Dealing with the unexpected...

The unknown can be a very scary deal!  We are now on day 13 of our China Trip and we get on a plane in less than two days to head home.  We cannot wait to get back! We miss our kids, we miss our friends, and we are so ready for this part of the process to be completed... and we are almost there. But yesterday we had something happen that was very unexpected and unsettling.  We had the opportunity to go to the Chimelong Safari Park in Guangzhou which is the biggest zoo/safari park in Asia.  We didn't go the last time so this time we thought, we are here, might as well do it!  So we went with 9 other adopting families and saw some incredible animals (they have over 200 white tigers which is almost half of the white tiger population in the world, along with Pandas with triplets, Koala Bears, and a lot of other animals).  Like I said, it was incredible, but halfway through our time at the zoo our guide walks over to us and says, "we need to head back to the medical clinic before 4pm, something showed up so we have to do a further test".  We then planned to leave by taxi at 2pm to make it to the clinic on-time.  The rest of the time at the zoo was full of "what-if's"... what if it confirms she is sick, and how does this affect us leaving in 3 days? (Dan's visa expires the 19th so he has to leave).  Can this delay us days, weeks, months...? Man she is ours, we have adopted her in China and as soon as we land in the US she will be recognized as ours by the United States.  We love this kid, could something worse happen?  Could we lose her?  We arrived at the medical clinic around 2:30 and they took us right in to the X-ray room... let us just say that Kaili wasn't very excited about getting the x-ray and she let everyone know about it.  A few minutes later our guide came over and said, "I just spoke to Doctor, he says the x-rays are clear...she has no problem".  We just sat there in silence with tears streaming down our faces thanking God that she was okay.

Today we went to the consulate for our Visa appointment.  That went smooth and the guy who interviewed us was from a little place in Florida called, "Mandarin" (where I grew up).  Crazy who you can run into in the middle of China... He grew up off Scott Mill Road and graduated from Stanton in 1993.  We left the US Embassy and went back to a meeting area to wait for our bus trip back to the hotel.  While there we talked with some other parents who were adopting and listened as they talked about what God had done to move and enable them to adopt...it was very encouraging.  As we were about to leave a Chinese national walked up to Michelle and Myself, and said, "Hello, are you taking her home?"  We said, "Yes"!  And then he asked, "Do you believe in Jesus Christ?" Almost taken back we responded, " Yes, we believe in Jesus Christ."  He looked relieved and said, "Good, that is very good."  So I asked him, "Do you believe in Jesus Christ."  And with a huge smile he said, "O yes, I believe in Jesus Christ...I went to college in the U.S. of A. and at college someone told me about Jesus and I became a believer in Jesus."  We talked about him going to church which he did, and how we served on staff at a church and worked with young people.  Our bus pulled up at that point and we had to leave.  His name was Lei (pronounced Lay).  I had a Chinese National share his faith with me in a place where that is illegal.... I am still stunned by that encounter.  Because we had just come from the US Consulate building we did not have any phone or camera because I would have loved to have gotten a picture with him.  It was pretty amazing to say the least.

It's now Tuesday night in Guangzhou, and it's been a great day for Kaili.  She has really begun to blossom over the past 24-48 hours.  She is still a little shy, but now I am getting high fives, and she is beginning to make some sounds which is pretty awesome.  Even when we are out and about she is laughing with us and really seems to be attaching well.  She is an amazing little girl and we are so blessed.  Tomorrow afternoon we take a train to Hong Kong and the next morning we get on a plane to head to the United States of America.  We can't wait to be home.

Heaven on earth

When we got out of the van, we were escorted down an alley towards the Civil Affairs office.  Clothes lines hung from the rooftops, and adjacent doors led into dark staircases. It seemed like we were in a movie. We went into the building and were waiting for an elevator in a bare, sterile foyer.  Next to us stood two other Westerners looking exactly as we felt, apprehensive and excited. We all headed up to the 8th floor... it was really happening; this was where we would meet our little girl. The doors opened and we entered a room that was expansive and clean.... and all around us commotion began to unfold as they began to bring out the children in pairs.  Our sweet girl was in the first set. She toddled toward us... very timid and shy, and we immediately fell in love with her. We coaxed her slowly into our arms and just held her as she looked around wide eyed and bewildered.  As we looked around the room with her, we saw something that very few people are ever privileged to see.  In this room, 22 kids from around Guangzhou were being greeted for the first time by their parents.  Some where screaming, some were quiet, some were laughing, and some were smiling.  There were kids that looked different, teenagers that were at the cusp of being too old for adoption, kids with major deformities, kids with minor ones, but all of them were children who needed a home... and at this very moment they were being loved by their family for the very first time. And these weren't just American families coming in to love these kids... there were families from Spain, England, Norway, Sweden, and other countries as well.

