News!!!!

We have news! We have news!  Finally, after waiting for months, our agency received the death certificate from our children's birth mother. The court in Kinshasa had to issue an order to have one written because her death was never reported to the government. After reading the court proceedings, I understand why. It's a heart breaking story, and a common story for a country torn by decades of civil war and unrest. Our children are true direct victims of this conflict.

December 14th, our agency sent our I600 packet to USCIS (US Immigration). We're hoping to get our approval letter in a few weeks, and then we're only 5 weeks or so away from traveling to meet them, love on them, and bring them home!!!

On the other hand, we're also only a short amount of time from needing a large amount of money to pay for travel expenses. Rob did an airfare search and found out tickets are going to be around $10,000!!

We are so excited that we'll be holding them soon! Please pray for speedy USCIS approval, for the money we need to travel, and for Rob and I to trust in God and His provision. Thanks for those prayers :)

Give the Gift of Love this Christmas!

Give the gift of love this Christmas! Some friends of ours are hosting orphans from Latvia this Christmas, the final days of fundraising are upon us. Some more friends are helping fund raise for a chance to win an Amazon Kindle Fire or one of many other awesome gifts. Today (Saturday Nov 19) is the last day. Please visit http://thehelffamily.wordpress.com/2011/11/13/527/ to donate. It only costs $5 per entry and can change the lives of 3 orphans for eternity! (You also can have up to 4 free entries, details on their blog)

A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.
Psalm 68:5

Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?            1 Corinthians 3:16


Holy God is father and defender, dwelling in his temple, in us.

Don't we know this?

How Elizabeth Came Home: 2

When I walked thru the arrival doors in Riga, I was surprised to hear high pitched squeaks before I even saw my girl coming. She ran up and threw her arms around me, I think we were both in shock that the moment had finally come. I was really there!! She was really coming here!!!

A sweet couple that I met thru Facebook offered to meet me at the airport, but went way beyond that. She worked out Elizabeth coming to Riga the day before so she could greet me at the airport, hosted us both in her home, showed us how to get around town, took us to eat at the amazing Lido, went the the Embassy appointment with us, and even gave me a bus pass that had just enough on it for every trip that we needed to make! God used her for a blessing to us in a detailed and gracious way!

Friday we had our embassy appointment. This was Elizabeth's visa interview where the US said yes or no. We got there, met our lawyer who was such a help thru the whole process, and then it was our turn to answer the questions. One of the documents was in Latvian, and the embassy official said he would go read it and be right back. We waited 45 minutes. Oh, I prayed and fought against anxiousness! Finally, he returned. Elizabeth's case, he said, was very complicated. It could look like a back door adoption, (adoption is illegal for foreign children older than 15 1/2 in most cases according to current U.S. federal law) He remarked that we were gracious to offer her this opportunity, but that she and we had to understand that she MUST return to Latvia when her visa expired. But, he believed our intentions were true and so he approved a 2 year visa for her. Praise God!!! We could come pick it up on Monday! They said YES!

Want to hear something else God did? Not until I was packing up my suitcase when we got back, did I realize that I had forgotten to take a required document to the embassy. He didn't even ask for it!!! Awed.

Well, we walked around Riga a bit more, explored the occupation museum which I HIGHLY recommend to anyone traveling to Riga, but especially those with Latvian children. Even with little English, I learned a lot about the history and perspective of the Latvian people.

Then, our sweet friend was so kind to drive us and our bags to the train station, and we were off on the train from the capital city, Riga, to Elizabeth's hometown, Daugavpils. Almost 3 hot sticky hours, and we were there! I'll tell you about our weekend, next time . . . .

How Elizabeth came Home: 1

Going back a month, I'm going to pick up the story and try to fill you in on some of the details of exactly how God made a way for Elizabeth to journey to the US and her family (that's us!!!). Here we go . . . .

Where we last left off the details, we were praying and holding on with every ounce of faith, waiting for God to come through in the last minutes and supply the document we had to have in time to travel to Latvia and get back in time for the first day of school. Well, 5 pm came and went. And I cried. Then we had to Skype our daughter. It was honestly the hardest phone call I have ever had to make, and I hope it always is. Elizabeth was so brave, but I could hear in her voice the heartache cracking.

We waited a week. Nothing. We continued to call our congressmen and federal numbers sifted from google. Nothing. God and I had some candid honest conversations. A few were raw. I began to wonder if I had misunderstood something along the way. . . .

