Don't Let the Numbers Stop You

OK, let's talk about money. Just this once.

When we started looking into adoption, we were scared silly by the cost of international adoption, as I'm sure everyone is. We prayed about it and we decided that we weren't going to let money stop us. We felt so strongly that God wanted us to take this path, and lack of finances was not going to stop Him from seeing us through it. So we dove right in. With very little money in our checking account and absolutely no savings.

The expenses are different for every country and every agency. Our total expenses are close to $40,000 (yikes). The fees have been broken up throughout the process and there has not been a single time when we didn't have the money that was due. It has been so astonishing to see God work. Dave and I have been amazed at the generosity of friends, family and strangers. We have been humbled, blessed and moved to tears.

So far, we have received over $11,000 in gifts and donations alone! We've been awarded $8,000 in adoption grants from various organizations. We've held fundraisers: a night of worship at church, selling t-shirts and jewelry, a yard sale that brought in over $3,000.

The last installment of agency fees and country fees will be due when we sign the referral acceptance for Tshepo. The Memorial Day yard sale brought in almost exactly what we needed to meet that goal! It's as if God is always saying to us, "I will give you what you need. Trust me."

So now we begin raising funds for our travel expenses. This will be, without a doubt, the most expensive trip we will ever take. And it will be worth every penny.

Introducing...

Good gracious.

This little man was born premature at 28 weeks, weighing less than 3 pounds and measuring less than 14 inches long. He's a little miracle already! Thank you, Lord, for watching over him.

We learned today that he and a little girl in his home are close friends (and hope to get married one day :)). She is also being adopted by a family within our agency, so we hope to make contact so these little ones can stay in touch once they are here in the States. What a blessing for Tshepo!

Looks like a handful, doesn't he? We can't wait.



APPROVED by the Central Authority!

We just got word that the match with "Sebastian" has been approved by the South African Central Authority! The adoption agency in South Africa is getting all of his paperwork ready to send to us. We should have it by the end of the month!We can't wait to introduce his sweet face to all of you!