Authentication Done! China Here we come!

I can't believe it - the paperchasing is done! We just got all of our documents back from the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco with their official seal/stamp! This usually takes 2 weeks but only took 1 week!! It's the first time we've seen how close we are to China and to see their writting all over our documents - very cool! They even sent a receipt in Chinese - i'm not sure what it says but i do know it's a receipt:)

Now our dossier is complete and will be off to China soon!

U.S. Certification is Here!

WOW! What a day! I just sent our papers to Olympia to be certified by the U.S. last Thurs (11/11). This process usually takes 7 - 10 days. (FedEx and I have become fast friends. I love FedEx -it seemed overwhelming at first but now that I know how it all works, it's fabulous to track packages etc...) Anyway, last night I had a very spiritual night in trying to get to my bible study etc. Well, it didn't end last night: This morning I was blow drying my hair wondering if I should enter the tracking number. I was contemplating it because I didn't want to be too overly anxious, but then on the other hand thought what the heck - after I get my hair dry, I would plug in the wonderful 12 digit number and find out if the package made it to Olympia yet. As soon as I finished this thought, Brayden yelled up stairs and said that someone had rang the door bell, but no one was there! He was very confused. So was I, no one usually stops by weekday mornings...Anyway, I ran downstairs and was kind of startled that no one was there too, not even a car pulling away- I then thought that maybe I should peek out on the porch. I couldn't believe my eyes - there on my porch under my door mat was the FedEx Envelope already back from Olympia! It only took 5 days (including the weekend!) to be stamped with U.S. Certification and be back in our hands - Amazing!!

Before we could send our documents to Olympia, we had to get them all notarized. We want to say a special thank you to Mary Floyd. She has given as a wonderful gift by notarizing ALL of our documents! (Mary is the mother of my life long friend - Mara Kraus)

Now it's off to San Fran!!

Approved by the U.S. to Adopt an Orphan

Holy Cow! This step took us much longer than we had expected. We thought 4-6 weeks and we'd be ready to get our papers rolling ... After our homestudy was complete, we had all other documents ready to be sent to Yakima, Wa. We had to get approval from the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security to adopt an orphan by submitting the I-600A form - Application for Advanced Processing of Orphan Petition. They look over the reason why, medical, finance and homestudy. We also had to get fingerprinted.

The CIS (Citizenship & Immigration Services) received our application Aug. 25th. We couldn't be fingerprinted until Sept.24th. We then waited and waited some more. Our Adoption Agency Director(Kathy Storro) was just about ready to call, when our 171 approval came in the mail today (Nov.10th). YIPPEE! It took 11 weeks! Much too long - I hope everything else doesn't get delayed and takes longer than we would like - although, it is all in God's timing:) When we have our little girl in our hands, we may be able to figure out why this step took sooo long...

Piety Fund

We sent out several letters to family and friends about our decision to adopt and information on contributing to our "Piety Fund" that we have set up through Small World Adoptions. Even though you may not have received a letter, your donation is appreciated.

Here is that letter:
Dear Family and Friends,
We want to share our exciting news with you! We are adopting a little girl from China! She will be between 6 months and 1 ½ years old and should be living with us by next summer. You might wonder what made us decide to do this and all we can say is that it was God who put this desire into our hearts. We are excited about the opportunity to offer at least one child-in-need a family to love and the opportunity to learn about Jesus. We know God has a special child chosen just for us and we are eager to be completely faithful to what He is calling us to do. It will be exciting to see how He works out the whole adoption process.
Adoption is a wonderful way to build or add to a family but it is not an inexpensive venture. Our adoption expenses including document preparation and translation, hiring of attorneys and other professionals in the U.S. and China, travel, hotels, passports and more will cost in excess of $20,000.
Recently we learned of The Piety Fund from Small World Adoptions, a fund that helps families raise funds for adoptions. A person can make a tax-deductible donation through Small World Adoption on our behalf. This money will be used toward our adoption expenses. All contributors receive a tax receipt for their donation. Should you choose to donate, we will keep you updated on our progress and send you specific information about our new daughter as it comes to us from China.
Please call or email us with any questions you may have regarding our situation. We are happy to talk about this wonderful adventure. Also, the Small World staff is available to you Monday to Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (Pacific Time.) Please contact them at 1-888-892-6789 (toll free) or email them at Kathy@swa.net. You may also use the envelope we’ve enclosed to send in your donation.
We are excited about what God is going to do in our lives through this child. The process is long and not without obstacles but we are ready for the challenge. When our child arrives home to us, we will contact you through the mail with our happy news. Thank you for prayerfully considering our situation in your giving this year.

Sincerely,Lance & Kirsten Vickerman