I haven't written the past few months, not because we haven't given or done anything generous, but because I was wrestling with the public nature of blogging about generosity. After checking my heart to be sure my motives are pure (that I share from a stance of encouragement, not boasting), I wanted to write to share what we have done these past few months.
We donated Build-A-Bears that the girls made to Hershey Children's Hospital Child Line Department. The nurses who work there were gracious and lovely not only to Ruthie after her palate surgery, but also to me. So this was an important, personal one we wanted to give to as Ruth received a giraffe that she still sleeps with (1-year post-op!) that someone else had donated. Also, our local Build-A-Bear gave us a tremendous discount when they learned these were to be donated. We didn't ask for it, but were blessed by it!
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| Just before donating! Look at these cheerful givers (forgot to take a pic with the animals they made) |
Since we are trying hard to be frugal in order to save money towards our adoption we started trying to think outside the box. We considered if there were ways we could donate our time or something else that we have to be helpful.
Abbey decided she would like to cut her long hair and donated about 12" of hair.
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| Before |
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| After |
It took me a little longer to come to terms with parting with my own hair, as it has become part of my identity. However, it felt like the right thing to do, especially since it was letting go of something about myself that I loved it felt like more of a sacrifice. I donated 14" of my hair.
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| Before |
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| After: also, it's never looked this nice since the hairdresser styled it. :/ |
Yesterday I donated blood. I didn't take the kids along with me. However, while I was there, a friend of mine was also there with her husband and children. As we were chatting she mentioned that her dad used to take her and her sister when he would donate plasma, a three-hour process. They would watch a movie together and her dad set this example to her of giving of our physical bodies to help someone else. It really moved me and I've determined the next time I give blood I will take my kids with me.
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| Both arms bandaged because apparently my veins are the same size as the needle. But hey, we got it to work! |
The most interesting thing has been happening here. I thought this year of generosity would be about the kids and myself giving to those in need. It certainly has been. However, it has been so much more. I am learning also to receive the generosity of others with grace and humility.
People were very supportive of Ruth's adoption, but we've been so humbled by the sheer number of people who have stepped up and given towards the adoption of sister six, some we don't even know personally, just friends of friends. We started this process back in June, just four months ago, and I want to share with you how we have been on the receiving end of your generosity.
The most recent t-shirt campaign raised $195. The total amount we received from t-shirt sales is $1,066.89! (What?! This blew my mind!) The total amount from t-shirts and other extraordinarily generous donations is $3,536.39.
Thus far we have paid a total of $9,540.10 in adoption expenses so we have paid approximately $6,000 of those costs. I share this for two main reasons. One, that you would know we are committed to our daughter and are absolutely willing to part with our money to bring her home. And two, that your faith might be increased when you see how God provides exactly what we need, when we need it.
I don't know who our sixth daughter will be, but I do know that she will be surrounded by a host of people who are invested in her and want to see her succeed and will celebrate with us each victory she has in life.
As I've been praying for her the word "warrior" has come to my mind, over and over again. I have no doubt this little lady will be a warrior princess; a brave, brave girl who will fight and win many battles.
Many of you probably saw we just had our biometric fingerprinting done for the immigration part of this paperwork trail. Immigration approval is the last piece we need for our side of the paperwork. When we get it in the mail we will have to have it notarized and sent to our adoption agency. Then our dossier can go to China! Most likely that will happen sometime in November, unless a paperwork miracle occurs and our approval comes much more quickly than anticipated.
Once our Dossier goes to China we continue our wait to be matched with our daughter. Current timeframes are 9-12 months for a young girl. However, we are open to a fair amount of special needs, so it could be much quicker than that. Once we are matched we will need to pay about $12,500 in fees. Then before we travel we need to pay all travel expenses which will likely be around $10,000. While $22,500 sounds insurmountable, we know that it is not because, with God's help, we did it before and we know we can do it again.
We thank you all for your continued support, encouragement, and love. It's such a joy to me to hear of people in the community wearing our t-shirts, to have excited women at Bible study congratulate me on fingerprints, and to share in the joy of the tiniest updates. You all are a special part of our daughter's life and our lives. You most certainly will have had a hand in changing her world. We thank you all!
xoxo,
Mama Hess
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