Dear Friends and Family,
Recently we were disappointed about an adoption of a baby
girl that fell through. While we were saddened to lose an opportunity to have
another child, we feel confident that God’s plan is great and our baby will
come. However, as a result of this we learned some great lessons.
First and foremost we learned about our capacity to love and
trust God’s directives. He brought about in us changes of the heart and more
willing listening ears. This was a child who would have required extra patience
and medical attention, but in opening our hearts to God’s direction, we found
that our love for this child was already unconditional. Despite the fact that
we will not get this child, we believe that our prayers and love helped find
this baby girl the home it needed. Oddly, despite the perception that God did
not carry through with his portion of what he asked us to do, we feel more
trust in his plan after the seeming failure than we did before. We know that
God does not fail, and that this twist in his plans has left us open for what
is next.
Secondarily, we discovered that while we were prepared for
this child in our hearts, we were in not ready physically or fiscally.
Addison’s adoption was the stuff of movies and miracles. The situation and the
finances fell in our lap with surprising ease. This adoption has not been the
case. Outside of a grant from our home church, Sagebrush, we have little money
or provisions for this baby. While we had begun saving for the eventuality of a
baby, it was clear that what we had saved up was not sufficient for the
immediate response often needed. Prior to this we felt that we should be
backing this adoption financially on our own. Afterwards, however, it is clear
that this was not God’s plan for us. We feel He has asked us to be humble and
not only accept help but to be vulnerable enough to actively seek it.
We would like to ask our friends and our family members to prayerfully consider financial, baby
needs, or time donations. Please know that we do not expect it of anybody. If
God moves you to give towards our new baby, here is the anticipated adoption
only expenses:
1. Legal fees ($800)
2.
Agency fees ($12,000)
3.
Birth family fees (varies drastically
500-several thousand. This will depend on the specific family)
As you know there are many additional expenses to having a baby, if you feel led to donate to this area you are also welcome. Please do not feel obligated to give in any way. But if God
has lead you to do so, these donations are tax deductible if you give directly
to our adoption agency (see address below). Any amount of time or financial aid
is extremely helpful. If you cannot donate, please join us in prayer as we
continue to ask God to provide.
Finally, we are an open book. If you have questions about
adoption or what we have gone through, please feel free to ask. We love to
share both the sadness and the beauty of our story.
Our adoption agency has asked us only to seek pledges as of right now. If you feel God has asked you to consider a financial pledge, send us a note and we will contact you when the agency requests the funding. Otherwise, we ask that you think about joining us in prayer.
