Dossier Update- 2

A lot has happened since our last dossier update... Last week we had two days off from work due to snow and were able to utilize the second one for a lot of dossier work.  We ended up taking 61 documents to our credit union which allows us access to a notary for free.  These were all of the documents that we personally needed to sign- copies of our passports, petitions for adoption, Interpol petitions, letters of obligation, power of attorney etc.  Our dossier requires multiple copies of most documents and we are preparing two complete dossiers (it's important to have a second official one on hand just in case anything should be needed again, here or when we are in country) so that equals a lot of paperwork!  The credit union was nice enough to let us use two of their notaries and within two hours we left with probably about half the paperwork needed for our dossier!! We now joke about how we need to keep the folder with all of our completed paperwork close by at all times because if there was ever a fire you can bet we aren't leaving the house without it!!  We have now completed everything we can and are just waiting for a few more things to come back from other people- our FBI background checks, medical reports, an employment letter from Eric's previous employer, and our approval from USCIS (approval from the US allowing us to adopt).  We are preparing to send everything we have so far to the state capital next week to get an apostille on each of these documents.  This will be another large expense ($15/document) so prayers for finances are greatly appreciated.  Today we received our appointment date to have our fingerprints taken by USCIS (the final step before they can approve us to adopt!) and it's a huge blessing that it falls on the last day of our Christmas break so we don't even need to take time off from work!!  

In addition to finances, please pray that the rest of the documents we are waiting on, specifically our FBI background checks, would come back soon.  The FBI documents will likely take the longest but we are hopeful it won't delay our submission.  Please also begin to pray that all of the documents in our dossier would be accepted by Ukraine the first time.  This does not often happen, but we are prayerful that it might for us to prevent any delays.

If anyone is looking for a year end giving opportunity, consider giving directly to our adoption agency.  A check with "Zander Family Adoption" attached can be mailed to MLJ Adoptions  617 E North St., Indianapolis, IN 46204.  Additionally, any donations received through our YouCaring page will all go towards our apostille expense right now.

We greatly appreciate all of your prayers and support.  Hopefully within the next few weeks we will be almost ready to submit our dossier to Ukraine!

Dossier Update- 1

Here is the first of what will probably be multiple dossier updates:  We feel like we have actually made quite a bit of progress in the first couple weeks we've been working on our dossier!  We've already had several documents notarized and sent off for the apostille.  The first of our immigration paperwork was submitted for approval by the US today.  However, there's also been more than a couple moments of frustration, stress, and even brief "Why are we doing this?" thoughts.  Every time one of those thoughts hits us though, it seems like there's a few more things that instantly remind us we were most definitely called to be on this journey and somehow everything that seems impossible now, will indeed be possible in due time.

Right now we have some very specific things we would greatly appreciate prayers and good thoughts for:
--We are in need of notaries whose commission is good for an extended period of time, as required by Ukraine, to notarize many documents, a few of which need to be signed by someone other than us.
--We are needing both of our doctor's offices to work with us in getting medical forms notarized (this has been one of the most stressful things thus far).
--Also pray with us that much of our paperwork- including FBI background checks and immigration paperwork- would come back quickly.

We knew going into this process it would be long, difficult, and testing.  We are starting to see how true that is and know that it will continue to be those things, even through the finalization of the adoption.  We are also starting to see how faithful God is when we trust Him, and how rewarding it is to be on this journey and see how He continues to provide exactly what we need.  How comforting it is to know He already knows how everything will come together on the rest of this journey.  We know there will be many more stressful moments of frustration and even second thoughts, but can't wait to see how the seemingly impossible requirements we are trying to meet are turned possible, and how our journey will impact others.  Thank you for following along, for your prayers, and your support.  We hope to have another positive dossier update soon :)