Hi There!
We are incredibly excited to announce that we are FULLY FUNDED!
Through our infertility journey and respite care experience, God has revealed a calling for us to pursue Domestic Infant Adoption. Adoption runs deep in our families and we have confidence in knowing that God has uniquely woven our life in a way to soften and equip our hearts towards adoption. We are just so excited to be parents!!!
As we pursue adoption, we are encouraged by the example of The Gospel – praise God that He cares so deeply for the least of these. We would love to extend the same overwhelming and selfless love not only to our future child, but to his/her birth mother. Our prayer is that God uses us to minister to a birth mother, celebrate the importance of choosing life, and raise a little disciple of Jesus.
So where does that leave us? Adoption is so beautiful but an emotional rollercoaster. We would deeply appreciate your prayers as we wait to be matched! Thank you to everyone who has doanted and encouraged us along the way. We are so excited for you to join us on our adoption journey!
Stephen & I are absolutely blown away by God’s provision throughout this fundraiser: financially, physically, and spiritually. Mega Yard Sales are not for the faint of heart.
When Stephen posted about the fundraiser on the Nextdoor App, we did not expect the reaction we received. The post quite literally blew up. Over 30 people donated their unwanted treasures to our fundraiser. I’m pretty sure I came home to a new pile of boxes at our door step for two weeks straight. We even had a nearly brand-new leather couch delivered to us this morning to sell. God provides.
We spent so many nights over the past month pricing and organizing the donations. It looked like a hurricane had come and stayed in our home for a solid month. We cannot give a big enough thank you for Alex opening his home to store all the things and host the yard sale. I’m really going to cherish the memories made while unloading countless car loads of donations on his back porch. We were always welcomed in for a drink, air conditioning, and a good conversation.
Community makes all the difference. Many hands make light and joyful work; and God has blessed us with so many good friends. The past few days have been filled with so many of our favorite people. From old friends, new friends, practically family friends, and family – we are just so grateful. There aren’t enough “thank you’s” to go around. We could not have done it by ourselves. Through this specific fundraiser, God specially opened my eyes to the community we will be blessed to raise our baby in. I am so grateful for the friends and family he/she will have. It’s going to be the best.
Going into this weekend, my prayer was that we could be a blessing to others as they were going to be blessing us financially. There were so many sweet exchanges between us and complete strangers. We couldn’t have asked for a better two days to be in the scorching heat. We also had the goal to raise $2,000 this weekend. God met that goal on the first day and nearly doubled it on the second. He provides.
So, the big question is – was it worth the month long hurricane in our house, sleepless nights of pricing, and twenty coats of sunscreen? Absolutely. It was worth it again and again.
The Foot Notes:
- One month of preparation.
- Over thirty donations collected (mostly from complete strangers).
- Lots of pricing (and many sleepless nights).
- A few melt downs (by yours truly).
- Two days in the scorching heat (I’m pretty sure we had record breaking numbers?!?)
- Grand Total: $3,952
Final Thoughts: PRAISE GOD
Warmly,
The Allens
Hi There!
Stephen and I are incredibly humbled to share the beginning of our adoption story with you. The past few months have been a whirlwind of emotions, but incredibly enriching. Last year, we felt a strong tug on our hearts to start our family but quickly found that there were a few physical roadblocks in the way. We entered what felt like the longest waiting period as we sought out answers concerning my infertility. In January of this year, we stepped out in faith as God opened the door for us to provide respite care for a sibling set of two within our church. This was our first experience with foster care as a married couple and what a fun rollercoaster ride it was!
There is so much goodness to share from that experience alone. I wish I could share it all with you; but that is a story to be told while sharing a pot of coffee. God used those precious children to stretch us more than we anticipated and answer heavy prayers of longing. Although they were only in our home for a short while, they have wiggled their way into our hearts forever.
Through our infertility journey and respite care experience, God has heavily placed on our hearts Domestic Infant Adoption. Over the months of the unanswered medical questions, we wrestled with the idea of pursuing any type of medical treatment. We have a sure hope in God’s sovereign plan. His timing is perfect. We firmly believe God is telling us to wait on, trust in, and follow Him. He has opened every door for us to adopt. Where there was uneasiness pursuing treatment, there has only been peace pursuing adoption. All glory be to God. We are merely stepping out in faith as He paves the way.
We also have confidence in knowing that God has uniquely woven our lives in a way to equip our hearts towards adoption. We have firsthand experience with both the joys and hardships that it may bring. We are encouraged by how God has placed us in the center of an incredible support system. Our parents have been through the thick of it, as Stephen and all our siblings have been adopted. They have so much wisdom and encouragement to share with us. God has also placed us in a church whose heart is for church planting and orphan care. They have walked alongside us with full support from the very beginning of this process. We are humbled beyond words can describe. God has woven our adoption journey together before it was even a blip on our radar.
As we pursue adoption, we are encouraged by the example of The Gospel – praise God that He cares so deeply for the least of these. We are born into brokenness and as sinners saved by grace, we are adopted into His family. We are excited to extend the same selfless love not only to our future child, but to his/her birth mother. Our prayer is that God uses us to minister to the birth mother, celebrate the importance of choosing life, and raise a little disciple of Jesus who loves life! We cannot imagine a more perfect way for us to become parents!
Warmly,
The Allens
