Happy Cinci De Mayo

Tuesday morning May 5

Happy Cinco De Mayo from Shanghai.  I don’t think we will be finding a Mexican restaurant today to eat at.  The area around our hotel has no Western places, have seen no fast food in this part of town.  Wal Mart is Miles away but Lotus is a short taxi ride away.   Not much to do in this part of town.  Good thing that we enjoy going out to the local Chinese places.  We have experienced a few of them.

I have been fighting issues with I Message, for some reason I cant get text on my phone but good to be out of touch I guess.

Joshua is doing great.  He went to sleep easily last night and slept all night.   Shaun however was up at 4:30 this morning and going full blast.   Joshua is hearing some and speaking some.  He said Baba (daddy) and Mamma (mother) last night.  When he got up on my lap at the computer he began talking wildly.   Not sure why the computer excited him so much.  He loves being on FaceTime with his sisters and others.  He is eating very well but you can tell he has never used a spoon and has likely had most food via a bottle.  

Shaun has been great to share his favorite toys with Josh.  They play well together so far.

This morning we are back to Civil Affairs to make it official that he is ours.    We also have to pick up his passport and do other paperwork.

We are all doing great and enjoying the beautiful weather here.

Introducing Joshua XiQian (Shee Chi-an)

Monday May 4^th  Gotya Day

Well we grabbed breakfast with the Lee’s and then came back to the room for final preparations.   We met Ming Ming in the lobby and were off to the Civil Affairs office across town, about a 30 minute drive.   As we arrived two other families arrived, one couple from NJ who had a daughter from Laura’s province about her age adopted shortly after Laura, they were adopting another little girl.  The other family was from England adopting a blind boy and then us and the Lee’s.

We sat down to do paperwork and had to read and sign many documents, many in Chinese with English translations.   We are basically foster parents for the first 24 hours, a trial period to make sure that you want to go through with the adoption.   We will go back to tomorrow to finalize things and to make it official but we know this is our child and there is no going back.   After all the paperwork we had to go to another room to pay the fees and orphanage donation.  Let’s just say that our money belts are a lot lighter and thinner now!

Then back to the conference room to wait.  After a few short minutes they said they are here.  We looked and Joshua came in the door holding the hand of a care giver and another lady was holding the Lee’s little girl.  By the way she was in the same room with Joshua at the orphanage so they know each other.  Xi Qian (Joshua) walked right over to me and smiled.  We hugged and I moved out of the way so momma could hold him.   He was very easy going and came right to each of us.  Shaun jumped in to help give him things.

The orphanage staff had brought back everything we had ever sent him, two bags of items. They also presented us with a chop with his name on it and a wonderful photo book of Joshua since he had been with them.  Such a priceless gift to have showing his first 2 years of life.   We could tell that they had prepared him and had been showing him our photos.  He warmed up quickly and did not cry much.   He did get upset when the nannie held him for a photo and then returned him to us for a family photo.  But Cheerio’s did the trick to get past that.

After a bit we were finished there and headed to Lotus (Like Wal Mart) to shop for a few things we needed.  The 2 children were getting tired and hungry.  In the store Joshua was taking everything in, he was responding to loud sounds and looking toward noise.   He seems to be hearing some but his ears are much worse than we had expected but this can be addressed in due time. 

After Lotus it was time to head back to the hotel for naps.  Josh got sleepy but woke up when we arrived at the hotel.  Back at the room he sat on the floor and played with a toy and ate some chips and then took a bottle from momma.   We had some Chinese noodle dishes for lunch (not bad). We put him down for his nap but he would not go to sleep so finally daddy picked him up and rocked him to sleep.   He seems very comfortable with both of us and was very relaxed in my arms.

He is a very sweet boy and has a smile as big as Texas.  He is tiny (smaller than we expected) and I have not heard him say any words yet but the orphanage staff said he is saying basic words like mamma and baba (daddy).  We have heard him whimper a few times but not even a full blown cry yet.

It is amazing to us how God can place love like this in your heart, bring you half way around the world to meet a child that you have only seen in photos and the love you have for them is as strong as for even your biological children.   After months of working through lots of paperwork, paying lots of fees, saying lots of prayers and jumping hurdles that get in the way, we made it to this day the day that Yang Xi Qian would become Joshua XiQian Collier our son! Adoption is the gospel lived out right before your eyes.  This little boy is my son, he is now a Collier with all the rights and privileges that come with that name.  He does not look like us, he is not perfect but he is my son.   In the same way that God adopted me when I was not perfect but yet He took me in and loved me.

