We have BIG news!
We are adopting a child!
Sometimes things just don't go according to your plan. This is our story! After we got married, we had plans for a family with multiple children that we would raise in our wonderful community. Our plan got off to a good start, as within our first year of marriage we discovered we were pregnant and were going to have a beautiful baby girl, Danielle. We were so excited! When Danielle was born, there were some complications and we had to spend a few months in the hospital with her, until she was strong enough to go home. The doctors told us we needed to wait at least a year before we got pregnant again. But after a year, we decided it was time to grow our family again. This is when we discovered that our plan wasn't God's plan. After a year of not becoming pregnant, we went to see a doctor and found that we now had infertility. We didn't understand right away, since we already had one child, how this could be. We were crushed and didn't see our family growing anytime soon.
God reminded us from Isaiah 55:8-9 "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not My ways." This is the LORD's declaration. "For as heaven is higher than earth, so My ways are higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts."
God had a plan for us that was different from what we had planned, and even though we didn't understand it, we knew that His way was greater than our way. It was then that God reminded both of us about a couple from our church who are now missionaries in China. Before leaving for their mission, they spoke at our church and talked about adoption. God moved both of us that night and placed adoption on our hearts. We saw the hurting and need for His children and discussed the possibility of adoption in our future. At the time, we had thought it would be down the road a ways and our own children would be older. But again, our plans are not His plans. We prayed and sought God and felt he was leading us to adopt now. We may not understand His reasoning or His timing, but God is good and we trust Him to bring us through as this is His plan.
While the adoption process can be overwhelming at times, we are beyond excited and are doing everything we can to be prepared to welcome a beautiful new life into our home. As part of our adoption process, we have started a crowdfunding campaign. It may surprise you to hear that adoption related costs can easily total up to $30,000 or more. This is why we have set a goal of $20,000 to help ease the financial burden that often overwhelms adoptive parents. We ask that you pray about supporting us, either financially or prayerfully! While we are in need of money, more importantly, we need prayers and God's continued guidance and blessing.
We hope that by inviting you into this process, you will see yourself as part of the community we hope to build around our child as he/she grows up. Please join us on social media by liking our Facebook page: Franken Adoption We will be sharing updates and progress on our adoption there. Thank you for your prayers and support!
