Three ways you can help us adopt Katarina

Many have asked how they can help us adopt...God is so kind to bring so many people across our path to be an encouragement on this journey that God has called us to. The three ways you can help are as follows:
1. Continue praying for our process and for our daughter.
2. Donate monies through tax deductible donations.
3. Practice "redeemed creativity"


* Prayer. We covet your prayers for our family through this process. Now that our homestudy is finished. We need to move through U.S. immigration and fund raising. Pray that God will go before us in each step of this next phase. We pray each day for our daughter, we ask you to join us.

* Donations: Many of you have asked us how you can help us financially to adopt Katarina (this is what we are calling our daughter until we meet her).


We are working with "Lifesong for orphans" ( a christian based organization that helps Christian couples financially adopt) to help us raise the funds needed.

We are estimating that our expenses still to come are $40,000.

We have a matching grant of $2,500! (Lifesong will match your $ dollar for dollar).


Please pray about helping us with this "ransom"! If you would like to contribute, you can send your tax-deductible gift between now and February 11, 2009 to the address below. Lifesong is a trusted organization administering the funds on Katarina's behalf and will pay adoption expenses out of funds received.

1. Please make checks payable to: Lifesong. You may preference how the donation might be used by writing “Goins #726 adoption” in the memo section of your check.
(*Note: In following IRS guidelines, your donation is to Lifesong which retains full discretion and control over its use.)

2. Send checks to:

Lifesong for Orphans

Attention: Katarina Goins adoption
P.O. Box 40/202 N.Ford Street
Gridley, IL 61744

To go to their website, just click on "Lifesong" on the righthand side of our blog, or go to

http://www.lifesongfororphans.org/.

Please pray along with us for God's provision! We know God is faithful to finish what He has started! For every expense we have had to this point, we have had money to pay for it!God is so good to give us exactly what we need! :)

* Redemptive creativity: Elton Trueblood spoke in the 1950's that the church is a 'redemptive society'. The church is redeemed by the blood of Christ and transforms us into His likeness.

We are to have the 'mind of Christ' which not only includes our intellect but our creativity as well. We desire to find creative ways to raise money for this adoption. We were successful in having huge garage sales and we have placed items on 'Craig's list' and this blog. Your suggestions are invited and welcome. Or if you know people who we can contact please let us know.

Thank you so much for being willing to partner with us in this endeavor.

In Christ,

Mark and Diane Goins

HOMESTUDY IS FINISHED!

Yes, you read the title correctly!
I can't describe the relief it is to have our homestudy finished and our paperwork for immigration sent! We are now praying that this part of our paperwork does not take the expected 6-8 weeks! While we are waiting, we are compiling the next set of paperwork. . .

Items for Sale!

Here is a list of items that we have for sale!

*Suzuki 500cc Motorcycle (1989) with helmet; it runs well!!
*11"girls bike
*15"girls bike
*1 school desk
*Magnetic easel
*Nancy Noel signed painting "Rocking Horse"
*2 pair of khaki 29" X 30" boys' pants
*2 pair of navy blue 29" waist boys' shorts
*2 pair of khaki 29" waist boys' shorts
*2 pair of navy blue 30" waist boys' shorts
*2 pair of khaki 30" waist boys' shorts
*1 pair of light khaki, size 12 girls' shorts (J.Khaki Kids brand)
*1 pair of dark khaki, size 12 girls' shorts (J.Khaki Kids brand)
*"Build your own bear"
with underwear, firefighter outfit, and salior outfit
*Beanie Babies (with tags):
"Early"--robin
"Gobbles"-turkey
"Magic"style 4088--white dragon
"Jake"--Mallard duck
"Baldy"style 4074--eagle
Beanie Buddy--"Humphrey"--camel--tag is with it, but fell off
Ty Pillow Pal--"Huggy"--yellow bear? (I think it is a bear) with tag
Ty (Praying bear) "Hope"style 5601 with tag
*Vintage items: Fisher Price Circus Train--
1 engine, 3 cars, elephant, lion, monkey,clown, and 2 farmers
Fisher-Price Precious Places village

Homestudy

Yesterday I received an email stating that our homestudy was signed and in the mail!

I was excited to see a large envelope in the mail today! My excitement quickly diminished as a read a mistake that I knew would not be acceptable to send on to immigration. Another mistake, another delay! I teeter between feelings of trust that God makes no mistakes and has the timing of this under control; and feelings of anger and disappointment that others just don't "get it" that there is a little girl on the other side of the world waiting for us to come get her!

