Christmas Conversation

I just got off the phone with my son....  it was so good to talk to him!!!!  The first thing I told him was that his American family sends him greetings and love,  Exuberantly and with glee in his voice, he replied - "you come get me?"  His giggles and joy were a great indication of how excited he is to come.  He is waiting...., and  I am waiting.

Though we are thousands of miles apart there is a defnite sense of family between the two of us, and we are both anticipating the day that we will board the plane and make our journey home to America.

Please continue to pray for:

• a quick processing of the immigration paperwork and for the person taking my fingerprints can get nice clear prints.
• an appointment with an adoption favorable judge by February 1
• a quick and favorable decision by the judge
• for favor with the US embassy officials when we apply for his visa
• for the remaining $3000 to either come in through donations or that I can earn it by taking photographs of children, teens or families.
• for our (Isaiah and I) ability to communicate with each other, especially on the journey home.

detours and stops along the way

Have you ever had a dream in which you are trying to get somewhere, but keep finding yourself in random places or circumstances, and then wake up before you reach your intended destination? That's how this process feels at the moment. Each time I feel like I should have the clearance to go in a matter of days, something occurs. Yesterday, I received notice that there was something wrong with the fingerprints that I had done last week, and now I have to go back, but the appointment isn't until 12/30.... Also, I am waiting to be granted a court appointment. First I thought I would be home with Isaiah by Christmas, then I was thinking I would leave January 1.., now I am hoping to leave at the end of January or early February. It will be such a relief once I bring my son home.


This also reminds me of my road trip to North Dakota this summer. Whenever I take any type of a road trip, I am always eager to get to my destination ahead of time. My goal is to beat the expected time of Mapquest.... I was making good time and in great anticipation of getting to my aunt's house ahead of schedule, when I encountered road construction. This was not just any little road construction. The road was GONE..., and we had to wait for a pilot car to guide us through the non-existent road. Well you can just imagine what that did to my goal of getting to Bottineau ahead of time.... As I have travelled this adoption journey, this immigraion pre-approval feels much like the road that I had to travel through on my road trip. I'd wait for the pilot car. Slowly, travel through rough terrain. Wait for the next pilot car and do the same thing. Three pilot cars and probably an hour later, I was through the rough part and back on smooth roads. There were still incidental stops along the way, but progress kept being made. Really, there was nothing that I could do about it, but wait and move when there was opportunity. And guess what..., I did make it to my aunt's house and apparently it was at the perfect time....

For those of you looking for prayer needs, please pray for the following:

• a quick processing of the immigration paperwork and for the person taking my fingerprints can get nice clear prints.
• an appointment with an adoption favorable judge by February 1
• a quick and favorable decision by the judge
• for favor with the US embassy officials when we apply for his visa
• for the remainder $3500 to either come in through donations or that I can earn it by taking photographs of children, teens or families.
• for our (Isaiah and I) ability to communicate with each other, especially on the journey home.

The Waiting Game....

I realize it has been some time since I have posted.  Earlier this week, my sister and I drove to Tukwila to be fingerprinted as part of the pre-approval process.  Now that my prints are in the system..., I hope I don't end up being somewhere right before a crime is committed.  :)   I must say that I felt less like criminal getting these prints than I did when I was fingerprinted at the police station at the beginning of the process....  Actually, it was very quick and uneventful.

The waiting continues as we wait to get a court appointment.  I had hoped to go in January, but after talking with the attorney today, I am starting to realize that it might be in February...  sigh.   Please pray that we are assigned to a judge that is adoption friendly and acts quickly on  the cases assigned to him.   This is actually a HUGE prayer request, because once I arrive in country the process can be quite lengthy (as in months....) depending on the judge that presides over our case.

Albeit slow..., things are moving

As I am in this period of waiting for the government to process my pre-approval application, I am reminded that everything is completely under God's control and within His time frame. Because God doesn't give us the whole picture, it is easy to get discontent when the process seems to be taking longer than normal.  But as I go through this waiting period, I realize that there is so much orchestration going on behind the scenes and that it will come together when the timing is right.  Just as He spoke about so clearly to me in Psalm 113 at the beginning of this adoption journey, HE is the one that settles it. I must say this is what enables me to be settled and to rest in His plan and His timing. 

Please continue to pray for Isaiah and myself as we are moving towards becoming a family.  Pray for Isaiah's transition into the fast paced life of America, for his transition into school and for good friends for him.  Pray for me as I decide where he should go to school and for our bonding process.  There is so much more that needs God's intervention.... but I just ask that you pray as God leads you to pray.

more pictures

little update

It appears that the immigration application has emerged out of the blackhole.  It is still being processed, but at least I have received confirmation that it is indeed being processed. 

Isaiah's the name

Now that you all have come to know my son as Bush....,  I have settled on the name that he will receive from me.  While many will still call him Bush and it will likely be his nickname throughout his life, his given name will be Isaiah.

The Current Hurdle....

As I mentioned in my earlier post, there has been a delay due to a processing change of pre-approvals through US Immigration. 

My application was sent in a month ago, and nobody seems to be able to provide any information regarding where I stand and when I can expect to hear something.  It somewhat feels like the application is potentially lost in the blackhole. 

My prayer request is that my application would get processed soon, so I can know when I can make my court appointment and finalize my travel arrangements.

Delayed

The applications were mailed, and the plane tickets reserved.  My plan was to fly home with Bush on my dad's birthday, December 20th.  At times it seemed 'to good to be true'.  And guess what..., it was.  :(

USCIS has made a change in the processing of the application that prospective adoptive families submit to get approval to bring home a foreign born orphan.  The change has delayed my approval, and because the process is new, no on can tell me how long it will take.  The one thing that is clear is that the application likely won't be processed and complete by Nov. 21 (the day of my scheduled flight).

