Adoption Timeline



Emmanuel’s adoption timeline!
  • 4/24 – Holy Spirit confirms we should adopt.  Receive text and information from Annette Landreth about Kathleen Collins who is the process of adopting.  Kathy calls her immediately @ 9:30 at night.
  • 4/25 – Contact Hopscotch Adoption Agency to learn about the process. 
  • 4/26 – Complete application and receive access to the database.  We see Emmanuel picture for the first time. A two year old boy from West Africa.  
  • 4/27 – We find out we can work towards his adoption but have overnight a check for $6000.   Complete panic.  We had set the money aside to buy Shannon’s car.  I also thought it was a scam and reviewed files from the Better Business Bureau on Hopscotch.  Of course, it was spotless and at that moment.  I knew God has spoken. 
  • 4/28 – Payment received and Emmanuel is officially removed off the waiting child listing.
  • 5/3 – Receive first invoice…here we go…this really happening.
  • 5/17 – Write and submit life stories for our home study.
  • 5/25 – Receive Emmanuel’s social report.  Father wanted nothing to do with him; Mother can’t afford to take care of him. 
  • 5/27 – Mistakenly sent our first travel dates and supporting documents.  We were to leave on July 4thand return on the 17th.  We were stunned; we haven’t completed our home study.  So, we spent all weekend thinking we might actually be going.
  • 5/28 – Learned, not only we are going, but it was going to be a while.
  • 6/6 – Home study begins with Trent with Villa Hope (amazing guy)
  • 7/17 – Learn adoptions have been halted.  One person is trying to change the law so you have to stay in country for 3 months to officially adopt.
  • 7/18 – Home study complete and ready for processing
  • 9/14 – Received good news from West Africa…
  • 9/15 – Completed Biometric fingerprints
  • 4/4 - Adoption Ordered Granted in Accura court
  • 4/27 – Found out today there was a mistake in his paperwork.  He will have to wait a little longer. Today was perhaps the most emotional day in the whole process.  We learned a lot of new information today.  Most of it if fantastic news!  We will start there, he is healthy, happy and a very funny little boy.  His calls his main caregiver Grandmamma and she is helping him with his English.   God being God placed her in Ghana as she is from Flint Michigan.    We also learned a team from Knoxville was there when he came in and she informed us he was very near death from Malaria when she first saw him.  She knew him only as “the very sick child”. 
  • 5/7 – Adoption packet approved –Sent email to the immigration office in Accra for appointment.
  • 5/19 – Meet Eman for the first time
  • 5/21 – Filed I 600 in Ghana
  • 6/21 – Percy picks up visa package
  • 6/26 – Passport is ready
  • 7/3 – Visa Exit interview
  • 7/13 – Arrive in Ghana to take our son home!
  • 7/18 – Home!

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