We were drawn to the words of James 1:27 several years ago (“Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress...”) and have been praying about how adoption or foster care might be part of our family, but after our son Nathan was born we sort of shelved the idea for awhile. However, the Lord has continually been working in our hearts, and this past July we learned of an adoption need that fits our family perfectly at this stage of life. Currently, there is a rising need for families to adopt African American or biracial newborns in the United States. Because many of these precious babies are being saved from abortion, there is an increasing need for families to come alongside these courageous birth moms to provide the blessing of adoption, preventing the little one from having to enter the foster care system at birth. The Lord is calling us to offer our home as part of His plan to “set the lonely in families” (Psalm 68:6) by helping to meet this need.
We are working through an adoption consultant, Tracie Loux of Christian Adoption Consultants, who will connect us with adoption agencies around the country who are in need of adoptive families to meet this need. This means our adoption will likely happen out of state, so travel will be involved as well. Our (very) general time frame is to complete our home study in late October or early November and then start applying to agencies, applying for grants, and doing tons of fundraising. From there, our family profile will be presented to birth mothers until a birth mom selects us to adopt her child. This could take months or could happen very quickly at the birth of a baby, resulting in immediate travel plans.
We know that out of God’s deep love for His little children, He is stirring our hearts to embrace one of them as our own. But we need your help in making this happen. The adoption will cost between $25-30,000 and includes adoption agency fees, legal fees, and medical care and living expenses for the birth mother. We will also need to fund our own travel, including air fare or gas money and hotel stays. As shocking as the cost is, when compared to an equal purchase value (like a new car), there is no comparison with the eternal difference this investment will make in our little one’s life.
Above all, we ask all of you to partner with us in prayer: pray for God’s protection on the birth mother and our unborn child. Pray for endurance as we sort through mounds of home study paperwork and begin grant applications and fundraising. Pray we will be an encouragement to others and bring glory to the Lord in all we do! If you wish do contribute financially, you may donate through the PayPal link on the main page of our blog, or contact us for other ways you can get involved in helping with fundraising.
In taking this step of faith, the Lord keeps reminding us of the beautiful picture He gave us of adoption—that through the great price paid by His Son Jesus, WE are adopted as sons of the King of Kings! May you take joy today in your adoption as a son or daughter of the Almighty Father and consider how you can help one of His little children experience earthly adoption as well.
Daniel, Mae, & Nathan Verheyden
No comments :
Post a Comment