This Zylstra household is all sick with a nasty cold so today's post will be short due to lack of brain cell activity!
As few may know, Aaron and I have a hard time with naming our children. Ever since I was pregnant with my first child I have been reading movie credits for name ideas. With only one of our children did we actually have a name picked out for them before they were born, and even then only if they were a girl. When we do get to Russia and accept a referral, we have to rename our children right then. That means that we have to be prepared with FOUR names since we could get two boys, two girls, or one of each. YIKES!!! We do have the option of keeping their name, but I don't think we will since I think I want them to have an 'american' name. It is much more likely that I will use their birth name as their middle name. Or maybe they will have two middle names, one their birth name and one we choose? I just really don't like stuff like 'Sasha' for a boy! I guess things may depend a little on the situation too...like if they were named by their birth mother, or just by the hospital which uses a 'letter of the month' system to name babies. Either way I want to be prepared with a minimum of two girl first names and two boy first names. So....HELP PLEASE! If you have any name suggestions that you don't mind us using, hit the comment link below and tell me! Maybe I'll have to come up with a prize for suggesting a name that we end up using...like a matroyshka doll from Russia (they are the nesting dolls made of wood).
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
$$ and Stewardship
I found it very interesting today that our Pastor's sermon focused on stewardship, since this post was to be about the financial part of adopting internationally. I was very encouraged and I felt another affirmation that we are doing as we should.
When Aaron and I first considered international adoption we knew that there would be a 'cost' but really didn't know what that would be. It didn't matter. We felt that this was what God was leading us to do, and that He was pointing us to Russia. So the decision to adopt two children from Russia was made before we even knew what it would cost. We had spent a few years with the goal/desire to buy a $10,000 tractor - to which the money never materialized...and now we found out that our adoption was going to cost approximately $70,000. "Well that's sucky!" and "How in the world is that going to happen?" came to mind, but never did we reconsider adopting. I knew that God was going to make it happen because I couldn't dream of how we possibly could...and then I wondered if that is exactly why He led us to Russia. If we were adopting from a country where it would only cost $15,000 or so I know that I would have worked at figuring out how WE were going to save and make it happen. This way we had to step out in faith, trusting Him.
I know what many of you are thinking..."Did she say $70,000? Are they crazy? Maybe a typo?". Nope! Let me put this in perspective - I know many people who have spent that much on a truck or tractor! We are definitely getting an infinitely greater blessing - times 2! I also don't want to scare anyone away from adopting - as far as I have seen Russia is the most expensive, plus we are doing two at once which increases the cost a bit. Adopting one child from Haiti is approximately $18000, from China approximately $22000, from Ethopia approximately $25000, from the US starting at about $25000 and up depending on race, and from Russia approximately $45000, and there are so many more countries that I don't know about.
Where is all that $70,000 going?
-Some of it on gathering required documents (medical, police, psychological, immigration, passports, etc) approx $1,000
-Intn'l Adoption Course and Homestudy report done by a social worker, appr. $2,500
-Legalizing, translating, and courier fees for documents, appr. $8,600
-Agency fees, appr. $35,000 (would be $20,000 if we were doing one child)...ya, this one I wonder a bit about. They do all the co-ordinating in Canada and in Russia, like making sure that you have a driver, translator, and doctor (to check the children) in Russia. They help with visas and then recommend stuff like accommodations and travel agents. There is no getting around this fee - Russia requires that you use an 'accreditted' agency, which there are only 3 of in all of Canada...so not much for competitive pricing!
-6 round trip airline tickets to Russia and 2 one-ways for the children, appr. $10,500
-about 30 days accommodations and meals in Russia, appr. $4,500
-8 doctor medical exam in Russia (for us), appr. $1,600
-Orphanage donation for caring for 2 children, appr. $10,000
-4 Post-placement reports done by social worker, translated and couriered, appr. $4,500
...and I am hoping to save a little here and there, which would bring us back down to $70,000!
So how are we doing financially? Really good of course because God is faithful! We have now paid almost $22,000 in expenses, and have another $5,000 saved. We applied for the only international adoption grant for Canadians that we know of, 'Orphan's Hope'...which the ab gov't told us not to count on because it is like a lottery...and were chosen to receive it - a nice $10,000 to go towards agency and travel costs! I am hoping to fund-raise the $10,000 orphange donation - which would leave only another $23,000 to go! Yes that is exciting to me!
