Coming into a New Year

It's been a little while since we have posted to our blog. The adoption is moving along smoothly and we continually declare that God's favor and hands are completely entwined in this entire process. As we close out 2012, as a family we are reflecting on the past year and listening to God for strategies and things He would have us to do in 2013 to impact HIS Kingdom.

The first week of this New Year, we will be hitting the ground running in terms of the adoption. We have more medical evaluations and our biometrics appointment in the next few days. We are continuing to make sure we have all our paperwork for our dossier together so once we received our I-171H, we can send our dossier to the agency who will forward it to our POA in Ghana.

Now prayer requests....#1 That God will give us clear direction in the ministry He would have us to fellowship during this chapter in our life.  #2 That we will confirmation in our heart when we are match with our little boy. We will know that he is our GRACE/HOPE!

Until Next Time.....

It's Here!!

Jumping and screaming!! Tears, laughter!! Our notarized approved home study report is in our hands!!

Nov 30...WE ARE THANKFUL For.........Drum Roll

On Friday we received an email with our 1st draft Home Study report attached!! This is one of the days we have been waiting for. Praise God and it had minimal errors in it. It will now be sent to our adoption agency to read over and ensure its in a wording and format that Ghana likes. So what are we doing now...we have ensured that we have everything we need to send our I600A off once we received the notarized home study report. Just need to get an official check to mail off with this. We are also ensuring all of our dossier items are looking good...those just have to be notarized.

We are still fundraising...we still have many bracelets that need to be sold. I am also using all the money I make from doing Sisterlocks (TM) to go towards adoption cost. Also we have a coffee fundraiser going on online. We plan to set up an AdoptTogether account. Since our home study is done, once we get it in our hand we will also start applying for adoption grants. That should keep us occupied for awhile.


Next step....

November-Thankful and Grateful Month

November is Adoption Awareness Month. Check out this link for more information......http://www.childwelfare.gov/adoption/nam/. We frequently get many questions about adoption; the biggest one is why are we adopting when we already have children or because we can have children. Well adoption is something both Tyvon and I thought about when we were growing up. If you know our background, you could understand why. We contemplating the idea during the first year we were in Okinawa however that wasn't God's timing. After my mission trip to Cambodia, we knew it was God who place this in our heart. Additionally when Tyvon and I went to the Philippines for another mission trip that was more confirmation for the both of us. There are so many orphans in the world so why not giving a loving home to one if you can. We were all orphans until we were adopted (grafted) in to the Body of Christ. Our son will have a home, family and opportunities that he may not have gotten if we didn't adopt him.

Adoption update.....well we got news from our social worker that she should have the written report finished by this weekend. Whoo hoo!! She also sent us an email letting us know that her mission trip to Haiti was great; thank you all for praying with us about that mission trip. Once we received the finalized home study, our goal is to have the I600-A sent out by the first of December (please be praying with us about that). This document is sent to the US Immigration office as a official initiation of our international adoption. Next stop after that is our dossier.

God is truly showing us that he is Jehovah Jireh, the God that provides. When praying about financing for the adoption, He has given us clear and immediate answers. We know that complete costs of the adoption is already fulfill in the Heavenly realm and are just awaiting Earthly manifestation. Soooooo....are latest fundraiser has begun. We are selling bracelets that will not only help our adoption but the beautiful people of Haiti. If you want to know more see the following link....Apparent Project.

Until next time, we leave you with this scripture to ponder.....

Romans 8:14-16 - For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God's Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, "Abba, Father."For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God's children.

Home Study....CHECK

The social worker has come on and gone. She was a beautiful person and we truly loved her heart. She has a heart for the orphans and especially for Haiti. We had 3 visits with her; one with the whole family, one with Ty and I individually and then as a family again. The girls had the honor of giving her a tour of our home and their brother's room; they were thrilled. We are just waiting for the write up and all our clearances to come back. Next step....I-600A.

But....there's always an also or change in international adoption; we have an additional Adoption Education class to take. The state of VA has changed their requirements and we will now be taking another course called "With Eyes Wide Open."

We pray for the children of Ghana and our "son." Please pray with us for the people of Ghana. We have been made aware of 3 little boys, over the age we first discussed, who are on the waiting list for forever families. Pray with us that God will connect them with right families; even if that means that one comes home with us. Pray for all the missionary families that are on the ground in Ghana bringing the love of Christ to the nations.

We met a couple who the wife is from Ghana and we are planning to get together to learn more about the culture; so excited!! More to come on that....

Until next time...

