Meet our June 2023 Feature Family Preservation Charity: Open Hearts for Orphans

Learn more about the family preservation work OHFO is doing in Uganda:

"Three homes are needed for three desperate families in Uganda. And we're hoping to meet our fundraising goal in three short weeks. The total goal is $30,000. (Update: ONE home is fully funded!) That's $10,000 to raise for each family. All are in need of land for constructing a home (approximately 1 acre), and the land will help them have food and a source of income. Each house will be constructed with a latrine, kitchen, solar, and a water tank. 

The first family is held together by Estelle, a refugee from Burundi. When she first came to Uganda, she stayed with a friend who was renting a small apartment. When her friend left suddenly, she and her children had no one to turn to. Homeless, she felt she had no choice but to send her three boys to an orphanage. Through our Empty the Orphanages campaign last year, we helped reunite the family for Christmas but their living situation isn't ideal. Our support has helped them rent a tiny apartment as an emergency measure. It's in poor condition, but it's keeping the family together as we plan for something more permanent. Estelle and her twin boys are living with a chronic illness. In addition to her three boys, she also has a two-year old daughter.

The second family sent two of their children to an orphanage and had plans to send their youngest out of further desperation. They lost their home and land to a family dispute and are now squatting in a building where they can be evicted at anytime. They've been living off handouts from neighbors and now, emergency support from our project partner, Home Free. A house will help reunite them with their two older children and keep the two youngest at home where they belong.

The mother and father of the third family are caring for nine children through birth and kinship. Two of the children are currently in an orphanage because of the poverty and crowding at home. The family lives in a two-roomed rental and seven children share a mattress on the floor of the bedroom. They are very loving and willing to reunite with their children, but there simply isn't room.

Please act quickly. Anything you give, no matter how big or small will help keep these families together, giving them the dose of hope they need to restore their lives. 

This IS family preservation."

We will be donating $1 from every bag of coffee sold and 50% of tips from our events this month to OHFO. Learn more and donate personally today: https://give.openheartsfororphans.org/campaign/three-for-three/c474335

 

Meet our May 2023 Featured Family: The J Family

1. Tell us about your family.

Kyle and I met in high school, started dating when entering college, and got married after we finished college. We like to marvel at the fact that we have now been best friends for 25 years! We currently have three children (11,9,5) two boys and a girl. We live and homeschool them in the city of Chicago. We love Star Wars, board games, and popcorn.

2. Tell us more about your heart for adoption. 

I (Lydia) had an older sister that had a heart for adoption, and that passion stirred an interest in my heart as well. Then, when we went through infertility before having our first, adoption again was something that came up, and we began to talk about it more seriously. We were blessed to have three biological children, and as we neared our forties, weren't sure what our family would look like after that. Two miscarriages led us again towards the idea of adoption, and as we prayed long and hard about it, we both began to feel affirmation from the Spirit that He was leading us towards adoption.

3. Tell us more about your adoption journey so far.

Each country has requirements and eligibility parameters for adoptive families, so that helped us narrow things down (i.e. having three biological kids already in the home, length of time spent in the country when finalizing the adoption). I (Lydia) have worked (as an NP) with primarily Latin-American families for most of my career, and have always felt an affinity for this population. We were able to narrow it down to the country of Colombia and we have been enjoying learning more about the people and culture. We have not narrowed down to a special need, there is a long list of special needs that we are open to. We do not know how long it will be. So far, we are 7-8 months into the process. We completed our home study, and now just completed our dossier and are about to send it to Colombia! We are praying to get approved (and quickly!) and then will be placed on a waiting list with a specific orphanage, and then we just wait for a match. It is hard not knowing, but it is comforting knowing that God already knows who this child is, and we keep that in mind as we pray for her.

4. Tell us more about the child you are adopting.

Again, we do not know which child we are bringing home. We have said that we are open to a child (female preferred) aged 0-5 years, and a long list of mild to moderate special needs that we are open to accepting.

Please join us in prayer for this family and their precious child:

-The dossier to make it safely to Colombian authorities

-That we will be approved by Colombian authorities to adopt!

-That we will continue to see God provide for us financially through other believers in awesome ways!

-That we will not become scared or discouraged; that we will take our anxieties and worries to Him as we continue to step out in obedience and faith.

We'd love for you to partner with this sweet family in bringing their precious child home! You can donate directly to them through their Connected Hearts Ministry link, where 100% of the donation will be used for this family's adoption expenses:

https://give.connectedheartsministry.org/campaign/jodrey-family-adoption-fund/c449531

 

Meet our April 2023 Featured Family: The Cramer Family

1. Tell us about your family.

We are an Active Duty military family currently stationed in the Mojave Desert in California-Fort Irwin. We met while deployed to Iraq in 2011 through the Army, married quickly (10 weeks) after meeting, and then didn't see each other for almost 7 months while Amanda moved on to a deployment in Afghanistan. We had wild God-led beginning, move every other year (which takes a toll on our adoption process), and have three beautiful children (Cali -8, Hailey-6, Danny -4). We can't wait to grow our family with the sweet little boy we were matched with in Liberia, who is also 4.

2. Tell us more about your heart for adoption. 

We both had hearts for adoption since we were young. Amanda’s seed was planted during an international mission trip as a teenager, while Brett’s was planted while he served as a “one-on-one mentor” at a children’s shelter during college. We met while deployed to Iraq in 2011 and always discussed our interest in adoption. We started growing our family a couple years after Amanda returned from Afghanistan with discussion that we’d adopt our third child. However, after becoming pregnant with our third, this plan changed and after Danny’s birth, our hearts were moved to pursue adoption. After Amanda stayed home for over five years, a job dropped into her lap (while not looking) during COVID. It happened to be located at our next duty station that we weren't sure we’d make it to given the state of the world, but she accepted in faith and the move worked out. As did finding our new home two doors down from an adoptive family and childcare for our three children (everything was shut down, Amanda couldn’t accept the job otherwise!). In a nut shell, it all fell together by the works of God because it was very complex getting to where we were! Not long after the move, our hearts were deeply moved to adopt. We felt someone was missing, so we started looking into adoption and started our journey. So far we have experienced the enemy at our heals as we follow our calling, but in October were matched with a little boy in Liberia.

3. Tell us more about your adoption journey so far.

We landed on the Liberia Program after heavy prayer, considering fostering and domestic adoption, budget, and "interviewing"/researching various agencies. We realized as an Active Duty military family, we had to find an agency that could help us navigate moving in the middle of the process- and, just in case, capable of continuing the adoption process if we happened to get stationed in another country. This really narrowed down who would work with us. We also had to consider the expected length of time in country (three months just wasn't possible). This left us with a handful of programs, and we prayed on it. This all led us to the Liberia Program with Small World. We anticipate bringing him home around May/June.

