Our Story of Salvation and Sanctification

I was raised in a family that is extremely dysfunctional but full of lots and lots of love.  I went to a revival with a friend and was saved when I was in 10^th grade.  From that point I desired to read scripture and pray; however, I cared far too much about what people thought of me and lived my life to please others and fit in with the crowd which led to a lot of guilt.

Josh also came from a loving family.  His mother made sure that he was in church, which gave him a basic understanding of the bible.  He would say that looking back, his hope was based upon how good of a person he was.  On the outside he made sure that he always presented himself in the best possible light, but he too struggled with issues only he knew about.  Basically, he had hoped that his good works would outweigh his sin.

Josh and I met and began dating the first month of our freshman year at college.  We struggled in many ways but were blessed to have several solid believers pouring into us and challenging us to grow in our faith.  Towards the end of our sophomore year God changed Josh’s heart and opened his eyes to see that our relationship needed to end because it was built on a poor foundation.  Although this was an extremely hard season emotionally, we both grew tremendously in our relationships with the Lord.  For the first time, I understood my identity in Christ and I began to care more about people and less about what they thought of me.  Josh grew in his passion to serve the Lord with a genuine heart and to be vulnerable with other men with would hold him accountable to walk in righteousness.

Spring formal our freshman year of college (2001).

The following school year we began developing a friendship.   Things were so different and it was amazing to see how God had completely transformed one another in our time apart.   Our junior year of college we delighted in the joy and contentment we both found in Christ.  The next summer, when I returned from my study abroad trip in Asia, Josh picked me up from the airport and made it known that he wanted to marry me.   Because of an experience I had in Burma I was convinced that one day I was called to adopt from Asia.  After discussing this (and obviously many other things) we got engaged in December of 2003.

Books and Blogs

Books We Would Recommend

Blogs We Like 

Casey Chappell- Dan and Casey are friends of ours who now live in Texas. They have 6 children (one in heaven) and five adopted under the age of five (some domestic and others internationally).
Another Pair of Shoes- Ben and Beth are friends of ours from college who are waiting for the call to go pick up their little girl from Africa!
Sumwillyums  - Travis, one of our pastors, and his wife Julie have six children (the youngest who was recently adopted from China).
Adoption is Awesome - Alex and Charity were part of our church small group for years.  We were able to walk along side them as they completed their first adoption (domestically) and now are able to pray for them as they are currently adopting from Poland.
Journey to Justice- Sean, one of our pastors, and his wife Dana have four children (two who have been adopted from Ethiopia).
Bushel and a Peck: Our Life Recorded
Love in Asia

Spring 2013 Yard Sale

We had just sent in our initial application to receive more information about countries and agencies when we found out our neighborhood was going to hold a neighborhood yard sale. 

Oh, this would be a great opportunity to raise money for the adoption. 

But we don’t even know what country we are adopting from. 

Who cares, we don’t have to tell people it’s for adoption.

But I want to tell people.

Someone might ask me about the agency we are using and we haven’t decided.

Would I be breaking some kind of adoption fundraising etiquette?

This is a brief synopsis of what was rolling around in my head at that moment.

Fortunately, after speaking with a few wise friends we decided to move forward and like a train speeding down a hill I was determined to make our first fundraising efforts a success.  I prayed and prayed and prayed that God would show his favor on us to affirm our decision to adoption only a month prior.

I began advertising almost immediately.  I brainstormed a list of anyone in the area who I thought might either donate items or come shop around at the sale.  I created an invitation for them but before I had actually sent the invitation I was approached by a family from our church.  They told us that they had been saving things for over a year in hopes to donate it to someone who was having a yard sale to raise adoption funds.  They were unsure who to give it to but heard that we might be adopting.  What is most amazing is that at this point, they had no clue we were even planning a yard sale.  I was so excited I went home and immediately sent out the invitations in hopes that others would be as excited to donate as this family.

After that, things started pouring in.  A bag here.  A box there.  I would be out running errands with the kids and we would come back and stuff would be all over our front porch.

Just getting started.

Not Sure Where To Start?

So you know you would like to adopt, but you're either not sure where to start or you are a little unclear about the process.  This website might be helpful for you.

If you are like us, and know that you are pursuing an Intercountry Adoption, then I highly recommend this website which will help you sort through many more specifics.

Is There Really A Need?

Not convinced there is really a need for adoption.  Check out the compiled Adoption statistics and facts here.  Some things that really stood out to me were:

* Around the world, there are an estimated 153 million orphans.

* There are 17,800,000 orphans who have lost both parents and are living in orphanages or on the streets and lack the care and attention required for healthy development.  These children are at risk for disease, malnutrition, and death.

The U.S. Census Report provides information on adoption patterns within our country.  Here are a few facts that I found interesting.

* 1.7 million households report having adopted children under the age of 18 years of age.

* Although domestic adoptions are on the decline only 13% of these children were adopted from other countries.

 Click here for some other statistics that may surprise you!