In 2020, we felt led to adoption, so we began the process right away! We brought our son home in July of 2022 and it was the greatest season of our lives. Now that our son is 2 years old, we would love to provide a sibling for him! When we sat down and looked at the cost of adoption and our finances, we realized that we would need to depend on the Lord to provide. We began looking for...
Testimonial: How Katelyn’s Fund Helped Us Bring Home Our Son Kara and I (Jeremiah) have known since we were 18 years old that we were called to adopt. You could say it was our “teenage rebellion” against normalcy. We believe there are countless beautiful reasons to adopt, but for us, after having three biological children, the main reason was this crazy idea that we could make a difference in a child’s life—and maybe even in the life of a brave birth...
Thank you so much for partnering with us financially to bring our daughters home a little over a year ago. After, 3 years in the adoption process 23 months matched with our daughters 20% of our year spent in Liberia And them officially adopted for 5 months… On December 4, 2023, we landed back in the US with our two youngest daughters. It has been a little over one year since the girls have been home and we’ve been a family of 10. This past year has...
Grant Recipient Story: Jonathan and Erin Adoption has been in both our hearts for years. We were both raised with close friends and family members who were adopted. We knew it would be a part of our story, but only God knew how the story would unfold. We struggled with infertility for years and lost two children. Those were the worst years of our lives. However, the Lord proved faithful. He sustained us and provided for us through the grieving process....
Read Kevin and Jenny’s adoption story: We were interested in adoption early in our relationship. We felt called to adopt the first time, and now we have the sweetest, most loveable 3-year-old. After prayerfully considering adoption again, we felt called to move forward. We were so excited and somehow assumed that since we had done it once, it would be even easier this time. Unfortunately, in the wait, we became weary. We questioned if we really heard...
This blog was so graciously written by a long time friend of Katelyn’s Fund, Becky Bilby. One of the toughest things I have been called to do is love someone who does not love me back…..or at least someone who does not show they love me in any verbal or outward form. We are so used to hearing “thank you” at the very least when we do something for someone –but in this relationship – those words are not spoken either....
November 14 – What’s For Dinner? Dana Visser & Carly Saylor, Sioux Center Health We were pleased to have Dana Visser (occupational therapist) and Carly Saylor (speech therapist) share their expertise with us about feeding and eating in children. We learned about the importance of breathing and stability in infants prior to eating, the developmental milestones for the different ages along with the emotional and sensory aspects of eating and food. They also shared their favorite types of high...
On Sunday, November 10, we gathered together for Belong Sunday—a special day dedicated to embracing the beauty of adoption and reminding ourselves of the transformative power of God’s love. It was a time to reflect on what it truly means to belong, not just in earthly families but in God’s greater story. A highlight was hearing from the Mannchen Family, a beautiful testament to how God brings people together across borders, cultures, and languages. Liz and Uli Mannchen shared their family’s...
October 10 – School/Home Connections, Grant Willits & Iver Mettler We all have a basic human need to be heard, seen, and loved. Meeting this need for their students is the main goal for school counselors Grant Willits and Iver Mettler. Throughout their typical school day, both Willits and Mettler seek opportunities to build relationships by loving kids through the act of listening to them. This is how strong relationships are built. The power of simply asking a child...
September 12 – Know, Love, Speak, Do – Loren DeJong So often we fall into the trap of living in our day-to-day circumstances with a tendency to focus on our own problems and difficulties. Loren challenged us to remember that this is God’s story, and He has invited us to be a part of it. God wants your heart and your child’s heart. He wants you to live in total dependence on Him. We can live with the confidence...