We are thankful for the gift of adoption.  For how God has used us to adopt children and for how He adopted us into his family.  I learn something new every time we adopt and it changes me every time in several ways.  I am thankful that God chose us to be here for this day and that He chose us to be this little boys parents.  It has been amazing so far on this trip to see how God has gone before us and prepared the way for us to get here to our son.

That’s it for now, more later.  Today is the day!

Here is the photo link again.  http://s168.photobucket.com/user/factech1/slideshow/2015%20China

Today is the day

Today is the Day is one of my favorite songs and that is our theme today.    In just over an hour we will meet Joshua.


Sunday was fairly uneventful.  A trip to the bank to convert money and our money belts are much lighter today.  Then out to lunch with our new friends and walking on the Bund.


Last night we ventured out and found a nice little local restaurant for dinner.  Everyone slept well and we are ready for the day.   Breakfast was good and now the time to leave is close.


At our next post Joshua will be our son.   We will post more information and pictures later today our time.


Shaun is a bit confused he keeps asking when we will get to China and will we take this or that.   Yesterday when we went to the bank he asked about which of our local bank branches we would go to.  He has not figured out where we are.  He keeps asking where Joshua is too.   Could be an interesting day.


Thanks for your prayers, TODAY IS THE DAY!

We made it to China

Sunday Morning May 3^rd.    We left Atlanta at 6:30 Friday morning may 1^st.   Flew to DFW and departed there at 10:30 am for Shanghai.   The flight was 15.5 hours long.   We had 3 meals on the plane, dinner, snack and breakfast.    Shaun did wonderfully other than asking tons of questions.  He talked and talked.   Overall he did wonderfully, he slept some and played some.

For some reason I can't get photos to upload so will work on that later.

We had these crazy neon green bandanna’s tied to all of our bags.  Thanks Vicki we looked so different!  When we counted our bags in Shanghai we were missing our stroller.  So we had to go file a claim for a lost item.  This took a while.

When we finally got out of baggage claim we met our guide and learned that another agency had a family here that would be going with us.  they are a sweet couple from Wisconsin.

We checked in and the hotel it is very nice.  The population of this city is 24 million people so lots of traffic it took almost an hour from the airport to the hotel.  We joined the other family for dinner at a local pub that was good.  By this time we were dragging and headed back to clean up and rest.   Shaun fell asleep almost immediately.

He was up at 1:30 and then again about 4:30.   By 5:30 we were all up and ready to go.  We journal and talked a bit and waited for breakfast to open.

Tomorrow is the big day when we meet our new son Joshua.  

Here is a link to photos  http://s168.photobucket.com/user/factech1/slideshow/2015%20China

The Cost of Adoption

I believe I have written about this before but maybe not the same perspective.

We are in the final days before we head to meet Joshua. A week from now we will be landing in his country and will be hours from meeting him.   We will gain a son and will have great joy.  For him it will be a day of sadness, a day when everything that has been normal to him is taken away.  He won't understand why he is being taken away from his friends and caregivers.  He won't understand why these people that look different, smell different and talk different are coming into his life.   He will pay a high cost initially for this change to take place.   In the long run he will have  a much better life and he will benefit, but initially the cost to him will be great.

This has been one of those hectic weeks and one where we have seen some of the cost of adoption.    Today alone we wrote over $9000 in checks to cover travel expenses, plane tickets, in country travel etc. We know that we will spend another $8000 in the next 2 weeks as we complete the process.  Throughout the process fees for this and fees for that.  So yes there is a monetary cost but we knew this going in and understand that.

Lets talk about the cost of time and energy and convenience etc.   There are hours and hours of paperwork throughout the process.  There are interviews with social workers, dealing with people that you come to love, dealing with people that make you want to scream!   What seems like thousands of things to get done before travel.   Taking time away from family, from work from other commitments.   Arranging schedules to be gone.   Delaying things you want to do or need to do?  All of these are a cost.

Then lets talk about the nearly 24 hours in airports and airplanes.   15.5 hours on one flight alone.  You bet ya that this is a cost, there is nothing fun about this long in a airplane seat.  Add to this having a 4 year old at your side that wants to know what time it is every 30 seconds, yep another cost!

