Sunday, September 28, 2014

Homestudy Ready

By the end of this week, we will hopefully have the first draft of our homestudy done. It may take a month before it gets approved by all the different places that need to approve it. We have already filed our immigration paperwork with our agency and they are waiting on our homestudy. Once that is done, we will move on to what is called the dossier process, which is gathering all the documents we need to send to China.

At this point in our journey, we are exploring ways in which to raise support for our adoption. We are looking at different fundraising events as well as the Both Hands project, which is done through Lifesong for Orphans. We are hoping to raise $15,000 as our adoption is close to $38,000. We are starting to do a lot of paperwork for grants and fundraisers. We are thrilled and overwhelmed with the process. What a privilege it is to serve God in this way! We are on tiptoe to see what He will do in us and through us in our adoption journey! All praise and Glory to God!

Friday, May 2, 2014

Empty Shoes


I can't wait to see who fills these shoes.  We're waiting for you!

Friday, April 11, 2014

Getting Started

My husband and I attended the Connecting Hearts with the Forgotten Conference this past March. One thing that has stuck with me from that conference was a video clip they played. It asked the question, "What if God gave me my life to spend it for Him?' I have no reason to be afraid. I just need to pursue and obey God's call on my life.

On March 13, 2014 we filled out our application for Lifeline Children's services. Some friends of ours from a small group we were a part of in St. Louis brought their daughter home in November and had used this agency. As I read more about this agency and saw what they were doing with their (un)adopted program, we decided to go through them. On March 19, we were accepted into their China program. Since we are out of state we also had to fill out an application for an agency in Illinois to do our home-study. At the moment, we are still waiting to hear back from them.

A few weeks ago, I went to Bible Study Fellowship and as I was listening to lecture, I was struck by the question our lecturer asked, "Are you spending your life or investing it? There is a big difference between the two." I thought about this question over and over again in my mind for a few weeks.I came to the decision that I want to invest my life in others and spend my one and only life for Christ. This brought to my mind the adoption journey we are now on. I can't wait to see how the future unfolds as we take this step in obedience to adopt from China.

"Only one life twill soon be past, only what's done for Christ will last." - John Piper

The Beginning

Around 2002/2003 is where our adoption journey begins, although  we didn't know it yet. At this time, Andrew and I were attending Greenville College in Greenville, IL. We were headed to chapel to hear about what some students would be doing over the summer; teaching English as a second language in China. Andrew really desired to go on this trip, however, due to money constraints and the need to work over the summer, he was unable to go. This desire stirred in his heart a love for China and the people there.

Fast forward three years, we were now married and living in St. Louis. We attended a church out in Chesterfield, MO where there were a few people who adopted from China. Through our interaction with them, we thought we might someday want to do that as well.

On December 6, 2012, I was looking at my Facebook account and saw a picture of a little Chinese girl that had been adopted. Right then, the Lord brought tears to my eyes and spoke to my heart. I knew I was definitely going to adopt a little girl from China. God brought so much scripture to mind, while I cried tears of joy and fear of the unknown. Romans 8:28-37 - Jesus died for me and is interceding for me. Since Jesus offered himself completely for me, how can I not do what He is calling me to do? This set off a series of events for me and my husband in which we knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that God wanted us to adopt a little girl from China. Through scripture, people, and meetings, we knew God was preparing us for the journey ahead.