I still tear up when I think about it.  When I think about the 60 year old grandparents adopting the three teenage boys who were about to age out of the orphanage or when I think about the 12 year old orphan in the wheelchair that now had a family or when I think about the lives that are being changed not just in this world but for some in the next. It was a beautiful sight. We are grateful we got to be apart of it.

Today (Day 4 with her) has been good. She has been a little more emotional and very clingy. So please pray for peace in the midst of a lot of "newness". It is fun seeing a little glimpse of her personality emerge. We feel so blessed.
Kaili is what we would term painfully shy.  She has squeaked out maybe 5-6 words and they are so soft and timid.  She is very content to stay in our arms the whole time.  She has rarely smiled, but now when we pick her up she does a huge crooked smile that just melts your heart.

Almost there...in six hours... she's ours

(Day 3 in China)- A perspective from Dan:
I am suddenly awakened by the ringing of the phone... I look over at the clock and it reads 9:47.  Everything in me panics. You see this was the day we were supposed to head to Kaili's province.   But, we were supposed to be downstairs at 9:00am bags packed checked out of our room headed to the airport to catch our flight from Beijing to Guangzhou.  I start yelling at Michelle, hurry get up, get packed, we aren't going to make it.  She looks at me confused, staring at me like I have gone insane (this wasn't the first time I had seen that face).  I realized something isn't right, and then she says to me, "Ummm, it's 9:47pm."  Man, here I think we are going to be late getting to our little girl, and then at that moment relief flooded my soul.  This jet lag is killing me!  Needless to say, we slept off and on the rest of the night and made our Air China flight with plenty of time.
Now it is Day 4 (Monday morning in China, Sunday night at home).  We are approximately 6 hours away from getting our little girl.  Now lets break this down a little bit... we started this process on August 15, 2014, that was 480 days ago, which was 11,514 hours ago, and now we are down to the final six.  Breaking it down percentage wise, we are down to the final .052% of this waiting thing we have had to do.  So many questions are flooding in.  What if she cries the whole time (like the next 10 days)?  What if she is scared, and hasn't been cared for well?  What is this going to be like this time?  When we get on the plane is she going to kick the guy next to us?  Are people going to stare at her and talk mean to her because she is different?(I'm feeling protective already!) As I think about all these things you know the only thing that matters is that God has called us to do this... even if/when it is hard... and it will be hard.  But even though we started this process 11,514 hours ago... God started the process at the beginning of time.  He is bigger than any fear, any challenge, and any situation we will face.  And when I remember that God has been planning for this meeting from the beginning, my fears fade away.  I can't wait to meet her.  She should be in our arms around 1:30am your time tonight.  So if you happen to be up or wake up around then, join us in praising God for He deserves all praise.
Michelle's perspective:
To give my man credit.....For every panic moment Dan has had, he's had five other moments that have been sure and steady. I would have wilted months ago if it were not for him. This morning as we were lying awake at wee hours in the morning, I said, "Are we were crazy for doing this?" His response? "We'd be crazy not to!"  So true. We have had a great time with our friends, the Turners, (John Turner adds humor to every situation) touring the Great Wall and the Forbidden City. We have had good guides, yummy food (well sort of) AND finally we meet our little one soon. Excited and scared. Thanks for your prayers.

Finally... headed to China

In 10 hours, our plane takes off for China.  We can't believe this day is here.  Mixed emotions fill our hearts as we leave our kids here (in great hands with grandparents) and go to bring our little Kaili home.  We can't wait to see her and hold her.

Since China blocks a lot of the regular websites that we use to communicate I have a dear friend who will be giving updates from my Facebook page and possibly this blog... our emails should work over there and we have a lot of down time as we are waiting for appointments and what-not so please feel free to email us and check in (either samson880@bellsouth.net or pastordan@bellsouth.net).

Thank you to so many of you who have expressed encouragement about our adoption over the past 15 months.  Many of you have been so gracious and committed to pray for us (and her) and that means so much.  Also thank you for those who sacrificed in order to partner with us in this endeavor. We are grateful.