The possibility for our dossier to be in Ukraine by the end of January does not look like a reality now! We are told that immigration alone takes 4-6 weeks!

Our prayer is that our dossier makes it to Ukraine before their quota is filled. (Last year they accepted around 1,400 dossiers, and was full shortly after the first of the year). We just don't want to have to wait another year!

On an encouraging note, we have been so blessed by people donating to our adoption by donating items that could be sold. We just got news this week about someone donating more furniture! In the next post, I will list all of the items that we still have for sale!

We are grateful to so many who have been faithfully praying for us through this process.
Diane

Homestudy (Almost) Completed!

I was hoping by now to write that our homestudy is completed, but that's not the case! We are not sure why the delay. . . in the meantime we are gathering more paperwork, so we are ready to go when given the green light! This process does not move fast enough at times. We are just wanting to go get our little girl. We wait. . .for God's timing-- which is ALWAYS best! Within the last few weeks, we have decided to fill out our paperwork to read that we are willing to take a girl or a sibling group. We just want to be prepared in case Katarina has a brother or sister.


Some friends graciously donated a bunkbed for Karis and Katarina's room. (Katarina is the name we are calling our Ukrainian girl-eventhough we have not met her yet). Karis keeps practicing getting up on the top bunk so she will be ready when Katarina comes and sleeps on the bottom bunk. God continues to show us in many ways that He will provide our every need. . .yes, at times I believe that means emotional and spiritual.


We are also excited to be a part of our church's new orphan ministry! We are looking forward to helping other couples obey what God has called them to do--James 1:27.

Stuckeys orchard

Today we had a great day at Stuckey's Orchard. We picked pumpkins, took a wagon ride, picked apples, and did a corn maze with knights and dragons :) A great Goins Day!



On adoption: Our home study is almost finished. We are excited to end this part of the "paper pregnancy".

Home Study

Greetings all!

We had our homestudy yesterday. This was an almost 5 hour visit with a social worker.
She interviewed Diane and I together, as well as, separately. She also interviewed the kids. Ethan showed her his karate moves along with sound effects. Di and I think things went well.

The kids greeted her at the door and shook her hand and said "hello"! She said in all her years as a social worker she had never been greeted that way before.

The kids had their physicals this week and TB shots in case they go to Ukraine with us.

Hope all is well with your family!

Listen to Mark's teaching on caring for Orphan's

http://www.zionsvillefellowship.org/teaching/archives.shtml


This teaching is the introduction to Zionsville Fellowship's orphan ministry.

Garage Sale Total

We are so thankful for so many families who donated goods to help us raise over $4,000 towards adoption. We are so grateful and humbled by these wonderful gifts.

Help us Adopt and save Gas...

We had a Motorcycle graciously donated to us. Do you know someone who wants to buy it?

500 cc, 1989 in good working order. Let us know...

In the Midst...

The days are busy.... We have completed one part of the homestudy and we have a longer, more intense day coming up soon where the social worker will interview Diane and me, and the kids.
I am teaching on 'orphans' this week at ZF and introducing the newly formed 'orphan ministry'.

This is our last weekend of soccer. We have had a great time but glad it is over. The kids have improved so much in the knowledge and ability to play well. Karis has scored 27 goals in 6 games (not that I am counting :)~ )

Homeschooling is going well. The Master's Study school our kids go to on Monday's is going well but it is a lot of work especially for Ethan, but the kids are truly excited about going to school.

On another front: If Sara Groves or Charlie Peacock are near you we strongly encourage you to support their tour and their ministry. Check out Sara's page:http://www.myspace.com/artmusicjustice


Check back later for more info on our adoption...

Primo Post

Greetings Friends!

Welcome to our new Blog site. Thank you for your interest in our family. The purpose for this Blog is to share with friends and family our journey. Our current path includes adding to our family a little girl from Ukraine. She is unknown to us but known to the Lord. We are praying and hoping for a 3 to 5 year old girl. Our plan is to have our "paper pregnancy" completed by December 1st and our paperwork to Ukraine by the first of the year. We then hope to travel in late Spring to early Summer. Ukraine is one of the most difficult countries in which to adopt.
The stay in Ukraine will last 4 to 6 weeks and will cost thousands of dollars. Diane visited Ukraine about 14 years ago and still has a heart for this country. She also served on a mission trip this past Spring to Hungary where she served European Christian leaders including leaders from Ukraine. Please keep us in your prayers!
You can find Mark on Facebook and the Goinsgang and Mark on Skype as well.