Then we heard from our lawyer in Latvia. If Elizabeth is not out of the country before September 1st, she will have to attend school in Latvia. Game Over. So we prayed. And trusted. And didn't know for sure anymore exactly what God intended.

Then, we got a phone call. The paper was coming. And then it didn't. We waited, and  3 days later, we had what we needed! I picked up the paper and was at the airport 28 hours later! So thankful, so in awe of God's ways and the mountains He moved for us.



And it didn't stop with the documents! He orchestrated every detail and every step before us. I'll share what happened on the trip next time . . .

Elizabeth is Home!

The Davises are Happy to Announce

the addition of our 3rd child and oldest daughter

Elizabeth

to our family!

Elizabeth and I returned home together on August 31st, 2011. We promptly drove 6 hours to the beach. And she LOVED it! Watching both our oldest and youngest girls experience the waves for the first time was a sweet blessing. Jacqueline turned 2 while we were there.

She began school last Tuesday, to today we've made it one week! She is doing great, and Rob and I feel like we're in high school again ourselves with the homework sessions :) Thank you, Mrs. Jones for all the Algebra problems. They are giving us a great opportunity to bond and parent Elizabeth. And thank you, Mr. Brock, for teaching me well enough that I can remember how to graph a function 10 year out of high school!

Remember the last post? Well, God's perfect timing was about 4 weeks after mine, and He truly made a way where there was none. Elizabeth is from Latvia, is in the U.S. on a student visa, and we are her legal guardians until she turns 18. However, legal details aside, she is our daughter, sister of our children, and we will be the grandparents of her children whenever God blesses her with them. Time is short as we're adjusting to the daily school run, homework, etc along with our preschool home mentality but it is all going really well. I will write more soon about the details of our trip.

So, for those of you who might be counting, Rob and I are now legal parents to 5 children:  17, 6, 4, 4, and 2. And, now we are only split between 2 continents. Still waiting for document corrections and then travel visa stuff for our DRC daughter and son. Thank you for your prayers!

Praying . . .

Our God is so good

He changed this sweet girl's heart

He gave our girl a desire to live in America and in our family

He has prepared the way, day by day, since January

On Sunday, I'll get on a plane. With a form required by the embassy. A form that she has to have to be allowed into this country. A form I don't have yet.

Today, I overheard Anthony "reading" aloud from his Bible.

"God is always there, because God never leaves us."

he is learning, as I am learning.

Would you pray with us? Fervently?

for SEVIS to complete what is needed for our form to be available

for Rob and I to trust in God's promises and character

for our faith to be strengthened

for Jacqueline to be in her biggest sister's arms soon

At home with the Davises . . .

We're making room for more Davises!

Sure, sleeping in a laundry basket is comfy for a nap

But sometimes, even a small child needs their own bed.

So, we've been passing the waiting time by preparing for our three new arrivals.

All four of the youngest Davises (5,4,3,and 1 for a little while longer) are going to share a room classically labeled as "bonus" and positioned over the garage (Daddy has quickly adapted to not opening the garage door during naptime but rather *gasp* entering our home through the previously neglected front door)

Davises 4 and 1 have already moved in, and have given their new domain a hearty approval!

 Two sets of bunk beds, all the toys, and bright colors (courtesy of IKEA and Fisher Price designers) have won them over.

All that's left is painting a dresser, hanging a curtain in front of the closet, and anchoring the swing to the ceiling. Yes, I said the swing. Not joking. Really!

We had to pause on those details, though. We had another room to do!

Daddy took apart the crib. Jacqueline and Mommy watched, each shedding a tear. The end of an era . . . at least for a while . . .

And then, we got busy. Our oldest daughter needs a room!

And now she has one! I had a lot of fun imaging her dancing in front of the mirror headboard, and remembering sitting at the vanity when I was 17 . . . I hope she likes it!

Now, to pick up all the spare pieces littering OUR room :) 

I hate to leave a messy bedroom behind when I travel . . .

and I might be traveling to Latvia soon :)

Please keep praying for God to move hearts, bureaucracies, and time lines for Liza. Her first day of classes at Covenant Christian Academy is August 5th! I have faith that He will get her here on time!!

Congratulations, Daddy

It's a girl and a boy!

We just received notice that we are the official and legal parents of our Congolese children!

It's an exciting day at home with the Davises!! We also have passports for each of them and our papers are being translated. It will still be a few months until we get to travel to bring them home, but it is so good to know they are ours in the present tense.

Next up, visa paperwork, immigration paperwork, and lots of waiting on both governments. Thank you each, as always, for your prayers for all of us!!

