Fun with missions

Another summer of Teen Missions International under our belt.  The girls had fun, and learned alot. 

Last year for Mustard Seeds

 

This is the last year for our little Mustard Seed.  She has grown so much in these past three years.  She has learned so much.

"We Said YES to Adoption" + GIVEAWAY

"God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure." Ephesians 1:5 (NLT)

Adoption. One of the most beautiful pieces of the Gospel. An all-powerful and loving Father God chose us, in our sinfulness, to be His sons and daughters. Does it get any better than that? The fact that we, as Christians, can replicate this relationship in our own families to tell the Gospel through our lives is an complete honor and joy.

"WE SAID YES TO ADOPTION" // Andy & Laura's Story

 (video by Andy Watson)

Andy and Laura, adoptive parents of Eli from Ethiopia shared how God provided every step of the way, crushing fears and showing that HE is faithful to finish what He starts.



Part of God's provision came from Lifesong and its partner, Legacy 685 Adoption Fund, helping this family financially with a matching grant and funding support.

Learn more about Lifesong Adoption Funding>>

INDIGENOUS ADOPTION // Ukraine

Meet Volodya and Lyliya, one of the many Ukrainian families blessed by Adoption without Borders, an initiative that intentionally links like-minded families and churches in the USA with Christian families in Ukraine who are seeking to adopt.  

"(Adoption is) the deepest evangelism we can provide, to dedicate our lives to bringing children to the Lord. Our biggest dream is that all of our children would commit their lives to God." --Volodya & Lyliya, adoptive parents of five Ukrainian children 

Learn more about Adoption without Borders>>

HOW CAN I HELP? 

Because of your support, the families above have been able to give a forever family to a child in need. Are you looking for ways to join the cause? What you could do:

• Start a Church Adoption Fund
• Encourage these families by commenting on the blog or on Facebook, offering prayers and words of encouragement
• Support families through Adoption Grant Fund

READ MORE ABOUT ADOPTION...

How Could We Not? -  Erik & Erin's adoption story is unique, but beautiful as they stepped in to help a family member in need by providing Austin with a stable and secure family. Read Full Story



Worth the Wait - Guest blog post from Jeff & Rachel,  adoptive parents of Kate from Ethiopia. Read Full Story



God Creates Family from Strangers - Sharon, adoptive mom, shares her heart of on an ordinary day four months after bringing Asrate into their forever family.  Read Full Story



US Churches impacting Ukrainian families! - Three US churches wrap around a Ukrainian family to ensure home repairs where finished soadoption could be complete. Read Full Story



"I know you guys!" - Read as Robert & Alexis share about meeting their son Jacob for the very first time. Read Full Story

So proud

I am so very proud of my little girl. She is doing Teen Missions this week. This is the first time she is gone from mommy and daddy over night. She will be making cookies and delivering them to fire departments, police stations, and elderly homes. She is going to have so much fun but mommy misses her snuggle bug.

You did it!!

As of today, we officially have our matching grant MATCHED!!  I would like to say thank you to everyone who helps us get this matched. I know many not only donated but also shared.  It means so much to use that everyone took the time to do it.  We are forever humbled by everyone involved.  What this means, our agency fees for this point in the adoption have been paid.  It was one less thing we had to worry about, and for that I am very grateful. Adoption is stressful, dont let anyone fool you, and anytime something happens to alleviate just a small part of that stress, it is amazing.  So, thank you very much for helping take some of that stress, and thank you Lifesong for the blessing of this matching grant.

I797

Have an approved I800a....which mean....our I797 is in the mail and on its way to us.  This has been a crazy fun day.  Because this is coming I had to get up early and get my picture taken so I could get it to the agency asap.  All the documents that where needed for our dossier are on their way to the agency.  We now wait for the copy to arrive, because once it does...everything starts to get notarized, certified, and then apostalized.  This should take around 3-4 weeks, although we secretly hope it only take 2-3.  Once this step is done, everything heads over to country.  Once this happens....we are then on country time and not much we can do, other then pray.

Up date on our matching grant with Lifesong, we only need $469 to reach our match. Because of this great new that I just shared, we need this grant matched.  This will cover the next set of agency fees and dossier fee.  I am forever grateful and humbled by those who have donated, to those who have helped get the word out through blog post and sharing on social media outlets.  I know that is the only reason we have got this far. Now it is crunch time, we need to get this matched so we can pay these next set of fees.  Please continue to share, it really does help.

On the none adoption side of our lives.  We will have a busy weekend.  We are off to a Cincinnati feis. My daughter hopes to place in her fast hornpipe.  She had hoped to dance the treble jig, but that is just not going to happen.  So, please send prayers that she stays safe and has not injuries.

Loving from a Distance

I know many want to help an adopting family when they bring their child home, but many times those good intentions are not helpful.  So, here is something Lifeline is offering anyone...a webinar to help family and friends show love and support without hurting attachment.

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Please join us online Thursday, June 13th from 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm CST for our webinar on “Loving from a Distance: How family and friends can show love and support without hurting attachment”. This webinar will be led by Whitney White, Lifeline’s International Education Counselor.

This webinar will consist of a guideline for family and friends who would like to support a family with a newly adopted child. The tendency is to shower these children with immediate love and affection, but we would like to prepare loved ones that the love needed may look very different than what they have been accustomed to. A brief overview of why these children’s needs are different will be provided in addition to practical ways that grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other close family and friends could accommodate those needs. Vivid descriptions and examples will be given as well as a list of do’s and don’ts to appropriately support these families. Please feel free to invite your grandparents, friends, family members to participate in this webinar.

 http://lifelinechild.org/event/loving-from-a-distance-webinar/