Josh and I are in the throws of adoption fundraising, so I thought it would be appropriate timing to put our letter on the blog. We are hoping to receive the bulk of our support by the end of June, so that we can be financially prepared for that sweet baby whenever he/she comes!
Many of you have already received our letter in the mail ... so you can just ignore the rest of this post. Hopefully this serves as a reminder to pray, and maybe a prompt to give.
Otherwise, here it is:
Dearest friends and family,As you may have heard, we are currently pursuing a domestic infant adoption. For those unfamiliar with adoption terminology, that means that we are going to adopt a newborn from the US (most likely a baby born in the greater Atlanta area). Adoption has been brewing in our hearts for years, but really gained traction at the prompting of God in May 2012. We attended an information meeting at Bethany Christian Services, and left certain of God’s call on us to adopt. We spent the summer attending classes; the fall was devoted to applications and other requirements (including self-studies, fingerprints, septic inspections, and a myriad of background checks); and we used the winter to financially prepare for our home visit. Our home study was completed at the end of the year, and we officially joined the list of waiting families in January of this year. It has already been a grueling and exhausting process (to say the least), but we couldn’t be more excited about the way that God is building our family and growing our hearts!
Before we began this journey, both of us understood at an intellectual level that adoption is a good thing. But God has used the time and experience to help us embrace adoption at an emotional level: He has truly expanded our worldview, grown our compassion, increased our trust, and enlarged our patience. We haven’t even met our child yet, and we’re already full-fledged adoption advocates! Mostly importantly, we have learned so much about the heart of God. We have come to truly cherish our status as His adopted children, and we have been given the smallest taste of His longing for His children who have not yet found security and rest in His arms.
While we wait for a birth mother to choose us, the immediate task at hand is to raise the necessary funding. We firmly believe that this adoption is a matter of obedience to God, so we trust Him to continue to provide financially for us. Our adoption, when all is said and done, will cost $15,000. That includes application fees, networking, legal fees, training for us, counseling for the birth mother, mediation, and our home study. We have already paid a significant portion, and have been given some generous gifts – but $9,500 still remains to be paid, and we are humbly asking for help to fund this last need.
However, you would not be alone in helping us reach the goal: Promise686 (www.promise686.org) has graciously awarded a matching grant to help bring our child home. Promise686’s involvement makes your donations to our adoption tax-deductible, but even better, they will match your gifts dollar-for-dollar (for the first $4,000), so you can double the effect of those gifts! Because we must complete our fundraising before placement, we are asking that donations be received by June 28th. If you sense God leading you to partner with us financially, see the donation details below.
Regardless of any financial help, we would greatly appreciate your prayers. Pray for our child, that God would care tenderly for him/her until the day we meet. Pray for our child’s birthmother, that she would know the love of God, that she would clearly hear His voice and direction, and that she would remain healthy in every way. Pray for Phoenix, that the impending transition would be easy and exciting for her. And pray for us – for patience as we wait, for powerful bonding when our child comes home, and for wisdom for the years of parenting ahead.
Thank you so much for your investment in our family and in the Kingdom of God. We couldn’t be more humbled that God would allow us to steward His children, and we hope He receives every ounce of glory.
Much love,
Josh and Emily (and Phoenix)
To make a donation, you can:
1. Make out a check to Promise686, indicating our name in the memo line (“Cash Adoption”). Send it to:
Promise686, Inc.
3600 River Ferry Drive
Alpharetta, GA 30022
2. Click the “Donate” button in the right hand panel of this blog.
**Note: per IRS guidelines, promise686 maintains complete discretion and control over the use of all donated funds, but intends to honor the donor’s suggested use.**
