Money, Money, Money

Money.

Right?!  I know.  It makes me sick to think about it too.

Adoption Ark sent me this fabulous document that explained all of the expenses we will have to cover to bring home our little boy or girl.  Some of the items are set in stone (like the $10,000 translation fee).  Other expenses they gave an estimate (for things like travel for three trips to Azerbaijan, hotel stays, etc.)

I made a fancy spreadsheet with all of the numbers.

It was alot of fun until I finished and had the fancy spreadsheet do the math for me to tell me how much money we could expect to spend.

Feeling sick yet?

Over $60,000.

Now, before you panic (oh, is that just me??), we need to remember a few VERY important details.
1. God sent me back to work so that I could contribute to the adoption fund with my paycheck.
2. We don't have to pay all of that money at once.
3. This was GOD'S idea, so He has to provide.

Phew.  I feel better now.

(Can you tell I worked 12 hours today?  I am a little fried.  Today was Back to School Night at school.)

ANYWAY...

I was freaking out about this several weeks back and prayed about it with a group of friends, and gave it up to the Lord.  So the next morning He responded through two sweet college students we know from Church!

Claire and Liz are serving as foreign missionaries in Thailand for a year, living among, working with, and ministering to Thai people.  You can read more about them on their blogs, which are linked to their names above. :)  Claire came to me via skype to talk about an idea they had come up with.  They wanted to do something to help us raise money for the adoption, even though they are half a world away!  There is a half marathon coming up on November 18th in Thailand.  Claire and Liz have decided to run this half marathon and raise money for each kilometer they run!

That's where you come in.

Claire and Liz will be running 21km on November 18th.  We have set up a page on YouCaring to accept donations.  However, right now we are just asking you to pledge.  You can pledge a flat rate donation or a certain amount per kilometer (21km in a half marathon).  If you are interested in being a part of our adoption in this way, please send me a personal email (rebeccafkelley@gmail.com) with your pledge!  I will forward your email to Claire and Liz so you can receive their pre and post race updates.  When the time comes, you can go to our YouCaring website to contribute.

We are trying to raise $13,000 by the end of 2012 to cover the initial costs to begin the adoption process.  This will include our contract fee, home study costs, medical exams, dossier preparation, and adoption education.

We truly appreciate any and all help we will receive.