Now it appears that I will fly to Africa in January and come home late January or early February.

how you can help

Dear family and friends,

As you are likely aware, the one call upon my life has been to serve vulnerable children in my community and around the world. This has been the focus of my life, and one of the biggest blessings in my life.

A couple of years ago, I started to feel the call and challenge to consider becoming a parent through adoption. As I started to consider the call, I kept being drawn to pursue the adoption of a specific boy who is now 6 years old.

Our relationship and story began that day in 2006, that I mention in my post below. That day and that moment was the beginning of a bond and journey that only God could ordain.

In my wildest dreams, I would have never dared to believe that nearly four years later we would be going before a judge to seek permission to become a family. But God’s plan is bigger than what we often dare to dream. In fall of 2007, I prayed for courage to trust Him and His leading, He answered boldly and clearly through Psalm 113:9. Later, when wondering if I was following His lead, the message and confirmation was bold and clear in Isaiah 54:1-5. Every piece of the text can be expounded upon, but one of the main things that I heard was “Do not be afraid”. The message was to confidently move forward and through the doors that were opened for me.

The journey has been long and full of both anticipation as well as heart-breaking news at times. Yet, God has continued to urge me to move forward. Even when the door was seemingly completely nailed shut, He had another plan.

The blessings and confirmations are numerous. One day I will write it all out as a story for Bush, and will share it with you as well.

Honestly, I am overwhelmed by the depth of love and support that I have received in this process. Everyone is so excited to meet him! As you can imagine, this warms my heart.

As I close I would ask you to join me in one or more ways if you can.

• Pray for favor with the judge and the embassy officials. (These two people hold the power to let us become a family.)

• Pray for my son’s transition into his new life and for me as I shepherd and parent him.

• Pray that I will be able to raise $10,000 to cover all of the expenses involved in bringing my son home.

• Contribute a donation to his adoption fund. (If you are interested, I have some information from The Shepherd’s Crook Ministries.  This organization is set up to receive and disburse funds for expenses related to the adoption of my son.)

Thank you so much for your friendship, your prayers and your support. I look forward to the day that you can meet him and he can meet you!!!!

Much love,

Tammy

berg.tam@gmail.com

Growing Anticipation

It all began the day this picture was taken.  Bush was roughly three years old.  As I visited the Orphan Village of nearly 200 children, it was this boy that walked right up to me and clung to me the entire day.  As he sat on my lap (in this picture) he looked into my eyes and rubbed my arm as he sought to find my darker skin that must be below the fair skin that he saw.

Today, as I trust that we will soon be together as mother and son, the anticipation grows each time I hear that the next step has been completed.  Most recently, my son has become fully aware of and is so excited to know that we are asking the judge and the immigration officials to allow us to become a family.

Within the last couple of weeks, my friend told me that he has been trying out new 'walks' as he leaves school each day.  I can only imagine the 'struts' that have ensued..., and chuckle at the thought of the strut that he had on Thursday when he entered school knowing that he will hopefully soon be coming to America as my son.  I am sure he was very animated as he started telling his friends about it all.  The thought of it all makes my heart grow even fonder of this boy that God has placed a special love for in my heart.

Continue to pray..., for favor with the judge, that we will be granted a visa and for the funds that I still need to cover the legal and travel costs of this adoption.

It's all about PRAYER

The paperwork has all been submitted to the attorney for the court hearing and to USCIS for the approval to bring home a foreign born orphan.  I've done all that I can do, and now wait for my approval through USCIS and for a date to appear in court.  As I sit here contemplating that I've done all that I can do and have gone through every door that has opened in this process, I have an even greater sense that it is all in God's hands.  It's bringing me to a place of utter dependance and trust.  I COVET your prayers that the judge will grant me guardianship and that the embassy will grant a visa for my son when we make that application.  On a deeper level the prayer request would be for him to adapt to his new life with an understanding of how much he is loved by God, myself and so many other people.

Thank you for standing with me in this process.  Your support means a lot to me and I look so forward to the day that you can meet him and that he can meet you!

Living by Faith

This journey of adoption is founded in faith that God has called me to be a loving mother to this precious little guy. Part of this journey of faith is trusting God to provide the finances that I need in order cover all of the legal and travel costs. If you feel led to participate in this journey through a financial gift, please let me know. I can let you know of where the funds should be donated through.

Progress and Anticipation

I know that people are looking for updates, details and suggested prayer requests.   The last few weeks have been a whirlwind.  The homestudy is updated and I am gathering all of my documents that the Court requires.  I hope to have an appointment with USCIS very soon to start the process of getting approval to bring a foreign born orphan home as my adopted child.

The anticipation is growing each day.   I am trying to not let my heart get ahead of me, as I work through and plan things such as where he will go to school, etc., and start to think about the process of introducing him to his new life while helping him as we bond together as mother and son.

I will try to post to this blog as we progress through this process.

Renewed Hope

This journey began two years ago.  Just 8 months ago, we were ready to file the immigation papers and set a court date in Uganda to establish my guardianship of my Ugandan son. However, at that time due to a technicality, it appeared that the door was closed. 

Now 8 months later, the door is opening once again.  Please pray for God's will to be accomplished in this and if it is indeed His will that this boy come to America to live here as my son, that the door would swing wide open. 

I will update this blog as soon as I have any new information.