The Jonathan & Paige White Family
Children: Judah 8; Eden 5
Church: Healing Place Church, Baton Rouge, LA
“So, I think we need to pray about adopting.” That’s what my husband said to me during church on Sunday, November 3, 2013. It was Orphan Sunday, and the team leaders for a ministry in our church called “His Heart for Orphans” were praying specifically for families who were called to adopt. Jonathan and I had talked about the possibility of adoption before we married, but God had other plans when he blessed us with our two biological children, Judah and Eden within the first few years of our marriage. We hadn’t really discussed adoption much during those years, but as the team leaders prayed, I felt an overwhelming sense of God’s presence and my heart was immediately broken for the fatherless. Any excuse I had previously made about why we were not in a place to adopt was removed, and I knew in my heart what God was calling us to. It was then that my amazing husband leaned over and said, “so, I think we need to pray about adopting.” It was all the confirmation I needed, and from that moment, our lives took an amazing shift as we began the incredible journey of adoption. Our church offered an adoption workshop a few months later, and as Jonathan and I were leaving the workshop we talked excitedly about all the possibilities. By the time we made it to our car, we both agreed that we should pursue the adoption of a little girl from China. We took time to prayerfully consider everything, including agencies before we began the process, and in May, 2014, we began the “paper chase” as well as fundraising. We completed our dossier in January of this year and were officially “logged in” in China on January 13. We are currently waiting to receive a referral, but are committed to being prayerfully patient as we wait. That has become kind of a theme in our home during this process. Our children have been so enthusiastic about our adoption and they are just as eager as we are to travel to China to bring their little sister home even though we don’t even know who she is yet. We are all learning a lot about being prayerfully patient. We have also learned a lot about giving. During our adoption process, Jonathan and I knew that we would remain faithful to tithe, but we decided we wouldn’t give to other organizations that we had been giving to, and would instead put that money towards our adoption. Pretty soon after we had decided this I heard God speak directly to me, “Just because you need to receive doesn’t mean you need to stop giving.” We instantly felt convicted and began giving sacrificially out of our income. Since then our family has been reminded over and over again that if we continue to give as God leads, He will continue to bless. As Jonathan and I are both teachers at a Christian school, we have had the opportunity to share these things with our students as well. It is our desire to educate our students about adoption and to plant a seed in them that will grow into immense compassion for orphans. We also keep our students updated on all of our fundraising. They have been faithful to pray for good weather, good crowds of people, and also for our grant applications. They were just as excited as we were when we told them we had received a grant from Katelyn’s Fund. The grant has helped us to pay for a large portion of our agency fees and we can’t begin to express our gratitude for that. We love how Katelyn’s Fund has truly been a part of our process. Even our interview was a blessing, and we love that we can email in specific prayer requests and we know that people will commit to pray for us! While we could never really adequately express our gratitude for the financial assistance that Katelyn’s Fund has given us, the emotional and spiritual support has meant just as much! We would like to say thank you again to the donors and board members who made our grant possible. Thank you for helping us take a giant leap forward in bringing our little one home!
