Gracie is now an "official" citizen of the United States of America~ her Certificate of Citizenship arrived in Friday's mail. I'm so glad to have this whole ordeal behind us! Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you for your faithful prayers in bringing this whole situation to completion!
Mother's Days around our house aren't usually very exciting. Mother's Day falls right on the heels of our state's annual homeschool convention. Sometimes I'll pick something out that I just have to have and Brian will buy it for me. This year, I didn't see anything I just had to have, so I didn't get any gift(s).....yet. However, I'm going shopping with a friend tonight~ so maybe I'll buy myself something!
So many of you have been standing with my family in prayer over the whole Certificate of Citizenship issue, so I just had to update you......
Friday evening, when we got home from convention, Brian went for the mail and WE RECEIVED GRACIE'S NOTIFICATION LETTER!!!! That is definitely Mother's Day gift enough for this mama who was becoming somewhat worried! God is always in control, and each day I learn more and more that His timing is always perfect!
This morning, Gracie's green card was put in the mail, and now we just wait for the actual CoC to arrive. I must say that I hated giving that thing up because, well, the picture on it was just too cute. But, I'm just so thrilled that this matter is all taken care of and we don't have to worry about it anymore.
Just had to share with my
prayer warrior friends.....
Ian's Certificate of Citizenship
came in today's mail!
Yes! An answer to prayer!
I thank each of you who was praying
for this situation, and covet
your prayers as we continue
to wait for word on Gracie's application.
This morning, I received an e-mail from the head of our adoption agency (Asian Children Services) and adoption facilitator. I want to share it here on my blog, in the hopes that each of YOU will take the time to sign this petition:
Dear Friends and family ,
We are near a crisis in our adoption work in Viet Nam. A parent group has started this petition which is based on following law and regulations. Please look at it,sign if you agree and pass it on.
We know what a wonderful blessing it is to have your family touched by adoption so in support of those who wait please check it out!
As the adoptive parent of 2 children from Vietnam, I know exactly how much waiting, wishing, worrying, and wondering can go into an adoption. That's typical. What's not typical, however, is the way the United States government chooses to handle these issues. Those of you who are faithful readers of my blog know that, even after having adopted our two children, we are still facing many "issues" with the U.S.
Not long after our first adoption, Vietnam closed its doors to adoptions to the U.S. Why? Because the U.S. pressured the Vietnamese for a very long time~ wanting them to make their adoption laws more "across the board" (country-wide rules, rather than each province having their own). Vietnam did that, but then the United States didn't sign the agreement and it sat for years while families who had been referred to waiting children waited and prayed. Three long and agonizing years later, the U.S. finally signed and Vietnam was again working with the U.S. agencies doing adoptions.
Now, just a few years later, we're seeing more of the same on the part of the U.S. The U.S.is not cooperating with the Vietnamese, in that they are not following the laws that the Vietnamese have in place for regulations on investigations (making sure babies truly are abandoned and not stolen or given up against parents' will). This is just very distressing.
Please take a minute of your time, click on the above link, and read the petition. The more people who sign this, the better chance we have of the government noticing and making some changes. Parents are waiting for babies and can't go for them because of these things. (Please note: after you sign the petition, a screen will pop up asking for a monetary donation. You can just "x" out of this screen~ your signature on the petition has already been accepted and you will be notifed via e-mail).
I've had several people e-mail me and inquire about our continuing saga with the USCIS over Gracie and Ian's Certificate(s) of Citizenship. First of all, I just really want to thank all of you who are keeping this matter in your prayers~ we so appreciate it! Now, for a brief update:
Our contact at our federal rep's office was able to get an address for us to send Ian's Alien Registration Card (ARC) back to (she e-mailed that to us on Tuesday afternoon). She recommended that we send it via certified mail, which we did on Wednesday.
Now, we just wait. They should receive it back in plenty of time to keep us safely under that 30-day timeframe; so all should be well with his case. I wanted so badly to include a note telling them how negligent it was of them not to include that envelope, but I refrained (I have no fight left in me when it comes to our government).
