15,000 is a big number

15,000 may not seem like a big number to you, but if you are talking about dollar bills, then that seems like a pretty big number to me. $15,000 is the amount that we need to come up with in order to bring our future daughter home in the next 8-9 months or so. Say what?!? We have already paid over $17,600 in adoption fees from the money we have saved and raised so far. So how is there still $15,000 left to pay? A large portion of that is for travel expenses, and other fees required by our agency.

In my little mind, this financial obstacle looks like a Mt. Everest. However, I am aware that God is much bigger than that and He is our Provider. I've never asked Him to provide so much money so quickly. I pray that as we ask in faith, He will step in and show how faithful He is. How will He do that? I have no idea, but I can't wait to find out! I hope that you can be a part of this adventure with us!

This is never a place that I wanted to be, asking for help. Yep, that's the extremely humble person that I am, ahem. (please note the sarcasm) We had actually hoped to have the 2-3 years of waiting for a referral as time we could be saving up our money for these expenses. But with so little time now before we will travel to meet our daughter, we are going to need help.

What have we been doing so far?
Saving our pennies. My wise husband says that our best fundraiser is to save the money we are already earning. So we have been cutting back on the little things and hoping it adds up to big money. This means no smartphones for us right now (our dumb phones will have to do), no big vacations, not eating out too often, etc. Dean has offered to eat only cereal and Ramen noodles in order to cut back on our grocery bill, but I'm hoping we don't have to do that quite yet. (-: He is trying to sell some of his precious music equipment, since it is the only valuable thing we own. Dean is trying to get some overtime at work and my mom has kindly hired me to be her cleaning lady. We've had a few fundraisers that have been really helpful: our thrift sale, bracelet sales, and craft sales at the Ethiopian Cultural Festival. We applied for some grants, but even if we are awarded any grants, it will not be enough.

What are we planning to do next?
This is where we need your help. If you would like to be a part of helping us bring our daughter home, we would be so grateful. We don't want to overwhelm you with fundraiser after fundraiser, so we are trying to condense our efforts. We have set up a site HERE where you can donate online. It is simple and free and uses Paypal. We also have set up an online store with some handmade items made by us or donated by others, with all proceeds from the store going towards our adoption expenses. The store will be open and an ongoing fundraiser during our process. You can check out the store here, or find it under the fundraising tab. We are also excited about a 10 day T-shirt fundraiser drive that we are hoping to launch soon, so be prepared for that. (-:

So $15,000 is a big number, but please pray along with us that God will do a mighty work and show how great He is as He provides for our every need. It is only by His grace and through all of you precious friends and family that we will be able to bring our daughter home! More than anything else, we would love your prayers as our journey continues. xoxo