Cost of love, commitment and energy!   It is costly to risk bringing a new child into your family, it will be painful as we bond, it will require a lot of commitment and a lot of energy.   Robin's life will be changed as she deals with another little one around the house, another mouth to feed another child to school.  It will take so much of her energy.

Medical cost, when adopting a child with medical needs we must always consider the cost of medical treatments.   For this child we know that certain items  will not be covered by insurance so there will be a cost.

Cost to others, All of the other kids have paid a price during this process.  They have sacrificed time with us, delayed travel we wanted to take.  They will have to share their home, their toys and their parents.  For Shaun it will be a big cost as he will no longer be the baby he will have to share us and his sisters with a new brother.   We will see how he deals with the cost!

So yes there is cost from money to giving of yourself.     Why do I tell you all of this?   Are we complaining about the financial cost?  No.   Do we regret adopting?  No, we would do it all over again!   Are we seeking your sympathy?  No.  

The reason I tell you this is so others that may consider going down this road, can thoroughly consider the cost, so that others can see the good, the bad and the ugly of adoption. 

At the end of the day yes it is costly but we have never had any regrets.   We have been so richly blessed by the addition of each of our children, both biological and adopted (is there really a difference?) and the return on investment has been great.

As an old commercial said what is the price of an adoption?  A lot of  $$$, a lot of energy, a lot time, a lot of inconvenience, a lot of travel, a lot of love and commitment.  A lot of medical cost, personal sacrifice etc.

Seeing a child become a part of a family where he or she will be loved and cared for "PRICELESS"

So yes there is a cost, but IT IS WORTH IT!!!!!!!!

Signing off for now.  We will be posting during the trip.  Gotya day will be May 4th so say a prayer for all of us on that day.  Stay tuned it is about to get interesting.

Final Countdown

We are in the final countdown now.   Less than 2 weeks until we meet Joshua, Robin will get to spend Mothers Day in China this year.

We have most of the packing done and are just tying up loose ends.  We are waiting on our in country travel arrangements to be firmed up this week.  

Shaun is excited about going back and to meeting his new brother.  We hope that they will bond with each other quickly and that Joshua will adjust to us quickly.  We pray that the care givers are preparing him for our arrival and letting him know that we are coming soon.  We pray that they are showing him our photos so we are more familiar to him.

There are so many things to be done, so many details to take care of, but we know it will all come together.   We are all just anxious to get going and get there.   Dreading the long flights but that is part of the price we pay for this blessing. 

We will begin posting regular updates here once we get in country so if you want to see photos and the detailed updates this is the place to watch. 

We are thankful for dear friends that have been by our side through this process.  One radical friend offered to drive 6 hours away to help with an item if needed and we appreciate her and her mother so much for offering to be radical and help in any way they could.

For now we just prepare and wait.   More updates to come soon.

Happy Birthday Shaun

Happy 4th Birthday Shaun. 

Hard to believe that Shaun has been with us 2 years.  This week we celebrated his gotya day and now his birthday.

Did you hear me say TA! TA! TA!

Yes that is what you heard, we received TA today.   Never fails these come in while I am traveling and it happened again this time but we pulled it together, it took me an hour to find Robin to tell her. 

We have been talking to our travel agent and have a tentative schedule but can not lock it in until our Consulate Appointment is confirmed which may be Monday.   But if all goes well we will be leaving in about 3 weeks.

We are glad to have this milestone complete and are ready to book travel and get our our way.   Joshua we are coming soon.  

It has been a great week in many ways. 

Yesterday was the second  anniversary of Shaun's adoption.   We celebrated our adoption day together and had fun.   We are so thankful for each of our children.  Sunday will be Shaun's 4th birthday so a big week for him.

We had some other great news this week that we can't share here just yet but more to come on that later. 

Stay tuned for the travel plan and schedule.    We should be able to post it next week. 

We are thankful, grateful and blessed.

Waiting for TA, New Beginnings and Easter

Well we did some additional packing today.   We have a lot of our basic supplies etc. packed and ready to go.   We are working through the packing list for the 5th time so fairly routine this time around.   We have the final check list from our agency and are working through it.    We are anxious and ready to get going.