4. Tell us more about the child you are adopting.

He just turned 4 in December and has an unknown condition causing a subtle disparity in limb growth. The age window we were approved for was 0-3 as we were trying to stay in birth order, however he was two months shy of aging out of that window when we met with the agency about the match. We were taken by surprise initially that he is only two months younger than our son and were concerned, so prayed hard about it for a few days. One morning I woke up, feeling like we had an answer to accept, and I went into our 4 year old's room to dress him. I casually started to bring it up and see what his response would be to bringing a boy his age home to be his brother, and asked if he wanted to know his name (he of course said "yes"). He then immediately innocently looked at me with his bright blue eyes and said "Moses is from Jesus". It was something I will never forget and solidified our answer from God to say yes. Out of the mouth a the one babe we were most concerned for.

We'd love for you to partner with this sweet family in bringing their precious child home! You can donate directly to them through their Connected Hearts Ministry link, where 100% of the donation will be used for this family's adoption expenses: 

https://give.connectedheartsministry.org/campaign/cramer-family-adoption-puzzle-fundraiser/c466633

 

Meet our March 2023 Featured Family: The Ost Family

Meet our February 2023 Featured Family: The Johnson Family

1. Tell us about your family.

Lucas and I (Erin) met at Hope College back in 2013. We were married in 2016 and now live in Zeeland, MI with our two children, Dominic (4) and Louisa (2).

We have always known it would be a part of our journey together. We traveled to Hidden Treasures Home in China, a foster home for orphans with disabilities, several times. On each trip, we fell in love more and more with the country, people, and children of China. We felt our hearts being called to the orphan and to adoption.

I (Erin) went to China in 2012 after graduating from high school. I had no expectations. It was my first time outside of the US. It was on this trip that I truly grasped the Father’s heart for all His children and the ministry that is adoption. It was also on this trip that I met one particular child, just under 2 at the time, who I instantly felt a deep spiritual connection with. I felt the Lord tell me this was my son. Timidly, I walked forward through the years longing to be reunited with this little boy. When I met my husband and decided we were serious about a future together, I shared more openly about this very specific call on my life and Lucas was eager to visit this home in China. We traveled there together as an engaged couple and again as a married couple. Each time, growing closer with the boy who was only growing older. We knew we wouldn’t be able to adopt him until we were 30 because of Chinese adoption law. No other families came forward to adopt this boy. He is 13 now, and we are continuing to pursue him faithfully, with open hands.

He has Down syndrome and multiple other special needs.

Prayer Request:  China would open adoptions again and families travel would be expedited!

We'd love for you to partner with this sweet family in bringing their precious child home! You can donate directly to them through their Connected Hearts Ministry link, where 100% of the donation will be used for this family's adoption expenses: https://give.connectedheartsministry.org/campaign/johnson-family-adoption-fund/c449067

 

Meet our January 2023 Featured Family: Broh Family

1. Tell us about your family.

Our names are Samuel and Kaibeh Broh, and we are a living and God fearing family. We currently have 4 grown children and we look forward to continuing expanding our family. We met through our friends and we’ve been blissfully married for more than 5 years.

2. Tell us more about your heart for adoption.

We have a soft place in our hearts for the youth, and we make it our goal to lead by example and up-bring and guide the children in our lives according to the principles of God. We have raised children before and have not been childless. Our main motivation for adopting is knowing that with God first we can give children an opportunity to grow up and succeed in a healthy and loving environment.

3. Tell us more about your adoption journey so far.

We have decided to adopt my late sister's children in Liberia. They are a sibling group consisting of an eldest brother, an older sister, and the youngest sister. These children are resilient and strong, not only have they lost their mother (my sister), but they also lost their father a few months after.

4. Tell us more about the children you are adopting.

Regardless of the heartbreaking situations and circumstances that they've experienced in their early stages, they continuously keep a smile on their faces and are filled with ambition and big dreams. We want to help them to accomplish their beautiful purpose and dreams. We know that if they were to remain in Liberia God will still see them through it all, however there more opportunities here to guide them and it's a huge blessings for us as well to welcome them into our home. We have gotten to a healed point in our life were we are ready to embrace and raise children in a healthy environment of love. We are also financially literate and are able to manage our finances well enough, in order to supply the needs and wants of each child. Finally, our rooted faith in God, is our driving source and peace of mind. All of these aspects and more taken into consideration, we can ensure with God first, we will take proper care in upbringing these precious children.

 

We'd love for you to partner with this sweet family in bringing their THREE precious children home! You can donate directly to them through their Connected Hearts Ministry link, where 100% of the donation will be used for this family's adoption expenses: https://give.connectedheartsministry.org/campaign/broh-family-adoption-fund/c429542

 

Meet our December 2022 Featured Charity: Love Without Boundaries

 

Typical costs for the surgeries we do:

Cleft lip or palate: $1370

Heart surgery: $2930

We chose this charity again for the month of December as a way to honor our son, Asher, whom we are waiting to adopt from China. We believe that the greatest answer to the orphan crisis in China and around the world is family preservation and we are so humbled to partner with a specific family this month and raise the money needed for their child to receive surgery, keeping their family together and supported during this crisis. Check back soon for more specific details on the precious child and family we will be sponsoring!

 

Donate directly today at https://www.lovewithoutboundaries.com/fundraiser/hao-bao-bao-coffee/

 

Meet our November 2022 Featured Charities: Connected Hearts Ministry & Holt International

This month we are partnering with Connected Hearts Ministry and Holt International to help raise funds for costs of home study updates for families adopting from China. Due to the pandemic, hundreds of families (including ours) have been waiting for almost three years to bring our children home and have incurred extra expenses during this heartbreaking delay. We personally know the emotional and financial toll it costs to continually update adoption paperwork, with no end to this wait in sight. Therefore, we want to partner with these families to help lift the financial load and encourage their hearts so that someday they can bring their "hao bao bao" ("precious baby" in Chinese) home!

Learn more about this unique and much-needed project...

"We at Connected Hearts are deeply moved by these families’ commitment to their children in China, and are calling on our generous donors to help cover the cost of their required homestudy updates ($500 per family). Although an unforeseen financial expense, these updates are needed to ensure that every family is prepared to support and care for a child who is now nearly three years older.

Will you help meet our $14,000 funding goal to ensure that as soon as the travel ban is lifted, every child still waiting in China can unite with their adoptive family in the U.S.?"

Our goal is to sponser at least one home study update this next month! YOU can partner with us too in financially supporting and encouraging waiting China families, so that they are all ready to bring their precious child home! Please pray about sponser one family's update ($500) or giving any amount towards an update here: https://give.connectedheartsministry.org/campaign/chinas-waiting-children/c434975 

 

Meet our October 2022 Featured Family: The Helmer Family

#1. Tell us more about your family.

Jeff and I have been married for going on 7 years and we live in a small town named Morton. Currently, we do not have any children.

#2. Tell us more about your heart for adoption.

Jeff and I always dreamed of having a family and truth be told, we planned on adopting after we had a couple of biological children. However, after multiple miscarriages, our plans for adoption came much sooner than originally anticipated!

#3. Tell us about your adoption journey so far.

We are choosing to adopt a sibling group for a couple of reasons. We wanted them to have each other, in hopes to bring them more belonging by having their own blood in their family. If by a small chance we ended up having a biological child (something we are not actively trying for. We have whole heartily come to peace and accepted the fact that carrying a pregnancy to term is not very likely),  we don’t ever want our child to feel like the outcast of the family. We would like them to have a sense of belonging.

