When we made the decision to follow God's lead from El Salvador to Brazil, our family coordinator at AWAA let us know that there was some risk involved. There was the risk of time that comes with not knowing exactly how long this new program will take before our children are home with us. There was a financial risk that comes with switching from one program to another and having to update documentation and agree to a new set of costs. He wanted to be sure that we were aware of the risks and were willing to accept them along with all the other unknowns involved in being a pilot family. We were. We knew that God had all the time in His hands and that His timing would be perfect. We also knew that if He called us to adopt our children from Brazil, He would make a way.
He is making a way and is once again blessing us to see his hand as it works for His glory and the benefit of our family.
After talking through all of the expenses associated with the Brazil adoption program with Ryan (the family coordinator) yesterday, we discovered that all of the fees we've paid to AWAA for our El Salvador adoption would indeed be transferred to the Brazil program... (here's where it gets good)... leaving us with a $1200 credit so far. That means that when we submit our updated dossier this summer, we will only have $600 to contribute at that time.
Today when I checked the mail, I had 2 paychecks from work. One was for some part time hours I'd done a while back (and had forgotten about), and the other was my first summer paycheck. Since teachers are 10-month employees, the district allows us to stretch our pay over 12 months, but does not continue to take out union dues and insurance fees. That means that summer paychecks are always a little nicer.
Between the two checks, God provided just exactly enough to cover the $600 program fee and the payment to our social worker for updating our homestudy.
The point of this story is not a lesson in personal financial management or budgeting, but one about God's great grace. He continues to open our eyes to the ways that he continually provides for us and cares for us. What is $600 to the Lord of the Universe? But to us, this miniscule blessing is enormous because it shows us that God is faithful and that He will bring our children to us, and that He is taking care of them even now.
There will still be international and in-country expenses when we accept a referral and travel to Brazil, but God has already provided a grant from Shaohannah's Hope (which will pay about half of the international fee), and we are sure that He will continue to provide what we need to bring our children home.
He has it all in His hands.
He always has.
