Heidi and I applied for our passports yesterday and paid the extra money to get them expidited. Cost was $161 apiece. They should be here within 3 weeks but we are hoping sooner. We were going to get the girls their passports since you need them to go to Canada these days but based on our budget we decided to push that out.
Up to this point we have been doing a lot of the leg work to get this process rolling. Fortunately we have a virtual "adoption team" that has been helping along the way and that GOD has put in place for us to use. First I want to give some up front credit where it is definitely due. We have had some really great guidance from Brock and Tina, a couple that goes to our church. They adopted a little boy from Rwanda last fall and have been an invaluable resource to us to this point. Tina and Heidi seem to talk everyday and Tina has provided us with a lot of information that will hopefully make this whole process go a lot smoother and faster. She has provided us the contacts we need and is always available when we have questions. In addition to that she has given us advice on virtually everything we need to consider when we actually go over, including clothing suggestions, baby supplies, etc. Thanks Tina!
We have also begun email correspondence with the missionaries in Rwanda that we will probably be staying with while over there. That takes a lot of weight off us to know we have people on the ground over there so to speak. In addition, we received an email from the gentleman who will be helping coordinate a lot of the paperwork on the Rwandan side and act as our "Power of attorney". Again, another gift from GOD. So we are starting to build our network and feel that things are moving quickly. If things go smoothly and we can get all the approvals that are required we are projecting to be heading over to Rwanda in late July of this year.
I must admit a lot of things have been streaming through our minds while Heidi and I have been going through the decision making process regarding whether to adopt or not. Actually it wasn't really a question of whether to adopt again but more of a question of where to adopt from. We have both felt a calling for a while but really struggled with whether this was what "we were supposed to be doing" or was it just our selfish interests. How would this affect our other two children? Can we afford it? Do we have enough room in our house? Will Heidi have to change her work schedule? Will I? All these questions swam around in our heads. And I am sure in the heads of our friends and family who we have told to this point. Everyone sort of has their own idea of how much is enough and having a family of four these days is not the norm.
So we sought feedback from friends and Godly council from others within our church, Brock and Tina, and also one of the associate pastors (Mark) that have been on several missionary trips to Rwanda over the last few years. We also, of course, prayed endlessly over this to GOD and in the end both Heidi and I felt confident this was something we are indeed supposed to do. What it really came down to in the end was our own fears of going to Rwanda for three weeks and leaving our girls back in the states with relatives. What if something happened? Who would take care of them? Those types of fears. Mark really nailed it though when we had dinner with him and his family recently. He said that fear is really not an excuse to not do this. In fact using fear as an excuse was basically saying that we didn't have faith in GOD that HE will take care of our daughters. If we really did feel that GOD was calling us to do this then surely GOD has a plan for our daughters regardless of what happens. When he said that it all made perfect sense. Of course GOD will take care of everything, he always does.... On the way home that night in the car with our two daughters laughing and chatting away in the back, Heidi and I decided that this was something that we were going to do. What a great feeling! Let's do it! With GOD leading the way all things are possible. I can only think that GOD already has the one or two little boys picked out for us and at that exact moment across the world in Rwanda the light shined on those boys and the connection was sealed.
We would also like to thank "Mike", one of the Pastors at our church for being our original contact when inquiring about the orphanage in Rwanda and has been so helpful in leading us to amazing contacts for this process.
On another note, one of the things that is a reality of doing this is the cost associated with it. One of the big things of course is the cost of the flights not only for Heidi and I but for the boys when we come back. There are also a lot of fees and other costs that come along as well. All in all we are probably looking at a total cost of around $12,000 to $15,000 to make this happen. As most of you know we can get a great tax deduction for this in the coming years when we file taxes but we have to come up with the money first. As you can see on this blog site I have added a "donate" button at the bottom of this blog. It is straight from Paypal and according to their website it is a secure way to make donations to our cause. We are setting up a separate bank account that we will use for all the money we receive towards are adoption. The account will be called the Hanson Family Adoption Fund. All the money we raise will only be used to help us with the costs assocaited with the adoption. So with that being said we are asking that anyone who wants to give please do so. Big or small, we appreciate them all! Every little bit will help! We intend to hold other fundraisers as well and will keep you all posted via e-mail and this blog. Also please feel free to send the link to this site to anyone you know that may be interested in following along on our journey!
Thanks for reading and GOD Bless! Pete and Heidi
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