Meet our November Featured Family: The Stanland Family
Our family is located in Jacksonville, FL. We have been married for almost 15 years, and Jason has served in full time ministry as a student pastor for as long as we have been married. We currently serve at our church in Jacksonville and have been for 8 years. We have three biological children (two girls & one boy) — ages 12, 10, and 6. They are very excited to gain another sibling and love getting to be a part of the adoption journey.
The day we landed in Romania was the same day that Russia invaded Ukraine. During our time there, we met several refugees that had crossed the Romanian border to seek safety and get to family in other countries. Families were torn apart, and children became orphaned literally overnight. Our hearts were burdened for these children and families who were forced to flee their country. We began to sense the Lord was telling us to pursue adoption, so we committed it to prayer for several months. In November 2022, during Stand Sunday at our church, the Lord revealed to both of us that it was time to fill out the application and begin the process of adopting in Eastern Europe through Lifeline Children’s Services.
At this point in our process, we sent our dossier to Eastern Europe and are now waiting on approval. We do not know a timeline yet for travel, but we will trust in the Lord’s timing.
We have been soft matched to a three year old little girl who has special needs. She has some significant delays, but we believe that providing her with nurturing, loving home, and using the resources we have here in Jacksonville, she will thrive. We were drawn to her because of her story, and we believe the Lord brought her to us from the moment we received her file.
Please pray for us in the waiting. Pray that we trust in the Lord’s timing and His provisions.