#4. Tell us more about the children you are adopting. 

We have not been matched with any children yet, but we are hoping to be matched with and  bring our children home by spring! 

We'd love for you to partner with this sweet family in bringing their TWO precious children home! You can donate directly to them through their Connected Hearts Ministry link, where 100% of the donation will be used for this family's adoption expenses: https://give.connectedheartsministry.org/campaign/helmer-family-adoption-fund/c422332

 

Meet our September 2022 Featured Family: The Dispenza Family

*This family might look a little familiar! We partnered with them in October 2021 to bring precious Liana home from Bulgaria. We are so excited to partner again with the Dispenza family, as they complete back-to-back adoptions to bring home another precious child with down syndrome...however this time it will be a SON! Learn more about their story:

 "Patrick and I have been married for 15 years and always knew we wanted to adopt. We began fostering soon after getting married and have continued to foster many kids, including our now adopted daughters. In 2020, we saw a little girl on Reece’s Rainbow and decided to no longer let finances stop us from adopting internationally. During the homestudy phase, that little girl was matched with another family. Even though our hearts were broken, we prayed and knew we needed to continue. After learning about the children with Down syndrome and likely outcomes we decided to adopt a little girl we call Liana. We now have a house full of girls, including one biological daughter, but feel we still have some love to give. This time, we will be bringing home our first BOY! We are so excited, but need lots of prayers and help to make it happen. With international adoption costing over $35,000 we can’t do it without you! Any help to bring this sweet boy home is greatly appreciated."

We'd love for you to partner with this sweet family in bringing their precious child home! You can donate directly to them through their Connected Hearts Ministry link, where 100% of the donation will be used for this family's adoption expenses: https://give.connectedheartsministry.org/campaign/dispenza-family-adoption-fund/c425827

 

Meet our August 2022 Featured Family: The Plazak Family

1. Tell us more about your family.

Hi, we're the Plazak family, and we're adopting an amazing brother and sister from Taiwan! We were college friends who turned sweethearts, and we've been married since 2008. We currently live in South Carolina with our dog and three cats, and we love spending time outside or working on house renovations.

When we were first discussing marriage, adoption was a topic of mutual agreement. We both strongly felt that the Lord wanted us to adopt at some point in the future, but were not certain of "when." Once we were married, we were intimidated by the high cost of adoption, so the “plan” was to have a few biological children while saving for an international adoption. By 2020, after over twelve years of marriage, three miscarriages, and countless trips to doctors and fertility specialists, it became apparent that maybe our “plan” wasn’t in the same timeline that the Lord had! One of the reasons why we chose Taiwan was that at a very young age, Sarah had been inspired by the missionary Gladys Aylward, and she felt God calling her to Asia to work with the orphans. As Sarah grew up, her love for Asian people and their culture remained, but she wasn’t exactly sure what God’s call looked like for her. For a long time, she thought the calling could only mean full-time missions work in China, but then she spent time on a short-term missions trip in Southern China during college. She saw the tenacity and contagious faith of the Chinese believers. They were bold, and their faith was something for which they were literally willing to be arrested or to die. This humbled Sarah and made her take a very close look at God’s calling for her life. Through the years, Joshua and Sarah realized that, at least at this time, God wasn’t calling them to full-time missions work overseas, but the Lord has provided them countless opportunities to minister to the Asian community from here in the United States by Sarah teaching with VIPKid and by us hosting a foreign exchange student from China a few years ago.

After much prayer and seeking, we began the adoption process from China on Mother’s Day 2020. We progressed through the China adoption process quickly at first, and even submitted our dossier (paperwork) to China in nine months. By that time, COVID-19 had completely stalled any next steps with China - no getting matched and no adoption travel. Again, after much prayer, we decided to switch to the Taiwan adoption program in the summer of 2021, a program that was showing movement through all of the adoption steps! Within a few short weeks of switching programs, we found our children, a biological brother (age 5) and sister (age 4). Our daughter has been diagnosed with ADD/ADHD and our son has a diagnosis of cognitive, developmental, and speech/language delays as well as functional cortex disorder. We are excited to bring them home quickly so they can get the proper medical care and various therapies to help them thrive. We can't wait to see what great works the Lord will do in and through them!

We initially saw our son's photo on our adoption agency's Waiting Children List in the early summer of 2021, and were immediately drawn to his vivacious smile; however, by this time, God had really placed it on our hearts to adopt siblings, so we didn't pursue his file. Every time we'd check the Waiting Children List, we were drawn back to his joyful face. After a few weeks, he suddenly moved from the individual children section of the list to the sibling section! There was no picture of his sister, but there was a brief write-up about her, and we immediately told our agency we wanted to pursue them! Our son is 5-years-old, and he is one the most joyful children we've ever met! Our daughter is 4-years-old, and she is discerning and intelligent!

We'd love for you to partner with this sweet family in bringing their TWO precious children home! You can donate directly to them through their Connected Hearts Ministry link, where 100% of the donation will be used for this family's adoption expenses: https://give.connectedheartsministry.org/campaign/plazak-family-adoption-fund/c407869

 

Meet our July 2022 Featured Family: The Lieu Family

1. Tell us more about your family.

We are Chris and Kasey Lieu. On May 24th, we celebrated 7 years of marriage! We met at church while we were both in graduate school in Charleston. We do not have any children. We enjoy spending time with family and friends, running half marathons, hiking, and traveling.

2. Tell us more about your heart for adoption.

Before we were even married, we talked about our mutual desire and hearts for adoption. Chris went on a mission trip to North Africa in graduate school, and Kasey spent a summer in Kenya at an orphanage in college. God placed adoption on our hearts individually, and we were drawn to it even more so as a couple. Adoption is also special to us because we have been personally adopted into God’s eternal family!

3. Tell us about your adoption journey so far.

We always thought that we would have biological children first and then adopt. After we walked down the road of infertility, we decided to pursue adoption. We began our journey in 2021 pursuing domestic adoption. Unfortunately, we faced failed adoptions and experienced significant financial loss due to an adoption disruption. We saw God close many doors on our domestic adoption pursuit; however, we have never doubted God’s call on our lives to continue pursuing adoption. We wanted to be good stewards of our time, money, and resources and move forward with an adoption path with less risk. We began praying about international adoption and felt God prompting our hearts in this direction.

We were scrolling through an agency’s photolistings when we saw these four brothers from Colombia. The photolisting page advocates for children who are more challenging to place usually due to special medical needs, older age of the child, or a large sibling set. While we could never have dreamed as first-time parents adopting FOUR children at once, these boys somehow stole our hearts. We were moved by their close bond and how they deeply desired to be adopted into a family and stay together. These brothers have been waiting for over two years to be adopted and desperately needed parents to love and care for them. We began praying that these children be adopted together whether that be us or another family. A few days later, we learned that the government was going to separate these children to increase their chances of adoption if a family did not come forward by the end of the week. We knew that God had been stirring our hearts for them, so we said “yes” without hesitation! If you had told us at the beginning of this long journey that we would be pursuing four boys, we would have looked at you like a crazy person. But here we are- learning, growing, trusting, and surrendering. Sometimes God takes you down a long and painful path to conform your heart and desires to His Sovereign will.

