Beginning our new journey..

Last weekend, I traveled to Raleigh, NC to be with my sister as she went to thank Hope Community Church for their enormous financial and spiritual support following Paul's death.  Little did I know, my life was about to be changed forever...

Hope became involved with a host program for Ukrainian orphans.  For three weeks, these amazing kids got to live in homes, with families, and enjoy fun activities galore!  The goal was to find a forever home for each of the orphans...is most cases, this is exactly what happened.

But not in Dasha's case.
Enter God, through me...

Dasha is a 15 year old girl who has never known her father, and whether or not he is even living.  Her mother is an alcoholic who physically abused Dasha, and has since lost all rights to her.  Dasha's older siblings have no interest in caring for her.  She is in an orphanage for "slower" children...namely children who suffer from Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.  However, Dasha's teacher and translator both say she is a bright girl!

Dasha LOVES music.  She is anxious to participate in family time.  Dasha is initially quite reserved when engaging in new activities, but she opens up if you are willing to join her the first time.  She is very nurturing...when she went to the lake to feed the ducks, she made sure to feed each duck an equal amount.:)

UNICEF compiled these statistics regarding the orphanage Dasha belongs to..

Of the children left unadopted:

70% of the boys will be imprisoned
60% of the girls will become prostitutes
10% of the children will commit suicide.

Dasha has never had the nurturing love of her mother.  She has never had a father to help her build a secure, and confident identity.  She is desperate to be loved and cared for...this is our chance to do God's work and make a miracle.  If we do not step in, I fear Dasha is headed for an awfully tragic life...

It is because of God that I had a blessed childhood, with parents who loved me and set my path toward an amazing life.  It is because of God that our daughters have an amazing childhood, with parents who love them and are setting their paths' toward an amazing life.  It is because of God, that our daughters are here, in America.  They are safe, happy, secure, and loved.  And it also because of God, that Al and I plan to call Dasha our daughter, and share with her, all of the gifts that we have been blessed with, through Him.

Now, let me be quite blunt in what we are searching for!!  We need financial assistance...fundraising ideas, donations etc.  We have to come up with $36,000 (top to bottom with the adoption process).  As most of you know, Al is a teacher and I stay home with our daughters.  On his income alone, we have our home loan, our Envoy loan (van is paid for) and two student loans.  So quite obviously, a bank will not be loaning us a sum this large!  At this point, and with the HUGE time crunch we are under...I feel the best way to get this moving is to be open and honest, direct, with exactly what we are looking for.  We have the means to provide for Dasha once she is here...she will have everything she needs and MOST:) of what she wants.

Needs are as follows:

1) a total of $36,000...until about 6-8 weeks into the process we only need about $5,000...so that $5,000 is an immediate need to BEGIN the process.  It takes care of the home study...

2) we need to have an egress window put into the basement, so that there is a bedroom with 2 exits for Dasha...this is a requirement for the home study. We are looking for someone who has experience with this, and would be able to give a financial break.

3) looking for help with finishing rooms in the basement...right now we have a family room and a toy room that are completely finished..we need to add a bedroom, also a requirement for the home study (that Dasha have her own bedroom)

4) looking for anyone who might need work done for them...or cleaning/watching children..anything we can do that you are looking to pay someone else for...HIRE us!!  It's a win win situation!

5) looking for donations, fundraising ideas/assistance, churches willing to ask for donations, businesses willing to donate...anyone and everyone who wants to be a part of what could truly be a miracle for this beautiful girl..

6) Al and I would be more than willing, and unbelievably appreciative, to have a legal contract drawn up (at our expense) that would commit us to paying back any money that someone is willing to loan...it does not have to be donated...we would LOVE to pay money back monthly. We are are selling my wedding rings, and Al's brand new golf clubs to raise money.  We would also give that to someone willing to loan us money, as collateral.

I know financially, everyone is struggling right now.  It is such a tough subject to approach...but God has put this upon Al and I, to save this Ukrainian girl who honestly, without us, is EXTREMELY likely to head toward tragedy.  I am praying that this is God's will, and I am literally begging help from you.  Please help Dasha...please become a part of bringing her home.

file:///C:/Users/Littel/Downloads/Budget%20Projections%20for%20Adopting%20from%20Ukraine-one_hosted-Summer%202010.pdf