The Costs. And a leap of faith.

It is no secret that adoption costs money. Lots of it. Like a really nice new vehicle. Like a down payment for a house. Like a future educational fund for our current children. I did a lot of research when we began this process. What methods of adoption are there? What types of services will we have to utilize? What costs are fixed and what costs are variable? How much is due up-front and how much can we pay off after we are certain our son is safe in our arms? Most of the organizations I looked at had very comparable fees. Intemidatingly huge, but similar. The ammount that we are currently anticipating spending is around $23,000. Wow. That's even hard to type. In case you (like me) are baffled about where all that money can possibly go, here's a very rough break-down:

U.S. Program Expenses: $5,450
Foreign Country Program Expenses: $8,500
Child Care Expenses: $1,200
Translation and Document Expenses: 1,130
Other Services: 3,250
Travel and Accomodation Costs: $3,000

Total Fixed Fees and Expenses: $15,250
Total Variable and Estimated Expenses: $7,280
Total Expected Costs: $22,530

I've spent late nights googling, searching, reading other family's experiences and taking notes of ways to help save, skimp and raise this scary amount. I have several grants that we will be applying for. We have a couple fund-raising ideas in mind, including the Change for the Congo opportunity alluded to in a recent post.   

We are also very humbly asking for your support both in prayer and in funds. As I've mentioned before, I have no doubt in God's calling to help the orphans,

"Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress..."  James 1:27

However, I also understand that this calling looks different for everyone. For us, we know it is to bring this orphan into our family and show him the love of our Father. For you, it may mean partnering with us in showering this little boy in prayer from now until the day we hold him in our arms here in Kansas. It may also mean selflessly donating. We understand the pulls this world has on your finances and pray that you recongnize this gift as an investment in a life. One that would be lived in an entirely different way without your support. Thank you for considering helping to bring our little boy home. If you are interested in helping, donations can be made by clicking on the chipin button on the righthand side of this blog.  You can also message me and I will provide our address if that is a more comfortable option for you. For tax-deductable donations, checks can be made out to OWAS and mailed to 1400 Buford Highway, Suite L-4 Sugar Hill, Georgia 30518.  Please be sure to include Derek and Lindsey Claassen in the memo line of your check and include a short note directing the funds to our adoption account.  We will receive word of your generosity and print and send you a receipt.

There is not really a way to say thank you for a grand gesture such as the mission of helping orphans, particularly one little orphan waiting on us now.  I wish I knew how but I don't so I will just say: truly, truly thank you.  From the bottom of all of our hearts.  Thank you.