Back to a few of Pastor's sermon points on stewardship:
-'Our goal should be to prove God's faithfulness'. In regards to giving to God faithfully Malachi 3:10 says "Test me in this," says the Lord Almighty, " and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it."
-'We must recognize that God is the owner of it all'
-'Because we are blessed we need to be a blessing to others'
Enough said :)
When Aaron and I first considered international adoption we knew that there would be a 'cost' but really didn't know what that would be. It didn't matter. We felt that this was what God was leading us to do, and that He was pointing us to Russia. So the decision to adopt two children from Russia was made before we even knew what it would cost. We had spent a few years with the goal/desire to buy a $10,000 tractor - to which the money never materialized...and now we found out that our adoption was going to cost approximately $70,000. "Well that's sucky!" and "How in the world is that going to happen?" came to mind, but never did we reconsider adopting. I knew that God was going to make it happen because I couldn't dream of how we possibly could...and then I wondered if that is exactly why He led us to Russia. If we were adopting from a country where it would only cost $15,000 or so I know that I would have worked at figuring out how WE were going to save and make it happen. This way we had to step out in faith, trusting Him.
I know what many of you are thinking..."Did she say $70,000? Are they crazy? Maybe a typo?". Nope! Let me put this in perspective - I know many people who have spent that much on a truck or tractor! We are definitely getting an infinitely greater blessing - times 2! I also don't want to scare anyone away from adopting - as far as I have seen Russia is the most expensive, plus we are doing two at once which increases the cost a bit. Adopting one child from Haiti is approximately $18000, from China approximately $22000, from Ethopia approximately $25000, from the US starting at about $25000 and up depending on race, and from Russia approximately $45000, and there are so many more countries that I don't know about.
Where is all that $70,000 going?
-Some of it on gathering required documents (medical, police, psychological, immigration, passports, etc) approx $1,000
-Intn'l Adoption Course and Homestudy report done by a social worker, appr. $2,500
-Legalizing, translating, and courier fees for documents, appr. $8,600
-Agency fees, appr. $35,000 (would be $20,000 if we were doing one child)...ya, this one I wonder a bit about. They do all the co-ordinating in Canada and in Russia, like making sure that you have a driver, translator, and doctor (to check the children) in Russia. They help with visas and then recommend stuff like accommodations and travel agents. There is no getting around this fee - Russia requires that you use an 'accreditted' agency, which there are only 3 of in all of Canada...so not much for competitive pricing!
-6 round trip airline tickets to Russia and 2 one-ways for the children, appr. $10,500
-about 30 days accommodations and meals in Russia, appr. $4,500
-8 doctor medical exam in Russia (for us), appr. $1,600
-Orphanage donation for caring for 2 children, appr. $10,000
-4 Post-placement reports done by social worker, translated and couriered, appr. $4,500
...and I am hoping to save a little here and there, which would bring us back down to $70,000!
So how are we doing financially? Really good of course because God is faithful! We have now paid almost $22,000 in expenses, and have another $5,000 saved. We applied for the only international adoption grant for Canadians that we know of, 'Orphan's Hope'...which the ab gov't told us not to count on because it is like a lottery...and were chosen to receive it - a nice $10,000 to go towards agency and travel costs! I am hoping to fund-raise the $10,000 orphange donation - which would leave only another $23,000 to go! Yes that is exciting to me!
Back to a few of Pastor's sermon points on stewardship:
-'Our goal should be to prove God's faithfulness'. In regards to giving to God faithfully Malachi 3:10 says "Test me in this," says the Lord Almighty, " and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it."
-'We must recognize that God is the owner of it all'
-'Because we are blessed we need to be a blessing to others'
Enough said :)
Monday, February 15, 2010
Hab 2:3 & More
Around the beginning of December I came across a verse that really spoke to me, Hab 2:3. This has become my 'adoption verse' and I have it at the top of my blog page. God has lead us down this path. He has revealed to us that this is His plan for our family. The verse says "For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Thought it linger wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay." ...appointed time, will not prove false, wait for it, certainly come, will not delay...His time, His time, HIS TIME! I am able to breath easier everytime I read it. He is in control, not the ab gov't, the Russian officials, the judge. The time IS coming! Whew!
This week on my favorite chat group I came across the following and really loved it. To some of you it may not mean a whole lot, to others it will definitely ring a bell. Again, it may give those who haven't walked this road a glimpse of my heart. Or maybe you will connect with many of these and think "I wonder if I should...?" (The answer is yes by the way!)