Saved . . .

Thank God for technology! We get to talk to our oldest daughter every week or so on Skype. Hear her voice, practice her English, joke together, and share details of daily life. And we get to pray over her. Our dear Liza always  asks for us to pray with her at the end of our calls. What does she ask for prayer for? Not her, not her friends, not her schoolwork. She always asks for her brother and sister in DRC. And for Anthony and Jacqueline, and us. And sometimes, when she is feeling bold, or just a little bit more lonely, for her to be home with us soon. I love her heart.

A few weeks ago, she wrote me a message. Checking in, on her family, on her siblings. And do you know what she asked about her newest brother and sister?

"How are they? Are they saved yet????"

Her exact words. Are they saved yet. Not are they safe, or are they home, but are they saved yet. Wow, her words I immediately snatched up and tucked away in my heart to ponder.

You see, my Liza knows much more than I. Like them, she has lost a parent to death at a young age. Like them, she has been abandoned by her other parent at a young age. I grieve over their losses and pain, Liza knows it. And Liza chose the word:  saved.

As a white, American adoptive mother, I would be shy of using that word. Who am I, many will ask, to "save" a child from their culture, from Africa, from their race. Selfish, naive, deluded? Who am I, to inflict on these children another loss, when I could fund their meals and electricity until 18. Sometimes, I might be tempted to listen. To doubt my own motives . . .

But then I hear Liza's perspective. The "many" have not experienced my children's circumstances. She has. So I'll hold on to this gift of wisdom from my oldest daughter, as I hold on to this gift of purpose from my God, who planted these three in my heart as He has planted two before in my womb.

And I'll answer her, "Yes, Liza. God has saved them, and we'll all be home together. Soon"

Then Job replied: 

"How you have helped the powerless!

How you have saved the arm that is feeble!

What advice you have offered to one without wisdom!

And what great insight you have displayed!"

Job 26:1-3

a brother and a sister hold on to each other

 There

Here

There is so much filling my heart, but I don't know how to share if meaningfully yet. So, I hold onto the parallels in my children, and ponder the small tokens I see of their hearts knitting together even now.

Before they've touched one another. . . .

Again, I am so humbly honored to be blessed with such amazing children.

Easter Pictures

ehhhhh are you sure about this bowtime, Mommy?



cheeseburger :)




her baby cheeks won't last much longer . . .




my sweet darlings




how small she is, how big Daddy's hand is!




exhausted from the hunt

 And our Easter scenes are brought to this blog by Facebook . . . which has refused to let me upload them all week!

Our Papers are Submitted!

We just received word that our dossier has been fully translated (including our amended USCIS approval) and is being submitted to court in Kinshasa. That means that we are in line for a court hearing, with an estimated timeline of 4-8+ weeks. The next update we'll receive from DRC will be that we passed court. We will legally be the parents of our son and daughter for days, possibly weeks before we know it! It is exciting that the next step in this adoption process is becoming legal parents, but really it's all a formality. We are their parents, they are our children. Even though he doesn't know yet, our son has a big brother forever. Our daughter has her little sister Jacqueline to follow her always. Rob and I have been greatly blessed with five children. We pray for more blessings in our future.

For those of you who might be interested, it took 3 weeks to received our amended I-600A approval. We had to change our age range from 0-4 to 0-6 years.

Spring . . .

It's spring! Isn't it nice? Time to prepare for Easter, time to get outside with our families, and maybe time for new family portraits? Well, we can help you with all of that! Keep reading for the Raffle . . .

Please let me introduce to you my friend Eileen

Eileen has a sweet heart, especially toward orphans. She prayed and brainstormed, and came up with an idea of how she could help our children come home. She asked her mom to help her assemble and sell Easter Buckets to raise money for our adoption. I can't tell you how grateful I am that my daughter and son already have sweet friends loving them before they've even met :)

Eileen and her mom are offering these cute Easter Baskets (they're big!) for your special bunny!

each one is $10, personalized with the special boy or girl's name,

and include things like:

candy

plastic eggs

bubbles

play dough

balls

glow bracelet

silly bandz

the recipe for Resurrection Cookies

How awesome is Eileen! She'll even deliver it to you herself!

So, how can you get yours?

1.  leave a comment on this blog with your contact info

2. email Eileen's mom, Brooke Helf at brooke(at)inhissight(dot)org

3. sign up at the orphan care table on Sundays at

Crossroad Church of Walton County

And . . . You can enter our Spring Raffle!

