Feeling Humbled, Blessed, Embarrassed, Thankful & Guilty!

Part of the fun in this whole process of adoption is seeing how other people are affected by it.  Many people have been moved to pray, donate and/or advocate for Olga on our behalf.  From the time of our announcement I have been deeply humbled by the outpouring of support we have received.  I cannot possibly put it into words.  I think this is just something you have to personally experience to fully understand how it feels.

I received a phone call from someone last week.  It wasn't a long conversation that we had, but it was one that truly affected our family in an amazing way.  We talked about how much money we still owed to New Horizons for Children (about $4,700 between the $2,500 referral fee and the remainder of the $2,500 Christmas hosting fee which was $2,200).  They explained to me that after meeting Olga this summer and seeing her interact with our family that they knew she was our child.  Long before we had told anyone that we were moving forward with adoption, they knew she was ours.  This person, along with their family, then expressed their desire to donate the full $2,500 referral fee to NHFC on our behalf.  They said they couldn't imagine Olga not being a part of our family and this is part of what they could do to make that a reality.  In addition to the donation, they have also been advocating for us since Day 1 among other things.  I think they are as anxious as we are to have Olga home for good!  They went to their bank on Saturday to get a money order, sent the money order to NHFC and it was signed for this afternoon and credited to our account!

So, how does one ever thank someone enough for something like this?  I don't know if there is even an answer to that.  I guess I can only hope and pray that they understand how incredibly grateful we are for their generous support.

One part of this process that has been difficult for me is letting go of the idea that asking for help is embarrassing.  When the NHFC donor called me last week, I was not only blown away but also feeling guilty that they were offering up such a large donation.  I asked if they were sure that they wanted to do that.  Of course they were sure.  These aren't the type of people to make spur of the moment decisions like that!  But I still felt guilty and embarrassed for accepting it.  I really need to knock that off!  I know that we can't do this without help.  So I will continue to tell you with each post exactly how you can help!

1. Prayers!  Specifically at this time that the paperwork portion proceeds without incident and that we continue to raise funds for Olga's adoption.
2. Advocate! Repost the blog entries to your Facebook page or e-mail them to friends & family.
3. Christmas Tree Fundraiser! If you purchase a tree using the following link, $10 will be donated to NHFC on our behalf for the Christmas Hosting Fees: Christmas Tree Fundraiser
4. Donate! Click on the "Donate" button on the upper right hand side of this blog entry to make a contribution to the adoption fees.  Or, e-mail me directly for me for details at: SusanPirkey@gmail.com

Thank you!

S~