Our apologies for the woeful neglect of our blog. For so long it seemed as if nothing was happening and then all of a sudden everything is happening. So let me try to bring you up to speed.
The Both Hands Project was a great success in August 2011. We had so many friends help as we worked all day on Sharon's home. We raised about $4000 for our adoption through the event. Thank you to all who gave and served.
We settled into a waiting phase since all our paperwork was in and our agency was starting a new system that connected our agency with a specific orphanage in China. In theory, this is supposed to speed things up by removing the middle man. That was October 2011.
Our case worker, who had been to the orphanage, told us she believed a child that matched our special needs list is part of the group of children that is to be released for adoption. The problem was the orphanage was not completing the necessary paperwork to move the process along. Once again, waiting!
Fast forward to April 2012 and our immigration paperwork is about to expire and we have to submit a request for an extension. Our new social worker begins the process to update our home study as we have to get criminal checks and physicals all over again.
May 2012 - BIG MONTH!!!! Our case worker send over pictures and descriptions of some children who are considered not highly adoptable because of their age and/or medical issues. One girl caught our attention. She was born July 1, 2009. Her diagnosis is spina bifida and one leg that is shorter than the other.
She is walking and on track with all her growth, mental and social progress. After consultation with two doctors, we believe we will need some surgery once she arrives in the US. However, both doctors feel her long term prognosis is very good.
WE FOUND OUR GIRL! We will call her Carter. If you would like to see her picture feel free to email us and we would be happy to send it to you. We have been advised by our case worker not to list her Chinese name and post her picture to a public blog before China hands her over to us.
So in God's perfect timing this all works out. Had we not been in the process of updating our home study, we would not have been able to list Carter's specific conditions. So once again we are learning that God brings things about in His timing not ours.
So now we are back in a wait mode. Our immigration update has to be completely processed before we can move forward. But we have received the LOA. This is the official letter from China that says we can adopt Carter.
We have been told we could travel as soon as October! We are very excited. Until the next post, God bless you.
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Paperwork Arrives Tomorrow
We heard from our agency today. Our paperwork will arrive in China tomorrow! This completes what turned out to be a beast of a process. We had no idea the paperwork was going to be so complicated and time consuming. And when we say time consuming, we're talking about the time we spend on our end and the time we spend waiting for other people to process it.
But thankfully, that part of the journey is complete. This week we will send our special needs list to our agency. This list outlines which special needs we would accept. We have spent a great deal of time deciding the needs of our child. We want to be able to provide a home where our baby can thrive, but recognize we will need God's help each step of the way.
We have something else we are working on call the Support System Plan. This eleven page document contains 71 questions like, "What will do you if you child doesn't sleep well at night?" And, "Are you prepared for soccer practice three nights a week and games on the weekend?" Many of the questions require us to have names and numbers of the professionals who we might need for our child. So it makes us think through a multitude of possible scenarios that adopting families face.
We also have to get a passport for Hope. Tanya and Jade need to renew their passports. There is still a baby room to put together and we are sure plenty of other things will come up along the way.
Both Hands Update - our project is 10 days away. Todd and a friend, Kurt, went by Sharon's house today to finalize our task list for Sat, Aug 13. We are excited about helping Sharon and praying God's blessings on her while we ask God to provide for our adoption through this fundraiser.
Thanks for joining us on our journey!
Todd, Tanya, Jade and Hope
But thankfully, that part of the journey is complete. This week we will send our special needs list to our agency. This list outlines which special needs we would accept. We have spent a great deal of time deciding the needs of our child. We want to be able to provide a home where our baby can thrive, but recognize we will need God's help each step of the way.
We have something else we are working on call the Support System Plan. This eleven page document contains 71 questions like, "What will do you if you child doesn't sleep well at night?" And, "Are you prepared for soccer practice three nights a week and games on the weekend?" Many of the questions require us to have names and numbers of the professionals who we might need for our child. So it makes us think through a multitude of possible scenarios that adopting families face.
We also have to get a passport for Hope. Tanya and Jade need to renew their passports. There is still a baby room to put together and we are sure plenty of other things will come up along the way.
Both Hands Update - our project is 10 days away. Todd and a friend, Kurt, went by Sharon's house today to finalize our task list for Sat, Aug 13. We are excited about helping Sharon and praying God's blessings on her while we ask God to provide for our adoption through this fundraiser.
Thanks for joining us on our journey!
Todd, Tanya, Jade and Hope
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Both Hands Fundraiser
We are excited to participate with Both Hands in a fundraiser for our adoption. The motivation behind this organization is James 1:27 - "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction."
The way it works is we find a widow in need and create a team of people to work on her home. Our team sends out letters to friends and family asking them to sponsor them as they work on the widow's home just like people get sponsors for a 5K. 100% of the money raised goes towards our adoption. Both Hands. A hand to the widow and a hand to the orphan. James 1:27 lived out in a community of caring people.
