Hal & Martha Swift family
Children: John (10) & Charlie (7)
Church: Community Church, Fond du Lac, WI
Ever since we were married almost 17 years ago, we have talked about adopting a child. We want to be a forever family for a child who would otherwise have no home. As we started researching adoption agencies, God brought families into our lives who had adopted internationally. Our hearts grew passionate for orphaned children in the states and around the globe. Two years ago, as Hal job searched for his next ministry position, this became one of our main questions we asked churches…”How do you feel about/support adoption?” We made our home in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin where our church has been extremely supportive of our adoption. In addition to that, we are in the process of spearheading an orphan ministry in our church. It has grown from something we felt called to as newlyweds to a passion of our hearts. And after almost 17 years of wondering if or when and how, we are now at a point that we can’t wait till we can bring our little one home to join our family.
We began our adoption journey in January, 2014 with just $200 for our application fee. Feeling financially discouraged, in February we decided to pray nightly for the money needed to fund our adoption. We knew God was calling us to adopt, we just had no idea where it was going to come from. By mid-March, we both felt a release of that financial burden and felt confident in God’s provision. Since March, we have done lots of fundraising…rummage sales, t-shirt sales, baked goods sales, restaurant 10% of sales donated, a brat fry, booth at the local farmer’s market, and boxed lunch sale. While this is extremely humbling, it has also been a way that God has really shown Himself to us. God has blown us away in this process. He has led us in this journey from the beginning, providing the funds at just the right time to keep us going.
We continue to be overwhelmed by God’s blessings to us in this process, and now Katelyn’s Fund is part of that. We feel honored that we can be a part of such a God-centered ministry. So we walk in faith, and keep walking in faith, taking one step at a time as God provides.
Now that our Dossier is in China, our agency tells us that it is an average of 6-9 months till we receive a child referral/match. So these next several months will be a lot of waiting and trusting the Lord. We continue to pray each evening for our little girl, her safety, that God is protecting her from harm and that He has someone there who is loving her until we can bring her home. We also take time to thank Him for His provision financially, and pray that He would continue to guide the process in His perfect timing. We feel incredibly blessed to be a part of a working miracle.
