A story 20 years in the making…
This story isn't about me or the journey that my family is about to go, this story is about what God has done to lead my wife and I to the decision to adopt!
I was adopted from Russia in 2006. My father still tells the story that he was sitting at church in May of 2005 and they had an announcement that they were planning a trip to Russia through the Slavic Gospel Association at the end of the year. When he was sitting at church he still remembers to this day he heard God's audible voice telling him that he needed to go to Russia. While the man that I was going to call my dad was sitting at a country church in rural Indiana, 5,000 miles away in Russia I was a small boy of only 11 who had just lost his mom to a horrible disease called alcoholism.
BUT GOD had a plan in place already! Little did we all know that plan was going to include another great adventure that God was going to take us on almost 20 years later. I met my father and my older sister when they came to visit my orphanage as part of that trip with his church. They were the first ever Americans I was meeting in my life and for a kid in an orphanage, I was excited! We exchanged addresses and agreed to start writing to each other! When they left that day from our orphanage I remember something telling me that they would be back, the kids who had been in the orphanage for a longer time then I told me that they were just “one day” Americans, they wouldn't be back.
Looking back now I can see it was God letting me know that he had a plan already in place! What I didn't know is that my father went back to the hotel that night and called my mother back in the US to let her know that he met their son. My parents started the adoption process in the US pretty soon after my father and my sister got back from the trip. They did a lot of fundraising work, they had Show Hope (among many other organizations, many of which we are now using for our own adoption) to donate to my adoption. In addition they had many people who donated money and helped to bring me to the US. My parents were faithful in their answer to God and on November 30th 2006, I was adopted! If God didn't orchestrate this big journey I would never be writing this today. I’ve had many more opportunities in my life that I was able to take advantage of that I wouldn't have if I was never adopted.
So now let's fast forward to 2017 when I met my wife Kaitlyn. After we had met and started dating we knew pretty fast into our relationship that we would eventually get married. Before Kaitlyn had met me, she went on several trips abroad to many different countries, she had been in Paraguay with the Peace Corps for two years and she did mission work at an orphanage in Rwanda. We started talking about how our future would look, and we knew that adoption was going to be part of that future. Kaitlyn and I got married in 2017 and had a fun filled marriage (with so many great adventures domestically and internationally) making sure that we built a Godly foundation for our marriage before we started having kids. In 2021 we found out we were expecting the bright and joy of our lives, Bradley. My wife had a hard pregnancy and a hard delivery but she was a trooper and we were blessed with a healthy baby boy and yet God wasn't done yet! After Bradley's birth the doctors were honest with us and told us we shouldn't have any more biological kids because there is a good chance that we would lose Kaitlyn in the process. Although that door may have closed for us we knew that God still wasn’t done with our family yet.
Here we are two and half years later, I can't say I heard God's audible voice telling us “to go” but things are feeling so at peace! We feel like we are at a great place in our lives to start the wonderful journey that my parents went on almost 20 years ago! If my parents didn't answer that call I wouldn't have been able to have the life that I have today, a second chance in life so to speak.
According to the US Department of State adoptions peaked at almost 23,000 in 2004. They have decreased nearly every year since, to a low of 1,275 in 2023 — a 95% drop. A song that often brings tears to Kaitlyn’s eyes is Audio Adrenaline’s ‘Kings & Queens’ and part of it says:
Little hands, shoeless feet, lonely eyes looking back at me, Will we leave behind the innocent to grieve On the road, on the run when their lives have only begun These could be our daughters and our sons And just like a drum I can hear their hearts beating I know my God won't let them be defeated Every child has a dream to belong and be loved … These are the lives that the world has forgotten Waiting for doors of our hearts and our homes to open…
So here we are answering the call to open our hearts and our home to a child(ren) from Hong Kong. We feel like God is leading us to a hard, yet fun new journey ahead. We would love to open up our home, to show them love, to give them a family instead of an orphanage, and to give them a second chance in life, just like the second chance I received almost 20 years ago.
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So many have already been asking how you can help and we are already so thankful for so many of you across the country…
-The first thing we are asking for is PRAYERS. Prayers for our family on this journey, prayers for our future child(ren)- may they know how much they are loved by their Heavenly Father and by us already, prayers for the adults who are caring for them, and prayers for the doors to continue to open (and close) on this journey.
-After prayerful consideration, you may make a donation here on this website. We are estimating that the total cost of this adoption will be at least $28,000. If you like more detailed information about these expenses please just ask. Also if you're interested in making an off-line donation just let us know.
-We have also started an Amazon wish list that we will continue adding items to as we know more. Right now it’s filled with children's books about adoption that we can start using with Bradley, and great resources for us to be using now as a family. https://www.amazon.com/registries/gl/guest-view/2JPJXGHBY6DR6
-Share- would you consider helping us by just sharing our story- on your favorite social media platform, text message, or even email!
-Thank you so much in advance for your continued prayers, this is a very long journey for us as a family. We are always happy to answer any of your questions that we can about our adoption, so please reach out to Michael or Kaitlyn with those questions. We hope to keep this website updated as much as we can with updates, current prayer requests, and more.