We pray that our TA comes in this week.   Our Article 5 was released a week ago so hopefully toward the end of this week we will have the TA in hand and be working on booking flights.   Please pray that we get the TA this week and quickly lock our Consulate Appointment so we can get everything firmed up.  The travel agent knows our preferred dates and departure city.  A lot of tentative arrangements are in place and ready to firm up.  We have a tight window we are trying to hit to line up with our son's schedule so he and his wife can watch the girls while we are gone, we pray it all works out.

This not knowing and being in a state of limbo is one of the hardest parts for us.  For me as the working dad it is particularly hard as I can not schedule business trips from now through June until we know our dates.   I have been planning a lot of stuff tentatively until we have real dates.  We are just ready to know and get on with it.    We are anxious to get Joshua in our arms and to get him the medical treatment he needs.  We will keep you updated here as things shape up.

We have some other new beginnings that we will talk more about soon.   More excitement around our family.

We hope all of you had a wonderful Easter and that you were able to celebrate the sacrifice that was made for you.

Stay tuned for more updates and a big announcement this week!

Here are a few pics from the kids Easter Egg hunt today.

This and That

Wow what a busy week.   Things are picking up speed in many ways.

Yesterday we celebrated the 8th anniversary of Shiyan's adoption day.  Hard to believe that it has been that long.  We had a great day and ended the day with dinner at our favorite Chinese restaurant. 

Today we made a store run to start gathering supplies for the trip to get Joshua.   Had to update some supplies in my medical kit and move into a new kit since the last one has seen too many trips over there.   We picked up things we will need for the trip and began packing our supply bag with toys for the boys, basic supplies etc.   Now that there is one bag packed and stored in the guest room it makes it feel a little more real.

We expect our Article 5 in the next week and then the countdown to TA (Travel Approval) starts.   We covet your prayers for the TA to be turned around very quickly.   We have a date that we hope to hit for travel and we can't afford to lose any time right now.   With a little miracle we hope to be headed across the big pond in just over a month.  There are so many things to get done in that time. 

We received an update on Josh on Friday and this will help us to prepare a few things that we were uncertain about.  This also helped us know some of the things we will need like bottles, diapers, clothing sizes etc.

We continue to pray for the workers there to be preparing Joshua for our arrival.  We pray that he will bond with us and Shaun quickly.  We pray that his hearing is good enough for us to be able to comfort him during this transition.   We pray that our Mandarin will be good enough to get through another trip and to communicate with Joshua and with anyone we need to speak with while there.  (tough language to learn and speak).  We pray for good health for us and Joshua throughout the time and travel.    We know that God goes before us and prepares the way.    We pray that we will be ready for any appointments that He has in store for us.

Overall we have a wonderful peace about this entire process but at the same time any time you know that you have a child that is half way around the world you want to move heaven and earth to get to them so you can care for them and love them.   We long to get there and become his parents.

Shaun seems to be getting excited.  He is starting to identify books and toys that he wants to show his new brother.   He is starting to ask questions about the trip and seems to be excited to travel.   I have to be honest I truly dread being in airports and on airplanes with him for over 24 hours but it is a necessary part of the process.  Extra prayers for Shaun to travel well would be appreciated.

All in all we are ready to get things done and get on the way.   Stay tuned for more updates as we get closer to the big day.

Progress and community

Well we made progress toward getting Joshua home.  We are now waiting on his article 5 which is the last major US step.   We hope that this turns around quickly and that we can get our TA so we can book travel.    So stay tuned we should be heading to the far East in about 2 months or less.


On another note the adoption community is just that a community.  We have made so many great friends over the years through adoption.   We have been blessed to become friends with people that we would have otherwise never met.   There is a bond between adoptive families.


Yesterday a man came to my office for a meeting we had never met in person but had emailed and talked over the last year.   Very early in the conversation he said "tell me about the kids in the photos"  Referring to photos of our younger kids that are behind my desk.   I showed him our 7 bio plus adopted and based on his questions I quickly knew he was very familiar with adoption.  Turns out he had an 18 and a 12 year old from China.   We talked for quite a while about our adoption experiences.  He was interested in learning how things are now some 11 years after his last adoption.  It created an immediate bond, a fellowship between us.  I now look forward to getting to know him better.


If you have never adopted you should really prayerfully consider it.  If you have been blessed by adoption you know what I am talking about.


