Update and Prayer Request!

 

UPDATE:

Today has been two years since we started this journey! Two years ago, Bryan and I took a huge leap of faith and sent in our application to our agency to adopt a child from South Korea. Little did we know that God had our little Jack (soon to be conceived) in mind for us when we sent it in.  
Other big news today was that we received our I-600! It states, "The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services has provisionally approved your Form 1-600, Petition to Classify Orphan as an immediate relative, that you filed on behalf of Dohyun Kwon." :) So, I like that! ;)
Approval means everything is sent to Korea now and we are basically waiting for a travel call.
Everyone wants to know when that will be and, to tell you the truth, so would we! ;) Our original estimate for travel was to be 3 to 4 months after receiving our referral. It has been two months tomorrow that we have received ours.  Unfortunately though, there are some complications that might interrupt this process.

PRAYER REQUEST:

Which brings me to my prayer request. Back in June, I posted this update and briefly mentioned how our agency (and all agencies working with Korea) had run out of EPs for the year. EPs are "exit permits" and only a certain amount are released by the Korean government each year. Once a child is issued an EP, that means they are officially approved to leave to country and the adoptive parents will get their travel call to come get their baby. The complication is that there is now a huge backlog of people waiting to receive an EP since June of last year. Usually the Korean government issues them at the beginning of the year, but so far, there has been no movement! It went from we should hear something at the beginning of the year, then February, then middle February, and the latest is middle March now.  We also do not know how the government will choose to distribute the EPs. If they divide it up between all the agencies, we have a good chance that our wait won't be that long because our agency has no backlog of waiting families. However, if the Korean govt. decides to issue them to only the ones that have been waiting, we might have an even longer wait on our hands. No one is really sure what the hold up is and there are hundreds of moms and dads anxiously waiting to get their babies and can do NOTHING about it. These children are getting older and older (hence why Jack was so old at his referral), making transitioning and grieving very difficult for the child and foster family. Not to mention the ache the adoptive families have as they wait, missing milestone after milestone of their precious babies. The adoption agencies in Korea are running out of space and are having to turn women down that wish to put their child up for adoption. It's just a big big mess over there and they desperately need our prayers. I am trying very hard not to get caught up with all of this, because I know that I can do nothing about it. I know that the orphan is very close to the Lord's heart and I'm positive that He has already been and will continue to be at work in this situation. I also know that our travel call will come when the Lord wants it to come.  So, in the mean time, I have been keeping myself busy and praying continuously. Praying for all us waiting parents, that the Korean government hearts will be softened for these orphans that need to be home with their families and that EPs will finally be submitted! Please consider joining us in prayer for this situation. Other adoptive moms and I plan to pray every evening at 7pm until we hear something. You can join us or just pray for it when you remember. Again, I am thankful as always for your prayers.

Getting Closer and Lifesong Fundraiser!!!

UPDATE: OUR GOAL HAS BEEN MEET! THANK YOU SO MUCH TO ALL WHO GAVE!

Yesterday, Bryan and I had a travel meeting via conference call with our agency.  It was an hour and a half conversation, and once we got off the phone we were pretty much overwhelmed, but excited at the same time! There is so much to know and be prepared for, and while we are thankful we are getting so close to traveling, we feel like we don't have a lot of time to get ready for it.  We are expecting our I-600 approval any day now and then everything will be in the hands of the Korean government. At that point, we will just be waiting on a travel call!  

All of sudden, this has gotten very real! ;) 

Since our travel is approaching so quickly, Bryan and I wanted to remind everyone about our last fundraiser we are doing with the help of Lifesong for Orphans (www.lifesongfororphans.org).  They set up an account for us so that we may raise the rest of our adoption expenses.  Any donations made to them (on our behalf) will go toward our travel costs and will be tax deductible for you!  We have been so blessed already by such amazing donors and we just want to take the time again to thank you for your generosity, love, and support!  We are less than 2 weeks away from our deadline and we are getting so close to our goal!!!

If you have prayerfully considered supporting our adoption of Jack with a donation, but haven't been able to yet, now would be a great opportunity to give through our Lifesong account.

You can send your tax-deductible gift between now and February 29th, 2012 to the address below or give online.

If you feel led to give, please remember to include the following steps:

  

If you would like to send a Check:  

•  Checks should be made payable to:  Lifesong for Orphans  
• Indicate how the donation might be used by writing, “Preference Getty #1808 Adoption” in the memo section of your check. 
• Mail checks to:

Lifesong for Orphans

PO Box 40 / 202 N. Ford St

Gridley, IL 61744

If you would like to Donate Online:

• Go to http://www.lifesongfororphans.org/donation.html, and click the “DONATE” button. 
•  Indicate how the donation might be used by typing, “Preference Getty #1808 Adoption” in the “Purpose” box. 

