Christmas picture

This is the picture that Grant and I sent out this year with our Christmas greeting. We've had several (actually quite a few) people ask us if this picture was done in a studio or if it was, in fact, real snow. Hopefully this uncropped picture will do the trick to let people know how real the snow is in Minnesota! I was outside shoveling after a big snowstorm and Alex was playing in the snow. He looked like he was having fun, I ran in the house to grab our camera, and this is the first shot I got! He really does enjoy being outside, in any kind of weather.
Anna

10 month pictures

Alex's 10 month birthday is today. In the last month he has learned to crawl and pull himself up....life for all of us has changed!

We are definitely looking forward to Alex's first Christmas.
Merry Christmas,
Anna

How to sponsor a child in Ethiopia

We wrote a post on June 29 from Ethiopia regarding our visit to the town of Asela to visit Almaze who is the child we sponsor through Compassion International. http://braaschfamily.blogspot.com/2005/06/visit-with-almaze_29.html
In that post, we promised to write more about the Compassion project when we returned home and now, 6 months later, we finally are! We were very impressed by Compassion’s work in Asela so we want to explain in more detail Compassion’s mission and encourage others to sponsor a child in this project or elsewhere in Ethiopia.

Compassion International is a Christian child development organization dedicated to releasing children from poverty. One way this is achieved is by partnering with local churches around the world to provide child development programs that give children opportunities in education, medical care and life experiences they would not otherwise have the means to experience.

Compassion finds a Christian church in an area with whom to partner for a project. They choose children to participate in their program based on the level of poverty as well as choosing a mix of children from Christian homes and non-Christian homes. Children who are accepted into the program typically begin at a young age (5 – 8 years of age) and are sponsored through their 18th birthday.

The kids come to the project a couple of times a week after school and on Saturday. At the project they receive additional help as needed in academic subjects in which they struggle. They also come for “Sunday School” (on Saturday) where they regularly are presented with the Gospel message and Christian training. If they have medical or nutritional needs, Compassion provides help in these areas. The kids are given two new sets of clothes each year as well. For the kids who are in the upper grades of elementary school, the Compassion project provides for one experience each year similar to camp. This annual trip takes the kids out of the village where they have likely been their entire lives and exposes them to new places and new experiences.

The project in Asela just opened in the fall of 2004. In fact, Anna and I were the first sponsors to make a site visit. When we visited Asela there were still a large number of children who had not yet been sponsored. Anna called Compassion International today and found out that all but 3 children have sponsors. The picture at the top of this post is of several curious kids who were looking on when we visited in June.

If you are interested in sponsoring a child at the project in Asela or elsewhere in Ethiopia through Compassion International, we would encourage you to do so. What a great way to give to some kids who are truly in need during the Holiday season! The cost is $32/month or $384/year. You can go to the Compassion website www.compassion.com to select a child, but you can also call Compassion directly and ask to sponsor a child in Addis Ababa (the capital) or Asela (where we visited) or anywhere else throughout Ethiopia or the world.
Phone # 1-800-336-7676
Asela project # - ET328
Addis Ababa project # - ET604

We had exchanged a few letters with Almaze prior to our meeting in June and had sent money for Christmas and birthday gifts but it was great to actually see Almaze in person, to meet her family and to see what was really happening with our contributions. It clearly isn’t possible for most sponsors to actually visit the sites but you can take our word that we saw first hand the great work that is being done.

No guarantees, but if/when we do travel back to Ethiopia we would love to be able to bring gifts with us to give to your sponsored child!

Merry Christmas -
Grant

Finalization

Alex’s adoption became final on December 2! Here’s what we’ve done since we arrived back home on July 4 to get to this point.

• Our social worker visited our home on August 31 for our first post-placement review. Based on that visit, the social worker wrote a report to submit to the legal specialist at our agency, Children’s Home Society and Family Services (CHSFS). The legal specialist then prepared documents to send to the state to begin the finalization process.
• We had to complete and have notarized two legal documents to submit to the state. The documents are the Petition for Adoption and Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, Order for Judgment, and Adoption Decree.
• By mid-October, all of the paperwork was sent to the State of Minnesota Juvenile Court for processing. Around the second week of November, we received word that the paperwork had been completed at the court and we took the first available date of December 2 to schedule the finalization hearing in front of a judge at the State of Minnesota District Court.
• We had our hearing before the judge on December 2.
• After the hearing, we ordered an official birth certificate and decree of adoption for Alex. Since Alex was born abroad and adopted, he will receive a Minnesota birth certificate.
• As of December 2, Alex became an official US citizen by law but there are a few more steps for us to obtain proof of citizenship for him.
  1. Apply for a US Passport. The Passport is needed as proof of citizenship in order to obtain a social security number. (A Certificate of Citizenship can also be used as documentation for a SSN but it is costly and takes up to 8 months to process.) Therefore, a passport is the quickest way to get the SSN.
  2. Apply for a social security number.
  3. Apply for a Certificate of Citizenship.
  - Grant
  

(And now for Anna’s take on things….)
When we arrived back in the US with Alex the last thing I wanted to think about was more paperwork. Grant has been wonderful taking care of all the details, making the necessary phone calls and filling out and submitting paperwork to finalize the adoption

I wasn’t sure what to expect at court yesterday. Since it was juvenile court, each court room is private so it was only the judge, the court reporter, another worker, and the three of us. The judge asked several preliminary questions (DOB and marriage, place of marriage, current residence) but then he also asked us if we commit to taking care of Alex and raising him and being responsible for him until he is 18 or until the age of maturity. “YES!” The judge must have had our entire adoption file because after asking the initial questions he asked us a few personal questions which made us realize that he must have reviewed our paperwork.

Alex was pretty quiet during the Q&A period (other than hitting table) but then when we took some pictures and started talking more casually to the judge and other court workers, Mr. Personality came out.

After we left the court in Minneapolis we drove to St. Paul to celebrate at Fasika, which is now our favorite Ethiopian restaurant. Alex had his first few bites of Injera! It was a great day and a wonderful experience.

Thanks again for being part of this journey with us!
Anna