A dear friend and I were talking yesterday and she said that she really believes that adoption is a community effort. I couldn't agree more. Raising kids in general is not easy, and it takes a village. Adoption is a journey; such a massive undertaking. It really does take a community. Both to bring these kids home and to raise them.
As soon as John and I made the decision to adopt, we knew we would need help. First off, the support of our family and friends. We need our family and friends behind us on the journey and we will continue to need them long after our child is home.
The very next thing that was glaringly obvious was the expense. We simply do not have the finances available to pay all of the adoption fees. Adoption is incredibly expensive. We are estimating that our adoption from Uganda will cost $25,000-$30,000. There are application fees, homestudy fees, agency fees, orphanage fees and legal fees just to name a few.
Despite the expense, we still feel that we are being called to adopt. The money couldn't be the reason we said no to a child without parents. So we made the decision to step out in faith and ask God to provide the finances. It continues to be a decision each day. It's scary. We have no idea how this will work out. It's uncomfortable. Somehow I suspect this is exactly where we are supposed to be. I believe God is teaching us how fully we can trust him and that He is the Great Provider.
Our hope through this process is that others will see that adoption is doable. It is so common to hear, "I would love to adopt, but I don't have the money." Our prayer is that through our story, other families will see that adoption is within reach. There are an estimated 163,000,000 orphans in the world. I believe especially as followers of Christ we can come together and provide these kids with loving families.
Thankfully we are already experiencing some incredibly encouraging things. Our family and friends are excited. They want to help us. Some by praying, others by offering to help us fund raise, and others by donating products. We have only just started and people want to help! Already, we are amazed at the avenues available to fund an adoption. There are companies that offer opportunities to help perspective adoptive parents raise funds. We plan to apply for as many grants as we can. After our adoption is finalized, we may qualify for a tax credit. All of this gives us so much hope that it can happen!
Our hope through this process is that others will see that adoption is doable. It is so common to hear, "I would love to adopt, but I don't have the money." Our prayer is that through our story, other families will see that adoption is within reach. There are an estimated 163,000,000 orphans in the world. I believe especially as followers of Christ we can come together and provide these kids with loving families.
Thankfully we are already experiencing some incredibly encouraging things. Our family and friends are excited. They want to help us. Some by praying, others by offering to help us fund raise, and others by donating products. We have only just started and people want to help! Already, we are amazed at the avenues available to fund an adoption. There are companies that offer opportunities to help perspective adoptive parents raise funds. We plan to apply for as many grants as we can. After our adoption is finalized, we may qualify for a tax credit. All of this gives us so much hope that it can happen!
So, how can you help? Pray for us! Pray for our child and for the adoption process. Ask us about our adoption. We are so excited and love to talk about our adoption journey. Have any good ideas for fundraising? Let's here them! Spread the word about our adoption, tell people about this blog. Please pray and consider donating to our adoption fund. We truly appreciate any help we can get to bring our little boy or girl home!
I will also post information on the support page above. Any fundraisers we do will be posted on the support page as well.
I will also post information on the support page above. Any fundraisers we do will be posted on the support page as well.
2 comments:
Love the faith here! Some friends of ours have adopted two children and one motto they have is save the pennies to spend the thousands. They have some neat testimonies about walking this way and seeing it all come together. I think the dad, Shaun, was on John's floor when we all lived in Alison Hall.
This is getting so real and so exciting! We will be praying with you guys through this journey and would love to help out however we can.
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