Dear Victoria,
Our flights are booked, visa's ordered, sleeping accommodations and arrangements for your sisters are set up. Three weeks from today we will board a plane and get to meet you in person for the first time. Its a good thing that we have lots planned in the coming weeks to make it pass more quickly. We are doing another yard sale this coming weekend, then the following weekend I'm running my fourth full marathon, and then its here. The day we have been waiting five months for, the day you have been waiting five years for. I almost can't believe it is so soon, but its starting to feel more and more real. Everything we have done so far, all the work and prayers have led up to this moment, to meet you. I know it will be so hard to leave you there, but I also have faith that God will keep you safe and bless us with the peace and faith we need to get through the next few months until you are home with us.
I have another little story to share with you. Last week while we were cleaning up the yard sale a little boy and his mom that live down the street came over. We were just chatting about how things went and then his mom said he had something he wanted to give us. He then handed us a bucket full of money they had raised selling lemonade all day. They wanted to donate it to us to help bring you home. We are so touched by such an act of service. They worked all day selling A LOT of lemonade, and to be so selfless and to give it to us was so kind. I can't wait for you to be here and get to meet all the special people that have done so much to help us bring you home. Heavenly Father is teaching us everyday through those who are helping us with this endeavor. He knew that we couldn't do it on our own and He is providing so much help and spiritual strength through other people. It makes me want to be better at reaching out and serving others. To be more mindful of those around us and how we can help them. To give more freely of our time and means. We will never forget the love that has been shown to us. You have taught us so much about LOVE. The love that Heavenly Father has for each and everyone of his children.
Love Mommy
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
On Our Way
Dear Victoria,
Back in January when I wrote the post "Miracles in the Making" on our family blog, I had no idea the significance of that title. Even now I don't think we have seen the fullness of the miracles that Heavenly Father has in store for you and our family. I am writing today to share something very special with you.
Last week we received an email telling us that the department of the government in your country over adoptions made an exception and agreed to accept the paperwork for us and another Reece's Rainbow family. We are the first families that they have allowed to move forward since adoptions were post-poned months ago. In their words they are doing us a HUGE FAVOR. There is no doubt in our minds that Heavenly Father softened their hearts and prepared our facilitator to plead our case in such a way that they were willing to make such an exception. The group fast that was held in our behalves was instrumental in this occurring, along with the faith and prayers of many many people.
We are coming to meet you in less than a month! Our travel date is JUNE 19th!!! Can you believe it? Just weeks ago we were unsure if we would even be able to make that first trip this year, and now we will see you in a matter of weeks. Your orphanage will know we are coming for you and therefore the chance of you being transfered to an institution is much smaller.
There is much to do in the coming weeks, and we can't wait!!! We are so blessed, so very blessed.
The yard sale on Saturday was amazing!!! When I decided to do it I was seriously wondering if we would even make the $20 we paid to participate. Boy did family, friends, neighbors and even total strangers step up and help us. We made $2,500!!!!! Have you ever heard of a yard sale making that much money? I sure haven't. People came in droves, we had at least 20 people in the yard from 7:00 am - 1:30 pm. We even have stuff left over that we are going to try and sale at another neighborhood yard sale in a few weeks at our sisters house. Thank you so much to all of those that donated items and time. We could have never done it without all the help. I think 1% of the items we sold were ours, everything else was donated.
In 4 very short weeks we will meet you! We will play with you. We will hold you. Our world's will change forever. We are coming little girl, we are coming.
Love Mommy
Back in January when I wrote the post "Miracles in the Making" on our family blog, I had no idea the significance of that title. Even now I don't think we have seen the fullness of the miracles that Heavenly Father has in store for you and our family. I am writing today to share something very special with you.
Last week we received an email telling us that the department of the government in your country over adoptions made an exception and agreed to accept the paperwork for us and another Reece's Rainbow family. We are the first families that they have allowed to move forward since adoptions were post-poned months ago. In their words they are doing us a HUGE FAVOR. There is no doubt in our minds that Heavenly Father softened their hearts and prepared our facilitator to plead our case in such a way that they were willing to make such an exception. The group fast that was held in our behalves was instrumental in this occurring, along with the faith and prayers of many many people.
