Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Shirts, coffeehouses, and more...

Well the first Hard ROC Cafe coffeehouse went well! Our next one will be on April 8th featuring the bluegrass band "Hickory" from Belleville, Illinois. All the fun begins at 7:00, and we will be collecting donations again for the adoption fund. We will also have our t-shirts available!






We are selling shirts for $15 each. If you can't make it out to a coffeehouse (or just can't wait) you can "order" shirts from Brandon or me at any time. For those that live locally, just let one of us know what you'd like, and we'll bring the shirt(s) to you. If you live elsewhere, send us a check or PayPal your payment, and we'll mail the shirt(s) to you. We'll be in Texas a few times over the next few months for different events, so get in touch with us and we may be able to deliver.

This week is spring break, and I've gotten several things done for the adoption! I've ordered several copies of each of our birth certificates and marriage license. I've also sent out a batch of letters notifying family and friends of our adoption and how they can help, and picked out our home study agency.

Our first fundraising goal is $9,300. That amount will cover our agency fees and home study. We are over 20% there! I'm hoping we will have raised that entire amount and completed the paperwork and home study by the end of summer.

I love how God continually puts people in our lives who have either adopted or are considering adopting. It happened again today. :) Even though the Ethiopian adoption time frame is questionable lately, and we're not sure if this adoption will take 18 months, 4 years, or 7 years, we're still continually assured that this is the path we are to take.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Tomorrow night!!

Har ROC Cafe -- March 18th, 7:00 p.m.
Featuring... Brandon Boatner!!
RiverOaks Church, 1163 Wentzville Parkway, Wentzville MO 63385
Free admission. Donations accepted for our adoption!! Hopefully t-shirts will be available. Maybe even a rough copy of Brandon's cd...
Hope to see you there!

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

URGENT: An email received from AGCI

Help Us Advocate For Ethiopian Orphans
An Important Update

The Ethiopian Ministry of Women's Affairs (MOWA) has announced a proposal to decrease the number of adoptions they will process and approve—even by as much as 90%. They are planning to accomplish this decrease by limiting the number of approved cases to only 5 per working day. This change is currently set to begin on March 10, 2011.

Please know that no one fully understands this proposal yet. Our staff, led by Almaz in Ethiopia, are still sorting out what this could mean for each of the children and families that we work with. These children are their passion and they are working on the front lines in this advocacy. Also, this is not limited to AGCI. This will impact every agency and the families that each serve. This means that all agencies are working together in their advocacy making a very strong force that is working on the behalf of children and families. Currently, all agency staff are waiting for the Director of MOWA to return to Ethiopia. Once she returns they will have a chance to sit down and talk over the implications of this proposal.

To attempt to counteract this proposal, the Joint Council on International Children’s Services (JCICS) has put a “Call to Action” in place. This sort of international advocacy is what JCICS does, and they do it well.

We are strongly encouraging you to read their post below and follow the suggested steps. You can also share this with your family, friends, Facebook friends and church to do the same. It is so important that we are all united in this effort! We are all advocates in our own circles of influence—and it is good to partner with you in this!

Thank you again for all that you are doing at this time. You are all valued and important in this process of promoting and preserving the best interest of children in Ethiopia and around the world.

God Bless,

Hollen Frazier
Executive Director
***
JCICS Call to Action

March 8, 2011

Joint Council: Emergency Campaign for Ethiopian Children

What You Can Do:

1) Sign the petition to the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Meles Zenawi – and pass it on!

2) Have you adopted from Ethiopia? Please send us up to 3 photos and 50 words or less with what you would like the Ministry to know about your child – we’ll compile the information and send a book to the Ministry of Woman’s Affairs. Send your photos and stories to advocate@jointcouncil.org by Sunday, March 12, 2011 to be included. Please note that sending photos and stories gives Joint Council unrestricted right to use the information you provide.

3) Share…Please send this Call to Action to family members, other adoptive parents, and everyone you know! Post, forward and share your adoption stories via Facebook, Twitter, and blogs. Make sure you include us in your posts so we can all hear your stories! Here’s links to our pages: Facebook, Twitter and our blog.

4) Stay informed: Get up-to-date information regarding the situation in Ethiopia by signing up to receive information from us: click here to do so, make sure you choose “country and issues specific information” and “Ethiopia.” And don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and our our blog.

5) Help ensure our advocacy can continue: Joint Council is a non-profit and receives no government funding. Please join us in ensuring more children live in safe, permanent and loving families. Donate today!

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Hard ROC Coffeehouse

March 18th, 7:00 p.m.
Featuring... Brandon Boatner!! (He's pretty good, if I do say so myself)
RiverOaks Church, 1163 Wentzville Parkway, Wentzville MO 63385
Free admission. Donations accepted for our adoption!! Hopefully t-shirts will be available. Maybe even a rough copy of Brandon's cd...
Hope to see you there!