God is so good and through all parts of our lives may He be given all honor, glory, and praise...

4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

-Galatians 4:4-7

God bless you all,

Dan & Michelle

Finally...our travel date

After a year of paperwork, planning and prayer, the time has finally come! We are so excited to announce that our travel dates are set. We will be travelling to China on Dec. 4th and will return on Dec. 18th! The tickets are bought, we apply for visas next week, and we are preparing!!  My mother and father will travel from Alabama to stay with our kids while we are gone. They are way better at parenting the I am, so we leave them in great hands (Although we may have to detox them when we get home. Grandmother is a bit liberal with the sugary snacks). We are grateful they are willing to help us out for such a long period of time. For those who know them, they are wonderful people.


On a personal note, we had the privilege of getting away together as a family last week through funds that were provided so our family could go on a special vacation. We enjoyed five days just hanging out together; we figured it would be the last time to travel together for awhile.  I thoroughly enjoyed not having to do any laundry or cooking. It was truly relaxing and refreshing and we are so grateful for the time away.


While we are in China, we will try to keep you updated as the trip progresses. Our "gotcha day" is the 8th and her birthday is the 11th. We are glad we get to be there with her for that special day. We will leave from Hong Kong after we get her visa on the 17th.


(From Dan...)On a side note, we are also excited that we will be traveling with some good friends of ours, John and Joybeth, who just so happen to have the same travel dates and "gotcha" day as we do.  March of last year I found myself along with our little Meili sitting across from these two at lunch explaining how the adoption process had gone for us in 2010 as they were beginning the journey with lots of questions.  Little did I know at that time that only a few months later we would be jumping on the same journey all over again.  I have known John and Joybeth since they were dating back in the Mandarin Baptist Youth Group in 1992 I believe... Its been awesome to see them step out in faith in this new adventure and we truly are thrilled to be walking this new road together.

Our Kaili 2014

Again can I say thanks to all who have prayed, inquired, given and encouraged us in this journey. We are forever grateful!

Our Meili in 2010

Blessings,
Michelle

Our little girl....

In his book Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer, C. S. Lewis uses a beautiful metaphor to explain how believers should respond to the blessings and pleasures of life. He wrote that in those moments we should allow our minds to "run back up the sunbeam to the sun." In essence he was saying that just as we recognize the sun as the source causing a sunbeam's warmth and light, so should we remember that every good and perfect thing is from God.  If only I could always revel in the PROVIDER more than the provision! (I admit that often times I enjoy the pleasures of life without acknowledging God nearly enough. As Lewis phrases it, I "ignore the smell of Deity that hangs about".)


 With that said, many of you know about our recent Letter of Approval from China. As we received the phone call this week, I let Lewis' metaphor take root. My mind couldn't help but run up the sunbeam to the sun, and I found myself in awe of God. A God who loves. A God who provides. A God who saves. A God who sees. The "smell of Deity" was intense. I was so grateful for the gift of this approval. This blessing that gives us permission to proceed.  Now I marvel that since September, God has provided $18,000 in funding, either from many of you, our fund-raising endeavors, or our grants. He has blessed us with a little 21 month old girl who is beautiful. He has given us children who think their little sister is cute, even though she has an obvious physical deformity (cleft lip and palate). He even provided needed bunk beds to accommodate our growing family. The "sun" has been awfully bright this week. I hope I continue to see it!


This week my prayer is that, as you are blessed, your mind will run back up the sunbeam to the sun. Whether it is a good meal, a beautiful sunset, a giggle, a warm hug, a paycheck, or even a comfy bed...enjoy the provision and thank the Provider.


We hope to travel in Nov. or Dec. Praying to be home before Christmas.  THANK YOU for the gifts, the inquiries and the prayers.

Dearest "Framily"... got some big news!!!

Just a quick note here to tell our "Framily" some big news.

First... thank you so much for giving and praying with us on our $3,000 matching grant from LifeSong.  We are humbled by the fact that we are already 100% matched.  We understand the sacrifice so many have made.  We can't wait to bring this little girl home.  We have also been awarded a substantial grant from ShowHope (Stephen Curtis Chapman's Adoption Agency) which we really didn't expect to get.  So with our savings, the homeschool coop lunch, the garage sale, the gifts from you, the matching grant, and other grants...we are quite possibly fully funded (we are awaiting some final word on some fees that have increased this year).  FYI, we will be doing some T-shirts in the next couple of weeks with custom Jason Sobol artwork...