4. Tell us more about the children you are adopting.

These four brothers are range in age from 3 to 10 years old. By the time we bring them home, they will range from 4 years old to 11 years old. They have been waiting for several years for a family, and they have a close bond and deeply desire to be adopted together! Their close bond and desire to be adopted together is what drew us to them!

 

Please join us in praying for this family:

Our prayer is that God will prepare these boys hearts for adoption and equip us as parents to love and care for them well. We are asking the Lord to knit our hearts together as a family, and most importantly, that these boys would come to know Jesus Christ personally one day! Also, we are working quickly on paperwork, and our prayer is that we will have them home before Christmas!! We know things are out of our hands and control, and we ultimately will trust God’s perfect timing.

 

We'd love for you to partner with this sweet family in bringing their FOUR precious sons home! You can donate directly to them through their Connected Hearts Ministry link, where 100% of the donation will be used for this family's adoption expenses: https://give.connectedheartsministry.org/campaign/lieu-family-adoption-fund/c404902

 

Meet our June 2022 Featured Charity: Open Hearts for Orphans

Last June, we partnered with Open Hearts for Orphans to feed families affected by the Covid-19 crisis in Uganda, so that they could stay together during these difficult times. This year, we are again partnering with them to continue helping families in Uganda provide basic needs for their families and/or kinship/foster care, so that vulnerable children can have loving homes in their own communities.

Why Uganda?

"Uganda is home to over 20 million children, many of whom are orphaned, abandoned or vulnerable. The vast majority of Ugandans live in rural areas and earn their living from subsistence agriculture, with half the population living on less than $1 per day. The country’s health indicators are among the lowest in Africa, with almost 7% of children passing away before their fifth birthday. Due to a lack of resources and  access to health care, many children in Uganda suffer for years with  treatable medical conditions, which often worsen over time. Children who  are abandoned or orphaned often end up in crowded orphanages or living  on the streets. 

Our mission is to protect those children and keep families together as "orphan prevention." With trusted partners on the ground, we serve vulnerable children by meeting their basic needs, such as clothing, food, and shelter and we provide the means for medical intervention if necessary."

Learn more about Open Hearts for Orphan's ministry and see beautiful faces of families transformed by their care projects here.

This month we are partnering with them to help raise a total of $5,870 to make much needed repairs on this precious family's house:

"Mariat Namajimbi is 40 years old blessed with six children. Unfortunately, the father of the children abandoned them about five years ago when she was pregnant with the last born, the twin girls. The home condition is really rough.

 

We'd love for you to partner with this amazing organization to help this precious families in Uganda! Follow them on Facebook for more stores and updates at @openheartsfororphans and donate directly here (be sure to choose "Orphan Care-Basic Needs" or write "Uganda" in the comment section) 

 

Here are just a few of stories of how OHFO has already come along side of vulnerable families in Uganda:

   

"Our Uganda partner, URF, recently distributed our donated solar lanterns to vulnerable families who needed them. We're told these families are very grateful for this blessing of a solar light - they live in remote villages in homes without electricity, so they rely on kerosene. Because these families are very poor, they struggle to buy kerosene on a regular basis, often leaving them in the dark. Thank you so much for helping us provide the gift of light. This was huge for them."

 

 

Meet Our May 2022 Featured Family: The Lefkof Family

1. Tell us more about your family. 
I am a single mom of 3 children, two who are in college and one 14 year old who lives in the home. We live in Frisco, Texas and our adult children go to school on the east coast, so we are a family of travelers. We have a dog named Gandalf who loves to play and hike.

2. Tell us more about your heart for adoption. 

I have had a heart for adoption since my oldest, who is now 22, was just a toddler. I read a magazine article (remember those?!) about a group who helped to fundraise for adoptive parents and they opened my eyes to orphans in other countries who were sick and dying in orphanages from lack of care. It showed me how essential it is for children to have homes and families. Ever since that time, I knew that adoption was God's plan for my life.

3. Tell us more about your adoption journey so far. 
As a single mom, I need to be able to work and with my kids being older, I thought we could provide a good home for an older child. I have felt a connection with Africa since my teen years and even planned to attend a mission trip there as a young adult until I discovered that I was pregnant with my son. I had a lot of trouble choosing one particular country, but was matched with a waiting child in South Africa. I like to say that the country (and the child!) chose us.

 

Prayer Request: 

My prayer is for God's provision for travel. I have recently learned that my trip to South Africa, while originally expected to be 4-6 weeks in country, is now more likely to be 3-4 months. As the breadwinner of my family, and the only income we have, this presents quite a dilemma in how to pay my bills while I'm gone. I have learned to trust the process, and that God has a plan for my family, but it remains a huge stressor for me. Pray for God to calm my anxious heart, and that I would allow myself to see Him working for our good.

You can follow the Lefkof's journey on Facebook!

We'd love for you to partner with this sweet family in bringing their precious children home! You can donate directly to them through their Connected Hearts Ministry link, where 100% of the donation will be used for this family's adoption expenses by clicking here. 

 

Meet Our April 2022 Featured Family: The Romero Family

 

Meet Our March 2022 Featured Family: The Stanton Family

#1. Tell us more about your family.
Patrick and I met playing tennis at Mississippi College in 2006. We have been married for 11 years and have 4 biological children ages 9,9,7, and 5. We currently live in Upstate South Carolina and enjoy hiking around the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

 

 

 

 

 

Meet Our February 2022 Featured Family: The Rouse Family

 

One of the reasons why we feel so motivated to adopt a child is because we are two loving people who have an empty room in our home and an empty hole in our hearts. We have always known we would adopt a child from another country. We have such a deep love and connection to Asian cultures. We are fully prepared to take this next step in our lives to become adoptive parents. It is something we have talked about ever since we were dating. When I (Emily) was about 12 years old, my family started taking care of children in foster care. Over a span of 7 years, we had over 40 different children who had broken bones, burns and other medical problems. We loved each child from the moment we received a phone call to take them in to the moment they left our homes. I helped my parents take care of each child. It was always hard when the child left to go back to be with a family member or to be adopted by another family. I learned at an early age to help others in need. I learned to love and care for others, and I learned a lot about the harsh reality of the lives of some children. When I was 10 years old, my family hosted our first exchange student from South Korea. This was my first long-term exposure to another culture as she lived with us for a year. I remember being so fascinated by her, as I would listen to her talk on the phone with her family in Korean. I used this opportunity to explore her culture. I asked her questions about her family and culture and got to know her so well. She is one of the reasons for my deep love of other cultures. It was when I was around the age of five that a member of our family adopted a baby from South Korea, and then when I was eight, a different member of our family adopted a child from China. It was at this youthful age that I knew I would adopt a child from another country someday too. It always sounds strange when I tell people that I have always wanted to adopt internationally. I have thought about and hoped for this moment for many, many years. I also have several cousins who have adopted domestically, so adoption is something that is pretty big in our family.

