Adoption Happens!

You may or may not know this but I partner with Worthy of the Prize Ministries for their Chosen Child Adoption Ministry. We are very happy that these families are bringing their children home! Here are a few pieces specifically for our families, the ones we've supported! Each and every one of these charms represent a child that is now home with their forever family! Yippee!!!

Here's how it works:

For every single Chosen necklace sold $10 is donated to help a family bring their child home!

And over at Worthy of the Prize they donate the entire proceeds from their Chosen Child Fit Bands!

Each month we will feature 1 family and they will have the opportunity to earn for that entire month. After their month is over we will blog about a new family for the following month.

Everyone can help by purchasing these products!!!

Interested in joining this program? To be eligible, you must be working with an adoption agency. Email Julie at worthyoftheprize.julie@yahoo.com if you would like to be added to the list. She will work with you to select your designated month or will put you on a wait list if the program is full.

Now check this!!! In 2011 alone, we helped bring 11 children home!!!

Sing to God, sing praise to His name, extol Him who rides on the clouds---His name is the Lord---and rejoice before Him. A father to the fatherless, a defender of the widows, is God in His holy dwelling! {Psalm 68:4-5}

Ken and Sarah Lovett, who are the reason we began this adoption ministry, brought their son home from the Ukraine last spring!

Jeff, Amber, Carson and Kolby brought home Baby Adelyn on June 22nd! 

She was 10 months old when we brought her home at the end of June.  Being a teacher, I actually got the call on the last day of school that all of her documents were set and she was ready to go home.  I remember jumping up an down and screaming with tears running down my face!  Everyone was so happy for us!  We traveled to Korea one week later and spent 7 days experiencing the culture and the beautiful country.  It was the most incredible experience of my life!!  I will never forget seeing her on her foster mother's back for the first time.  I just started crying immediately.  She wasn't too sure of us for the first 45 minutes, but then my husband be-friended her with Gerber puffs and soon she was sitting in his lap!  She has had Daddy wrapped around her finger ever since!  In fact, she has pretty much everyone wrapped around her finger. Her Gotcha Day was June 22- the day they put her in our arms forever!  She laid her head on Jeff's shoulder like she just knew we were Mommy and Daddy!  We landed in the USA two days later and she met her brothers for the first time who immediately fell in love with her too!  She is such a happy, outgoing little girl.  She is always smiling and laughing and its just so contagious!  Everyone who meets her falls in love with her.  She is such a blessing to us.  Some people say that she is so lucky to have us as her family, but we think its the other way around... we are so so so lucky to have her.  I feel like she has been with us forever!  I can't imagine my family any more perfect than what it is now.  To God be all the glory!!  Read the rest of her story here.

Baby Helen Hope came home on June 27th! Watch the beautiful, moving slideshow here.

The Hartmans rescued Judd from a mental institution in Eastern Europe in June!

Judd was put in an institution because he had down syndrome - he is lucky to be alive! His story will be featured in our upcoming ebook, "Find Joy in the Journey," which will debut Summer 2012, so stay tuned for more details. There are many more who need to be rescued as well and as a result, Melanie has started an online shop to support missionaries who are committed to meeting the needs of the boys in the institution and more importantly, sharing the gospel message of salvation through Christ alone with them. Please consider supporting this ministry by donating to or purchasing products in The Lost Boys Boutique.

Megan and Nat brought their baby girl home on July 2nd!

In February, we received the referral for a precious little girl - only 6 pounds and two months of age.  We were instantly smitten...now if only we could get her home.  We finally traveled in May for our first trip to Ethiopia.  We had the amazing opportunity to meet our daughter for the first time, and spent every possible moment at the orphanage with her!  It was an amazing experience...but the miraculous moment came when we went to our court appointment with the Ethiopian courts and PASSED....the first time!  We considered her our daughter from the first time we saw her face...but now we were LEGALLY a family of four!  We left Ethiopia a short week later with a heavy heart and prayed that we would make our second journey SOON.  5 miserable weeks later we were on our way to BRING HER HOME.  We were united on June 26th and July 2nd, 2011...family and friends joined us at the airport to help us welcome home our precious daughter!  She has now been home for 4 1/2 months and is 10 months old.  It has been such a joy to watch her break out of her shell!  She has the most vivacious and contagious personality and is SUCH a joy!  Her older brother is in love with her too...we are so thrilled to see their bond already.  Thank you everyone for your assistance in fundraising - you have been such a blessing to us!  We thank God every day for our little love. Feel free to follow our journey and read more about our two trips to Ethiopia here.

Baby Connor came home on July 25th! Read his story here.

This beautiful baby girl was united with her forever family on August 5th!

The Farrells brought their 14 year old daughter home on September 18th!

Twin boys, Kingston and Kyrie, were united with their forever family in November!

 

The Dears brought their daughter Rae home on December 20th!

Our family has been on an amazing journey to bring home our little girl, Rae.  We started our journey in August of 2010. After many months of filling out paperwork and getting our dossier to China, we were matched with a 6 year old girl named Yang Rui in July 2011.  At the time of her referral she was diagnosed with a blood disorder and strabismus and was living in Sichuan Province.  She was abandoned a few months after the big earthquake at the age of approximately 3. We know nothing about her life before the orphanage.   We were very excited to be finally matched, and after gathering all info about her disorder we happily accepted her and sent in our LOI.

The next part of the waiting was tough, but we received our travel approval to go and get our girl.  We were able to travel to China as family the week before Christmas.  Even though we knew we would be spending Christmas in China, it was very worth it.  Our Gotcha Day was December 19^th, and we were excited to finally meet her in person.Her caregivers told us that she showed everyone our pictures we had sent her and loved taking pictures with the camera in her care package.  She was very shy at first, but she eventually warmed up to us.  When it was time to leave, she realized her nanny had already left.  She was very sad to say the least.  For the next several hours, she majorly grieved.  There was a lot of crying and screaming and wanting her nanny.  We knew about this phase, but it was very tough to watch. Noel had gone out to McDonald’s for dinner because we knew there was no going out together.  We tried and tried to get her to eat, and then finally she started eating the FRIES! The fries magically stopped the crying and she was happier and smiling.  We also found out she loved taking pictures with our camera phone. 

After learning how to correctly pronounce her Chinese name, we changed her name to the English spelling. On December 20th Yang Rui became, Rae Michelle, a forever member of our family.  She happily placed her handprint on the paperwork. While in China, there was a lot to learn about what she liked and didn’t like.  We had wonderful bonding moments with everyone in our family. We had fun at different museums, parks, and zoos.  Our favorite part may have been seeing the pandas in Chengdu. She was becoming another Dear girl forever cemented in our hearts.

We have been home for a month now, and we cannot imagine our family without this little girl.  She has been a trooper through her dental surgery, blood draws, and other doctor visits.  We are thankful that the hospital provides translators for us to help her understand what is going on.  Rae is learning to say more and more English words and loves to copy her ABCs.  She is great little helper around the house.  We love watching her learn about her new world and see her thriving.  We are looking forward to teaching her more about the love of Jesus, and one day accepting Him as her Savior.  You can read more about our experiences at http://increasingheartandhome.blogspot.com/.  

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will---to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves. {Ephesians 1:3-6}

 

I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. {John 14:18}