Second... This past week we had our adoption agency request that we consider being matched with another referral, not knowing if the little one (who was a pre-referral...not officially released) we had was going to be released in the next couple of months.  So to make a long story short, and through some interesting things that really seemed to be the Lord's work, we were given a referral of a 20 month old with a Cleft Lip and Palate.  Last week we sent our letter of Intent to adopt this beautiful little lady.  We are now waiting for our Letter of Acceptance from China.  Our agency says that time to travel usually falls between 6-8 months from now.  We are praying that it is sooner.  We are ready to bring her home.

Thank you so much for walking with us on this journey and please keep praying.  I was hanging out with my little Meili for most of the day (Michelle is with Katelyn at kids camp), and I can tell you without a doubt... I truly don't deserve all the blessings that God has given me.  Living a dream!

Summer Update....It's been a while....

The end of last week was tough for me. This adoption journey seemed so hard, fear reared its ugly head, I was so sad as another week went by without a referral, and "the waiting" continued.  As I have already previously stated, some people say that one of the hardest things about the adoption process is the "waiting". There is the wait for paperwork to be complete, the wait for a referral, the wait to travel, the wait for a visa, the wait in China, and the wait to return home.  It really is a continual waiting game.  I try to remember, however, that these moments of waiting can be sacred times.  Times to pray, prepare our hearts and prepare our family. That is precisely what we have been trying to do, besides the ordinary everyday things required of a family of 6.  It is not very glamorous to blog about, thus the reason for the silence the past few months. 


Anyway, it always seems like when we walk through the valley of discouragement, God graciously provides moments that bolster our faith and remind us that He is in control. And that is what happened this week. You see, there is one other thing we have been doing the past few months and that is submitting applications for needed grants. Consequently, God has graciously provided a $500 matching grant through Hands of Hope (which was graciously matched by some offerings from our church given a while back). Then, this week, we received word that we were approved for a $3,000 matching grant by Lifesong for Orphans*.  It was such an encouragement to me this week, as if God was reminding me that His timing and His ways are perfect.


Speaking of encouragement, there are so many of our family and friends that have already given so far.  We are so grateful to you and have already been humbled by your support.  Because this is a matching grant, however, we are required to raise additional funds (with a goal date of August 4th) in order to receive it. So in other words, every dollar we raise will be matched up to $3,000 (for a total of $6,000). When we add this amount, plus some future t-shirt sales, and another grant we have applied for, we estimate that the adoption will be fully funded! It is hard to believe that this process was only started less than a year ago. Thanks for all your prayers, inquiries, and support.


If you feel like you can give so we can meet this goal, to give online please go here.  LifeSong Online Giving -For Family name please put- Walsh and the family account number is 4521. Or you can send a check to:
Lifesong for Orphans
PO Box 40/202 N. Ford St.
Gridley, IL 61744
** Please be sure to write Walsh/#4521 in the memo line of the check.

Please note that Lifesong is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and your gift is tax deductible. 100% of all funds raised will go directly to cover adoption costs--nothing will be taken out for Lifesong for Orphan's administrative costs. As you give, know that we are so very grateful for your help. You are helping us bring our little girl home. If you have already given or are unable to give, can you please pray for our family and for our little girl? That means so much to us as well.

We appreciate you taking to time to read our update. We hope to have some more good news soon!


Blessings,
Michelle, writing for the Walsh Clan




 *Lifesong for Orphans is a non-profit Christian ministry dedicated to help meet the needs of orphan children around the world, and to obey God’s call to "visit the fatherless…in their affliction" (James 1:27). With over 147 million orphans worldwide, Lifesong seeks to mobilize the Body of Christ to love and care for orphans. Lifesong serves families, churches and orphans through adoption funding. Additionally, Lifesong brings joy and purpose to orphans globally in seven countries and domestically through foster care initiatives. You can visit their website (www.lifesongfororphans.org) for more information.  This specific matching grant is being provided by First Baptist Church of Orlando who is in partnership with Lifesong.

We are so blessed... and check out the Video!

Well, the Chinese New Year is winding down now, and our adoption agency should receive some new Children to be matched from China any day now.  We are praying that the little girl God has for us will come soon.  We are so blessed by so many of you praying, asking, encouraging, and giving towards our adoption.  Thank you for all of your constant support...it is more appreciated than you can know.  

