Where Are We Now?

I remember the first time I ever drove in a real express lane. It was in San Bernardino, CA during rush hour. I was on my way to meet my husband in San Diego, still newlyweds, a whole country away from my family. I was all alone before the days of GPS and I was SO out of my element. I remember being so overwhelmed by the speed and the traffic (learning to drive in North Dakota did NOT prepare me for flying down the express lane at 90 miles an hour with no clue about where I was supposed to be!). I did not mean to be there, but there was no way out and I had no choice but to figure it out quickly and roll with it until I could exit. I made it out alive, but it was SCARY! Once I finally made my way off, I pulled into a rest area and totally lost it. I look back and laugh at my young, inexperienced self. But now, I kind of feel like we just pulled into an expressway. It has been 16 days since our official commitment to "Fletcher". SIXTEEN days!!!! We have almost completed our homestudy. It is waiting for 3 things to be checked off, which should all be complete by Friday. I sent our first package of documents off to the Secretary of State to be apostilled. I didn't even know what that meant just 16 days ago! By the way, it is a certification of the notary, used for international business. As soon as it comes back, which should be in under a week, I will begin finding another family traveling to Tobi's country soon to carry this set of documents over to our facilitation team. They will translate it and do whatever needs to be done on their end to make it legal there. Then they will submit our request for permission to submit our dossier (which are the documents officially requesting permission to adopt). While that is being done there, we are quickly gathering the documents for that dossier. We are about 75% done with that. Once our homestudy is done, we will go over it, send it to our facilitator and make sure it is worded right to make the US happy and to please Tobi's country as well. After that is done, the finalized copy will be written up and one copy will be sent to SC DSS for approval and then on to USCIS to be united with our I600a application. Hopefully attaining permission to bring our orphans to the US (after our fingerprinting). The other copy will be sent with the rest of our dossier to be apostilled and then off to Tobi's country. We will then wait for the official permission from them and a date given to travel for an official meeting. At that time, if Tobi is truly available (which we are fairly sure of since we have received an update since our commitment, but in Tobi's country, there are no certainties) we will see his complete file. We will then be granted permission to visit him. After that meeting with our son, we can make it official and wait for our court date. While we wait, we will have time to get to know our little guy and see some of his country. At that court date, he will officially be ours, but it takes 10 days for court orders to go into effect in his country. We are not sure if we will both go home for that wait or just Marvin. Either way, at the 10 day point, he will be ours and we can start gathering what we need to get him home. He'll get a new birth certificate and all the other stuff one needs to travel to the US. And then we will come home!!! Things are moving SO fast. I feel a lot like I did that day I found myself on the San Bernardino expressway. I am so thankful for the direction we have been given and will get from the absolute wonderful stateside facilitator for Tobi's country through Reece's Rainbow. She has walked us through every step and answered countless questions. I sometimes wonder if she ever sleeps :) It is hard to be flying so fast through the unfamiliar. I have very little control over this process. I have learned that there is SO much spiritual warfare that surrounds rescuing these lost  ones. Satan hates redemption and we have walked headfirst into a battle that we had no idea existed, at least not to this extent. We appreciate your prayers and support. This process is going much faster than we had expected it to. It has only been 2 weeks. We could be nearing the end within a few more months. As scary as that is, the faster the better! We are ready for our family to be together in one place!

Questions and Answers

I have gotten a lot of questions since we began telling people about our plans to adopt. Thankfully no one has asked if we are out of our minds...at least not to our faces:) So, I thought it would be good to answer a few of the ones we get most often here.

 Q. How much is this going to cost?

 A. This is by far the most asked question we have gotten. I will be breaking it down in a little more detail in an upcoming post. The short answer is that we have added up all that we have already spent and the estimated costs of what we will be spending. It comes out to $27,626. Wow, that still kinda takes my breath away and I have been looking at it for days now. I am so thankful to know that God will provide. His people have already begun to come alongside us and we are so thankful to see it. We have been blessed by so many people that care about our family and about this little boy that so badly needs saving.