 

#3. Tell us more about your adoption journey so far.
We are adopting from an Asian country because of the exchange students we have hosted and because it is just something we knew we wanted to do. It hasn't even been a question of IF we will adopt from an Asian country, but WHICH Asian country it would be. We are not sure yet how long it will be until we get to bring our child home, but we are counting down the unknown days!

 

 

Meet Our January 2022 Featured Family: The Abdelmalak Family

#1. Tell us more about your family.

My husband and I are both immigrants. We came to the United States as teenagers and met in high school. We had to overcome many obstacles along our journey(long-distance relationship for 5 years, doing paperwork for citizenship, all while studying in college). We felt blessed to finally be able to get married in October 2010. Ever since we were dating, we have dreamed of adopting a child. We now have three biological children and are adopting a 12-year old boy from Colombia we hosted this summer. 

 

#3. Tell us more about your adoption journey so far.
As soon as our boy left this summer, we all felt heartbroken. Our house felt empty and our kids still ask every day when their older brother is coming back. We are working on all of the adoption paperwork as hard as we can and are currently waiting for the USCIS suitability to adopt approval.

#4. Tell us more about the child you are adopting.
"J" brought so much joy and happiness to our family. We nearly instantly felt like we had always known him, and it was heart-breaking when he had to leave. We loved spending time together and he was adored by all. He seemed comfortable and bonded with each of us. He told us he had been waiting so long to find a family that would love and care for him. We want to support him throughout his life and make sure he achieves his dreams. We plan to always be there for him, care for him and give him the unconditional love he deserves.
 

 

Meet December's Featured Organization: Love Without Boundaries

"Love Without Boundaries is an authentic international charity that provides hope and healing to vulnerable children, and their underserved communities, through its education, nutrition, medical, and foster care programs.

LWB provides life-changing medical care, runs well monitored foster homes, operates schools, and supplies quality nutrition to impoverished and orphaned children. Our programs work together to best meet the needs of the children entrusted to our care and are only possible thanks to your support."

Learn more about Love Without Boundaries mission here.

About LWB's Unity Initiative Fund

 

This month we are partnering with LWB to help one precious boy and his family to receive the life-saving treatment he needs: 

"Curtis has an ASD and has been sickly throughout his young life. He was recently diagnosed with Kawasaki disease and his heart surgery had to be delayed until January. We now need to raise the remaining balance of funds ($2525) to pay for the surgery. In the event that additional funds are raised in honor of Curtis, those funds will go towards the next child needing heart surgery through our Unity Fund."

 

Please join us in raising the remaining funds to Curtis's heart surgery by donating at https://www.lovewithoutboundaries.com/sponsorship/medical-care-sponsorship-curtis/
 

 

Meet November's Featured Organization: Connected Hearts Ministry

History:

Connected Hearts Ministry was founded in 2013 by Brandon and Misty Hudson. In 2012 the Hudsons began volunteering with World Visions’ Artist Associates program. During that time they learned about the orphan crisis. They knew that God was calling them to adopt. However, when they stepped out to adopt they were shocked by the high cost of adoption. They quickly learned that many people who were interested in adoption never moved forward because of the cost. As the Hudsons began raising funds for their own adoption, they decided to start Connected Hearts Ministry to help other families who are in the adoption process. In 2013 they adopted their daughter, and helped raise funds for one other family to adopt their 2 sons from Africa. Today, Connected Hearts Ministry has helped raise over 1 million dollars to bring home over 300 children from 22 different countries around the world.

Purpose: 

 

Our mission is to raise funds and care for orphans who are most often overlooked for adoption.  This includes children with special needs, older children and sibling groups.

You too can partner with Connected Hearts Ministry! Donate today to help vulnerable orphans at https://www.connectedheartsministry.org/donate.

 

Meet October's Featured Family: The Dispenza Family

#1. Tell us more about your family.

Patrick and I have been married for 12 years. We spent the first 5 years trying to have a baby of our own to no availability. During our 2nd year we began fostering and fell in love with a precious little boy. Although our hearts were open and we loved him his whole first year, another family member spoke up and he was placed with them. Our hearts were shattered and decided to attempt IVF instead. On our second attempt we got pregnant and shortly miscarried. Thanks to insurance coverage we were able to try a third time and were excited to be welcoming twin girls. However, at just 33 weeks we found out our girls had twin to twin transfusion syndrome and Lanie no longer had a heartbeat. We had an emergency delivery and after many weeks in the NICU we brought home our daughter Lexie. Lexie has many challenges but has overcome so much and her hospital stay encouraged me to become a nurse myself. I use my experience to help other moms going through one of the hardest experiences to bring hope and that God still uses even the worst of experiences for good. I have learned so much about the value of life.

 

#2. Tell us more about your heart for adoption. 

Our family is dedicated to serving the Lord and following the callings he has placed on our life including fostering and adoption. So, when Lexie got a little bit older, we began hosting exchange students. We hosted kids from countries all over the world. One day God spoke to our hearts and said it is time to help the kids in your own community. We soon reopened our home and have since loved 23 different kids. Although we are open and would love to adopt all our kids, that just hasn’t been the case for us.  Last August we got a phone call about a baby that was born severely drug addicted with multiple diagnosis including cerebral palsy that no one else wanted. We immediately said yes and after 15 months we finally gained guardianship of her.

 

#3. Tell us more about your adoption journey so far.

We still knew our family wasn’t complete though and at a conference this past year the Holy Spirit spoke to me and asked to trust him and be faithful to our calling of true adoption despite our fear of cost. We prayed and began the process for a little girl we saw on a waiting child site. We applied for her, but during our home study process another family committed to her. We were devastated. We prayed again and God clearing spoke to us and said don’t be discouraged, now there is not only one orphan with a home but there will be two. We continued our process and being a nurse and having two special needs daughters already I knew our family could love another child with different abilities. Our social worker shared with us the horrific outcomes for most down syndrome children and we immediately knew this was God’s calling for us. We are so excited to add another little princess to our family and we know God will be faithful to provide for every financial need. 

With me only being able to work part time, Patrick provides most of our income. This year has been a very trying year for all salespeople. Patrick’s income consists of a lot of commission and this year sales have been at record low. We are doing all the fundraisers we can within the covid guidelines and will do whatever we can to help bring our daughter home. So far, we have sold cards for a cause, pampered chef, t-shirts, cause-ology jewelry, photo sessions, puzzle pieces, and had 2 garage sales. We are currently selling chocolate covered strawberries and collecting items for an online auction. With just a  few months left though, we are really praying for a grant to at least help with some of the burden. We have applied for several, but so far, we have only heard back from one in which we were not chosen and another which our agency is not affiliated with and did not qualify. We are running out of options, and our friends and family have helped so much already with our fundraisers but bringing our girl home is far too important to quit. With church being mostly online this year, connect groups canceled, and basically minimal contact, social media has been about our only option. We have tried crowd funding through adopt together and recently started a Reese’s Rainbow page, but so far it has been minimal help. I know it’s a tough time for everyone right now, but my baby deserves to come home as soon as possible and not wait any longer alone and without her family due to financial strain. Our family has waited long enough.

#4. Tell us more about the child you are adopting.