As for Gracie, we haven't heard anything back in response to her application. So, that is another matter for prayer. Both hers and Ian's were sent on the same day (as a matter of fact, in the same envelope). Apparently, there is no rhyme nor reason as far as when you might hear back from them. So, for this too, we wait......
The last time I posted about this, I shared my frustrations with our government (namely USCIS- United States Citizenship & Immigration Services- and The Department of Homeland Security). I truly believe that the average American citizen floats through life never having to deal with these people, and therefore thinking that our government is just fine. On the other side of that coin, are people like us, who have had major dealings with them, and are extremely frustrated as a result. We're left wondering "what's so great about the USA anyway?" Here's the latest........
We've been waiting for some sort of news about Gracie and Ian's Certificate of Citizenship(s). We sent in the applications with the (higher) fees months ago. After receiving no satisfaction or help from anyone at USCIS, we turned to our Federal Representative- an assistant of his has been very proactive in tracking our case, which has been a real godsend. We had put matters out of our minds, just hoping for the best.
Yesterday, Brian came home from the post office with a letter from USCIS/Dept. of Homeland Security, saying that Ian's application has been accepted and that they will send his Certificate of Citizenship as soon as we relinquish his Alien Registration Card (otherwise known as a "green card"). The letter stated that we were to tape the card to a copy of the letter and return it to them "in the enclosed envelope". Problem is, they didn't enclose an envelope. So the question is, do we take a chance and return it to the address on the letterhead? Did the supposed-to-be-enclosed envelope per chance have a different address, or a "attention: so-and-so" on it? Having no idea what to do, and no phone number to call, I went to the USCIS website. If you've never had to go to that site, consider yourself lucky~ it's horrible to try to find what you're looking for!
I ended up calling the 800 "help" line. I use the term "help" extremely loosely, as it's a real joke in this case. The lady I spoke to, who was at least trying to be nice, told me that we should go to the USCIS website and set up an appointment to go to our local office and turn it in, since we didn't have the enclosed envelope. Now, correct me if I'm wrong here, but wasn't this mistake a direct result of THEIR negligence; yet, our family is to the punished (yet again) by having to drive 3 hours to inner-city Philly for an appointment?! I don't think so. They cannot give out a phone number for the local offices; in fact, she told me they don't even have them. Do you believe that?!
So, we called our contact at the Federal Rep's office again, and she will be in touch with her contact at USCIS to find out what we're supposed to do. Here's the catch.......right in the letter, it states that we have 30 days to return the letter with the ARC. If they don't receive it in that time frame, they will destroy our original application and paperwork. Now, to me, I read between the lines~ I see the fine print that says "you'll need to reapply and pay the high fee again".
Please, if you read this far, say a prayer that our Rep's assistant can work this out for us, and fast! I spent the morning of my anniversary very stressed, and I've shed many a tear over this whole situation during the past year. I just want it to be done, once and for all. And, to think, we still need to receive a similar letter for Gracie (please, oh please, may they remember the enclosed envelope next time!)
Tet, which means the first morning of the first day of the new year, is the Vietnamese New Year. The celebration lasts for 7 days. Like the Chinese, the Lunar New Year is one of the most celebrated holidays.
2008 is the Year of the Rat or Mouse. Specifically this is the year of the Brown (or Earth) Rat. This year is special as it marks the beginning of the 12 month cyclical zodiac of animals.
Officially, the national holiday of Tet lasts for three days. However, in practice it is closer to a week or ten days, as many celebrations occur before this date in the south of Viet Nam and after this date in the north of Viet Nam.
Tet dates for upcoming years are: Buffalo 2009 January 26, Tiger 2010 February 14, Cat 2011 February 3, Dragon 2012 January 23, Snake 2013 February 10.
*Some of the information above comes from Adopt Vietnam's website. If you would like to read more about the Tet celebration, or find resources to use to help you study Tet, please click HERE.
Traditionally, each family displays a New Year Tree called cây nêu, consisting of a bamboo pole 5 to 6 m long. The top end is usually decorated with many objects, depending on the locality, including good luck charms, origami fish, cactus branches, etc.
*Above information from Wikipedia (as well as picture at right).
