Last Steps!

The last couple of weeks have been exciting ones around here as we have marked off step by step what must be completed before we are given the invitation to travel.  Today we received the final necessary document from the National Visa Center, and our agency is forwarding it all to their representative in China.

The plan is for our Article 5 request to be dropped off in Guangzhou on Monday.  Don't know what that is?  From the Bureau of Consular Affairs  -  "If everything has been done in the required order and the child is likely eligible to immigrate as a Convention Adoptee, the Embassy or Consulate will issue a letter, called the “Article 5/17 letter”, notifying the central authority of the child’s country of origin that the child appears to be “eligible to enter and permanently reside” in the United States following the completion of the adoption or guardianship in the child’s country of origin."

This process generally takes a standard ten business days.  However, our agency has requested a medical expedite of our case.  We are hoping this translates into the representative being able to pick up our A5 on Tuesday, with a very quick Travel Approval to follow.  We realize this will require an "in a perfect world scenario,"  but it has happened to others, so we remain hopeful.

Once our agency makes our required appointments we will be on a plane to our girl!  Can't wait!
 

Neighborhood Carnival

What kind of neighbors spend hours upon hours of work hosting a fundraising carnival for someone down the street?  Awesome neighbors like ours!  Today we had a neighborhood carnival! 

We had so many fun games and prizes...

 

 

 

 

 

 Popcorn, Chick-fil-A lemonade, snow cones....

Face painting...

 

A silent auction with over thirty awesome baskets!

Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who participated in the carnival today! It was so fun to meet neighbors that I hadn't met before, to see friends I hadn't seen in awhile, and to celebrate the little miss coming home soon! We had such a wonderful time, even IF we had a bit of rain for awhile. Most were good sports about it and ducked under the trees to wait it out. The kids played in the rain. I kept making snow cones and popcorn until, well... until they pulled the plug because they thought I might get zapped.... :)

I have to say it was the MOST FUN I ever had fundraising! And honestly, even IF it hadn't been a success monetarily, the sense of community, and knowing people care and were pulling for our tiny girl was worth the work and the standing in the rain! So many helped with signs, set up, donating gift packages, baking, and the list goes on.  Knowing our friends down the street cared so much that they sacrificed hours and hours and hours to host this for us... We're so blessed.

I believe when our neighbors see Sonnet playing in the neighborhood, they will feel like they were a part of her story. It was a neat day and I can't express how thankful we are to have such great neighbors.

I know some of you are wondering how it all came out in terms of the funds, and I'm thrilled to say that between the auction and other donations it totaled nearly $2000 towards Sonnet's homecoming. Again, let me say, "thank you!"

FINAL FUNDRAISER!

Welcome to the FINAL fundraiser for Sonnet's (aka Susy's) adoption expenses. Due to the timing with the expedited process, we will not be receiving the grant support that we had hoped for. This leaves us several thousand dollars short of the goal. So we greatly appreciate your bids! 

 Our neighbors have organized a carnival for us as a fundraiser, and part of it is a silent auction for gift baskets donated by local businesses and groups.  You'll find Chick-fil-A, Coffee Lovers, Tea Lovers, Chocolate Lovers,  Bowling, Skating, China items, Legos, and more!

 Auction Details:

1. Anyone may purchase auction items, but please be aware that several of our baskets are specific to our local area.
2. If you are bidding while at the carnival, there will be bidding stations available at the table where the items are on display, or you may use your smart phone to bid while at the event.
3. The auction is LIVE NOW! You may bid any time up through the end of the carnival.
4. Bids are recorded in the order in which they are received. Your bid will not increase in increments as additional bids are received. Whatever amount you bid IS THE AMOUNT, just like a live auction. You may increase your bid as you like up until the end of the auction.
5. Bidding ends at the completion of the live event, 4:30 p.m. EST. on Saturday, June 4.
6. If the carnival is rained out, the event will be postponed until June 18 and the auction will run until the event is over. We'll be sure to let you know if this happens. At this point the forecast predicts Saturday will be a beautiful day!
7. If you are local, please stop by the table to pay (cash, check, or Paypal) and take your "win" home with you. Or you may arrange with Beth or Randi to pick it up. Non locals will need to pay the additional for postage to send it home.

See all the items HERE!  Thanks for taking a look!

Additional way to contribute to the matching grant...

I told you a few days ago about a matching grant that we were awarded by Lifesong and Chosen and Dearly Loved.  They have provided us with an additional super easy way to contribute to it.  Simply click on the family photo on the right side border of our blog and a donate button will come up.  The first $3000 in donations will be matched!  We are scrambling to come up with funds for our expedited travel schedule, and appreciate this opportunity so much.  Meeting this match will mean a lot to us.  Thank you!

