The Show Must Go On...with Compassion!

Since I am patiently waiting for my adoption to progress, I want to blog about something as close to my heart as adoption is - Compassion International and child sponsorship :) And as you can see, Compassion is sending a group of  bloggers to the Philippines (these people do not work for compassion, they are regular people, living throughout the country, who happen to blog regularly about various things) this week so they can experience how Compassion works. You will have an opportunity to see through their eyes, words, and daily posts the work God is doing through Compassion. I hope you'll click the link and check those blogs out!  Every trip I have followed along with is an eye-opening, soul-deepening, tissue-using experience! I know you will be blessed.

Compassion's mission statement is this:
"Releasing children from poverty in Jesus' name
In response to the Great Commission, Compassion International exists as an advocate for children, to release them from their spiritual, economic, social and physical poverty and enable them to become responsible and fulfilled Christian adults."


Compassion basics:

• Sponsoring a child is $38/month. Yes, this is quite a commitment, but you would be surprised how easy it is to sacrifice a few small things each month (one time eating out with your family, one week of starbucks, etc) to be able to provide for a child.
• The benefits the children receive: Among other things, the opportunity to hear the gospel and learn about Jesus; regular Christian training; educational opportunities and help; health care, hygiene training and supplementary food if necessary; a caring and safe Christian environment to grow in self-confidence and social skills; personal attention, guidance and love.
• Your child will write to you several times each year. Even more important than the financial commitment, in my opinion, is the relationship you develop with that child through letters (and even visits if you are able!). You can write to them regularly, and develop a real, lasting relationship with them that impacts your life more than you could imagine. It can be more than just a photo on the wall and a monthly financial commitment. The children long for letters from their sponsors, and to be a part of a family that is far away.
• Compassion FAQ (for even more great info, click here)

I also sponsor children in the Philippines, and I will post soon about my girls there, so you can see the experience I have had so far :)
I will leave you with this photo...so you can see how much having a sponsor means to the child. This was taken when I visited one of my children in El Salvador. She was so happy to meet her sponsor. She was overcome with emotion. At 9 years old.

The blogging trip starts tomorrow! I hope you will check it out, I know you will not regret it! You can click the link to the right on my blog, or click here.

What's taking so long?

Well, needless to say, I haven't posted in a while. At the time of my last post, I was optimistic that things were going to get moving with my adoption, and I would have more good things to say. As you can see, that hasn't happened.
Currently I am waiting on the "golden ticket" - USCIS approval. I sent everything in several months ago, and I got in return the dreaded "request for more info" letter. That's not a bad thing, because I had all of the info they needed, but this really slows the process down. And to complicate things more, the officer I had at USCIS is now gone for an indefinite amount of time, and someone else took over his cases. So I don't know what that means. And of course they can't tell me anything, because it must be a big secret (cause we all know that I'm not familiar with gov't agencies at all). All I can tell so far is that my other officer used to answer his phone right away (well, the 2 or 3 times I called, anyhow), and I haven't been able to reach this new one yet. Ugh. I hope that is not indicative of things to come.
I'm at the point where I'm pretty tired of waiting, and this whole process seems like a far away idea in my mind. So, I kind of put it out of my mind, so I don't have to count each day that I am waiting for my kids to come home (not the best coping tool, I'm sure). But once I get that approval, I can send my dossier off to their country. Oh, how I am counting down for that day. ANYTHING to get moving forward...
I will keep you updated on what is happening, but in the meantime, I will continue to post a little about something else that is very close to my heart.  I will be posting about a "blogging trip" that will be happening at the end of May. I hope you'll stop by and read about it!
Oh, and I'm already a bad mom....I had this whole post about Sofia's birthday, but didn't post on Sam's birthday!! (horrible, I know! I didn't forget his birthday of course, but didn't post about it.) Well, on May 2nd, my little guy turned 6! He has sure come a long way. I can't wait to get him home and love on him a lot!

I love you my cute little man and warrior for the Lord! I hope to travel and meet you soon!