We have been twiddling our thumbs since our case was submitted to the South African Central Authority. It's been a little over three weeks, so we expect to hear something shortly. We attended a training event last week and ran into our caseworker. She said that she has been asked to do a few things related to our account over the past couple of weeks, so I guess something is happening behind the scenes.
One of the items she needed to address was our homestudy. In the homestudy process, we were asked to comb through a long list of medical conditions and indicate which ones we were willing to consider or accept in a potential child. Our list was quite long and each condition was then included in the body of our home study. However, "Sebastian's" medical history includes a couple things that were not on our original list. Therefore, our caseworker had to amend it and charge us $250. We now have to submit a supplemental form to our previously approved immigration application and pay another $360 to Homeland Security. It was un-avoidable (I checked). Without the home study addendum, we wouldn't get Visa approval for the little guy and we would also risk not being approved in South African court.
Meanwhile, our fundraising efforts continue. I have been making and selling bracelets and we have a few fundraising items now listed in an Etsy shop. We are having a yard sale on Memorial Day and are contemplating a fundraising dinner as well. We got our first grant denial this week. Hopefully, we will have better luck with the others we applied for. We still need to raise about $7,000 more in agency and country fees, in addition to the staggering travel expenses (estimated $14k or so).
We are growing weary. Pray for renewed strength and patience, as well as God's financial provision. We are so grateful for your support and prayers. Love, Sarah
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