**Please note that PayPal does charge an administrative fee (1.9% to 2.9% + $0.30 USD per transaction). The donation will be decreased by the amount of this fee.)**


 Again, words cannot express the gratitude we have for your continued prayers and support for us during this time. Thank you for investing in the Kingdom through prayer and finances – it will be an investment with an eternal return (Matt 6:20)!

BEST Update So Far!

Today was such a wonderful day, I just had to share our JOY!  Bryan and I received an update of our little man today. I got word yesterday that it would be coming this afternoon, so I was so excited! I kept myself busy all day and then when I heard the Fed Ex truck pull up, I ran downstairs and met him at the door before he even got there. ;) He just smiled and handed me the package. I immediately called Bryan and told him we got it, and he said that he was on his way home. Once he got there we opened up the package and saw his sweet face and read the letter which opened with:

"Dohyun is getting very well care under the foster family's love and affection. He had his first birthday party on January 16, 2012..."

He had what they call a dol ceremony with the other babies at our agency that had January birthdays.  This is a traditional celebration for one year old babies in Korea. You can read more about dols here.  It is a very big deal in Korea when your baby turns one year old and they have a big party to celebrate! The children wear a colorful ceremonial garment called a hanbok during their dol (they also wear it during certain holidays). Here's Jack in his hanbok! ;)

I make pink look good!

I can't believe how big he has already gotten in two months! No official word on his weight, but it looks like they are feeding him well. :)

The highlight of the party is a ritual they do where the child is placed in front of a table of foods and objects such as string, books, paint brush, money, etc. The child is urged to pick up an object and it is believed that the object picked will foretell the child’s future. For example, if the child picks up a book, he is destined to be a scholar. If he picks up money, he will be wealthy.  If the baby picks up a paint brush, he will be an artist. So on and so forth. Wanna guess what our little man picked??

That's right, he picked the golf ball! They said he will be a golfer! Can I tell you how happy his daddy got when he read this?! ;) He's going to be a daddy's boy for sure.

Not only did we get to see his pictures, but we also got video! Of course, this mama cried at this clip. I cannot express the joy I had in my heart to see him smile. I am so in love!!

Here's Jack!!!

I'm so excited to let people know that our legals are in!!!! Which means we do not have to do a homestudy update!  Praise the Lord!   This is such a relief to Bryan and I!  Thank you all for your prayers in this matter.  The next step is that we are waiting for our I-600 and then we will be waiting for our travel call!!! So, to celebrate, I wanted to tell you a little bit about our son and finally show him off!

A few weeks ago, we sent out an announcement of Jack to our family and friends and in the letter we stated the following, and wanted to post it again, because I feel it is so important to include in why we rejoice so much in him!

"After years of waiting and praying, we are so excited to announce our son, John “Jack” Dohyun Getty, born to us through the miracle of adoption! On January 21, 2011, our prayers were answered, as our Jack was born and handpicked by our Father to be our own.  I have said this before, but I must say it again: we are so happy that God chose adoption for us as a means of growing our family. Once we saw Jack’s face, we could not deny how much we loved him. Now more than ever, we could understand the parallel of when we were alone and needed someone, God loved us and adopted us as His sons and daughters (Romans 8:14-16). What an amazing testimony our son already is to his momma and daddy! "

So, without further ado, here's Jack...

"I sure am full of it!"

"Check out my cool sweater vest, Mom!"

"Like my mohawk?"

I'm over the moon for this little guy!! 

As you can see we named him John. I mentioned before, we picked this name because it means, "Gift from God." And that he is!  His middle name is Dohyun, which means, "Kindhearted Way." The name Dohyun was given to him by his birthmother, so we kept it to honor her.  He was born on January 21, 2011 (The year of the Rabbit). At birth, Jack weighed 7 pounds, 4 ounces and measured 20.1 inches in length.  On November 14, 2011, he weighed 22 pounds and measured 29.7 inches in length. 

Here are some fun facts about him that were written in his report
(at his 10 month checkup):

- He can't bear hunger.

-He loves baths very much.

-Has taken one to two steps recently.

-He says, ''Umma" and ''Appa" (Mom and Dad)

-When told "No!" he asks "No?"

- He opens drawers and likes to "take out the stuffs in there." ;)

-He is shy of strangers.

-He likes his foster father best.

-He "rather sweats a lot" :) This one was one of my favorites!

-He is gentle, curious, and smiles often.

- He doesn't stay still for a moment.

-He is short tempered and stubborn. :) Just like Mommy!

-And his social worker says, "He looks like a naughty boy." :)

So, it seems we will soon have our hands full!  :)  And we just can't wait!  We are so happy to know that Jack is being loved and well taken care of in his foster family.  What wonderful people they are to make such a sacrifice for a child. We will forever be grateful to them for being there for our son, when we couldn't.

Thank you for letting me share my son with you!