Soft LOA

Soft LOA

We received an email this afternoon that our Letters of Acceptance (LOA) are on their way!! This is the official letter from China giving us permission to adopt Levi and Elizabeth.  We should have the hard copy in a week or so and then anticipate travel to China 10-12 weeks from then.  So, we are cautiously anticipating a May travel date.  Things can still get caught up at this point, but it feels like we are entering the home stretch!  Sadly, we have not received an updates on the kids yet.  But this is another milestone we are passing.   The kids rooms are near-ready.  We have a toddler bed for Miss Elizabeth and are getting a crib from a friend that goes into a toddler bed for Levi and we have a portable crib in our room for the initial homecoming should we need/want it.  We've been blessed with hand me downs that cover a mojority of big things.  We have a high chair, a booster seat, car seats, beds.....  we see their missing presence everywhere in the house. 

People are always asking how they can help.  First we continue to seek prayers for Levi and Elizabeth to remain healthy and developing and for the transition to our family.  We are still fundraising and have a scheduled workday for a widow on 2-22-14 which you can make a donation to sponsor our work for this widow and 100% of the funding goes to our adoption. 

 http://www.bothhandsfoundation.org/drew-and-aimee-ryan

We have felt such support from our friends and family as we have been on this journey.  We thank you so much!!   Until we know more,

Aimee

BothHands Project

                                KICKOFF: BothHands Project                

FRIENDS and FAMILY,

We have no new updates on the kids, though we are TRYING to wait patiently for updated pictures and new information.  Our Dossier was Logged In 12-19-13 and so we now wait for Letters of Approval (LOA) from China after they translate our Dossier.  That should come in the next month or so.  Until then, we are continuing to raise funds for the adoptions.  We have found a program that we think is Amazing.  The BothHands Foundation (http://www.bothhandsfoundation.org/mission-statement).  We have found a widow that we are able to provide with a workday and serve her in her needs.  While our Core Team will be working, along side us in sending letters and notifying friends of the opportunity to "sponsor" our workday, much like sponsoring a 5K run.  100% of those funds raised will go to our adoption agency to only cover the cost or our adoptions of Levi and Elizabeth.   If you have interest in sponsoring our Service Project/Fundraiser, please see the brochure below.  Thank you for your partnership with us on this amazing journey!

Please come check it out.....

http://www.bothhandsfoundation.org/drew-and-aimee-ryan

Dossier arrived in China and "A new Name"

We were informed our Dossier was mailed to China on 12-13-13.  And were were notified it arrived in China on 12-17-13!! So, we wait for our Log-In Date next.

AND, we have come to a decision on Sweet Pea Girl's name.  The kids have helped name her, but don't be scared, they did a good job :)  We recognize that before she was formed in the womb, she was known by God.  And we are blessed to graft her into our family.  And we know that her story starts out like ours, in a broken world.  But we know God has a plan that we get to be part of for this little girl, who was born so far from us.  We know God is satisfied with her.  For her broken past and for her unsettled  present and with hopes and dreams of a fulfilled future.  We will call her:

Elizabeth Grace XinFeng Ryan

Elizabeth= God is Satisfied

Grace= God's Favor

DTC 12-13-143

Friday the 13th, it's a great day!!!!!!!!!!!!!  We just recieved this a few minutes ago......

Overcome with emotion that we have moved onto this milestone.  Now, we wait.  It should arrive in China in 5 days then can take up to 3 weeks to get logged-in.

Each step has been happening right on target.  It feels so real at some moments and at others, it's hard to imagine.

We feel so thankful that we have been matched early, and even though it's hard to wait, we are able to pray specifically for Levi and sweet pea girl!

Lifesong $3500 Matching Grant

On top of learning that we are gaining a daughter, we have also been blessed with a $3500 matching grant from Lifesong for Orphans (http://www.lifesongfororphans.org/).  They will match every dollar up to $3500.  So $3500 becomes $7000!!!!!!!!!!  We recieved the first part of this grant when we got Levi in the amount of $2000 and then another $1500 when we accepted Sun Xin Feng.

Lifesong for Orphans is a non-profit Christian ministry dedicated to help meet the needs of orphan children around the world, and to obey God’s call to “visit the fatherless…in their affliction” (James 1:27). With over 147 million orphans worldwide, Lifesong seeks to mobilize the Body of Christ to love and care for orphans. Lifesong serves families, churches and orphans through adoption funding. Additionally, Lifesong brings joy and purpose to orphans globally in seven countries and domestically through foster care initiatives. Please visit our website (www.lifesongfororphans.org) for more information.
Drew and Aimee have sensed God’s call to care for the fatherless and have joyfully stepped out in faith and obedience to adopt Zheng Xiyu “Levi” and Sun Xin Feng from China. As you may already know, adoption can cost $25,000-$30,000 for one child and this financial burden prevents many godly families from adopting. Lifesong in partnership with Orphan Care Alliance believes God has called this family to adoption and has committed an Adoption Matching Grant of $3,500 to help bring these special children home.
Funds donated to Lifesong for Orphans will be given to help cover adoption expenses. Lifesong is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and your gift is tax deductible. 100% of all funds raised will go directly to cover adoption costs--nothing will be taken out for Lifesong for Orphans administrative costs.
Will you invest financially in the life of this precious little boy and girl?

Here is how you can donate:
Give by Check
Please make checks payable to Lifesong for Orphans.
RYAN#3983 MUST be on Memo line
Please mail checks to:
Lifesong for Orphans
PO Box 40
Gridley, IL 61744
Lifesong has been blessed with a partner that underwrites all US administrative and fund-raising
costs (TMG Foundation and other partners). That means 100% of your donation will go directly to
the need…helping orphans.
Give Online
1. Go to www.lifesongfororphans.org/give/donate
2. Select Give to an Adoptive Family
3. Complete online form and fill in Family Account Number & Family Name Fields :RYAN#3983
*Please note that PayPal will charge an administrative fee (2.9% + $.30 USD per transaction). Your
donation will be decreased by the amount of this fee.


Individual donations $250 or more and yearly donations totaling $250 or more will receive a taxdeductible receipt. Receipts for donations under $250 will gladly be sent upon request.
Lifesong is a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization.
If you have any questions about donations please contact us at info@lifesongfororphans.org.
“How blessed is he who considers the helpless...” Psalm 41:1

Twice Blessed: It's a GIRL

Twice Blessed: IT's A GIRL!!!!!!!!

We have been anxiously awaiting the day that we could make this announcement: Sun Xin Feng will also be joining our family when we travel to pick up Levi.  She does not yet have her "Ryan name" picked out.  She is 2 1/2 years old and lives 2 1/2 hours south of where Levi is.  They will be 15 months apart, just like Evan and Anna.  We were open to brining two kids home when we started this journey.  But there were SO MANY things that had to fall into place for this to happen, that we decided we would wait and see if God opened all the doors, before we would talk aobut it.  And today, we recieved Pre-approval to add Sun Xin Feng.  That is as close to "it's a done deal" as we will get.  We will be able to get both kids in the same trip and since they are so close in location to each other, it really shouldn't extend our trip.  The kids are so excited, of course the girls are happy that we will still out number the boys!

DOSSIER COMPLETE

Oh MY GOODNESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   We just recieved word that our Dossier is complete and will be mailed to China by the end of the week.  All these months of papwork are compiled and headed to be logged in.  This is a major accomplishment.  And we celebrate.  We are also hoping to get an update on Levi in the coming weeks.  We hope for new pictures, a develpmental update and if they have any new concerns or progress updates.  Stay tuned, this is going to be an EXCITING month!!!!!!!!!