YOU KNOW YOUR AN ADOPTIVE PARENT IF...
1. The fact that there are 143million children without a parent to kiss them goodnight has made you lose sleep.
2. You realize DNA has nothing to do with love and family.
3. You can't watch Adoption Stories on TLC without sobbing.
4. The fact that, if 7% of Christians adopted 1 child there would be no orphans in the world, is convicting to you. (It is actually unfathomable to me...to those whom He has adopted -Christians- He tells numerous times to care for the fatherless...and if only 7% welcomed one child into their family...wow!)
5. You spend free time surfing blogs about families who've experienced the blessing of adoption.
6. It drives you crazy when people ask you about adopted child's "real" parents. (Ask any five year old what a "real" mom does and they will tell you things like loves, kisses, bathes, reads, feeds... I will be these children's "real" mom. I am actually not all that hung up on proper terminology, unless someone is not being sensitive infront of my children.)
7. You've been "pregnant" with your adoptive child longer than it takes an elephant to give birth. (That is almost 2 years.)
8. You'd no idea how you'd afford to adopt, but stepped out in faith anyways, knowing He'd provide. (I think I might post about that next week...)
9. You've taken an airplane half-way around the world with a child you just met.
10. You believe in God's heart for adoption.
11. You realize that welcoming a child into your heart and family is one of the most important legacies you could ever leave on this earth.
12. You know what the word "Dossier" means and you can actually pronounce it correctly!
13. You've welcomed a social worker into the most private parts of your life.
14. You shudder when people say your child's so lucky that you adopted them, knowing full well you're the blessed one to have him or her in your life.
This week on my favorite chat group I came across the following and really loved it. To some of you it may not mean a whole lot, to others it will definitely ring a bell. Again, it may give those who haven't walked this road a glimpse of my heart. Or maybe you will connect with many of these and think "I wonder if I should...?" (The answer is yes by the way!)
YOU KNOW YOUR AN ADOPTIVE PARENT IF...
1. The fact that there are 143million children without a parent to kiss them goodnight has made you lose sleep.
2. You realize DNA has nothing to do with love and family.
3. You can't watch Adoption Stories on TLC without sobbing.
4. The fact that, if 7% of Christians adopted 1 child there would be no orphans in the world, is convicting to you. (It is actually unfathomable to me...to those whom He has adopted -Christians- He tells numerous times to care for the fatherless...and if only 7% welcomed one child into their family...wow!)
5. You spend free time surfing blogs about families who've experienced the blessing of adoption.
6. It drives you crazy when people ask you about adopted child's "real" parents. (Ask any five year old what a "real" mom does and they will tell you things like loves, kisses, bathes, reads, feeds... I will be these children's "real" mom. I am actually not all that hung up on proper terminology, unless someone is not being sensitive infront of my children.)
7. You've been "pregnant" with your adoptive child longer than it takes an elephant to give birth. (That is almost 2 years.)
8. You'd no idea how you'd afford to adopt, but stepped out in faith anyways, knowing He'd provide. (I think I might post about that next week...)
9. You've taken an airplane half-way around the world with a child you just met.
10. You believe in God's heart for adoption.
11. You realize that welcoming a child into your heart and family is one of the most important legacies you could ever leave on this earth.
12. You know what the word "Dossier" means and you can actually pronounce it correctly!
13. You've welcomed a social worker into the most private parts of your life.
14. You shudder when people say your child's so lucky that you adopted them, knowing full well you're the blessed one to have him or her in your life.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
To Melt Your Heart
The questions that I have been asked the most lately are all about the specifics of the children to be joining our family. So to fill everyone in - we have requested a sibling group of 2 children, of any gender combination, 30 months or younger. The absolute youngest that we would have a child proposed to us is a 6 month old since all children have to be on the 'registry' for six months available only to Russians before they are open to being adopted internationally. Then you still have to wait for your court date and then do the additional paperwork, so it would be about another 4 months before homecoming. The registry I mentioned is online at http://www.usynovite.ru/db but unless you know Russian or can use a website translator, it will be very hard for you to maneuver through. So...to melt your heart, I have included a few of the pictures of children born in 2008 or 2009 that are available for adoption in our chosen region and that are part of a sibling group. Who their sibling(s) is(are) and how old the sibling is can not be determined from this database. These are not just pictures, these are real babies in an orphange far away who are waiting for a mom & dad...maybe one of the darlings below God has choosen to soon bless our family...
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