We haven't posted a blog in awhile because there really hasn't been much going on besides waiting and praying. But now...we are very excited to have finished our home study! We've been walking through the necessary steps to complete it - such as being interviewed by our social worker, completing forms, collecting information and documents, and meeting other requirements. We completed the requirements over a month ago and have been waiting while our social worker organized all of those things into a very-detailed final report. This is a huge step forward, and we're so thankful to God for taking us this far. He has been faithful to meet our spiritual and financial needs so far and we know that He will continue be faithful to walk us through the rest of this journey.
Today, we sent off our home study report, along with a letter of approval from DHS and an application to USCIS, to Homeland Security, who has to approve our bringing home a child from Honduras. Once they recieve our request and process it, they will notify us of a time and place to be fingerprinted...again and then send back our approval to move forward. This process will take anywhere from 1-3 months. After that the Secretary of the State of Mississippi has to approve the paperwork, and then we'll be able to send all of it off to Honduras! After that we just have to wait (and pray!). We also received word today about a financial grant that was approved for us from our church. It is so encouraging to know that our church is behind us and supporting us in every way throughout this process.
While being so excited about moving from one stage of our journey to another, today we received an email today from our adoption agency saying that the employees of the main governmental body in Honduras that processes adoptions (IHNFA) are on strike. The IHNFA will also be investigated in the coming months, and some of the government employees will be replaced. Please pray that this issue will be resolved quickly, and that we will still be able to continue the process toward adopting from Honduras.
It truly is a journey filled with ups and downs, unknowns, and trials, but God is allowing us to develop a deeper relationship with Him through teaching us patience and trust. It helps to remember that God has called us to this, and ultimately we know that He is in control.
Thanks so much for your continued support and prayers!
In Christ,
Clint and Amanda
Love God. Love others.
Congrats on finishing the home study! That's a huge step!! :) Hope the Honduras government works through the strike quickly. There have been slowdowns in Ethiopia too, so that uncertainity scares me! Keep us updated!
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