We're Getting There!

So, after a crazy-busy couple of months with shirt sales, craft shows where I'm selling my Sugarplum items and Ugandan necklaces, my Etsy shop, plus some straight donations, we now have enough to (probably) cover 2 adult round trip tickets, 2 one-way tickets home, plus the rest of the attorney fees!  Amazing, huh?!  I was quite shocked when I added up everything the other night. Praise God!  I say it all the time, but every little bit helps.  Every little $10, $20. . . it all adds up quickly!  We have received donations small and large, and every single one is SO helpful.

Some sweet stories of giving:

*2 little girls ages 6 and 5 wanting to give me ALL their money.  Over $20!
*A church we're not members of giving a very generous donation.
*$20 from friends who I know were giving VERY sacrificially.
*A donation from someone who thought about buying a shirt, or bows, but decided to just give the money instead.
*Donations from people we don't know.
*Someone getting married soon who wants to donate the money they would've spent on wedding favors for guests, to helping us bring home the girls instead.
*Multiple people "overpaying" for t-shirts, beads, etc.
*A sweet friend putting in a LOT of hours making things to sell for our adoption!  Check out her stuff!

As always, we are humbled and grateful for everyone who has partnered with us!

By the way, we received word on Thanksgiving that we will most likely have a January court date!  AHHHH!  So much to do in so little time!  And I don't just mean the fundraising.  This is starting to feel VERY QUICK.  Only a matter of WEEKS!

So, since we have the funds to cover plane tickets and the attorney's fees (praise God again!) all the remaining expenses will be in-country and stateside expenses which include:

2 visas for the girls ($808)
2 embassy medical checks ($200)
Lodging, food, drivers/gas, tips, miscellaneous items, etc. (a lot! best estimate I have is a "few thousand")
Finalizing in the US ($1,000)
US passports (for all our Ugandan kids) ($315)
Citizenship for all 3 kids ($1650)

So we need to plan for roughly $10,000 more in remaining expenses but hopefully less!

If you want to help, we will be placing one more Hope Shirts order later, maybe January.  So you can still snag one if you want!  We don't make a fortune off each one, but it sure helps!

I have a little bit in my Etsy shop, and a lot of stock at my house if you need gifts items!

For flat donations, you can use Paypal and choose the "gift" option which does not take out the typical Paypal fee. . . or use the ChipIn on the right sidebar which goes through Paypal also.  Our paypal is rick.neill@gmail.com.

For a tax-deductible donation, that information is on our Hope Shirt site--just click the tab that says "donate" and you can read about that option.