We are coming to meet you in less than a month! Our travel date is JUNE 19th!!! Can you believe it? Just weeks ago we were unsure if we would even be able to make that first trip this year, and now we will see you in a matter of weeks. Your orphanage will know we are coming for you and therefore the chance of you being transfered to an institution is much smaller.
There is much to do in the coming weeks, and we can't wait!!! We are so blessed, so very blessed.
The yard sale on Saturday was amazing!!! When I decided to do it I was seriously wondering if we would even make the $20 we paid to participate. Boy did family, friends, neighbors and even total strangers step up and help us. We made $2,500!!!!! Have you ever heard of a yard sale making that much money? I sure haven't. People came in droves, we had at least 20 people in the yard from 7:00 am - 1:30 pm. We even have stuff left over that we are going to try and sale at another neighborhood yard sale in a few weeks at our sisters house. Thank you so much to all of those that donated items and time. We could have never done it without all the help. I think 1% of the items we sold were ours, everything else was donated.
In 4 very short weeks we will meet you! We will play with you. We will hold you. Our world's will change forever. We are coming little girl, we are coming.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Yard Sale Time
Dear Victoria,
Wow, can I just say how truly humbled and in awe we are at all those who are supporting us through this. That was a major deciding factor in why we decided that we wanted to adopt. We knew we had such an amazing group of family and friends that would help us make this happen and be here for us once you are home. Well I think our support group has more than tripled since we started this journey to you. People we know, and even perfect strangers, that want to see you come home have stepped forward and done amazing things to help us.
Those that fasted and prayed with us were so kind to join us in our plea to Heavenly Father to help soften the hearts of those in power in your country. Many many people have told us that they were fasting and praying for you, and we know that the Lord heard our prayers and will do all in His power to make this happen. The story that touched me the most was about a girl that has babysat your sisters a couple of times. Her mom told me that she told her high school seminary class (church class) about the fast that we did for your region to open back up and they all fasted together for you last Sunday. How amazing is it that a group of 15-18 year olds would be so selfless to do a special fast for a family that they don't even know.
So its going to be a crazy-busy next few days. We are doing a yard sale to fundraise on Saturday. We put a call out to our local friends and family for donations to sell and W.O.W! Our garage and basement are stuffed full of donated items and there is still more coming. We have so much stuff that there is no way it will fit on our tiny little yard, so our next door neighbor said we can use their lawn to put more items up. We are so grateful for the many people who have helped us in this endeavor. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to everyone that has helped us. We definitely couldn't do it without you.
We are also so thankful for those who continue to donate to our online fund. It has jumped almost $4,000 in the past month and a half. We are getting very close to being fully funded and every little bit helps. Just another testament to us that we are most definitely in the hands of our Savior and that He is taking care of each and every detail. We are so blessed to be a part of His miraculous plan.
Love Mommy
Wow, can I just say how truly humbled and in awe we are at all those who are supporting us through this. That was a major deciding factor in why we decided that we wanted to adopt. We knew we had such an amazing group of family and friends that would help us make this happen and be here for us once you are home. Well I think our support group has more than tripled since we started this journey to you. People we know, and even perfect strangers, that want to see you come home have stepped forward and done amazing things to help us.
Those that fasted and prayed with us were so kind to join us in our plea to Heavenly Father to help soften the hearts of those in power in your country. Many many people have told us that they were fasting and praying for you, and we know that the Lord heard our prayers and will do all in His power to make this happen. The story that touched me the most was about a girl that has babysat your sisters a couple of times. Her mom told me that she told her high school seminary class (church class) about the fast that we did for your region to open back up and they all fasted together for you last Sunday. How amazing is it that a group of 15-18 year olds would be so selfless to do a special fast for a family that they don't even know.
So its going to be a crazy-busy next few days. We are doing a yard sale to fundraise on Saturday. We put a call out to our local friends and family for donations to sell and W.O.W! Our garage and basement are stuffed full of donated items and there is still more coming. We have so much stuff that there is no way it will fit on our tiny little yard, so our next door neighbor said we can use their lawn to put more items up. We are so grateful for the many people who have helped us in this endeavor. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to everyone that has helped us. We definitely couldn't do it without you.
This is the banner I designed for your yard sale. Its going to be HUGE!
