Very exciting! We just received our I-600A approval from US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS). Next step: sending our paperwork to Zambia. Please keep praying as our paperwork moves through the system and for God’s financial provision for us.

As we approach the reality of actually bringing our child home, we decided it might be time to take the conversation about adoption with Jeremiah to a new level beyond just praying for “baby sister in Zambia,” which is a pretty abstract concept for a 2-year-old.

So, these are a few of Jeremiah’s new thoughts about the adoption…

• “I stay with Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop AND Nan and Pap” (while Mommy and Daddy go to Zambia)
• Are you going to miss Mommy and Daddy?  “Uh huh.  I play toys with Mom-Mom.”
• What are you going to do with baby sister?  “Sit on the couch and watch TV and drink milk.  She drinks different milk.  And I drink my milk.  And my milk is warmed up. “  Can we warm up baby sister’s milk?  “No.”
• What else are you going to do with baby sister?  “Play toys.”
• Where should baby sister sleep?  “in my room.”  But what if she wakes you up?  “That’s ok”
• “I wuv baby sister.”

The adoption process is, at times, a lot of hurry up and wait. Rush to fill out paperwork, then just sit waiting for next assigned activity. That brings is to today.

Today we officially enter the system. That is, in order to get approval from US Customs and Immigration Services (USCIS), we must get FBI biometrics (or, in layman’s term, fingerprinting).

So, here we are at the USCIS office. We have the first appointment of the day. This is, as best as we know, the last piece before receiving our our I-600A, officially giving us authorization to adopt from the US. Once we have the I-600A, we will ship our paperwork off to Zambia. Keep praying! Thanks.

Yesterday, we outlined the first of two ways you can partner with us in our adoption, prayer. The second way that you can partner with us in this adoption would be through financial support.

The entire cost of our adoption from Zambia is estimated at $26,000.  We have worked hard to save, scraping together every penny to pay for the adoption. Still, we need approximately $12,000 more to bring our child home. Will you prayerfully consider giving to support our adoption?

If you feel called to partner with us in this way, we have set up an account with Lifesong for Orphans where you can send a tax deductible donation and we will then receive 100% of your donation from them.*

To give by mail:

• Make checks payable to: Lifesong for Orphans
• To make sure it goes to our account, please write: ”preference Jeantet/#1791 adoption” in the memo line
• Mail checks (preferably by April 8, 2011) to:

Lifesong for Orphans
PO Box 40 / 202 N. Ford St.
Gridley, IL  61744

To give online by credit card (using PayPal):

• Go to Lifesong Donations (http://www.lifesongfororphans.org/donation.html)
• Click Donate
• In the purpose field, please enter ”preference Jeantet/#1791 adoption“
• Please note that online gifts incur a small credit card processing fee that will be deducted from what we actually receive.

Words cannot express how blessed we are to have family and friends walk beside us as we welcome baby #2 into our family in this unconventional, yet very exciting way.  Thank you for your love, your prayers and your generosity.  They are life changing!

If you’ve been following us on our adoption process, you’ve read the why and the where, and now, would you consider being a part of the “how” piece of our adoption?  There are two specific ways you can join with us in this mission to rescue our child in Zambia. Today we will outline the first way, prayer. Tomorrow we will share the second way you can partner with us.

Paul calls us in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 to “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”  Will you join us in praying earnestly for…

1. Protection and health for our child in Zambia.  Pray for wisdom and strength for her caretakers.
2. Every one of the 1,000,000 orphans in Zambia.
3. This last leg of our adoption process: that US Immigration Services would process our application quickly, that our paperwork would be received favorably in Zambia, that God would continue to provide reliable contacts in Zambia to help us and for the timing of this whole process that our child would be approved for international adoption when we arrive in Zambia and that God would lead us directly to her.
4. Us…that we would have wisdom and patience as we pursue our child all the way to Zambia.  Pray for Jeremiah that he would begin to understand what is happening and that he would be able to adjust well to all the changes in the coming months.
5. Finally, please pray that God would provide the funds to bring our covenant child home this spring.

Thank you for your prayers. We covet them deeply and cherish knowing that you are walking this journey with us.