On August 13, we will gather to work on Sharon's home. We've known Sharon for many years and as well as her late husband, Paul. While she is excited to have help for her home, she is so glad this project has the potential to help us with our adoption as well. It is the perfect partnership.
Pray for good weather and God's blessings on this endeavor. If God's gives you a desire to give you can visit our page on the Both Hands website and make a donation.
http://bothhandsfoundation.org/todd-and-tanya-marlin.aspx
Thank you for continuing to join us on our journey!
The way it works is we find a widow in need and create a team of people to work on her home. Our team sends out letters to friends and family asking them to sponsor them as they work on the widow's home just like people get sponsors for a 5K. 100% of the money raised goes towards our adoption. Both Hands. A hand to the widow and a hand to the orphan. James 1:27 lived out in a community of caring people.
On August 13, we will gather to work on Sharon's home. We've known Sharon for many years and as well as her late husband, Paul. While she is excited to have help for her home, she is so glad this project has the potential to help us with our adoption as well. It is the perfect partnership.
Pray for good weather and God's blessings on this endeavor. If God's gives you a desire to give you can visit our page on the Both Hands website and make a donation.
http://bothhandsfoundation.org/todd-and-tanya-marlin.aspx
Thank you for continuing to join us on our journey!
Friday, July 8, 2011
Long Time, No Blog
As you can tell I (Todd) have not been good at keeping the blog updated. It is hard to believe my last entry was almost 18 months ago. Let me bring you up to date.
YES WE ARE STILL ADOPTING!!! Here are a few paragraphs to catch you up.
We spent Spring and Summer of 2010 getting our paperwork together for our home study. And when I say paperwork I mean health assessments, financials, criminal checks, birth certificates, marriage certificate, DNA and lie detectors. The last two I made up.
Somewhere along the way we decided to adopt a child with special needs.
Home study was completed in September 2010.
Immigration paperwork was submitted and approved. This took longer than we thought - 5 MONTHS!
Now it is May 2011 and we put together all our documents to send to China - THE DOSSIER! Each document has to have proof that it is authentic. So it has to have either a county seal or a notary signature. Then it must be authenticated by the state. Then it must be authenticated by the US Dept of State. Then it must be authenticated by the Chinese Embassy. The last two stops were in DC. And you have to pay for every authenticated document.
June 2011, we received all the documents back from DC. We hired a service to run our paperwork around our nation's capital. Thank the LORD for our couriers, Assistant Stork!
July 2011, all our documents are in the hands of our agency and are being prepared to be sent to China.
I know that is a quick look at the last year and a half, but now you are current and I don't plan on waiting quite so long before the next blog. Things are going to speed up from this point on.
YES WE ARE STILL ADOPTING!!! Here are a few paragraphs to catch you up.
We spent Spring and Summer of 2010 getting our paperwork together for our home study. And when I say paperwork I mean health assessments, financials, criminal checks, birth certificates, marriage certificate, DNA and lie detectors. The last two I made up.
Somewhere along the way we decided to adopt a child with special needs.
Home study was completed in September 2010.
Immigration paperwork was submitted and approved. This took longer than we thought - 5 MONTHS!
Now it is May 2011 and we put together all our documents to send to China - THE DOSSIER! Each document has to have proof that it is authentic. So it has to have either a county seal or a notary signature. Then it must be authenticated by the state. Then it must be authenticated by the US Dept of State. Then it must be authenticated by the Chinese Embassy. The last two stops were in DC. And you have to pay for every authenticated document.
June 2011, we received all the documents back from DC. We hired a service to run our paperwork around our nation's capital. Thank the LORD for our couriers, Assistant Stork!
July 2011, all our documents are in the hands of our agency and are being prepared to be sent to China.
I know that is a quick look at the last year and a half, but now you are current and I don't plan on waiting quite so long before the next blog. Things are going to speed up from this point on.
Friday, January 22, 2010
January 2010 Update
I know it has been kind of quiet lately, but we are as excited as ever. We are very close to having our first part of the agency fee paid. Thank you so much to all those who have supported us with prayers over these last few months. We appreciate it. Thanks also to those who have supported us financially. We appreciate you too and should be sending out some "thank you" notes by the end of the month.
Our hearts are always moved when we hear the words "adopt" or "orphans". So will continue this journey to live out James 1:27, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."
Our hearts are always moved when we hear the words "adopt" or "orphans". So will continue this journey to live out James 1:27, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."