Matching Grant!

The Chosen and Dearly Loved Foundation has offered us a matching grant through Lifesong for Orphans.  Each dollar, up to $3000 will be MATCHED by them!  We are on an expedited schedule and still $10,000 short.  This matching grant would be such a huge portion of what we still need!  Details below: 

 

Bringing Joy and Purpose to Orphans

Lifesong for Orphans
PO Box 40  
Gridley, IL 61744
P 309.747.4527 F 309.747.4647 www.lifesongfororphans.org

May 18, 2016

Dear church, family, and friends of Ethan and Randi Lanz,

God desires orphans of all nations to be adopted into Christ-honoring families so they can hear the Word of God and ultimately be adopted into God’s eternal family through faith in Jesus Christ. While God calls us to fulfill James 1:27 and “visit the fatherless” not all are called to adopt. Some are called to pray, some to give financially, some to go on mission trips, and some to adopt.

Lifesong for Orphans is a non-profit Christian ministry dedicated to help meet the needs of orphan children around the world, and to obey God’s call to “visit the fatherless…in their affliction” (James 1:27). With over 147 million orphans worldwide, Lifesong seeks to mobilize the Body of Christ to love and care for orphans. Lifesong serves families, churches and orphans through adoption funding. Additionally, Lifesong brings joy and purpose to orphans globally in several countries and domestically through foster care initiatives. Please visit our website (www.lifesongfororphans.org) for more information.

Ethan and Randi have sensed God’s call to care for the fatherless and have joyfully stepped out in faith and obedience to adopt “Sonnet” from China. As you may already know, adoption can cost $25,000-$35,000 and this financial burden prevents many godly families from adopting. Lifesong in partnership with Chosen and Dearly Loved believes God has called this family to adoption and has committed an Adoption Matching Grant of $3,000 to help bring this special child home.
 
Funds donated to Lifesong for Orphans will be given to help cover adoption expenses. Lifesong is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and your gift is tax deductible. 100% of all funds raised will go directly to cover adoption costs--nothing will be taken out for Lifesong for Orphans administrative costs.

Will you invest financially in the life of this precious little girl? It will be an investment with eternal return. God bless you for laying your treasures up in Heaven.

For His Glory,
Andy Lehman
Vice President

How can you help?   If you'd like to mail a check, they should be made payable to “Lifesong for Orphans.” In the memo, note it is for the Lanz family and our family account #6126 to assure it goes to the correct account.  Please mail to :
Lifesong for Orphans
PO Box 40
Gridley, IL 61744
 
Lifesong has been blessed with partners who underwrite all U.S. administrative and fundraising costs (TMG Foundation and other partners). That means 100% of your donation will go directly to the adoption.

 To donate online go to www.lifesongfororphans.org/give/donate. 
Select “Give to an Adoptive Family.” 
Complete the online form and fill in “Family Account Number” which is #6126 and “Family Name” (Lanz) fields.  PayPal charges an administrative fee (2.2% + $.30 USD per transaction). Your donation will be decreased by the amount of this fee.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support as we get down to the final steps of completing Sonnet's adoption.

o   NOTE: In following IRS guidelines, your donation is to the named non-profit organization.  This organization retains full discretion over its use, but intends to honor the donor’s suggested use.

  o   Individual donations $50 or more and yearly donations totaling $250 or more will receive a tax-deductible receipt.  Receipts for donations under $50 will gladly be sent upon request.  Lifesong is a 501©3 tax exempt organization.

Hard Copy LOA!

That oh so important document arrived!  This is formally called the "Letter of Seeking Confirmation from Adopter."  Many refer to it as the LOA - Letter of Acceptance.  And YES!  We accept!  We have already signed it and scanned it back over to our agency.  

Today they will file our i800 paperwork to get the approval of USCIS to adopt Sonnet specifically.  It then goes on to the National Visa Center to begin the work on her immigrant visa.  These steps usually take about three weeks.  We are so thankful to be down to these last few steps before travel!

Matched and LOA issued!

On the heels of beginning steps to expedite the remainder of this process our dossier file figuratively caught on fire!  On Tuesday we got our medical letter.  On Wednesday we found our dossier was out of translation.  On Thursday it was matched to Sonnet's file.  And today our LOA was issued! 

I don't know what all went on this week, but we saw prayers answered big time!  We are thrilled to be moving on to the next step with USCIS next week to get things lined up for Sonnet's immigrant visa.  We still have a lot of progress that needs to be made funds wise, (and thankfully not much time to do it!) so please pray with us that some of the grant organizations might move on our behalf in this coming week.  Thank you!