Two - Four Months and a Fee Explanation

Isaiah 43:2

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.

When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned;

the flames will not set you ablaze."

Today I emailed our agency to see how long we will likely have after we send our contracts to them (which we will do before I leave for South Carolina). The answer I got back stunned me: 2-4 months for referral.

WOW. Doing the math means that we should get a referral between March 21 - May 21. WOW.

After doing the math, we have determined that at referral time we will need to secure $17,100. Between our first and second trips, we will need to secure an additional $5,000.

I said a long time ago that I would post explaining what the fees for international adoption were for. This seems as good a time as any. This is provided both for the curious and those who might be considering adoption. KNOW, however, that fees for adoptions are different from different countries and that for the sake of agency confidentiality I am grouping some of their line items into more broad categories. I will admit, Kyrgyzstan seems to be one of the more pricey countries to adopt from - ONLY IN THAT airfare is really expensive to/from there and there is a two trip requirement. Many of the fees listed we have already paid, so the totals end up being much more than we need at the present. So, here goes:

• Application fee (to agency to be accepted into program): $350
• Agency services fee (this is for payment of staff, office spaces, counseling services, humanitarian aid in foreign countries and general operating expenses): $13,800
• Home study (varies from agency to agency; international home studies are typically more than domestic): $1500 - $2500
• USCIS Fee (this is for an application to bring an orphan into our country; included in this number is the fee for fingerprinting): $830
• Fee to the country of Kyrgyzstan: $5,000
• Airfare (two adults/one child) First Trip: $5,000
• Airfare (one adult/one baby) Second Trip: $2,500
• Hotel (Trip 1 and 2): $1300
• Transportation while in country (includes a translator, driver and car, and coordinator who will be with us at all events we are required to be at): $4500
• Food (two trips - 15 days): $500
• Medical exams and visas for baby: $465
• Visas for various countries: $900
• Consulate Registration: $1000
• TOTAL: $37,645

Having our sweet baby Ellie home ... priceless.

Psalm 9:10

Those who know your name will trust in you,

for you Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.