 Q. How are your children accepting the news of adoption?

 A. We get this one a lot as well. I have a post planned about the response of each of them individually. That said, after some initial disappointment of another brother (can you guess whose concern this was?), it has been very positive. My boys have always wanted more siblings, which may be hard to believe unless you have a bigger family yourself. My kids are truly best friends and the thought of having more siblings to them means more friends:) As soon as we showed them a picture of Tobi, he became their little brother in their minds. The way they love him already makes me very proud. I am sure not everyday will be wonderful, we will guide each of them through the hard ones.

 Q. Will you have to travel? How long will you have to stay?

 A. Yes. We will be flying to Eastern Europe. How long is a little up in the air right now. It could be 2 trips, the first consisting of 2-3 weeks and then another of about 5 days. Marvin will come home after the first trip. I might stay or I might come home for the 10 day wait. If I come home, I will get back soon enough to get paperwork finished. He will get a new birth certificate and a passport and then we will be on our way HOME!!!

 Q. Who is Fletcher?

 A. If you have been over to Tobi's support page, you will know where this question comes from. Fletcher and Tobias are the same baby. We have very little information about our Tobi. We are given his birth month, and some of his health concerns. His country guards all other information, including birth names. When Reece's Rainbow lists new children, they are each assigned an alias. Tobi's alias is Fletcher. Tobias Asher is the name we have chosen to name him when we are issued his new birth certificate. We will learn his birth name when we get to his country.

 Q. How can I help?

 A. Well, the biggest way you can help us is to pray. Pray that Tobi is being loved while we are going through this process. It is my greatest sadness to think that, as we wait for paperwork to make its way slowly through this process, he is laying in a crib all alone. Please pray that he has someone in his little life that takes the time to hold him. The next way is to give. The amount of money that we are going to need to complete this is staggering to us. But if everyone gives a small amount, we can accomplish much. The next thing you can do is to share Tobi's story. Share the blog. You can also go to and like www.facebook/bringmehometobi (a link is at the top left of this page). Please share his story with those you know. The more people who know about him, the more people might also be willing to help. If you have other questions, please ask!

New Button for Tobi!

Tobi's button is done! I may be biased, but I think he is absolutely adorable! I would love if you would consider putting his button on your blog! This sweet boy, who has been tucked away in a special needs baby center because of his down syndrome, deserves to be seen and to be known! I pray that his story and the stories of so many like him that have been rescued will speak to those in his country that these sweet children deserve a life and to be loved! EVERY life has worth. Would you help? If you are willing but don't know how (where I was just a few weeks ago!), you can email me at bringmehometobi@gmail.com . I'd be happy to help :)

I Surrender All

I have always loved being at church on Sunday morning. No matter what is going on, it is the easiest place for me to get my perspective right. It is the easiest place for me to focus on the Savior. I find the world and my fears are much easier to drown out. This morning the pastor's sermon was about prayer. Answered prayer. There was so much that spoke to my heart, but I was convicted again. Is it faith if I continually give my anxieties about our adoption expenses to God and then finding myself again worrying about it? I find myself understanding the father that cried out, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" Today's sermon was another reminder from the Holy Spirit. As I thanked my Lord for His patience and for His constant persuit of my heart, we stood for the invitation. As the music began to play, I recognized the song immediately. I stood in my spot and let go as all around me the congregation began to sing I Surrender All. I wonder if God smiled as He watched me break down and surrender. I think He probably did.  Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Crazy? Maybe!