Since we began this second road to adoption we have been saving money, and trying to figure out how much we would have in our personal bank accounts to go towards this adoption.  In looking over the figures this past week we figure we have saved up $9,000 to go towards the adoption (praise God!).  This should cover all of our airfare and travel while in China.  Our final expense will be our in country Adoption Costs which was initially $11,500 when we first applied to China, but has now risen to $13,200.  We are still waiting to find out if we are grandfathered in to the first amount.  With the $4500 we have raised over the past couple of months, this leaves us with only $7,000-$8,700 needed to take care of everything. (We are excited about this!)  

We have a SBC Pastors Grant that we will find out for sure when we get the referral which we hope is around $2,000, and possibly a matching grant with Funding Hope that could pull in $3,000.  I have talked to my great friend Jason Sobol who is a Lucas Arts Star Wars artist on designing a shirt, so those may be going on sale in the very near future.  Our Homeschool Coop sales have been going wonderful and the people have been very gracious to us...we are in route to raise $1,000 from there as well.  Any prayers are appreciated as we near completing this task... We are so excited about adopting again and if anyone wants to talk more about it we would be glad to.  Here is a video that we saw tonight that really rocked us to the core.  We cannot wait to get our little girl home...thank you for walking alongside of as in this momentous occasion.

A Major Step Closer!

DTC=Dossier to China...LID= Log in Date

This picture may not mean much to most people but it means a ton to us!  A few months ago we set a goal to have our dossier (adoption documents) logged in China before the Chinese New Year (January 31st).  We had everything sent to China on January 17th and I looked online today to see if it had cleared yet, and discovered it was logged in on January 24th.  Woohoo!  Goal achieved.  Needless to say the Walsh family is EXCITED! So...what does this mean?
Now that we are logged in, Holt can use the large list of children from China to be able to find us a match(also known as a referral).  They estimate it will take 1-6 months to get our referral (and it seems like it will be more sooner than later) After that it is 1-3 months to travel.


At present, we are working on some fundraising ideas to get us to the next goal. (A friend at church is doing a photo shoot to raise money, we are going to make T-shirts, we have two grants we are waiting to hear word on, and we are open to any other ideas!) Thank you all for praying and helping and please continue to keep this process in your prayers that God will protect our little girl and guide us to her.  Your continued support and encouragement through this process means more than your know.

Dossier Complete!

Happy New Year dear friends and family.  The last time we posted a blog, we were all anxiously awaiting the holidays. It is hard to believe all that is behind us, and we have embarked on a new year. We certainly hope that you all had a wonderful time celebrating with family and friends. We spent a restful Christmas in Alabama with my parents. Now that the frenzy of all that celebrating is complete, we are looking ahead to the new year as we are planning and praying.


Also, we finally have an update!! Yes, it has taken that long to emerge from the waiting phase I spoke of last time.  Our Dossier (paperwork) is finished. This week we sorted, photocopied and finally mailed it to Holt International. They perused all the papers and made sure everything was in order. Then on Friday, it was picked up by Fed Ex and is now on its way to China. It should be logged in within the next two weeks, then the matching process steps up a notch. Up until this point, they have consulted their designated list of children for matching (this is a particular group of children that only Holt International can place.) However, now, as soon as our dossier is logged in with China, they can match us with a child from the "shared list". This is a broader list that is open to all adoption agencies. When I asked our agency the expected time frame after the log in date, they said it was anywhere from 1-6 months. We are all so excited! (At times terrified too!) There will be a brief delay because of the celebration of the Chinese New Year. That starts January 31st and many offices are closed for 3 weeks in honor of that holiday.


With that said,  can I just say that the beauty of embarking on a mission that is bigger than you can handle is that you see the way God provides. On the Sunday right before Christmas, we got a $4,800 donation from an anonymous source in our church. It completely took us by surprise and was such a great Christmas gift! Then, of course, He has also used many of you to help, as you have prayed and given to our cause. Thank you so very much. I wish I could hug you all and personally tell you how much it means to me.  And I as pray for our little girl, I am overwhelmed that she is already loved by so many.  So in total we have raised about $9,000 towards our goal!  I can't help but grin as I write that! God has a way of giving just what we need at just the right time!  We have a few more ideas for fundraising that will, hopefully, unfold in the next few months. We have also applied for some grants. We have had the answer of "maybe" from one agency so far, and the other one is on hold until we are actually matched. Whew. . .it is hard. But it is worth it. Thanks for reading this and please pray for our little one when you get a chance.