In Vietnam, the calendar was devised based on the regularly changing phases of the moon. Most Vietnamese, even city dwellers and overseas Vietnamese, have a lunar calendar in their homes to consult for festivals and auspicious dates. Because of the use of the lunar calendar, the actual days of the New Year vary from year to year.
The equinoxes and solstices that marked the beginning of the European seasons were taken as the midpoint by the Asian calendar with the result that each Vietnamese season begins six weeks earlier than its European counterpart.
Each year is "sponsored" sequentially by one of the twelve animals of the Vietnamese zodiac: the rat comes first, then the buffalo or ox, followed in order by the tiger, cat, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, cock, dog, and lastly, the pig. Of these animals one is mythical (the dragon) and four (rat, tiger, snake and monkey) are wild, shunning contact with humans. Seven are domesticated. Every twelve years, the sponsorship reverts to the same animal. For example, the years 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012 are dragon years.
*Above information from Lunar New Year, Vietnam Style. If you would like to learn more about the Vietnam Zodiac, and find out what each animal represents, click HERE then click on the rat to learn more about this coming year and the people born during the year of the rat; or pick your animal of choice. FYI: My Gracie was born during the year of the Dragon, and Ian the Dog. (Funny, it says the two are non-compatible!)
For two Sundays in December, my SS class took a break from our "regularly scheduled curriculum" and watched the movie "The Christmas Child". Have you seen it? If not, I recommend it. It's based on the book, by the same name, by Max Lucado; and has some of my favorite actors/actresses in it~ William Moses plays the main character and his wife is played by Meagan Follows (of "Anne of Green Gables" fame). And, best of all, the pastor in the movie is played by Steven Curtis Chapman!
Anyway, last Sunday, we followed up viewing the movie by watching some video clips~ Steven Curtis and Mary Beth Chapman's adoption story and their vision for Shaohannah's Hope. My goal in doing this was to have the kids in my class become more aware of the world around them, instead of just the "small world" that they each live in. There is so much hurt and sadness in the world.
The kids were amazed at some of the adoption/orphan statistics that they heard~ there are over 143 million orphans in the world (did you know that?) As a result, we have decided to do a service project in our class. We are going to be collecting change in a bucket (that Ashley and I made from a peanut bucket from the beach that we covered with the above graphic). When the bucket is full, we will count our money and send a check to Shaohannah's Hope. I hope this will become an ongoing project with our class, and something that the kids can take pride in and really claim.
“The need of orphans is so great that we too often believe the lie that one person can’t do anything significant. But this is a unique opportunity to make a difference just by collecting your loose change and gathering a couple friends to do it with you, by donating that pile of coins you have lying around, or by giving up a cup of coffee each week and bringing in that money. Small things add up, and together we can change the life of an orphan.” - Stephen Curtis Chapman
If you would like more information about how you too can Show Hope for Orpans by collecting change, please feel free to ask me or check out the Shaohannah's Hope website.
I just saw this on my friend Laura's blog and it's just too beautiful not to share. I've already done my Weekend Worship post for this weekend, but this song seems more appropriate in The Miracle of Adoption category anyway.
I know there are many, many birthmothers out there (in addition to Mark Schultz') who deserve to have this song dedicated to them. But, for me and my family, we'll dedicate it to two very special ladies in Vietnam who bravely and selflessly gave up two precious children who would become forever a part of our lives and our family. One of them remains nameless, and they both remain faceless; but to me they are two of the most beautiful women in all the world, and they will forever hold a special place in my heart.
I haven't said too much about National Adoption Awareness Month yet. I did go in search of some graphics that I could use on my blog, but didn't come up with anything. Hmmm.....next year, I'll have to make my own, I suppose.
As you know, I have a for adoption. We've been to Vietnam twice; and both times we've been blessed by the miracle of adoption. Gracie and Ian are such special children (as is Ashley!) and it is so obvious that they BELONG in our family. I can't imagine what life would be like had we decided to ignore God's calling in our lives. Things would sure be quieter around here, and our days would be alot more boring, I am certain.