That's all for now.   Stay tuned for updates as we get closer to bring Joshua home.  This will be the official home of updates, photos etc. as we travel to meet him.

Look Like Brothers

Shaun is getting excited about having a new brother.   Things are starting to seem more real now that we are actually preparing and starting to talk about travel.   Shaun will be making the trip with us.   We are working out the details for the girls. 

Here is a recent picture of Shaun with Joshua's picture next to him.  They will look a lot alike.

For anyone that knows  us you know that Shaun is a fire truck fanatic.  As I write this he is sitting watching reruns of Emergency.   I watched that as a kid and now it is his favorite show.  We record it every day on the DVR and he and I can watch it together when we have time.  Will be interesting to see if Joshua likes it too.

Here is another photo of Shaun recently in his fire gear that he made as a project in school. And another from last week at my office.  He saw my old fire helmet that I use as a lamp shade and had to get it down and wear it.   This boy loves his fire trucks.

Getting closer LOA

Wow we received our LSC / LOA a little earlier than we expected.  Great news and we are excited.  


They are saying that travel to bring Joshua home could be as early as late April which is fine with us.


So now we wait for the next step (article 5) and see if we can get that before Chinese New Year. 


For now we wait and see. 






We pray daily that Joshua is being prepared for us.  We pray that his hearing is good enough that we can communicate with him.   We pray that he will adjust to us quickly.  We pray that Shaun will travel well and that the girls will do well while we are gone.   We pray for the details of where the girls will stay gets worked out soon.  We pray that dates firm up sooner rather than later.   We pray for the necessary funds to purchase Joshua's hearing aids when we get home.  We pray that God uses us during this trip and in our daily lives.






Help us to live the Christian life and not just be consumers of Christianity. 






Thanks for following along.

Remembering 5 Years ago today, Maria's Gotya Day

On Monday January 4th 2010 Maria became our daughter.  Her adoption was a little different as we had met her a few days earlier at New Day in Beijing. We had been blessed with lots of photos of her during the waiting period and blog updates that showed us how she was doing.  We spent New Years Eve at New Day and got to know her a little before our actual adoption day.  It was so hard that day leaving her behind as we headed back to the hotel, knowing we would not see her for a few days.

We then spent January 1st and 2nd site seeing in Beijing along with Laura and Shiyan.   We had a very small travel group and would be in province alone as the 3 families were going to 3 different cities. 

Then on Sunday morning we got up and headed to the airport.    Click here for the post from that day.
The short story is 100 year record snow storm, hundreds of flights cancelled and delayed.   As a frequent traveler I could see quickly it was going to be a long day as snow piled up on the wings of our aircraft.   We finally ended up back at the hotel we had started at some 14 hours later and then took a train on that Monday morning.

That Monday we saw miracles as a chance meeting between Shiyan and a Chinese business lady led to them taking care of us at the train station and them getting us out to our guide.   I am not sure what would have happened if those 6 business people had not taken us under their wings, they were a true blessing and answer to prayer.  We finally make it to our hotel about 24 hours late and have time for a quick lunch before heading out to become Maria's parents.

Read the post from Gotya day at:  click here  

I have to say out of all of our travels around the world, that day in the Beijing airport was an experience.   But in the end it was all worth it.  We have had other bad experiences in that airport, just ask Aaron about "OK NO Problem" during Shiyan's trip and the 7 hour delay getting to her, oh what an experience that day was.    You will have to dig back through the blog and read that post from March 2007.

As a parent you will do amazing things to take care of your children.  I remember that afternoon knowing that Maria was about to head from New Day to Zhengzhou and that we would not be there to meet her.   I remember telling the guide that I did not care if he had to rent a dog sled to get me there I was going to find a way to get to Zhengzhou.  I finally had to yell at George our guide to get his attention and make it clear that we were going to find a way to get there.  I ran up a $120 international roaming bill on my cell phone that day trying to get out of that airport.  We called CCAI in the middle of the night here in the US to get them to help us make arrangements.   It reminded me of the movie, Plains, Trains and Automobiles.  In the end we made it and the transition went as smoothly as could be expected for adopting a 4.5 year old.    God provided for her health, helped us get her home where an excellent medical team could care for her and repair her heart.