Waiting...

     As we have been with family and old friends this week, I have been asked several times about the status of our adoption. My response has been essentially the same. . .a big smile, a shrug and then these infamous words, "We are just waiting". Then I kind of feel bad because there is nothing else to offer. No new news (that looks weird). No exciting stories. No pictures. Nada. Nothing. Zip.
      Ahh. . . the ever difficult task of WAITING. Does it ever get easier? No matter the age, WAITING is HARD. Whether it is lovebirds waiting for their wedding day, or new parents waiting the birth of their baby, or even a child (or grown ups, for that matter) waiting for Christmas, time seems to drag. Thoughts are funneled into the expectancy of what tomorrow holds. Sometimes we yearn so much for the future that we fail to enjoy the present. Yep, it can be hard. But I think I have finally learned something the past few years about waiting. It is not a curse. It is not a bad thing. On the contrary, perhaps it is a blessing. It can be a time to prepare. A time to pray. A time to treasure the present before the future alters things. It is a time to be faithful with what you are entrusted with now. I know I still have a lot to learn about life, but I hope I wait well. Consider these lyrics to a song called While I'm Waiting:

While I'm waiting I will serve You
While I'm waiting I will worship
While I'm waiting I will not faint
I'll be running the race even while I wait.

I'm waiting, I'm waiting on You Lord
And I am peaceful, I'm waiting on You Lord
Though it's not easy no, but faithfully I will wait.
Yes, I will wait

And I will move ahead bold and confident
Taking every step in obedience...

Maybe you are WAITING for something too- a new job offer, a medical diagnosis, a new year for a new start.  Whatever it may be, let's wait well together, trusting that God's plans and timing are better than ours.

By the way, we got our fingerprints done this past Monday and are now awaiting our 1-797 form. Yes, we still wait. When that form arrives, we will step into overdrive to take our paperwork to get certified in Tallahassee and then send it to be authenticated to the Chinese Consulate in Chicago. Of course then, we will wait some more.

Thanks for reading. Thanks to those of you who have donated. We are so very grateful. Hope you had a great Thanksgiving and enjoy the wait until Christmas.

So... why is adoption so expensive?

We have had several people ask us lately about the cost involved in international adoption (not just inquiring about our adoption, but contemplating adoption themselves) so we just wanted to lay it out for everyone to see.  Back in 2000 when our oldest son, Noah was born, I think we paid a co-pay of $150 and that was all the expenses we had.  So when we first began looking into adoption we were initially floored by the cost.  So here is the list of our expenses for this adoption and they are very similar to when we adopted Meili three years ago...

Adoption Agency Application Fee- $300
Fingerprints for agency approval- $110 ($55each)
Passport Photos for Adoption- $40 ($20 each)
Required online adoption classes- $145
Homestudy- $500 (this is usually around $2500 but our home study agency used part of our last home study...praise the Lord!)
USCIAS Application/Fingerprints- $875
Certified Birth Cert./Marriage Cert.- $50
Getting Dossier Authenticated and Certified- $665
U.S. Processing Fee- $3,000 (To the adoption agency facilitating the Adoption)
Adoption Program Fee- $11,500 (The majority of this goes to the orphanage the child is coming from along with other in country fees/visa/passport for the child as well as supporting the childs cost during the wait for the adoption process to be completed)
Travel to China and home w/child- $10,000 (2 roundtrip airfare, 1 one way airfare, hotels for 2 weeks, in country travel, and food).
Post-Placement Home Study- $1,000 (required)
Estimated Total cost of Adoption- $27,720

In bold is what we have already paid (which totals $5,685).  Please be in prayer as our next big expense will be the US processing Fee which we will submit probably before Christmas.

Current Fundraising Numbers:
Garage Sale- $300
Homeschool Co-op Snackshack- $1,100
Given in Celebration Designated- $7,020
Random Gifts- $260
Given through adopt together online giving- $400
Total raised as of 01/18/13- $9,080

Thank you everyone for your support through prayers, encouragement, and financially.  Many of you have just taken time to ask how it is going and that means more than you know.

Some people may wonder...is it worth it?   Here is a video of our little Meili... around 8 months after we had arrived home from China...