I leave you with this verse. "I will not leave you as orphans [comfortless, desolate, bereaved, forlorn, helpless]; I will come [back] to you" John 14:18. We continually praise God for not leaving us fatherless or alone. We also believe that as children of God we should go out to the nations and bring the FATHER to those who are desolate, helpless, loss. Just as we were adopted into God's family and given a better life we feel compelled to go to the nations and bring an orphan child home!

Fundraising!!!!

We are beginning to fundraise. Please review our Fundraiser Initiatives section on the left to help support. Spread the word please and thank you.

Rainy day outside but Sunshine on the outside

So hurricane Sandy has hit the East coast resulting in the Petway family being home today and tomorrow. A lot was accomplish today. We got the pictures together for the dossier. Updated the layout of our blog. I was able to talk to a good friend who is also going through the adoption process. Cooked dinner for the next 2 days.

Preparing for our next 2 days of Home study visits. Read some different blogs.

Contemplating some things through prayer....Wanting to be led by God and not the thoughts/opinions of others.


Until next time....

Let's Talk Ghana

So we are in the middle of our home study visits. We have 2 more to go. I'm constantly reading up on everything that I can about Ghana. So I decided maybe I should put some facts about Ghana on our blog. So here we go....

Art Ghana has hand woven colorful fabric called Kente. It is worn by chiefs and others for important and special occasions.

Music Folklore and pop music are popular in Ghana. Highlife, a dance with a strong, syncopated beat, is also popular. Instruments used in music are drums, trumpets, flutes and other percussion instruments.

Sports Football (soccer) is a favorite game of most Ghanaians. Volleyball, basketball tennis, ludo, golf and handball are also popular.

I found a recipe...I think I may try it....

Chicken with Chilies
This traditional Ghanaian dish is typically served with yams and fruits such as papaya or mango.

3 or 4 green chilies
1 three-pound chicken cut into eight pieces
3 Tb. butter
1 onion, sliced into rings
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste

Brown the chicken in melted butter. Add the onion rings and sauté until soft.

Add the broth, nutmeg, salt, pepper and chilies and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 35 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked.

Lastly here is a map of where we will travel in the near future:

The Social Worker is Coming

YAY!!!! We finished all our adoption learning credits!! Yesterday we received a phone call and email from our newly appointed social worker. I'm having some of the same emotions I had when I was pregnant with the girls. Nervous, excited, wondering, impatient, etc!! The timeline that we have been giving is similar to what we thought up in our heads. We are hoping that it will be sooner than later. Tyvon has been very great with getting things that we need and mailing off everything. The key is to stay on top of everything. We as the adopted parents do have some control (a little) over the timing of things based on our response time on things.

So the Social Worker is the same one some good friends of ours had for their adoption from Haiti. I don't even know what to expect from these visits. All I know is that we can't wait to have our handsome little son in our arms....and the girls...yes you know that have many comments and questions. They are waiting patiently....

I have attached a picture of the project the girls did for each of them and their brother. It's a bank that has been divided up into 3 parts: Spend, Tithes (Giving), and Save. Every 2 weeks they get their allowance and decide how much goes where themselves. As for "Lil-brother Petway," his allowance all goes to savings!!

Until next time....

Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and of good courage and let your heart be stout and enduring. Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord. Psalms 27:14

Adoption Education

Adoption Education...one of the requirements of adopting is a home study is to complete 10 hours of adoption education. We have started that through Adoption Learning Partners. We completed our first course and have 4 more to go. It was a very thought provoking class with lots of advice and tips on discussing adoption with your adopted child. This class really help me (Jamallia) because I struggle with telling our "son" that he is adopted. I felt like...he will be ours and why do I have to tell him. He's going to be treated just like he was our biological child. However I now understand that knowing he is adopted and him actually being adopted is a part of his self-identity.

Adoption Learning Partners---Here's a link to the company we are using for our adoption education courses.

Another requirement is our parent history documentation.....aka autobiography. This one is very structure and as some tough questions. Ty and I have to complete it separately!

Did I mention more paperwork....yes paperwork, paperwork but it will be worth it in the end!


Until next time....

Initial Steps Taken

Tyvon and I have been busy signing many papers for our upcoming adoption. We have finalized the agencies we are using for both the adoption and home study. Our Ghana adoption agreement has been sent along with our 1st payment. Our home study application will be in the mail by the end of this week. We are filled with so many emotions. The girls think that "the boy" will be here any day. Their concept of time is so different than ours. They have made a bank similar to theirs for their brother and make sure his allowance gets put away every time they get it.

We know that God has led us in this direction and we believe that He has already made provision in the spiritual realm to help us fund this adoption.

Until next time....
Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows. Isaiah 1:17