Blessings! The Sproles- Michael, Kaitlyn & Bradley
I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my HOPE. -Psalm 130:5
It is so fitting right now as we enter this season of Advent that this week the word is HOPE. Right now we have so much to be thankful for, and so much hope for our future and along our adoption journey.
We were so blessed to travel out to Virginia over Thanksgiving week to spend time with our family! It was so fun to see Bradley sitting on Great Grandma (Maw Maw) lap reading a story or running around with all of my cousin’s children in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley. While in Virginia we received the November list of adoptable children from Hong Kong and after a lot of prayer, reading all that we could about the children, research, and consideration we have made the leap and applied for a child. We realize this decision is completely out of our hands at this point and that there are probably so many great families also applying for that same child we are trying our best to not get too attached yet. So for now we continue to wait and HOPE to hear a decision right around Christmas time before the December list comes out.
Please continue to…
-PRAY- prayers for our family on this journey, prayers for the right child to come to us at the right time, prayers for all of the beautiful children on the list to be adopted- may they each find loving families, prayers for Bradley as we continue to prepare him for a sibling, prayers for the adults who are currently caring for them, and prayers for doors to continue to be opened (or closed) on this journey.
-PRAY- for our USCIS (US Citizenship & Immigration Services) application to be approved, Michael and I are traveling up to Michigan City this week to complete our biometric screenings.
-PRAY- we have two grant applications out to be reviewed this month and another one almost finished so pray we are able to receive the funding we need for this adoption at just the right time.
-Prayerfully consider making a donation. We are estimating the total cost to be close to $25,000. We have been generously blessed with finances coming through at just the right time thus far, and we are so thankful for that. So far we have spent $13,012, and have been blessed with $9,172 of grants or funding from friends and family so far. We have a long way to go so would you consider making a donation here (5% administrative fees that stays with Adopt Together), or offline donation- talk with Kaitlyn or Michael.
-Or if you’re interested we have an Amazon wish list here which contains a lot of great resources to help us as the entire family prepare- https://www.amazon.com/registries/gl/guest-view/2JPJXGHBY6DR6
-Share- would you consider helping us by just sharing our story- on your favorite social media platform, text message, or even email!
Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support. We pray that each of you have HOPE this holiday season and are able to spend some time surrounded by family & friends.
Blessings! The Sproles- Michael, Kaitlyn & Bradley
WAIT for the Lord; be strong and take heart and WAIT for the Lord. - Psalm 27:14
The theme for us right now for our adoption is WAIT, to be still. We have been on such a wild ride the past several months getting all of our paperwork submitted, home study complete, and did I mention mountains of paperwork?
Last week we received the October list of adoptable children from Hong Kong, and after a lot of careful consideration and prayer we have decided that none of those children on the list are our future child(ren). We were so glad to see that some of the children from last month’s list were taken off, and hopefully moving towards their forever homes, and while our hearts break for the children still on the list we have decided to wait. So now we wait until the list comes out at the end of this month and continue to pray for our future child(ren) and for God’s direction in this process. We are doing as much as we can to prepare ourselves and Bradley for this transition, there are so many great resources out there for us to explore!
Please continue to…
-PRAY- prayers for our family on this journey, prayers for us as we prayerfully consider and apply for a child(ren)- may God open our hearts and eyes to just the right one(s), prayers for Bradley as we try to prepare him for a sibling(s), prayers for our future child(ren), prayers for the adults who are currently caring for them, and prayers for doors to continue to be opened (or closed) on this journey.
-PRAY- for our USCIS (US Citizenship & Immigration Services) application to be approved that we submitted last month.
-Prayerfully consider making a donation. We are estimating the total cost to be close to $25,000. We have been generously blessed with finances coming through at just the right time thus far, and we are so thankful for that. So far we have spent $12,858, and have been blessed with $8,709 of grants or funding from friends and family so far. We have a long way to go so would you consider making a donation here (5% administrative fees that stays with Adopt Together), or offline donation- talk with Kaitlyn or Michael. Or if you’re interested we have an Amazon wish list here which contains a lot of great resources to help us as the entire family prepare- https://www.amazon.com/registries/gl/guest-view/2JPJXGHBY6DR6
-Share- would you consider helping us by just sharing our story- on your favorite social media platform, text message, or even email!
Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support.
Blessings! The Sproles- Michael, Kaitlyn & Bradley
So many blessings this past month!
We are so excited to share with you that we have finished our home study process (2 interviews ~ 5+ hours total) and our official application for Hong Kong (32 pages I may add) and can start the next steps of our adoption journey! We have such an amazing team of folks who have been working so hard to help us out on this journey- Jan our social worker, Pam the Hong Kong country director, Vickie the administrative director, and more folks working behind the scenes. We are so blessed to have moved through this step so efficiently with one saying, “In my experience this was really record time for such an extensive international home study, but more importantly I also believe it is a quality home study.” So onwards we go!