We are so thankful for the staff at New Day and for how they cared for her.  For people that contributed to New Day so she could have that first life saving surgery.  We are thankful for everyone that prayed for her before we were selected to adopt her, for those that continued to pray for her until we could get there and for those that prayed for her during travel, bonding etc.   God was faithful in answering those prayers and today we look at a beautiful little girl that does anything she sets her mind to and amazes us on a regular basis. 

We are thankful that we answered that call to adopt and for the blessing that Maria has been to our family.

So today we celebrate her Gotya day.  We will go eat Chinese food as a family, we will be thankful for the blessings we have and for the ways God has blessed us through adoption.   We are thankful that we were the ones chosen to be Maria's parents, as we are thankful for each and every one of our children.

Stay tuned we are only a few months from traveling back to China again, at least in Spring we hopefully won't have to worry about snow storms.  

Happy Gotya Day Maria, we love you.

And Another Year has Passed

Wow hard to believe that 2014 is behind us.    This time last year we had no idea we would be adopting again.   We were still in the thick of the battle with Shaun.   Then by April he mellowed out and we finally got into a flow.

Then in late June, we start talking about adopting again and by mid July we are in the process again.    August was our 30th anniversary, September a wedding, December Shaun back to old habits again, breaking things, doing things that he knows will get him in trouble.   So we hold firm and try to teach him that bad choices have consequences. 

Now 2014 is done and 2015 promises to be an exciting and eventful year.    As we start we anxiously wait for our approval from China to get Joshua.   We hope that by mid to late February we have our approval then we wait for TA and Consulate Appointment then buy tickets and head to China.    So in this lull of the beginning of January we rest and wait, knowing that at some point in the next few months it will get very busy and make the journey.

As we enter this new year we are so thankful for the blessings of the past year and look forward to opportunities that God has for us in the future.  
 

Merry Christmas

Wow it is hard to believe that another year is nearly complete. It has been a big year for our family.

A big anniversary, a new daughter in law, another adoption started and much more.   2015 promises to be another big year.  Follow along here for adoption updates and to follow our trip to China next year.

We have been so truly blessed and thank God for the ways he has blessed and provided for us.

From our family to yours.

Merry Christmas

&
Happy New Year

and as an added bonus here are a couple of pictures of our Joshua that we just received this week.  Next year he will be part of our Christmas photo.

New Photos

Tonight we received some new photos of Joshua.   What an unexpected treat!   He is smiling and seems so happy.    To top that off we were able to video chat with our friend who is in China with her new daughter. 

In other news we should receive our immigration approval this week, which means documents should be headed to China by early December.  This starts the big clock for their approval and then on to the rest of the chase and eventually travel.   Our goal for a few months has been DTC by December 1st and we should be close. 

We will keep you posted on our progress.  Thanks for following along with our journey.

Praying for an adoption

This weekend we have a great friend that is in China adopting a little girl.   She had a lot of challenges getting there, but finally made it.  We were so glad to hear from her and be able to video chat with her.   

Tonight as we prepare to go to bed she prepares to become a mother again.   A little girl will face so much change and confusion as she is removed from what she has known for the last 5 years.  No matter how much they prepared her for this day it will be so hard.

Adoption is a beautiful thing but we often forget the pain of the child.   This little girl lost her biological parents some 5 years ago and now she will lose the only normal she has ever known.   In the long run it will be great for her, she will be loved and cared for so much better here than there.   But for the next few days her heart will likely break.

So we pray for her and for our friend as they adjust to each other.  We also pray for our son Joshua and for the changes that are coming next year for him.   We hope that he is receiving love and attention.  We pray that his health is good and that he is hearing enough words to keep him stimulated.  

We hope that our immigration approval will come soon and that we can get our paperwork headed out and be DTC.    We are ready to get there and get him home, just like our friend Vicki is doing right now.

Before you go to bed tonight say a prayer for orphans around the world and for those transitioning into families.

Orphan Sunday

Today is Orphan Sunday a day when we think about how we can intervene for the fatherless.   For us orphan care is a daily way of life and a point of regular discussion.   How can we best help the fatherless?

There are an estimated 153 million orphans around the world so how can we best impact this?    Adoption is one way but how do we reach out to orphans abroad?   How can we get them into families in their native country?  How can we help orphanages to better care for them?   One thing I know for certain is that all of us have the ability to help the fatherless.  We can pray for them, we can help others adopt, we can do short term mission trips, some of us can move to another country and care for orphans.  Some of us are called to adopt, to foster etc.    We all have a role from the youngest to the oldest we can do something for orphans.

