it's almost over!

It's almost over - the Mulligan Stew giveaway is almost over!

The wait for our home study - it's almost over!

Waiting to send off our I800 A - the wait is almost over!

Knowing what lucky folks will win the Mulligan Stew prizes - it's almost time!

But, like everything else, there is so much to do.

In the last days of the giveaway, http://covenantbuilders.blogspot.com/2012/03/stirrer-of-hearts.html, Julia has talked about the goals and hopes for each family.  Some of those families have reached those goals.  Others are far away from their goals. 

Some of the goals are financial, and some are asking those who read to reach out and consider being the Mommy and Daddy to a child.  The exposure that Julia provides is enormous.  Children have found their families because of her efforts.  Can you believe that?

If you do nothing else, go to her blog and look upon the pictures - all of the pictures - of children who have families waiting for them and those that don't.  Pray, even simply.  Ask God to move hearts to bring these children into families where they will experience love and security. 

The link I have posted will bring you to a darling six year old boy who lives in The Bad Place.

http://childrenshouseinternational.com/what-will-it-take/

He is as small as our future son, yet he is FOUR YEARS OLDER.  This is what The Bad Place does.  This is what it is all about.

We received some good information today.  Our future little boy can have a new "baba".  (A Baba is a special 'grandmother type' person who spends one on one time with a child).  This baba will spend up to 8 hours per day with our little "Ian".  The cost for this is $200 per month, which of course is a pittance when you think about how much good it will do and how much time "Ian" will have with someone who hopefully cares about him.  We are reaching out to our parents to help us with the expense.  Although it's not expensive, it's not money we have readily available with adoption expenses piling up.  We must assemble the fees for our I800 A, which may be on its way soon.

We also have the address where we can send Pediasure.  The recommendation was to find some online company (perhaps based in Europe) that we could order something and have it shipped directly to the orphanage.  Not all of those details have been worked out, but we're going to work as quickly as we can.  Our first step is to wire funds to our facilitator in Bulgaria to employ the new Baba and also find out if we can speak to her through email in some way.  It is a joyous feeling to know that we can arrange for someone to care for our little special Dude while we try so hard to reach him.  If this baba can give him some extra vitamin D and perhaps get him outside once in a while, his rickets may improve. 

The wait is ending.  The time for work for Mulligan Stew is almost over.  The time when we are actively advocating for all of these families will soon close.  And we may be one step closer to going to Bulgaria very shortly.

What can you do?  Of course, you can donate.  If you pray, pray.  If you meditate, meditate.  Tell someone about our blog, or about other blogs like ours.  Share the stories.  Thank you for sharing our story; for caring about us, for praying for us, and most of all, for praying and thinking about our Little Dude in that terrible, Bad Place.