Tuesday Testimony

Adoption was not in our plans as we happily served God and nurtured our three daughters.  We admired others who adopted, but never thought we could.  Brad works two part-time jobs – one is a church position and the other a volunteer position where he receives a paycheck only if people send money for our support.  Marie is a stay-at-home mom.  Paying for an adoption would be nothing short of a miracle.  But God worked with each of us individually and tendered our hearts toward adoption.  After He clearly led us to adopt a baby, we threw out our earthly logic and began following God.  We finished our paperwork and began the "wait and pray" stage.  A little over a year after we applied, we received a letter stating our agency was closing.  We were confused and returned to the Lord in prayer asking if He still wanted us to adopt.  He confirmed His plans with a letter in the mail saying we’d been approved for a matching grant. 

We didn’t know what agency to apply to, the options are almost endless.  We did some research, but mainly waited for God’s direction.  After He gave confirmation, we began working with a Kentucky agency to update our home study but still didn’t have a placing agency.  We had no peace in choosing one, so we waited.  God was amazing in His timing and guidance to a placing agency – one that would not have accepted us only a few days earlier.  Shortly after applying to this agency, we received notification of a $3000 grant (the exact amount needed to sign the agency agreement). 

We found out about Katelyn’s Fund and applied.  We interviewed with the board and were incredibly blessed when they prayed with us.  They knew the many aspects of adoption and prayed for things we forgot to mention when they asked for prayer requests.  They told us if we had any other requests to e-mail them and the prayer team would pray for them.  We hung up knowing that whether we received a grant or not, we had received something even more effective, prayer to Almighty God.  A week later the phone rang and it was Sheila from Katelyn’s Fund saying we had been approved for a grant, another confirmation we are following God’s plan.  We realize God is using even the finances to bring the child into our home that He knows will benefit most from being part of our family.  The grant from Katelyn’s Fund has been part of the miracle God is using to enable us to adopt.  The personal touch of interviewing us and praying with us is something we haven’t received from any of the other organizations to which we have applied.  Knowing Katelyn’s Fund’s prayer team is praying for us and our requests is such an encouragement to us in this journey.  We continue to trust God to provide for us to do His will and thank Katelyn’s Fund for being part of His provision!