Hi, Everyone,

We are going to make things official and adopt our girls!

Eleven years ago next month, we went to Texas and hired a lawyer so that we could have custody of Ken’s granddaughters, Zoey and Jayden. They were 5 and 3 ½ years old at that time. Soon afterward, we took them to China where we homeschooled them for four years, settling into family life. They have attended school in Indiana, in Chengdu, China, and now they are students at Grace International School in Chiang Mai, Thailand. They are intelligent, creative, and beautiful teenage girls.

We have been advised to move our custodial grandparent status to a more secure one of adoptive parents. The girls’ parents are both in agreement and support this change since adoption would benefit all of us. Nothing will change in terms of how much contact, communication, and love we have for the girls’ parents. This will only strengthen the financial and legal security of the girls.

After speaking with an attorney yesterday (June 27), we know that this process will cost about $6,500. This total includes the retainer fee and services of the lawyer, change fees for Ken’s air ticket and for Ken’s return airfare in about five months’ time for the adoption hearing. There is no need for a social worker to visit since we have already been raising the girls for such a long time.

Since we are also currently trying to raise missionary support, we have none of our own funds saved for this process. Would you consider helping us with the costs? Any amount that you could give would be extremely helpful and we would truly be grateful.

Stephani and Ken