November Adoption Update

It’s been three months since we last updated you on our adoption journey, and I am so excited to share all the ways God has been faithfully providing for and guiding us. I also want to include a few ways you can be praying for us as we continue in the process.

Fundraising

We are completely overwhelmed by how the Lord has used you to generously support our adoption! Every time I make a fundraising goal, God has blown it out of the water. Since August, we have raised over $2,000 from the Noonday Collection trunk show, our Yard Sale, and generous donations! We have now raised 25% of the total cost of our adoption! I apologize for all the exclamation points, but I rejoice every time I look at my spreadsheet to know how God has provided for our future baby. We need about $1,200 more by the end of the home study process in order to start showing our profile to birth mothers.

We are currently brainstorming ideas for fundraisers in November and December. We’ve thrown out selling crafts or baked goods or even wrapping presents for people! We are always open to new creative ideas, so let us know if you have one!

In addition to fundraising, we have submitted two grant applications. One would be a home study grant that would help us pay the remaining costs of our home study (which is a very rare grant to find!). The second would be a $4,000 matching grant that includes a crowdfunding platform for us to use. We are hoping to hear back from both of those soon.

Pray that God would help us work hard in our fundraising efforts and would give us creative ideas for holiday and end-of-year fundraising. Pray for favor with the grant committees that they would choose to award us the grants.

Home Study

The home study process has moved very slowly. We had hoped to be done with our home study by now, but we are now not anticipating being home study ready until January. Many of the factors contributing to the delay are out of our control. I have had to learn to trust God’s perfect timing and know that we are not “missing out” on our baby because we are behind where I thought we would be in the timeline. Right now, we are completing our autobiographies and medical paperwork and should have our second home study meeting soon.

Pray that we would trust God’s perfect timing in our adoption process. Pray that we would be diligent in completing our paperwork, and that our social workers do their job with excellence and discernment.

Adoption Conference

I wish each of you could have sat next to us at the adoption conference we attended last weekend to hear story after story of God’s faithfulness both in suffering and joy through adoption. Our adoption agency, Lifeline Children’s Services, requires each adopting couple to attend their adoption conference, “Rooted in Love.” We learned about topics such as prenatal trauma, child development, transracial families, and more! The most impactful part of the weekend were the testimonies. It was so encouraging to hear from other domestic adoptive parents who are on the other side, sharing both their triumphs and their heartaches. But most of all, the testimony of a birth mother brought tears to our eyes—tears of sorrow for what a young 16-year-old girl had to go through, tears of joy to know the courageous and sacrificial decision she made for her son, and tears of hope in knowing what God has done in both her and her son’s life.

The birth mother’s story reminded us why we are on this path that is sometimes hard and very expensive. It’s not for our own glory. It’s not even because it’s the “right” thing to do. It’s because God has adopted us into his family, and our adoption journey is a small picture of what Christ had to endure to make God our father.

Pray for our birth mother, that God would provide for her safety and well-being. That she would know God’s love, come to salvation (if she hasn’t already), and follow God’s will. Pray that she would have a strong support system and have wisdom in making decision for her child.

We cannot fully express what it’s like having you all beside us on this journey. We love you all, and feel free to reach out if you have any more questions about our adoption.