Today at church I had the privilege to address 3 classes and talk about orphan care and I challenged each of them to find what their calling was and to engage.

So what are you called to do?  How can you help?  This is for you to figure out!  But please do consider your role and get involved in caring for widows and orphans in some way.  

I saw a quote from William Carey today;  "Expect great things from God and Attempt great things for God"  This can be applied to everything we do in our daily lives.   Another thing that resonated with me today was "God can bring down walls that are bigger than us", this is so true and we know that without God's hand in our adoptions there is no way we could have made it and we are so thankful that He helped us overcome these walls.

The last thought is that by adopting we have been able to have a front row seat to see God at work in so many ways and are so blessed by seeing the gospel lived out up close and personal.

Take time today to pray for orphans and take time all during November to prayerfully consider what you are supposed to be doing for the fatherless.

Funding Adoptions

So what are your thoughts on fund raisers for adoptions?

I will start by saying that I don't have a strong opinion on this and I am asking this as a legitimate question.  I don't believe there is a right or wrong answer so before you get all up in arms it is just a question to see what your thoughts are. 

We are on our fifth adoption and have never done any fund raisers.  We have had some small gifts from friends and our church but have never gone out looking for donations or done a fund raiser for our adoptions.   We have been very blessed that God has provided for the ability to fund 5 adoptions and has provided for our needs throughout all of this.  We are thankful for anyone that has helped in any way with our adoptions and appreciate any help that we have received.

I know that many families feel called to adopt and without contributions from others they just could not afford to adopt so I believe in these cases it is necessary.   I also have always felt that God allows others to get involved in things by allowing them to give money.   I believe that if you feel God leading you to give money to someone or some cause then you need to be sensitive to that.  Often God will use our abundance to bless others.    I know that many times I have seen where God calls someone to do something that unless they step out in total faith and trust Him to provide it can not be done.  But I also struggle with knowing the cost before starting down a road.

Over the years we have seen some great fund raiser ideas and some not so great ideas.  We know someone doing a fund raiser right now that is really neat but has a limited appeal to those outside the adoption community but non the less it is a cool idea.   What are fund raisers that have worked for you?   Do any of you have a great fund raising activity that might benefit other adopting families.  

There are grants and programs out there but you have to submit a lot of paperwork and there are many families applying for very limited funds.   Some churches offer assistance to their members.   There are also good people that give to help others adopt.  

The doubting side of me wonders if the fund raising is abused at times?   I am sure others have this concern at times so wanted to put it out there.

I really hate talking about the financial side of adoption.   I often get questions from people about how much it cost?   My general answer is "if you are called to adoption it is not about the cost it is about the child and you will do whatever it takes to pay for an adoption"   But at the end of the day it takes money to complete an adoption.  For China it is north of $30,000 by the time you do paperwork, pay necessary fees and travel to receive your child.  For families that have done multiple adoptions it can really add up.  For families that do more than one child at a time it can be very costly.   Then once you get the child home if there are medical needs these have a cost too.   So overall it is very expensive.  But it is never about the money.   I would hate to think that money was the only thing preventing a couple from adopting and know that people have to get creative in finding ways to get the necessary funding.

We are thankful for the blessing of adoption.  We are so thankful that we have had the money to pay for our adoptions.   It has meant sacrifice at times, driving older vehicles, taking smaller less expensive vacations etc. Was it worth it, you bet it was!

So all this said to say that I am personally still on the fence about fund raisers.   I have to say I am considering it more every day.   For this particular adoption we know that we have some large out of pocket expenses when we get home.   Our new son is hearing impaired and will require expensive hearing aids when we get home and these are not covered by insurance.  So any dollar that we can offset on the adoption leaves money to pay for hearing aids.   So we pray daily that God will provide for the needs of our family and our new son.   We know that He will provide.  How we don't know but we have faith and trust in Him to guide us to do the right things. 

If you have thoughts on this topic feel free to comment on this post.  If you have fund raising ideas post those too.  Also comment to let us know if anyone is still reading this little blog.   You wonder some times if anyone even reads this thing.

Thanks for following along with us on this journey.    Here is a newer photo of our new little guy Joshua that I wanted to share with you.