Next steps:
-We can very soon begin looking at adoptable children in Hong Kong- please PRAY for this process that God will continue to lead us to just the right child(ren), help me (Kaitlyn) not fall in love with each child I see. This is a very different process than most countries worldwide who look at the application and match families with a child. For Hong Kong we review the child files and apply for a specific child(ren) while others may be doing the same (so multiple families could be applying for the same child). We’ve been told a committee meets once a month to review all of the applications and we should hear a yes or no (no explanation given) within a month. Some families are selected the first time they apply for a child, and others have gone through this process 6 or more times. It sounds like we will get new files from Hong Kong late next week!
-USCIS Immigration- please PRAY this process with the US government go smoothly for us
Please continue to…
-PRAY- prayers for our family on this journey, prayers for us as we prayerfully consider and apply for a child(ren)- may God open our hearts and eyes to just the right one(s), prayers for Bradley as we try to prepare him for a sibling(s), prayers for our future child(ren), prayers for the adults who are currently caring for them, and prayers for doors to continue to be opened (or closed) on this journey.
-Prayerfully consider making a donation. We are estimating the total cost to be close to $30,000. We have been generously blessed with finances coming through at just the right time thus far, and we are so thankful for that. Recently Goshen College (Kaitlyn’s employer) blessed us with $2,500 towards our next step, but our next expense is over $6,000 to cover our dossier preparation & USCIS Immigration filing. Consider making a donation here (5% administrative fees that stays with Adopt Together), or offline donation- talk with Kaitlyn or Michael.
-Share- would you consider helping us by just sharing our story- on your favorite social media platform, text message, or even email!
Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support.
Blessings! The Sproles- Michael, Kaitlyn & Bradley
P.S. Photo is of PawPaw Jeff, Bradley, and Kaitlyn earlier this month enjoying the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo. Bradley went back to Columbia, MO about 10 days to spend time with Grammy and PawPaw and although he was missed here we were able to get a lot of things done around the house and Kaitlyn even got away for a Women's Retreat for a few much needed days!
We are so excited to announce that we have a home study scheduled which is the next BIG step for our Hong Kong adoption process. Once that is completed it sets into motion a lot of things on our end- we can start reviewing child files (and finding the child(ren) that God has set apart for us), applying for additional grants to help fund our adoption, and so much more.
My ‘today I saw God’ moment is the lady who is doing our home study worked for the organization that Michael’s adoption went through, and she recognized his name and looked back in her files and saw that she played a small part in bringing him here. How cool is that!
We are so thankful to so many of you who have already been praying for our family on this journey and blessing us financially, with beautiful books on adoption, words of wisdom, and more.
Please continue to…
-PRAY- prayers for our family on this journey, prayers for our home study to go well next Wednesday (10/2), prayers for our future child(ren), prayers for the adults who are caring for them, and prayers for doors to continue to be opened (or closed) on this journey
-Prayerfully consider making a donation. We are estimating the total cost to be close to $30,000. We have been generously blessed with a grant for $4,500 that covered our home study, but our next expense is close to $6,000 to cover our dossier preparation & USCIS Immigration filing. Consider making a donation here (5% administrative fees that stays with Adopt Together), or offline donation- talk with Kaitlyn or Michael.
-Share- would you consider helping us by just sharing our story- on your favorite social media platform, text message, or even email!
Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support.
Blessings! The Sproles- Michael, Kaitlyn & Bradley
This weekend we took a trip over to Toledo, Ohio for an incredible zoo day for Bradley (see photo).
Many of you are wondering why it costs so much for an international adoption, so we just wanted to share with you all the cost breakdown that we have. Believe it or not Hong Kong is currently one of the most affordable countries to adopt from!
-At application- $1,345 (we saved up for this initial expense as a family), paid to agency 8/8/24
Covers- Application processing & required Hague monitoring and oversight
-When home study is scheduled- $4,500 (we applied for and received a generous grant from Hand in Hand through the Noble County Community foundation 9/6/24)
Covers- Orientation, Adoption finance coach, document training, class training, Hague accreditation, Home study
-When dossier preparation begins- $5,400 (this is what we're currently fundraising towards)
Covers- Communication, shipping, phone calls, administration, personnel, office overhead, dossier training, Hong Kong Program Development fee
-When child is matched & accepted- $4,773
Covers- submission to attorney of all necessary court information, match referral training, pre-placement training, placement services, child passport, visa medical, child's visa, care of the child in orphanage
-Post placement and post adoption reports- $1,800
Covers- 3 quarterly reports by a social worker, report review, translations and submission, oversight and guardianship by Hand in Hand until adoption is finalized
-Third Party Fees- $12,000 estimated
Covers- USCIS Immigration filing, document- authentication & verification, our travel & living expenses while in Hong Kong, US Attorney & court filing fees for adoption finalization, medical paperwork & tests (entire family)
Paid for thus far- Fingerprinting ($74- 8/16/24), Medical ( $620- 9/28/24)
I hope this provides a bit of clarification for you all and as always please feel free to ask questions of Michael or myself. Blessings and thanks so much for your continued support!