Jade and Hope's Reasons To Adopt
Tanya had asked Jade and Hope to write down their thoughts on why we should adopt. Here they are:
Jade's Reasons
1. We are saving a life
2. The child could become a Christian
3. We could love and care for the child
Hope's Reasons
1. I want to be an older sister
2. To get her cute clothes
3. To paint her room
4. To give her a home to live and love
Jade's Reasons
1. We are saving a life
2. The child could become a Christian
3. We could love and care for the child
Hope's Reasons
1. I want to be an older sister
2. To get her cute clothes
3. To paint her room
4. To give her a home to live and love
Monday, October 19, 2009
Todd's Story
Ever since Tanya was in elementary school there was a part of her that dreamed of adopting a baby girl from China. It never went away. I thought it was a wonderful idea, but was content with the girls.
Starting in 2007, the dream of adopting turned into a calling. Tanya and I attended a conference in January and both of us felt that God was leading us to adoption. But I thought if we didn’t talk about it, it would go away. I was content. Selfish is the better word. I loved being a parent to Jade and Hope and didn’t want to spend the time or money to adopt.
August of 2008. I went on our church’s mission trip to Nicaragua. I thought I was going because of what I could do in Nicaragua, not what God was going to do in me.
I don’t know how you explain the voice of God, but once you’ve heard, it you know it. And I knew that even though I had ignored the call to rescue a little girl from China, God was not through reminding me. So I came home and told Tanya, “I really think this is what we need to do.” But once again, my selfishness crept in and I rationalized if we stay really busy with other stuff, it will pass.
May of 2009. I listened to a speaker talk about families and the picture we have in our minds of what a family is supposed to look like. We think our families have to look perfect and we are bothered when they aren’t.
And even though I knew he was trying to get people to celebrate how God has created each family uniquely. And we should not be held hostage to an image that is unattainable. I was struck by how my selfishness was creating the opposite result in me. My family was exactly how I wanted it. I know we aren’t perfect and if you are receiving this letter, then you know we aren’t perfect too, but stick with me here.
My contentment/selfishness with this image of the family I already had was holding me back from allowing God to change our family picture. This image included someone who wasn’t in the pictures already displayed on the walls of our home.
So once again, I shared with Tanya that God was still moving me to answer this call to rescue a little girl from an orphanage in China. Tanya had always been ready and was praying for God to change my heart. Why China, when there are kids in similar situations all over the U.S. and the world? No other reason other than this is what we believe God is calling us to do.
And as God usually does, He had already been working ahead of us by sending Tanya a client who adopted through Christian World Adoption (CWA). We signed up for an information meeting in June with CWA and went. We left for the beach the next day and I went down to the pool and saw a lady with an Asian child. I stopped her and ask her about her child. Her face lit up as she told me about her little girl from CHINA and how her adoption agency, CHRISTIAN WORLD ADOPTION, was wonderful. I finally said, “Ok God, you win. I won’t run from this anymore.”
So now I am ready to take this next step and trust God to create His picture of what my family should look like.
Starting in 2007, the dream of adopting turned into a calling. Tanya and I attended a conference in January and both of us felt that God was leading us to adoption. But I thought if we didn’t talk about it, it would go away. I was content. Selfish is the better word. I loved being a parent to Jade and Hope and didn’t want to spend the time or money to adopt.
August of 2008. I went on our church’s mission trip to Nicaragua. I thought I was going because of what I could do in Nicaragua, not what God was going to do in me.
I don’t know how you explain the voice of God, but once you’ve heard, it you know it. And I knew that even though I had ignored the call to rescue a little girl from China, God was not through reminding me. So I came home and told Tanya, “I really think this is what we need to do.” But once again, my selfishness crept in and I rationalized if we stay really busy with other stuff, it will pass.
May of 2009. I listened to a speaker talk about families and the picture we have in our minds of what a family is supposed to look like. We think our families have to look perfect and we are bothered when they aren’t.
And even though I knew he was trying to get people to celebrate how God has created each family uniquely. And we should not be held hostage to an image that is unattainable. I was struck by how my selfishness was creating the opposite result in me. My family was exactly how I wanted it. I know we aren’t perfect and if you are receiving this letter, then you know we aren’t perfect too, but stick with me here.
My contentment/selfishness with this image of the family I already had was holding me back from allowing God to change our family picture. This image included someone who wasn’t in the pictures already displayed on the walls of our home.
So once again, I shared with Tanya that God was still moving me to answer this call to rescue a little girl from an orphanage in China. Tanya had always been ready and was praying for God to change my heart. Why China, when there are kids in similar situations all over the U.S. and the world? No other reason other than this is what we believe God is calling us to do.
And as God usually does, He had already been working ahead of us by sending Tanya a client who adopted through Christian World Adoption (CWA). We signed up for an information meeting in June with CWA and went. We left for the beach the next day and I went down to the pool and saw a lady with an Asian child. I stopped her and ask her about her child. Her face lit up as she told me about her little girl from CHINA and how her adoption agency, CHRISTIAN WORLD ADOPTION, was wonderful. I finally said, “Ok God, you win. I won’t run from this anymore.”
So now I am ready to take this next step and trust God to create His picture of what my family should look like.
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