Twelve years ago, we began a new journey as husband and wife. During that time, we have lived overseas, fostered some wonderful children, had three children of our own, moved too many times to count, and had some ups and downs in our marriage that in the end have only made us stronger and made us love each other and Christ more every day. Because you have always been faithful in your support and prayers for us, we would like to include you on our next journey…international adoption.
When we were overseas, we had a doctor tell us that it would be difficult for me to have children, and that night, we started looking into adoption. Surprisingly for us, the doctor was wrong and we have three amazing boys today. However, that urge and desire has never left our hearts.
The verse that spoke to us specifically was James 1: 26-27; “If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in the affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” As Christians we are called to support adoption, because we ourselves are adopted through Christ. So, we have followed God’s lead and will for our lives and have decided to adopt a child from China. As you know, we lived in China for a time. We loved the culture and people and will always have a strong connection to the country. Because of the guidelines in China these days, we will also be adopting a special needs child (we will be able to determine what special needs we are open to accepting).
At this time, we have chosen an adoption agency and have completed our homestudy. The process of adoption requires that we step out on faith and be stretched in ways that are out of our comfort zone. We are so thankful that we have the means to provide for a child’s daily needs, but the reality is there is a substantial amount of money needed to bring this child home. We have paid our first "big" fee and are trying to save/raise money for the additional fees. We are estimating about $30,000 for the whole adoption and are hoping to raise at least $20,000. We also have to be realistic about saving for possible future medical needs for this child.
If you desire to support us financially, we would appreciate your generosity greatly! Remember, any donation here is tax-deductible!
