Today I have lost it.
Word has been spreading over that last week that Ghana now REQUIRES both parents be present in court. One of the reason we chose to adopt from Ghana is that neither of us had to travel for court. It was one of the only countries we could afford to adopt from. (Not to mention I just fell in love with the country for some reason.)
So all the sudden it goes from neither of us traveling for court to both of us traveling for court. At first I was a little discouraged. It's gonna be a little extra cost than we thought. Then I started REALLY thinking about it. It's not a little extra cost. It's ALOT extra.
First, Al will miss a week of work. With no pay.
That's gonna hurt. Alot.
On top of that is the cost of food and a hotel for that week. That wouldn't be so bad, if we weren't missing a WHOLE PAYCHECK for that week!
Then, I got the bright idea to check the flight price on Delta's website. Heart attack!
I was nearly in tears when the price popped up as $2,059.99. How are we going to afford $2,059.99?
Oh wait- that tiny writing. It says "per passenger".
And I'm pretty sure there is another part of the agency's fee due before travel!
So it has now gone from 'we are going to be completely broke' to 'we can't do it'. Not that it will be REALLY difficult. Can't. Do. It. There is not even that much money in the bank! Checking and savings combined!!
So what now? We can't just say "Sorry kids, we don't have the money."
We can't say "Just wait another year or two, then maybe we can afford you".
I just don't know.
Anybody who has been through this whole thing- any idea?
I've already depleted my (very small) 401k. We've called about borrowing against Al's 401k twice. They DO NOT allow us to borrow for adoption.
We've even sold several pieces of furniture from our house! Still not enough.
So, now what?
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I understand TOTALLY how overwhelming these costs are. I have freaked out on more than one occasion wondering how in the world we would pay for the trips. I was required to appear unexpectedly at court also. Even at the very last moment God provided $2,000 in 24 hours to pay for the pick up trip. It was scary to trust, but He can do it. You should consider putting a chipin on your blog so others can contribute to your adoption fund. Also, I worked with Eldon at Golden Rule Travel and he was very helpful in getting us a better fare. Praying here!
ReplyDeleteThanks Stephanie! I know God can do it. I just wish I knew HOW! (Guess it wouldn't take faith if I did know, huh?) Thanks for the advice!
ReplyDeleteWe went into our adoption not having ANY idea how the LORD was going to pay for it. Seriously, it was a complete step of faith. (We already had 10 children.
ReplyDeleteThings were different in Ghana adoptions 2 years ago. No, we didn't have to travel for court. However ... when we went over to file our I600 and bring our children home (which had been taking every other family 10 days to 2 weeks ...) it took us 6 weeks. Yes. 6 weeks.
We left 8 children home alone with 21 year old brother and NO extended relatives involved in our lives. After a month, I finally came home to the bio. kids, while husband stayed in Ghana for 2 more weeks, with the 3 adopted children.
Was it hard? Definitely! Was it worth it? Absolutely!
The Lord can and will take care of all of the details ... if we put our FAITH and TRUST in HIM.
Laurel :)
Wow. Six weeks is a REALLY long time to be in another country and away from your other kids! And thanks. You are always such an encouragement!
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