We have BIG news!
If you didn't know, we are a foster family. God has blessed us immensely through this process, not only with the strong possibility of adopting a little ray of sunshine in the next year, but also by using that little ray to draw our attention to the strong need for families for older foster kids in Colombia.
In His grace, God has led us to two amazing sisters who have lived in an orphanage for most of their lives. They are two incredibly special girls who are about to age out of the system, putting them in jeopardy of never having a mom or dad. God has honored us with a calling to adopt them.
We had the wonderful opportunity to spend a week with them in August. Chris, our two boys, and I fell in love with them. They are optimistic, active, and fun. They amaze us with their strength. We are so blessed that God has been preparing us for this opportunity without us even knowing it.
We are beyond excited and are doing everything we can to prepare to welcome the girls to our family, including doing training to help with the healing that will be part of their story. The older sister also has some medical issues that we are preparing to tackle once they arrive home.
It may be a surprise to hear that adoption related costs can easily total up to $55,000 or more (especially when you factor-in having to get beds, clothes, etc). Unfortunately, this cost keeps a lot of qualified, loving people from being able to provide families for deserving kids. To be honest, we were not certain we could manage it. We have been saving to pay for the cost but, as we approach the 18th birthday of one of our girls, we realized we likely cannot do it on our own before she ages out of the system.
We feel so blessed with Chris' ability to provide for us and have really hesitated to do any fundraising. We feel this is our own calling and didn’t want to burden others with it. It is so humbling to have to ask for help. It's uncomfortable, but we have come to realize that we are not asking for ourselves. We are asking for two girls who need a family, specialized care, and someone to advocate for them.
We would love for anyone who is able to become part of the amazing story of how they joined their forever family. We hope that by inviting you into this process, you will see yourself as part of the community we hope to build around our girls as they grow up and experience the joy of belonging.
We've partnered with this site because all donations through AdoptTogether are tax-deductible. Thank you so much for your support! Whether or not you can contribute a financial gift, your support in prayer for this process and all the kiddos involved is deeply appreciated.
With much love,
The Castillo Family
