- the home visit by Doreen, our social worker from Catholic Charities (www.catholiccharitiesusa.org)
- applying to USCIS for "Advance Processing of Orphan" (www.uscis.gov) with our completed homestudy report.
- The USCIS (Citizen and Immigration Services) should then send us an appointment for fingerprinting.
- Once they approve us, we can send the whole dossier to America World (www.awaa.org) to be translated and submitted to El Salvador.
The the waiting begins. We have decided, though, that we will not be idly "waiting." Instead we will inaugurate our "year of study" about El Salvador, Parenting, Biblical parenting, Parenting adopted children, Raising bilingual children, Hispanic communities and events in New Haven and everything else that will get us as ready as possible to be and to raise a family.
That year will also be a year of prayer. (This has already begun.) We will dedicate ourselves (along with our families and friends) to praying for our child, his/her caregivers, his/her birth parents, the orphanage where he/she is living, the country of El Salvador, and our own preparation to be parents. Already, I feel sure that our child is alive in the world, on his or her own journey toward his/her home and family and our hearts. He or she is growing every day and learning new things. We trust that even as the Lord prepares us to receive our child, He is preparing our child to transition into our lives forever.
Our family and so many of our friends are already praying for us and our little one and supporting us through this journey. We all can hardly wait to meet you!
