising link via your facebook page or email to your friends and you will be entered into a drawing to win a $20 gift card to the restaurant of your choice.

Share the fundraising link AND purchase a Village Key through our site and you will get two entries into the drawing.

Simply send us a Facebook message or email us to let us know what you did to help and your name will go into a random drawing

Blessings,

Amber