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!