Our daughter will be named Liana Faith Dispenza she is 2 years old and has Down Syndrome. We are so excited to bring her home and are currently praying for a quick court date and expecting to travel sometime in November.

Thank you so much for listening to our story and know one day we will share our adoption story of how God was so faithful and love really doesn’t count chromosomes. 

We'd love for you to partner with this sweet family in bringing their precious child home! You can donate directly to them through their Connected Hearts Ministry link, where 100% of the donation will be used for this family's adoption expenses: https://give.connectedheartsministry.org/campaign/dispenza-family-adoption-fund/c324357

 Meet September's Featured Family: The Burnette Family

#1. Tell us more about your family.

Hello! We are Joshua and Kate Burnette! We live in Columbia, SC! We are excited to become parents and grow our family through adoption from Taiwan!

#2. Tell us more about your heart for adoption. 

Kate teaches English to kids in China and feels very closely tied to China. In the Spring of 2020, she felt God leading her to adopt from China. Together we started praying about adoption. We feel strongly that children belong in forever families where they are loved, cherished, and supported to reach their potential. Kate was filled with an urgency to start the process right away, but she did not yet meet the age requirement to adopt from China (age 30). We started saving while we prayed for guidance about what to do. The feeling of urgency did not go away, so we started the process of adoption from Taiwan, Republic of China in November of 2020. We feel that all Believers are called to love and serve orphans in some way. We are excited to become parents and grow our family through adoption.

#3. Tell us more about your adoption journey so far.

We started our adoption process in November of 2020 with the urgency in our hearts that our child was out there waiting for a family. We liked that the Taiwan adoption program is very child-centered, helping place children in homes that are the best fit for them. It has been a joy to meet families who have adopted or are in the process. We have enjoyed learning about Taiwan. We were matched in August with a cute little boy, who turns 5 years old this month!

 

Meet August's Featured Family: The Ray Family

#1. Tell us more about your family.

My husband and I have been married ten years this September. We have a son Caden that we adopted domestically so this time is different with an it being an international adoption. We live in Greencastle, IN and have lived here our whole lives, except for the six years my husband was in the Army and we were stationed in Fort Hood, TX.

#2. Tell us more about your heart for adoption.

We cannot have any biological children so we fostered and met our son. We soon realized adoption was definitely not a plan B to have a child but the best plan A and we wouldn’t want it any other way. I know some people do not wish to adopt because it is just not right for them but it is for us and we cannot wait to do it again, but so very different this time which is exciting, yet scary.

#3. Tell us more about your adoption journey so far. 

We are adopting from Burkina Faso, Africa because I from a young child have always been intrigued by this area and have a strong heart for the people. We are open to blood disorders in our little girl and want to provide the best care possible that she most likely would not be able to receive where she currently is. 

#4.  Tell us more about the child you are adopting. 

We actually have not been placed with a specific child yet but we do know she will be aged 4 or younger, the child will be a girl, and she most likely will have a blood disorder.(HIV, sickle cell, Hep C, etc).

 

We'd love for you to partner with this sweet family in bringing their precious child home! You can donate directly to them through their Connected Hearts Ministry link, where 100% of the donation will be used for this family's adoption expenses: https://give.connectedheartsministry.org/campaign/ray-family-adoption-fund/c343889

 

Meet July's Featured Families: Urgent Needs in Uganda!

This month we are partnering with Open Hearts for Orphans for

Families Feeding Families!

"Uganda is back on Covid-19 lock down for 42 days. Tighter restrictions were just placed on 6/18 and food shortages are expected among vulnerable populations. We're helping our partners stay ahead of the issue NOW, in hopes that no one goes hungry. 

Maria cares for eight grandchildren and two foster children (pictured). She has been relying on the support of her daughters and well wishers, but with businesses closed, they can no longer send money home to help her care for the children. They desperately need food support. 

Many children have been sent home from schools, meaning extra mouths to feed. Our partners are planning to reach families in slum areas, too, who already lost their livelihoods due to the pandemic and are still really struggling. The biggest needs are groceries, medical care, and child protective services so they can step in to receive children in crisis who are at risk of abuse and family separation.

$40 will feed a family for one month. We are hoping that your family will sponsor a vulnerable family across the world! Our goal is to provide food relief for 200 families between three key partners.

 

Feeding a family with your $40 gift will get you an entry into our Sweet Summer bundle giveaway - including a YETI cooler, a Tommy Bahama beach chair, a copy of the book "Extraordinary" and an OHFO custom cap (not pictured). There is no limit to the number of entries - every additional $40 donated gets you an additional entry!" *Giveaway ends July 16th!

Hurry and give today: https://give.openheartsfororphans.org/campaign/families-feeding-families/c344860

 

Meet June's Featured Adoptive Family: The Carlisles

#1. Tell us more about your family. 
Phillip and I met in college at Campbell University. We lived in relatively close towns, but didn't meet one another until we were in grad school. We quickly hit it off and began dating. We were engaged about a year later, and got married in my home town in Eastern North Carolina, where we live now. We have one son, Camden whom we adopted in 2018.

I remember one day in high school where a social worker came and spoke at our school about her work at Christian Adoption Services. I was struck by the impactful work that she did “helping place vulnerable children in Christian families.” I thought through what that might mean in my life, and entertained the idea of being a social worker, but later realized that maybe God was planting a seed in my heart to give consideration to later grow my family through adoption. A few years later, I was diagnosed with Marfans Syndrome, a genetic connective tissue disease. While this is mild in my case and only has minor effects in my day to day life, it is not encouraged to become pregnant because of the possible impact on the cardiovascular system as well as the genetic component of this disease that could impact any future children. I felt like at that point, God truly settled in me the plan to later adopt children into my family, instead of having biological children.

As I later met Phillip in college and we began to talk about the future, I was pleasantly surprised to learn he had always been interested in adoption as well. When we became engaged and later married, this was not a difficult decision for us to decide that adoption would likely be the route we would take to bring children into our family. We researched several agencies, searching for one that would be ethical and above all support the expectant mom and share the Gospel with her. We landed on Christian Adoption Services, a Christian agency whose mission was as I’d heard all those years ago “To Connect Vulnerable Children with Christian Families.” We met with the very same case worker whom I’d heard speak at my high school in 2017 at an informational meeting.

We adopted our first son, Camden, through CAS in 2018. We continue to be amazed by all the ways in which we saw God weave together Camden's adoption story from birth to present day and are excited to begin a second adoption journey to welcome another sweet little one into our family.

We were given so many “God Winks” as our agency calls them, throughout the course of our first adoption. We received donor milk from dozens of moms we knew who were willing to help feed our son. We received small financial gifts from friends and family that added up. We were supported greatly by our wonderful church body, through prayer, meal trains, and financial contributions. Our son was born in nearly the same city as dear friends of ours, so we were welcomed with a beautiful nursery and home cooked meals for his first two weeks of life as we waited for paperwork. We were blown away by all we saw God do during the months leading up to and shortly after Camden’s birth, and looked forward to the ways in which we would continue to see God work.