Spring Raffle

Photo Session with 41ten Photography

Two Easter Baskets

Another friend, photographer Nakia Biles of 41ten Photography is offering a great prize!

Photo Session with 41ten Photography:$159 value

Includes:

*Session fee (1-2 hours of photographer's time at location of your choice or studio for newborn/maternity)
*Choice of print package valued at $99 or Photo CD with 15 images with copyright release also vauled at $99
(This can be used as a studio credit of $159 if winner wishes to apply credit to wedding package)

check out her amazing work at http://www.41tenphotography.com/

But, even if you don't win, each raffle ticket can be redeemed at 41ten photography for a free session fee!

(normally $60, no pictures included)

her current spring special is $99 for a Phote CD with 15 images

So, now you want to know how to get your tickets? Donate to our adoption on the sidebar!

1 ticket for $5 donation

3 tickets for $10 donation

then, after a $10 donation, get another for blogging about our giveaway or posting on Facebook!

Please leave a comment on this post letting me know that you donated and blogged/posted

This raffle is open now through Monday, April 18th

Easter Buckets on sale until Easter Sunday!

A Visit with Liza

Yesterday, some dear friends who are on a short-term mission in Latvia, went to visit Liza and meet her foster family. Thank God for these men who took time from their other work to minister love and connection to our dear girl. Just seeing you there, in her (for now) home, makes me feel so much closer to her.



Kevin, Sandis, Ventis, Craig
Liza, Inna

 We are also thankful beyond words for Inna and Ventis, Liza's foster parents. They are parents to 4 biological children and have also raised 6 foster children. They are supporting and encouraging Liza to choose the opportunity God is offering her to come to our family and pursue a college degree from a U.S. university. We count them as our biggest advocates!

We now have a lawyer in Latvia who is working on Liza's visa case. Pray with us that Liza will be able to travel to us as soon as school is out. There are many questions about whether orphan court will allow her to come on a travel visa for the summer and how that will work transferring to a student visa. And while you are praying, please pray that our school's SEVIS process will speed through all the government bureaucracy.

And if you are interested in more about Craig and Kevin's mission trip in Latvia, follow http://www.thehelffamily.com/ They have an awesome giveaway running through April 6th, too . . .

Grateful, as always, for your prayers!

Giveaway for Orphans!

Through Sunday, you have the opportunity to share in the lives of three precious orphans. Some sweet friends, two families we are living this radical life with, are hosting 3 Latvian treasures this summer. They need some help paying for the travel costs. Look at their sweet faces!

The Helfs and Reeds are running a giveaway for the next few days. Every donation of $10 is an entry, and the items up are things like the new iPad, Kohls and Amazon giftcards, and more! Just $10 right? Maybe you'll win something fun, but definitely you'll help change 3 young lives!!

http://www.thehelffamily.com/

P.S. Did you notice the new picture in the upper right bar? It's a group photo from our children's orphanage. There are in the picture. Can you guess which ones are ours?? Then, click on the picture and see where it leads you!

Sseko Designs Sandals

cyrus

Have you seen Sseko sandals? I must admit I've been drooling for a while. Part of what interests me so much is the story. These sandals are made by young women in Uganda who work for 9 months in between secondary school and university. This job enables them to earn money to pay for tuition, room, and board so that they can become doctors, lawyers, engineers, and teachers. These sandals are changing lives and communitites!

aren't they beautiful? The confidence and hope in their eyes . . .



starboard



So, you can imagine my excitement when the co-founder, Liz, said she would LOVE to help us raise money to help bring Sophie and Robert home! Amazing! Because I would LOVE to help sell sandals for her lovely young women!

Now the details! Each pair of sandals (leather bottoms and straps) is $50, additional straps are $10 a pair.
The sandals are leather, straps are fabric. The bases have loops so you can twist and tie your sandals in a different way each day, or exchange straps for a different look! Take a look at their website http://www.ssekodesigns.com/ and pick your favorite straps. Then CONTACT ME with your order. If you order thru the website, we won't get credit and you'll pay more after shipping. I will be submitting our order on March 28th.

red

Ways to order:
1. leave a comment with your name, contact info, shoe size, and strap
2. email me at lauradavis2005@gmail.com with your name, shoe size, and strap preference
3. see me in person! I'll be carrying a catalogue everywhere I go for the next 2 weeks!
4. see Debbie Davis at Covenant Christian Academy. She has a catalogue too and can take your order

When the sandals come in, we'll have a girls' night out! We'll deliver the orders, learn how to tie them on, see some great pictures, and share some snacks. I'll keep you posted with the date once we have a good idea of when they'll arrive.

