Dear Family and Friends,

We are nearing the final phase of our long journey to bring home two, yes two, young boys from China. Some of you learned earlier in 2016 that we were adopting a 9 year old boy known as “Craig”. Since that time and after many paperwork delays we have discerned that the Lord is leading us to bring home a second boy, Levi who is 7 years old. We have been praying and researching adoption for a few years now. We began by exploring adoption and working with the foster care system in the US and then explored international adoption.  

What prompted us to adopt? Primarily we felt so strongly that we are all called to care for orphans in someway. Some are called to bring them into their families, others are called to give orphan care in different ways such as relief efforts and advocating. Others may be called to give financially to the needs of the almost 147 million orphans around the world.  

The biggest challenge for our family is not opening our hearts and home to a child, but it is finding finances to make this happen. The estimated total cost for the adoption of our two boys is close to $50,000. There was a “discount” for bringing home two children at one time. The kind family who hosted our second son in the United States this past summer, gave a generous grant towards his adoption. We also had some money saved, had a yard sale this past summer, have sold crafts during the holiday season and plan to have a couple fundraisers early in the spring before we travel. Some of you have also blessed us already in so many ways. Additionally, we applied for several grants and intend to apply for several more.  

Honestly, making these financial needs known can be uncomfortable. But a dear friend of ours once put in into perspective for us. I mentioned this financial challenge to her and she said, “Amy, my family is not called to bring any more children into our home right now. But we are called to care for orphans and this can include financial support.” Your friendship is important to us and we would like you to consider partnering with us through our adoption in one or two ways.  

1. We've started a fundraiser on Pure Charity to raise the funding that we need to make our adoption a success. We have a donations goal of $18,000 that will go towards the remainder costs of the adoption which includes our travel expenses. Every donation is important and will help make this adoption a success.  

2. We ask you to pray.  Pray for our boys halfway around the world.  Pray for their caregivers and all of those impacted by these adoptions.  Pray for our family as we begin this journey and the adventure to come.  

Thank you so much for being a part of our lives and helping accomplish something that's important to all of us!