It is so worth it.  If you feel led to adopt and would like to talk with us about it we are always available!

Working Together

A brief update:  1.)We just received notice that our biometric fingerprints are scheduled November 25 at the homeland security office. After that is completed, we will then receive our 797 approval within a few weeks. That is the last piece of paper we need before we can move onto the next step! 2.) We raised about $850 this semester doing the Snack Shack for our homeschool co-op. It was hard work and a lot of cooking, but it is something we did as a family. I want to thank every family who bought snacks and lunches from us.  Many of you gave extra, so thanks. We appreciate your support. 

Thoughts for the day:  I had an interesting conversation with a friend last week. As we were eating lunch, she said something like this, "I wish I felt called to adopt, but I just don't. . .at all! I feel bad about that!" I didn't quite know what to say to her because, truth be told, as Christians aren't we all "called" to different things? Certainly there are things every believer does because the Bible clearly expects it (i.e. tithing, giving to the poor, witnessing, praying, etc..) But aren't we all "called" to different things? I am not just talking about those things that we get excited about (that can be fleeting). But I am talking about that desire God places in us which cannot be quenched, regardless of how difficult things get.  It is the desire that spurs us to action. Daniel was a prophet, statesman and government official. David was a shepherd and a king. Paul was a missionary. Gideon was a judge. Joshua was the leader of the Israelites. Hosea was called to marry a harlot. I have friends who are missionaries. Some who are pastors. Some who foster.  I know those who adopt and those who work at soup kitchens. These things are hard. Yet they press on. What makes one person go to India and another to China? I know I still have so much to learn. Thus, I hesitated to respond to my friend. I wanted to encourage her and I wanted to speak truth. So in essence this is how I responded. God calls us to do different things, because there are different needs. We can't do it all. But we can help each other! (I hesitate to say this because I do not want it to come across the wrong way. I, by no means, intend this to be a plea for financial help. I am just telling you what I told her.) I don't foster, but I can give hand-me-downs to parents who need them. I don't live in a foreign country, but I can pray for my friends who do and provide items when needed. I am not a king (queen), but I can pray for our president. You get the picture.
       Let me give you an example.When we got back from China last time, I was completely overwhelmed with life. Adding a fourth child was exhausting! But I had a friend who offered to take loads of laundry to wash for me. She washed and delivered them neatly folded to me. What a blessings that was! No she did not adopt, but she certainly helped me! Then of course, there were those who gave financially and gave us clothes for Meili and prayed for us. So many pitched in and were a part of that adoption. So I told my friend, there was no need to feel guilty. There was only a need to help as she saw need,  just as hopefully someone will help her in her hour of need. That is what the body of Christ is, after all, isn't it? It is each person doing their part so the gospel is shared, people are loved, and needs are met. It is looking after the needs of others. Sometimes we have to say no for various reasons. (in fact we may need to say "no" more often in this fast- paced culture, but that is a whole different issue!)  But when we can offer help, we should. It takes prayer and discernment. Just this week I was asked to donate to five different causes. How do you choose???? I haven't quite got that one figured out! I am seeking God still. Anyway, I would love to hear your thoughts on this issue. What would you have told my friend? Stay tuned. . . next post will be so cute you won't want to miss it!

I just want to be honest...

I thought I'd start by being honest. It took three days. That's all. Three days for my bolstered faith to plummet. Three days for my "yes" to become a "Nope!". Three days to quit. I wish it weren't so. Let me explain. This summer on vacation I feel like God spoke to me. It wasn't a resounding voice. It wasn't weird. It wasn't even from the Bible. I happened to be at a beach house, which had a little library with a book I'd heard about. It was called "Choosing to See". The author was someone I admire (Mary Beth Chapman) and I was told it was a good read, so I dove in. Hours later, I knew. This book, on this shelf, was meant for ME. God was pulling my heart to adopt again, and confirming the tug I had felt since the beginning of the year. Honestly though, I had other plans in mind. I had better things to spend my money on. Things were just getting easier. WHY WOULD I WANT TO MAKE THINGS MORE DIFFICULT? But after prayer and much discussion with my Dan and our kids (Dan read the book in a couple of hours--that he even picked up the book was a miracle!), I knew. A little girl needed a family, specifically our family. So I said yes. I was pretty excited and I knew God was going to take care of it all!