Tomorrow night, our family will be volunteering at a Shaohannah's Hope booth at a Steven Curtis Chapman concert. I'm not sure yet whether or not we'll have an opportunity to meet Steven (if you think of us, you might say a prayer! ) But we were so blessed to receive a grant from them last fall (while I was in Vietnam) and we'd love to (in some small way) give something back. So, we will volunteer our time and share our stories. Right now, there is a special campaign going on called "Show Hope"~ concert-goers will have an opportunity to help in "changing the life of an orphan" by participating in "Change for Orphans"~ collection buckets will be set up for loose change, dollar bills, donations of any type really. Packets will also be available to show people how they might take this campaign home to their community or their church. Because we have benefitted from Shaohannah's Hope, this is something that I'm passionate about. If you'd like more information on how you can change the life of an orphan, please click on the graphic above this post~ it will remain on my blog for awhile.
I'd like to leave you with some staggering statistics that I found on the Shaohannah's Hope website. Please prayfully consider what YOU might do to make a difference in the life of a child.
What is the need?
Over 143 million children have lost one or both parents.
At least 16.2 million children worldwide have lost both parents.
Every 14 seconds a child loses a parent due to AIDS.
Conflict has orphaned or separated 1 million children from their families in the 1990s.
Where are they?
43.4 million orphans live in sub-Saharan Africa, 87.6 million orphans live in Asia, and 12.4 million orphans live in Latin America and the Caribbean.
1.5 million children live in public care in Central and Eastern Europe alone.
At any given point there are over 500,000 children in the U.S. Foster Care system.
In some countries, children are abandoned at alarming rates, due to poverty, restrictive population control policies, disabilities or perceived disabilities, and cultural traditions that value boys more than girls.
What about AIDS?
More than 14 million children under the age of 15 have lost one or both parents to AIDS, the vast majority of them in sub-Saharan Africa.
By 2010, the number of children orphaned by AIDS globally is expected to exceed 25 million.
AIDS is more likely than other cause of death to result in children losing both parents.
As the infection spreads, the number of children who have lost parents to AIDS is beginning to grow in other regions as well, including Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean and Eastern Europe.
What happens to the children?
Children are profoundly affected as their parents fall sick and die, setting them on a long trail of painful experiences often characterized by: economic hardship, lack of love, attention and affection, withdrawal from school, psychological distress, loss of inheritance, increased physical and sexual abuse and risk of HIV infection, malnutrition and illness, stigma, discrimination, exploitation, trafficking, and isolation.
Orphaned children are much more likely than non-orphans to be working in commercial agriculture, as street vendors, in domestic service and in the sex trade.
Unaccompanied boys are at high risk of forced or 'voluntary' participation in violence and armed conflict.
Orphanages, children's villages, or other group residential facilities generally fail to meet young people's emotional and psychological needs.
What about foster care?
On average, children stay in foster care for 30 months, or 2.5 years.
118,000 children were waiting to be adopted on September 30, 2004.
On average, those children waiting for adoption have been in foster care for 43.8 months, almost 4 years.
Each year, an estimated 20,000 young people “age out” of the U.S. foster care system. Many are only 18 years old and still need support and services. Of those who aged out of foster care:
Outcome
Earned a high school diploma: 54%
Obtained a Bachelor's degree or higher: 2%
Were unemployed: 51%
Had no health insurance: 30%
Had been homeless: 25%
Were receiving public assistance: 30%
Is there any hope?
Yes. There is One who infinitely loves each orphan and calls His people to join Him in caring for the fatherless. Each one of us can Show Hope to an orphan.
If only 7% of the 2 billion Christians in the world would show hope to a single orphan, looking after the child in their distress, there would effectively be no more orphans. We can each do something.
2008 is the Year of the Rat or Mouse. Specifically this is the year of the Brown (or Earth) Rat. This year is special as it marks the beginning of the 12 month cyclical zodiac of animals. 
for adoption. We've been to Vietnam twice; and both times we've been blessed by the miracle of adoption. Gracie and Ian are such special children (as is Ashley!) and it is so obvious that they BELONG in our family. I can't imagine what life would be like had we decided to ignore God's calling in our lives. Things would sure be quieter around here, and our days would be alot more boring, I am certain.