We are also going to be selling cold bottles of water with these labels on them.
Love Mommy
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
A Special Story
Dear Victoria,
I have a very special story to share with you. Last week I got a very touching email from a family that has a little girl your age who also has Down syndrome. It came to us at a time that we were beginning to feel discouraged and it was a quick reminder for us to put our faith and trust in God and know that he is over all. Below are excerpts from the email.
"My older daughter Sarah, who turned 8 this month, is in 2nd grade at a Catholic School. Recognizing that they have been blessed with so much, the girls in her class have decided to forgo presents at their birthday parties in lieu of donations to the charity of their choice. For my daughter's birthday party, she chose to sponsor your Victoria through Reece's Rainbow, in honor of her 5-year old sister Hannah, her favorite person in the world who happens to have Down Syndrome.
"We sent out a link to your blog to her friends' families, and we also printed a page and put it on the table at the party for everyone to see adorable Victoria, read your story, and learn more about these precious children who are waiting to find their Forever Families. I am humbled (but definitely not surprised!) to say that the families responded generously. 17 little girls attended the party and I was moved to tears while opening the envelopes. Donations received at the party alone were $200. At least four other families gave online, and we are also sending in a donation in honor of both of our amazing daughers. When the final amounts are added up, I believe we have raised approximately $350 toward Victoria's adoption.
"From my family and from the families of the 2nd grade girls at my daughters school, thank you for giving us the opportunity to "adopt" Victoria and be with you all on your journey to bring her home to her Forever Family. The joy my daughter felt in making Victoria a homemade card (which I will be sending in with the donations:)) and knowing she was making a difference was the best present she could ever have received for her birthday. We wish you all the best with Victoria's adoption and will pray for your family and for all of the orphans trying to make their way to their Forever Families.
With Love,
Beth, Michael, Sarah, and Hannah"
 |
| This is Sarah and her cute classmates that donated to your fund. Sarah is the one in the pink shirt standing up. |
I'm sure you can imagine how touched we were to hear that an eight year old little girl gave up her birthday presents to help bring you home to us. What amazing little girls, such great examples to us of selfless service and working together to do something amazing! Thank you Sarah and her friends for doing this for Victoria and our family. I hope one day we can meet you in person and show Victoria the friends she has on the other side of the world.
If you look on the side bar of your blog you will see that your fund is close to $5,000!! Thank you to the many people who have donated to help us bring Victoria home. Many of our co-workers are donating and then our work is going to match their donations. We appreciate it more than you will ever know! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Thank you to our friend Kim who did the 31 bag fundraiser and donated ALL of her commission to our fund. Thank you to all those who purchased products in that fundraiser. We were able to raise another $325 through that. Kaelyn was so excited she wanted to help divy out the products to deliver. She crawled right over a pile of bags to get to me so she could do her part in bringing you home!
So earlier I mentioned that we were feeling a little discouraged last week. Below is an email I sent out to family and friends, and we would like to make those of you following our journey aware of what is going on and ask for your help this Sunday.
As many of you know we are in the process of adopting a little 5 year old girl with Down syndrome from Eastern Europe, Victoria. All of our paperwork is together and ready to be submitted to the government in her country. The region she is in is currently closed and not accepting adoption referrals at this time. There have been rumors that it may open up in the next month, and also rumors that it may not be till September or later. No one really knows when things will get rolling again. Since Victoria is 5 it is very important that she is adopted before she is transferred from the orphanage to a mental institution where conditions are far worse. Until we are given a referral for her, the directors at her orphanage will not know we are coming for her.
We are going to fast this Sunday, May 6th that things in her region and other regions that are currently closed where many families are waiting to get to their children, will open up soon. We would like to invite you to fast and pray with us. We know at this point it is out of our hands and have faith that Heavenly Father can make it possible to bring her home quickly and safely.Thank you for your love and support.
Jeana, Wayne, Kaelyn and Bryn Bonner
There will be hundreds of people fasting and praying for you and the other children and families in the regions that are closed this Sunday. We know first hand the power of fasting and prayers, without them we wouldn't have your little sister Kaelyn with us today. We know that Heavenly Father can work miracles and we are praying that things will work out the way He has planned.
Love Mommy
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)