Ways you can help!

We received an email from our lawyer on Monday February 8, 2011 confirming that she had the adoption decree in her hand. This was a HUGE relief. This means the waiting period was over on Monday. They are forever ours! Thank you Jesus!!!


They are now processing all the paperwork so that we can come and pick up the girls.

Svetlana estimated that if she received the adoption decree on Feb. 8th, that we’d be able to pick up the twins on February 24 or 25th.

Our I-171H (which is the form you have to have from US Immigration to bring your children into the US) expires on Feb. 15. We completed a home study update and all the information needed very quickly upon returning home. We had to pay yet again for this form ($720)… and we only need around 10 days more… so frustrating!

USCIS is saying they have our name tagged and will expedite our update the second it is logged into their system. They cannot or will not give us a time frame for how quickly they will turn the form around. We could possibly be delayed due to this form. We are praying it comes QUICKLY, and making plans that it will be here in time.

I have had several people ask if we need anything or what they can do to help us… I’ve shared with a few close friends and some who have asked some of our definite needs. EVERYONE has begged me to continue to be honest…. And allow others to help – therefore also sharing in the blessing!

I am going to be VERY honest. It’s VERY difficult to type this out and share it…. Because we’ve been SO SO SO very blessed by all of you already.

PLEASE know we are so very honored, humbled and thankful! The Lord has provided every step of the way for us and we KNOW he will continue to provide. I have shared with several people how amazing it truly is… If someone would have told me 6 months ago that Phil and I would have both been off work with NO pay for almost 3 months, I would have said there is NO way that we could afford or make it. I can’t even tell you how amazingly incredible this truly is. ALL of our bills are paid and were on time every single month. God has provided EVERY need! His word says that he will…. And HE does!

The fees and amount we had to spend in country were thousands more than expected. We will have made 3 trips over there.

We have had a couple prospects about return flights… families wanting to donate frequent flyer miles, etc… but, so far nothing has worked out with that. The airlines have STRICT rules and almost make it impossible.

If we look with our natural/fleshly eye at our financial situation right now… We don’t know how we are going to afford the several thousand dollars we still need to bring Faith and Grace home forever. However, God has already begun providing. We have had two special financial gifts given to us in the last couple of weeks. One donation was specifically for one of our return tickets! We continue to be humbled as God provides. He means it when he says that he desires, “to set the lonely in families.”

We know that God will provide these last dollars to bring our girls home forever.

I’ve had people also ask how to give and/or if we get money sent through lifesong. If you would like to make a donation and it be tax deductable, you can send it through Lifesong. They are graciously keeping our fundraising account open (due to our incredible process) until Faith and Grace are HOME forever. Another amazing blessing and God’s hand!

(Please know I’m only posting this because I’ve had people ask me to…)

Here’s the info. If anyone would like to make a donation:

Our local bank:
Payne County Bank - Just make a deposit into Phillip and Lanetta Gobble’s Savings Account – Adoption Account.

Paypal – Our personal paypal is lanettagobble@yahoo.com

Here’s the info. For making a tax deductable donation through Lifesong:

Checks:
Made out to Lifesong for Orphans Memo: Gobble 1246
Sent to:
PO Box 40
202 N Ford street
Gridley, IL 61744

Online @ PayPal:
http://www.lifesongfororphans.org/donation.html
mark Gobble 1246 on memo

We know that God has a plan and we KNOW he will provide! He’s proven it time and time and time again!

Here’s the second way you can help. We asked Bagdat (Orphanage director) specifically what the orphanage needed. We told her we planned to fill several suitcases and bring LOTS of donations back to the children there when we pick up Faith and Grace. She was thrilled! She said their main needs are clothing and toys.

I know that everyone that is reading this post have seen videos on TV of orphanages or videos of children who are homeless, hurting and starving. The TV producer at the end always asks that everyone donate a certain amount of money to feed a child for a month, etc.. We have all watched it. We have all wondered if all the money REALLY goes to the children as well. I know that I’ve wondered that. Haven’t you? Let me just tell you that we are guaranteeing you that you can donate some items/money/toys to a place that is in SUCH need. I can promise you that every penny/item/toy will be given to the orphanage in Pavlodar, Kazakhstan. I would love to even be able to ask Bagdat (once we get there and give her the suitcases FULL of clothing and toys) what else the children need. I would love to have money to buy medicine or food for them (if they’d let us).

Paying the overage fees for luggage is much cheaper than shipping boxes and this way we KNOW the items make it to the babyhouse.

We donated a large sack of toys that we had purchased for bonding with Faith and Grace. We asked if they could be given to their group. The next day when we arrived, the children in their group were FIGHTING over the 2 babydolls that we had donated. It was so sad. They need toys so desperately.. as well as clothing.

We need clothing from size birth – 3T (boys and girls). We also need underwear, panties and tights.

Please keep in mind when purchasing items that we are limited on space and weight. We are going to check into taking more.. but, as of right now we will be taking 3 LARGE suitcases with nothing but donations in them. We are going to keep our personal items down to 1 suitcase, so we can donate more. Also remember that this orphanage houses children from birth to age 4.

This is yet another way that we can SHOW even the workers in the babyhouse, our in-country staff, the director, etc…. JESUS! I want them to just be amazed at the LOVE and generosity we are extending to them. I just know as we open those suitcases and hand out those items and clothing that Christ’s love will touch them.

If you do purchase some items… I have a personal favor. Will you pray over the items you are sending? Will you lay your hands on the clothing and pray for the babies who are going to be wearing those clothing. The children who are going to put that clothing on are living a life with NO family. They are cold, lonely, sometimes hungry and most likely don’t feel love. Pray that when they wear the clothing or play with the toys they will FEEL Christ’s love and that their lives will be touched. PLEASE remember that we are talking about REAL children here… children who have NOTHING… children that NEED us!

These children are BEGGING to be loved. They stand in the doorway and wait for me to hug them. They fight to get a hug… they BEG me with their eyes to love them. They BEG for me to pick them… You can see it in their little eyes… they wonder why Stella and Violetta were picked and they weren’t… They know that they are being left behind.

PLEASE join me in praying for them… PLEASE! Every single child in the world deserves a family… food, clothing, toys… HOPE. LOVE. JESUS.

I took these pics of the group on the last day we visited Faith and Grace...  Can you help these babies?   Keep in mind that this is just ONE of several groups.   Faith and Grace are in the oldest group in the babyhouse.  The other children are all younger.