UPDATE (10/30): We’ve been home for nearly 1.5 months now and are continuing to get accustomed to being a family of 4. It’s been crazy and refreshing at the same time. Rania (pronounced Ron – ya) is fun, spunky, and loves being the jokester. She started 2nd grade about 2ish weeks ago and is loving it. Lucas is taking the role of being a big brother in stride and is doing great!
Additionally, after much prayer and discussion, we decided to take Lucas with me (Kyle) when I head over. And this week we booked our flights to travel over to join Destiny, and Lord-willing, our beautiful daughter. Lucas and I will be heading out Saturday morning around 3:30am and arrive Monday morning in Burundi.
UPDATE (8/21): God has been at work. As Destiny was recently furloughed from her job indefinitely, she had a dream about heading over to Burundi before all of the paperwork was finalized. We had met a couple through our adoption group that has adopted three precious kiddos from Burundi several years ago, and in that process ended up starting their own ministry organization and orphanage in country. They were going to be in Burundi in August putting on a medical clinic and also supporting their orphanage. Destiny is currently traveling to Burundi as I type this, going to meet them and to visit their orphanage. THEN she is going to go meet our daughter and hopefully take her into our/her custody. We are still waiting on the final two pieces of documentation to bring her home to the US…her birth certificate and passport, which could take weeks, or even months to finalize. So Destiny is heading there on a one way ticket, not sure how long she will be there, but trusting in God. We have seen His hand all over this….from the past few weeks, few months, even the past few years, we see how He has been working on getting us to this point. So we continue forward, going into the unknown, not sure yet when we’ll get to bring our daughter home.
ORIGINAL POST:
We have been working on our adoption journey for almost nine years and are finally in the home stretch. We have been matched with a precious six-year-old girl in Burundi, located in central Africa, and we are targeting to bring her home within the next 1-2 months. While we have raised some funds to help cover our remaining adoption fees and travel expenses, we need to continue raising additional funds for ongoing medical expenses and other unforeseen costs. Our income has been cut in half in the last month, adding to the complexity of our situation.
Over the past nine years, we’ve incurred numerous fees: agency fees, home study fees, renewal fees, more renewal fees, fingerprint fees, background check fees, and many other fees I can’t even recall. It seems the financial commitment never ceases to subside. We attempted to self-fund nearly all of our adoption expenses to date, but we had no idea this process would be as long and costly as it has been. Now, as we approach the final steps, we realize we need help to get across the finish line.
Asking for help is not easy for us, but we know it is in our best interest and our daughter’s best interest. By humbling ourselves and making ourselves available for others to support us, we believe we can successfully complete this journey. Your support will help ensure that we can provide our daughter with the care and stability she needs as she transitions into her new home. We are deeply grateful for any assistance you can offer, whether it’s financial support or simply sharing our story with others who might be able to help. Thank you for being a part of our journey.