Fast forward three days. We were home. I woke up on Monday morning in a complete panic! What were we thinking?? I thought," I am almost 40! We already have 4 kids! The cost is way beyond our means! How will I manage more laundry? What will our parents say? What will our friends say? What if I die? What if Dan dies? What if she doesn't like me? What if I don't like her? (just being honest)" I knew there was no way God wanted me to do this! It was impossible! I quit! I needed fresh air, so I grabbed the iPod and struck out. I breathed. I prayed. I panicked. I worried. I panicked some more. I prayed some more. Then I decided to listen to a sermon from the Church at Brooke Hills. I knew that would distract me. I chose a random one and almost turned it off because I could tell it wasn't Platt preaching. But I kept listening. Then this is what I heard (paraphrased), "Turn in your Bible to Psalm 46. This morning I want to talk to you about fear. But first I want to show you a picture. This is a picture of my wife and me last week in China picking up our baby girl. (crowd ooh's and ahh's). Last night I had the privilege of waking up with her in the middle of the night. Yes, you heard me, I said privilege. You see, I realized as I went into her room that this was the first time she ever had a father to comfort her when she was scared. This was the first time she had a father hold her when she cried. I am her father and she needed me." Tears streamed down my face. As he continued to preach on fear and how God is our refuge and strength, I knew this was God's whisper to my heart. Of all the random sermons, this was the one I chose to listen to?? Yes, and I could do this. A little girl needed a dad. And a mom. And family. Yes, He wanted me to do this. Even if it was hard, He was and is in control. There is no need to be afraid. I was reminded that morning that when I am faithless, He is faithful. When I am weak, He is strong. When I say "I can't", He says, "I can". When I say "too much", He says, "Not for me".

 So here I am, four months later, longing for my little girl. Praying that she is safe. Praying that God will do what seems, to me, impossible. I wish I could tell you differently. I wish I could claim a strength that I see in so many others. I wish my faith did not falter. I wish I didn't make so many mistakes. I wish I weren't so . . . . frail and fickle and faithless and fearful. But I am. My God, however, is not. He gave me this verse which I repeat often, Psalm 56:3-4, "When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid." I know there are so many other things to pray for. I know there are many great causes to support. But, please pray for us as we continue down this road. The paperwork is immense. The cost is daunting and the fear rears its ugly head at unexpected times. I just want to bring my little girl home.

Yes, the Walsh Family is Officially Crazy

Well...the Walshes are at it again... For those of you who haven't heard...we have jumped back into the adoption scene.  Are we crazy?  Yes, we are convinced that we are.  As a family we have been praying for close to a year about this and in August we finally surrendered to, what we are convinced, God wants us to do.  In October 11th, 2010, over three years ago, Meili was placed in our arms for the very first time, and our family has been blessed in so many ways we can't even begin to describe.

Once again we are adopting from China, a little girl, between the ages of 12-36 months.  She will be classified on the correctable medical conditions list. We have actually just had our homestudy approved 2 days ago and next week we will mail it to Holt (our adoption agency) and then the process of matching can begin.  We could actually know who she is possibly in the next month.   We are asking all of our friends and family to be in prayer. Specifically for Holt International as they are working to match us with a child who is a great match for our family.  Also for this little girl who we don't know yet (but God knows her...) that whoever is caring for her now will love her and protect her and that she will even now feel loved.  We expect that this process will take anywhere between 6-12 months.

We are in the process of fund raising in order to pull this thing off.  Our kids are helping run a weekly snack shack at our home school co-op, and Michelle had a garage sale from some donated items from friends a couple of weeks ago.  The total cost of this adoption will probably be close to $30,000 which includes all the hoops to jump through here in the states, the adoption agency, the orphanage fee, and 2 weeks travel to China.  Now that our homestudy is complete, we are able to apply for some adoption grants. We are hoping to raise $25,000 from adoption grants, snack sales, special Walsh designed T-shirt sales, and anything else we can think of in the next 6-12 months!  Our church has set up a designated account for those of you who are led to partner with us... any and every financial gift is greatly appreciated.  You can make a tax deductible donation through a secure website called www.adopttogether.org.  Click the link below to go to that page. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this and pray for us.  We ask for the sake of everyone tagged on here that you respond via message or on our wall rather than to this note so people don't get a lot of notifications.  We will share more information as it comes.  Thank you all for the support that we have had with Meili...that has meant the world to us.  By the way, she is convinced we need to name her new baby sister Mulan! 

Love from the Walshes!