As the years have passed and we’ve spent this precious time with Camden, we’ve begun to feel at peace about growing our family again. We plan to use this same agency, Christian Adoption Services, because we saw first hand the support and encouragement that they provide expectant mothers, as well as the ministry they are doing in North and South Carolina. We know that God has our future planned out before us and as Ephesians 3:20 says, that “God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think.” We are trusting in that promise as we open the door into the financial unknown of adoption yet again. It is our prayer that God will provide the resources for us to continue to grow our family through the blessing of adoption, and that He will use us in the lives of any expectant mothers we encounter to show His grace, love and mercy. We do not have a specific special needs placement at this time because we are not placed with a child at this point. We anticipate we will bring our child home within the year 2021.

  #4. Tell us more about the child you are adopting.
We do not have a specific placement at this time. We are seeking to adopt a younger child to keep the birth order of our family, as our son who we adopted in 2018 is 2.5 years old.
 

We'd love for you to partner with this sweet family in bringing their precious child home! You can donate directly to them through their Connected Hearts Ministry link, where 100% of the donation will be used for this family's adoption expenses: https://give.connectedheartsministry.org/campaign/carlisle-family-adoption-fund/c321209

 

Meet May's Featured Adoptive Family: The Singletons

#1. Tell us more about your family.

I’m mama to John and James! John came into my life when he was a teenager, and he is now a proud Aggie studying Psychology at Texas A&M. He is also the most gifted musician I know. His joyful spirit and beautiful voice can melt anyone’s heart, and he loves sharing the Gospel through his music. James is from China and has been home for a year and a half. He has since then undergone four surgeries that have saved his life and drastically improved his quality of life. He is the bravest and sweetest kid I know. He is sensitive, kind, and caring, and always makes sure that everyone is taken care of. James shares his brother’s love for music, life, and food! You would never know that they didn’t grow up together. We have a lot of fun and laugh a lot! We are all super excited to bring precious Noah into our family to love forever.

#2. Tell us more about your heart for adoption. 
About a decade ago, I went on an orphan awareness mission trip to Africa. I met my oldest son John at his huge orphanage in Rwanda, and that was when the Lord began to cultivate a boundless love for orphans and an unprecedented desire to adopt. It is God who works in us both to will and work for His good pleasure. He continues to be at work in me creating both the desires and the actions that are pleasing to Him. I was keenly aware of how I was once a spiritual orphan and subsequently overwhelmed with gratitude that my Heavenly Father graciously adopted me into His eternal family. Adoption is a tangible way to show our children how we have been delivered from sin and death so that we can now share life giving truth with others. Several years after bringing John home, I came across an advocacy post for James who was living in an orphanage in China. Again, my heart was flooded with immediate love for this child that I knew was my son. John and James bring me inexplicable joy as well as some serious and much needed sanctification. I truly believe they bless me more than I bless them.

#3. Tell us more about your adoption journey so far. 
Several months ago, I saw precious Noah's picture and felt God asking me to make room for one more. I know I am not married, not good enough, not rich enough, not strong enough, not anything enough, but God sees past my abundance of fears and failings and calls me to something way better than I could ever imagine. I am so excited to embark on this journey of adopting Noah. Children belong in families. I adopt because God commands us to take care of orphans and widows and because I myself have been rescued. I simply want to be a tool in my Master's hand.

Noah is about to be 8 years old and has hydrocephalus. As an infant, no one thought he would survive. But God had a bigger plan for Noah, and I believe part of that plan is to be in our forever family. Thank you for considering being a part of this with me. I’m excited to once again see how God does the impossible to bring His precious children into families. Psalm 68:5-6  says “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families…”.

We'd love for you to partner with this sweet family in bringing their precious child home! You can donate directly to them through their Connected Hearts Ministry link: https://give.connectedheartsministry.org/campaign/singleton-family-adoption-fund/c333965

 

Meet April's Featured Adoptive Family: The Amigos 

 

We'd love for you to partner with this sweet family in bringing their precious child home! You can donate directly to them through their Connected Hearts Ministry link: https://give.connectedheartsministry.org/campaign/amigo-family-adoption-fund/c323858

 

Meet March’s Featured Adoptive Family: The Jones

 

 

 

_________________________________________________________________________

Meet February's Featured Adoptive Family: The Perrymans

 

#1. Tell us more about your family.

We met in High School. We have been married for 27 years been together 29 we have 3 beautiful Bio children & one beautiful special needs little boy from China. We live in Rader, Missouri on a small farm.

#2. Tell us more about your heart for adoption.

We have a heart for Down Syndrome/Special needs children. A few years ago God gave a tug on our hearts and we knew he was calling us to adopt special beautiful little souls. 

#3. Tell us more about your adoption journey so far.

My bride was looking on Reece's Rainbow at all the children that need forever families and came across a little face that tugged at her heart then she showed me her picture and I felt that was our daughter. So here we go again. We have a heart for Down Syndrome/ Special needs children. Not sure on time line just yet.

#4. Tell us more about the child you are adopting.

She is a beautiful little 5 year old with Down Syndrome-She's rocking an extra chromosome.

We'd love for you to partner with this sweet family in bringing their daughter home! You can donate directly to them through their Connected Hearts Ministry link: https://give.connectedheartsministry.org/campaign/perryman-family-adoption-fund/c311041

_________________________________________________________________________

Meet January's Featured Adoptive Family: The Bauer Family

 

1. Tell us about yourselves. 
We are Stacie & Sam Bauer. We've been married for 17 years. We live in southwest PA. We have one 4 year old little girl who we adopted domestically at birth. She is super excited to bring her sissy home.

 

We'd love for you to partner with this sweet family in bringing their daughter home! You can donate directly to them through their Connected Hearts Ministry link: https://give.connectedheartsministry.org/campaign/bauer-family-adoption-fund/c270416 

 

______________________________________________________________________

Meet December's Featured Adoptive Family: The Waldens

1. Tell us about yourselves.

Hi! We are the Walden Family...Jeffrey, Jena, Jaret, JaLynn, Jackson and Jayla. We live in a small town in Illinois. Adoption is a common word in our vocabulary because 3 of our 4 children are adopted. Our oldest 2 children were adopted through foster care in 2017. We had them for 3 years before we were able to officially make them a Walden. In the middle of that roller coaster ride, we had our biological son, Jackson. We were certain our family was complete, but God had other plans. At the end of 2018, we started exploring international adoption and by October of 2019, we were home with our daughter Jayla from China. Jayla is a gift from God with an extra 21st chromosome! When we were in China, God started working on our hearts to one day go back. The goal was to go back when our kids were older, but again, God had other plans. When we saw our little boy's picture on an advocacy page we just "knew." So, here we are!! Jeffrey and I actually live in neighboring towns and knew of each other but never really knew each other. We were paired, last minute, to walk together in a wedding. At that time, we were both in relationships. However, a couple months later, situations changed and we started talking on MySpace...and the rest is history!

2. Tell us more about your heart for adoption.

We had a failed adoption attempt and a failed pregnancy early on in our marriage, so we decided to go the foster care route. Again, God knew what he was doing! From there, our love for adoption has blossomed and grown!