 Why are we traveling thousands of miles and paying thousands of dollars to redeem a child whose own people have discarded? When I think about it, this is exactly what my Savior has done for me. I was hopeless and stuck in sin. There was absolutely nothing I could do to free myself. But, Jesus, in complete selfless love, rescued me from the hopeless mire. He gave Himself to give me hope. Jesus asks me, as His follower, to become like Him. He wants me to feed the hungry, to give drink to the thirsty, to clothe the naked, and to love the unloved. Why does He command us to do these things? Because that is what He did. What a beautiful picture to those still hopeless. The Bible says that true religion is taking care of the widow and the orphan. Not so that we look better than everyone else, but because this is a picture of what Christ has done for His people. It is a very tangible picture of God's grace. It is the gospel alive. When we began to look into adopting a special needs child, we knew that a lot of people would support and encourage us in this. We also knew that a lot of people would think we were absolutely crazy. And I think we are, in a sense. I truly believe that God has called His people to be crazy. This is going to be a sacrifice, it is going to stretch us in every single way I can think. Financially, we are giving our all and having faith that the rest will come. Emotionally, not only is the adoption process filled with emotions, simply raising our son is going to stretch us to a whole new level. Physically, we are committing to caring for our baby's needs for the rest of his life. Spiritually, we are being asked to step out of our comfort with faith that I am not sure either one of us have at the moment. This is not easy, but the love God has given us for our little boy is beyond anything I ever thought possible. I already love him as my own. It gives me just the tiniest reflection of how He feels for me. Jesus has not called us to be comfortable, not on this earth anyway. He has called us to be His ambassadors here. He has called us to see worth where no one else does, because He saw worth in us, even though we were not worthy. We do not have any idea or expectation of what our little guy can and will accomplish once home, but I have no doubt that our sacrifices will bring joy. Am I saying that every Christian that is not adopting a child is not living according to His will? The answer to that is no, of course not. Not unless He is calling you to do that. There are unloved people that surround us each and every day. There are hurting people that need to know what undeserved love feels like. There are so many ways to follow His will in this, to be a living picture of what He has given us. That is the number one reason we are doing this. The fact that we are saving the life of a little boy that we see as a treasure brings peace to the rest. We are coming, sweet boy. Hang on just a little while, sweet one!

Storms

    I want to be real here. I could paint this process in beautiful colors and lines, and although I know without a doubt that the end result will be a beautiful picture, that beauty is enhanced by the sometimes not so pretty lines that it is made with. 

     At the same time our adoption became public, a whole new world opened up to us that we never knew existed. Full of resources and information and connections that I am so thankful to have. These things will surely be invaluable to us as we walk through the next months. I am so thankful to have it, and SO overwhelmed by it at the same time. When we were able to make our announcement, our decision became more real to us. The true weight of what we are doing has hit us head on. Not enough to scare us away, for our boy is worth every bit of all we have, but enough to give me panic attacks when I think about the magnitude of what we have done. I do believe this might be what Peter felt as He got out of the boat. It is a longing, we know it is right, it is amazing in fact. When our vision is locked on Jesus, a miracle does not seem impossible at all. Yesterday, before we made our announcement we were in the boat. We stepped out when we hit post. Today the waves threaten to over take us. I saw a figure of the amount of money another family is gathering to take on their trip today. I had seen the same one on paper on more than one occasion, just like Peter saw the storm before he got out of the boat. But this time, I was out of the boat. The waves seemed much scarier here. It threatened to swallow me. I am choosing to quit focusing on the waves, My God is much bigger than they are. He controls the waves. He called us out of the boat, no doubt He will hold us up in the storm. Our situation seems impossible when I focus on the number, but the Savior is standing there. He wants for our eyes to stay on Him alone. If this was possible for us, it would not be His story. It is a little bit scary out here, but we stand with the One who has called us out of the boat. He stands with us. He did not get in the boat and double dare Peter to step out. No, Jesus did not so much call him out of the boat, as He called him TO Himself. Moving to my Jesus is a lot less scary than moving out of my boat. 

      

Introducing Our Son!

This is our youngest son! His name will be Tobias Asher Quiambao. 

I am not sure exactly what I can share publicly, so for now I am going to keep his home country off of the Internet. If I find out I can share, I definitely will. He has Down Syndrome. We don't have much else, except the knowledge that God has given him for us. We are at the beginning stages of this, but we are daily moving closer! If you feel led to give toward our little boy's journey home, Reece's Rainbow has set up a page for us. Anything given through the link at right is tax deductible. If you cannot give, would you pray with us? Knowing that this sweet boy is so far from his family breaks my heart. I do not know exactly where he is and if there is someone who is teaching him what love looks like or even meeting his basic needs. I do know that he is in a baby house for special needs children. I also know that he is in a country that does not value these sweet little lives. All I can pray is that if there are not human hands willing to love my baby boy, that God would provide supernatural ones. And that God would cause this process to move forward quickly so that he can join our family in more than word and heart.