Now, go have fun shopping!!




brown




Referral!!!

We are very pleased to announce that we have received and accepted the referral of a sibling set! Because we're keeping our blog public for now, we feel most comfortable keeping pictures and birth names private for now, so we'll be calling them by the names we will give them. Our daughter Sophie is five, and has the most beautiful smile and dignity. Our son Robert is three with a most playful spirit, five months younger than our son Anthony. We knew as soon as we saw his face he is the brother Anthony prays for and talks about playing with every day.

We are so thankful that they are safe in the orphanage now, that they are receiving nutritious food, and that they might begin to grow again. A family is traveling soon, and have agreed to take photos to them! So much love I am trying to pour into a few pages and simple words in a foreign language.

On our end, there has been a rush of new paperwork. Because Sophie is 5, and originally we planned on 4 or younger, we had to have an addendumm written on our homestudy. We have sent that to USCIS with a letter and forms, petitioning for an ammendment to our clearance. We have been told that this is a fairly quick and easy thing to do. Hope so! Waiting for a letter now. We also have written our Tribunal Letter to the judge in DRC officially requesting permission to adopt Sophie and Robert. If things happen in the normal timeframe, we're hoping to travel to DRC in July to bring them home.

Also, a referral means that it is $ time again! Time to pay lawyers, court costs, and orphanage fees (that means we're paying for food, electricity, and childcare). We'll be sending out letters with a bit more information about our children and ways people can help us. Time to use that Promise686 matching grant!

Thank you to all who are rejoicing with us! Rob and I can't wait to show you their faces and their hands holding ours.

free resource!

I've been waiting to post until I had time to share something meaningul. insightful. with complete sentences.

There hasn't been much time for that the past few weeks . . .

but I didn't want to miss sharing this. So, for today, just take advantage of this offer. Go to http://christianaudio.com/adopted-for-life-russell-moore and download a free audio of the best adoption book or theological book I've read in a long time. Russell Moore met my want for meaning in our wait. Dwelling on our adoption into God's family. Pondering the physical expression of spiritual eternity that happens when we welcome a child in the name of Christ.

My favorite nugget recently from this amazing book:  Jesus was from the lineage of Abraham and King David, thus fulfilling the prophecy of the Messiah, only because Joseph claimed him as his son. Jesus was from the House of David not by birth but by adoption! How eternally our adopted children inherit our heritage. How we inherit salvation through adoption, as coheirs with Christ!

So, download and dwell.

Busy

While we've been busy at home . . .

Lasma, Laura, Anthony, Jacqueline, Liza, and Agnete

our agency has been busy in Kinshasa

They've opened their own orphanage and many children have come home to new families and a group of new referrals have just come. We're #7 on the referral list, our wait moves forward, as we look forward to seeing the faces of our beloved children soon.

Here's to 2011!

Pressing On

Its hard to fathom all God has done in the last few months. Our lives have changed in so many ways in how we manage money and belongings, how we see the world and hence...people, and our passion growing for what God would have for us in all things. As we have prayed we made cuts, decisions, and sacrifices as we felt God would have us to. Never in my life have I ever understood or experienced God interacting in my life as I have the last 5 months. God led us to sell our paid for 2006 Equinox and put the money towards the adoption. We felt compelled to make sacrifices in what we thought at one time were entitlements like meat at every meal and creature comforts within our home. We had people look at us with the "crazy" eye when we cut most of Christmas and gifts out. The amazing thing is how God has made our life's richer through this process. We don't miss cable, or Longhorns, or Wal-Mart 5 times a week. We still eat out and do things as a family but why spend $50 at Longhorns when $10 at McDonald's will do. Why buy the Big Mac combo when ordering off the dollar menu can fill me up just as easy. In general we buy whats practical and necessary, its been a culture shift that God has used to fund much of the adoption costs. We have been so blessed to have many of you owning the journey with us and doing your own fundraisers to help out. We are excited about the opportunity to partner with Promise 686 which provides a tax deductible outlet for people wanting to help. (The donate button to the right links strait to them and you will receive a letter for your taxes). I have added a thermometer for a couple of reasons: First its to share how God is moving and to praise Him for what He has provided. Also to let you know there is still a need for finances. We are trusting God through all of this and we ask you to seek Holy Spirit if you can help bring both our children home. God is sovereign and I know it sounds so cliche' but its true...if we trust in Him , we cannot go wrong.

-Rob