3. Tell us more about your adoption journey so far.

We chose China because that is where we went the last time and the time frame is pretty much set in stone. With our other kids, we want to be gone the least amount of time as possible. We chose Down Syndrome again, because Jayla has been such a blessing in our lives in just the year we have had her and we can't wait to have another homie with an extra chromie!!

4. Tell us about the child you are adopting.

The child we are adopting is a little boy, 2, from China. He has Down Syndrome and no other health issues that they know of. I saw his picture on an advocacy page and it just made my heart jump! We just knew he was meant to be ours!

 

We'd love for you to partner with this sweet family in bringing their son home! You can donate directly to them through their Connected Hearts Ministry link: 

http://give.connectedheartsministry.org/walden-family-adoption-fund

_____________________________________________________________________ 

Meet November's Featured Adoptive Family: The Kesslers

We are Emily and Robert Kessler and we live in Ruston, Louisiana. We have two girls at home, LandryKate (5) and Cora (3). LK is doing Kindergarten as a homeschooler, which has been such a learning and growing experience for all of us! She loves dinosaurs, critters of all kinds, and her sisters. Cora has been mostly learning from her sister during COVID - amongst her new abilities is walking independently, and talking/signing lots more! She loves baths, salty/crunchy snacks, and keeping up with her big sister. Cora was born in China and joined our family in 2018, just shy of 2 years old. Her entrance into our family welcomed us into the wonderful worlds of Down syndrome and adoption! 

2. Tell us more about your heart for adoption.

If I'm trying to be brief, it boils down to this: our family grew by adoption when we brought Cora home. It took us a couple years to get to the place where we were ready to adopt but God worked it out that we got to bring home our girl! When we were in-country to pick her up, we took a day to visit her orphanage. Our time to visit was relatively brief but it impacted us in enormous ways. There is something about seeing the waiting children's faces that puts the weight of the NEED for families on your heart. There are so many children, especially with Down syndrome, who are ready for a family to say yes. We had room in our family and heart for another child, so we're stepping out in faith to bring another daughter with Down syndrome home from China! 

3. Tell us about your adoption journey so far. 

COVID. (Shouldn't that say it all?!? Just kidding! But it feels like it's affecting everything, doesn't it?) We began the process in September 2019, and an exceptionally long homestudy process had us on a slower path than we anticipated. But God was working and our paperwork ended up being at the perfect speed: processing through both countries at just the right times for COVID closures and re-openings. When we began the process, we'd anticipated having our child home over the summer of 2020. We've reached the point that the only thing we are waiting for is the approval to travel. It's been a long and crazy process, but we are grateful that we've gone as far as we can in this season. In God's timing, Callie will join our family!

4. Tell us more about the child you are adopting.

In March, we were matched with Callie, who turned 4 in July. She was one of the children waiting to be adopted when we brought Cora home two years ago, and she's never been far from my mind since then! I've prayed for a family to adopt her, and, in God's gracious mercy, He has given us the privilege of being that family! Callie also has Down syndrome and, according to her update, is healthy and growing. We are so excited to finally meet her and have her join her sisters in our home!

_________________________________________________________________________

Meet October's Featured Adoptive Family: The Carosones 

1. Tell us about yourselves.

Hello! We are the Carosone Clan and live in Ankeny, Iowa. We have been married for almost 25 years and have 4 children: Alex (18), Eddie (14), Gigi (5), and Howie (3). Howie and Gigi were adopted from China in 2017 and 2018. We are currently in the process of adopting an almost 7 year- old girl who we are naming Evelynn Fei. Our heart is with her and we cannot wait for her to join our family. Currently we are only waiting on China to grant us travel approval-then we will be on our way!

 

2. Tell us more about your heart for adoption.

Shortly after the birth of our second child God planted a seed in our hearts to adopt. We were not able to have any more biological children but we still wanted to grow our family. At that time God brought to our attention the need for families to adopt internationally. We let the process and financial piece scare us – FOR YEARS. After praying "How, God?", "When, God?", and "Lord, are you SURE?" we finally gave in to His call and were blessed with our little Gigi who has been in our family for 3 years now.

Selfishly, as we look back, we just really wanted a daughter, but Gigi was the who and the what God used to show us His plan and desire for our family makeup. He used her and her adoption process to show us that He would, indeed, provide for her adoption and that we could, indeed, carry this out WITH HIS HELP. He used her adoption to teach us in yet another way what Gospel love looks like and what it means to live that Gospel love out on a daily, hourly, and sometimes minute-by-minute basis.

After being home with Gigi for a few months, we knew God wasn't done with this part of our lives yet. You see, once you put faces and names to the abstract idea of orphans, once you touch them with your hands, once you stroke their little faces with your finger - your life is changed forever. You simply cannot get the pictures out of your mind of those who remain without families.

We moved forward to adopt our little Howie on the one-year anniversary date of Gigi's adoption. We worked hard to complete the process and raise the funds needed to complete his adoption. Once again the Lord was faithful and blessed that entire journey. Howie was the perfect addition to our family and has been home with us for about a year and a half now.

After adopting Howie we just KNEW we were done. He was our "bookend" child. We had done our part, right? We’d adopted not just one, but TWO children in two years. End of the story. Period.

But then…God. To our surprise, the Lord has yet again another child planned for our family. This time an older child with more severe needs. But the Lord has graciously given us a peace and calmness and sense of rest with this adoption. We know he will provide and will carry us through the adoption process as well as throughout our parenting of this sweet girl, our Evelynn Fei.

The short answer to your question above? We are simply trying to be obedient by following God’s calling for our lives. As we said with the prior two adoptions: we may feel too old, our house may seem too crowded, and our finances seem to meager but THIS is His calling and we are to obey. His call for our lives may not be easy, or "convenient", but we find rest in that He has a reason and a plan. This is for His glory.  

  

_________________________________________________________________________

Meet September's Featured Adoptive Family: The Tings!

1. Tell us about yourselves:

We have been married for 8 years, our first 4 we spent living in Hong Kong and traveling Asia, which depended our desire to adopt internationally. We currently have 3 boys, ages 5, 3 and 1.

 

2. What led you to adoption?

We both were interested in adopting when we first met. While our children are still quite young, we feel so blessed that we both have work from home jobs that we can pour so much time in to our kids and bless another. Knowing that so many children grow up without a family has always pulled at our hearts.

 

3. What country are you adopting from and why?

We knew we wanted to adopt from Asia as we are a Chinese-American family. With three young children in our home already we either had to wait a few years or adopt from a country that we would be qualified for. Thailand met that and we saw that their were a lot of older children, which we already had a heart from. After seeing long listings of older children who due to their age were harder to find families for, we had such a heart for them. And after 3 boys, what a great fit to adopt a daughter! It will take 1-1.5 years for us to bring our daughter home! With each holiday and month passing we are more an more excited for her time to have a forever family.

 

4. What child are you seeking to adopt?

We are waiting for approval of an older girl. 

 

Prayer requests: Please pray that we will receive approval from Thailand to adopt our precious daughter and all the paperwork involved would go quickly. 

Check out their Connected Hearts Ministry link for more information and to donate to this sweet family: 

https://give.connectedheartsministry.org/campaign/ting-family-adoption-fund/c296477